Category: Life on Earth (1979)

Here there are supposed to be some concluding remarks about the series and media reaction to it.

Original air date: 10 April 1979

As the image below shows the episode is basically split into three parts.

It inevitably starts in Africa and ends up in modern times.

Selected sequences

Strangely, one of the most memorable sequences is the one at the very beginning where Attenborough is talking from a crowd of people. The cameraman has zoomed in from very far away. The episode actually starts by showing people communicating for some 40 seconds before Attenborough starts talking from the crowd. He has already been speaking for half a minute (and stuttered a few times) before the cameraman starts zooming out. The problem is that he has to learn a very lengthy text to speak and has no way of leaving any notes to have a look at when there is something he doesn’t remember. When zooming out the camera will reveal all such cheat sheets for almost a whole 60 seconds!

Attenborough’s references his own earlier works. Including a scene from “Blob on the Map” (17’45-22’10).

A second sequence is actually a couple of those. Late in the episode Attenborough talks about the start of writing just before he mentions the discovery of the DNA. If this was a few decades more recent people might take the extra hint that DNA was also being used there because it has turned out to be a very good way of condensing information, like the written word. They probably didn’t know it at that time.

Original air date: 3 April 1979

As the image below shows the episode is actually split in three parts.

The episode starts with the ‘early’ primates and after the monkey part ends with our closest relatives, the great apes.

Selected sequences

Adaptability among macaque monkeys in Japan using hot springs (27’35) and other learning abilities (28’55-31′). Watching the monkeys while Attenborough tells stories of them is enough to warrant the sequence a special mention. They were developing a special culture among themselves.

The sequence of gibbons swinging about in the trees (34’40-35’50).

Unusually Attenborough mentioned the incredible fact that a third of all gibbon bones examined have shown fractures (35’40) which they survived, presumably by being vegetarians – without help carnivores would not. This might also indicate a social system that helps the injured while they are recovering. Strangely the book mentions similar statistic for the orangutan but does not mention the gibbon. The new version of the book concurs. Going beyond his works this turns out to apply to both of them. It also applies to other arboreal primates. It may happen to the terrestrial chimpanzees and gorillas but that has probably other reasons. These fractures however are not as common as those mentioned in his works.*

The sequence with Attenborough joining the mountain gorilla group is a special one (38′-43’40). Since this is probably the most spoken about sequence there is nothing to add to it. Sadly the sequence in the episode is all that was filmed. Some people disliked it, being too anthropomorphic. Nothing more exists!

References:*

David Attenborough. Life on Earth (Collins 1979, old version) p.285
David Attenborough. Life on Earth (revised edition, 2018) p.302

Bulstrode, Christopher (1988). What happens to wild animals with broken bones [The Iowa OrthopaedicJournal, Vol.10]. p.19-23.

Original air date: 27 March 1979

This episode follows the same theme as the previous one, but there are different variations: the episode is about grass eaters and their predators, the meat eaters.

As the outline shows the episode seems follow very strictly divided between the two main continents, the Americas and Africa, however, a few sequences from outside Africa can be spotted early on.

Selected sequences

Filming a “buffalo” eating and explaining it in simple graphics (9’35-10’35) when a lump of grass is given a second chewing. Normally this animal would be regarded as a “bison” which fits with its location in America. However most of this overview of eating grass is obviously filmed in Africa, including a giraffe.

The underground sequence of the mole rat is obviously filmed through a glass pane (13’10)

Original air date: 20 March 1979

As the image below shows this is an episode in three parts, three animal groups.

Despite its title the episode would not be regarded as ‘thematic’ being one of those split into one of the clearest animal groups in the whole series. It should, however, be pointed out that ‘ground-living insect eaters’ is not a real animal group. It is just an amalgamation of various groups. The small ones actually belong together. The large ones, due to lack of teeth, belong to a separate group – and not all to the same one. The bats and whales are actual groups. A better outline at such a complicated episode is below.

It might be taken from this exact episode that the theme was echo-location since that can accidentally be found in all three of them (some shrews have them). However, the ‘theme’ naturally refers to any recurring characteristics among the mammals.

