Life

2009 · Documentary · 1 season · ★ 8.4

Ended

Synopsis of Life

Life is a British documentary series about life on Earth, written and narrated by David Attenborough. It starts from the struggle for existence that Charles Darwin described, and the program looks at the planet from a global perspective to show how living things have developed extreme strategies and behaviors to survive. The first episode offers a general introduction to the series and its focus on living creatures. The production is led by the BBC Natural History Unit, in partnership with Discovery Channel, Skai TV and The Open University. It airs on BBC One and BBC HD between October and December 2009.

«Four years, 3000 filming days, ten part blockbuster.»

1season

10episodes

50 minper episode

8.4audience scoreTMDB · 417 votes

9.1IMDb rating50,745 votes

Seasons of Life

Season 12009 · 10 ep. · ★ 8.7

Cast by Life

David AttenboroughSelf - Narrator (voice)10 episodes

Technical Details

Created by: Martha Holmes
Address: Simon Blakeney, Martha Holmes, Stephen Lyle
Writing: Paul Spillenger
Music: George Fenton
Production: Paul Spillenger, Martha Holmes
Executive Producer: Susan Winslow, Mike Gunton, Catherine McCarthy
Production companies: BBC
Network or Platform: BBC One
Country: United Kingdom, United States, Greece, Italy, Germany
Original Language: English
Premiere: October 11, 2009
Last Episode: December 13, 2009 (1x10)
Status: Ended
Type: Miniseries
Awards: Won 1 Emmy Award; 4 wins and 11 nominations in total.
Links: IMDb · TMDB · Official Website

Trivia about Life

Life is said to be one of the most expensive documentaries the BBC has ever commissioned, with a budget of 10 million pounds that the network has never confirmed.

Cameraman Barrie Britton finally filmed a golden eagle hunt after two summers following flocks in Finland, but the scene took place so far away that it could not be aired.

To show a year in an oak grove using time-lapse, the team recreated the scene in a studio in Exeter and digitally layered 96 image sequences on top of each other. The project took two years.

Close-ups of wild clownfish were likely to alter their behavior, so captive specimens were filmed in a university aquarium in Wales.

In the United States, Attenborough's narration was replaced by that of Oprah Winfrey, who read a different script adapted for American audiences.

The episode "Challenges of Life" won the Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program.

The global success of Life was one of the key factors behind BBC Worldwide's record profits in 2010.

The team needed nearly three years of filming, with 150 expeditions across all seven continents, after spending the first year researching possible stories for the series.

Sources: Wikipedia (English)