It should be pointed out that the whale introduction overlaps with the talk about the humpback whale (38’20-39’25) – making the marking between the two dubious.

It is interesting to see how the final animals in each group are used to introduce the next one: before talking about bats Attenborough talks about similar animals that are climbing in trees (a pygmy silky-furred anteater and a tamandua) and when switching from bats to whales he uses a fish eating bat as a link.

Selected sequences

The origin of bats (16’05-16’35) from tree shrews.

Bat and prey arms race (22’50-24’28) and the prey’s (moth’s) counter measures by jamming the signal (24’40-25′).

A bat catching prey (22’50-23’35)

And insects adopting counter measures (23’35-24’30), by listening in on their predators and then dropping from their line of flight.

The insects are the two tiny dots. The one closer to the bat (larger light body) is already below its line of flight, the other is in the direct line but will have dropped below it by the time the bat reaches that point.

Original air date: 13 March 1979

This episode is actually an introduction to the rest of the series covering the mammals, this one deals with the early mammals ending with an introduction to placental mammals as shown in the image below.

As the outline above indicates even though the episode deals almost only with the earliest mammals there are many different ways to deal with them, like a simple comparison with other continents due to continental shifts.

Selected sequences:

Talking about the heat regulation among dinosaurs (7’15) and turning his head as if he was actually looking at the animal, not just at a point where the image would be placed later on.

It is not too hard to see he would only looking at the animal’s belly, if the animal was there in the first place.

The opossum in the Americas that is filmed with young, a sequence that might be a television first (10’45).

Their birth was filmed for the series (19’35)

Placental mammals, an immunological miracle:

In the final scene describing a seal developing within the mother and how antibodies are working it doesn’t take much scrutinising to notice that even though it is composed of numerous separate parts they all constitute to one whole entity.

“Retaining the baby within the womb until it’s fully formed seems an obvious way for the mammals to improve the care of their young. But in fact it +[coming on screen and replacing the studio voice] causes considerable problems in body chemistry. For one thing, the tissues of this little pub differ in a genetic way from those of its mother. They contain elements from their father. And so that means that it risks, when it’s within the womb (+)[some sound problems as if he was supposed to leave the screen, after the first word the sound of the voice drifts back to on-screen voice] rejection by the mother’s body just as a transplant does. +Secondly, the young in the womb may be ejected if the mother produces another egg and comes on heat again. That problem doesn’t face a baby marsupial for in every case it’s short + [back on screen again] development takes place within the period of the mother’s sexual cycle. But a placental mammal like this seal has a much longer development and it deals with the problem by producing from within the placenta, a substance which actually suspends +[back to studio voice] the mother’s egg production. It manufactures other biochemical substances which suppress production of the antibodies that cause the rejection of
tissue, and so allows the developing young in the womb to remain there. So the placenta has had to become a chemical factory of great complexity. When the young is finally born, the placenta, too, is shed from the womb as the afterbirth.”

Attenborough comes back on screen and from now on his on-screen voice is heard even when he is actually off-screen. The obvious question is why it is all so scrambled. Is it deliberate? Did they just decide to play with technology or did a part of the actual recording on location fail and they have to repeat it in studio?

Filming locations:

If the episode had been only about the currently living marsupials its filming locations would have been restricted to Australia and its neighbouring islands, but following their evolution changes this as well as the continuation into placental ones in Africa and somewhere in the arctic.

Original air date: 6 March 1979

This episode is about the birds, how they managed to develop the reptilian scales into feathers and use them in all sorts of ways.

As can be seen from the outline above Attenborough has opted not to view the birds group by group and instead he concentrates on their characteristics.

Selected sequences:

Switching from feather to fossil is done by nice overlapping …

… but this is probably just some basic editing and planning (exactly where to put the feather and the fossil).

Filming the sword-billed hummingbird sipping nectar in slow motion where it manages to stay steady despite the body moving about (23’30-24’20). The last 24 seconds the wing beat is slowed down further to see how the wings move in the figure of 8. Great sequence.

It may be hard to imagine a sequence of the birds of paradise that would not be full of wonder. The bird episode has such a sequence (29’45-34’45) ending in the incredible blue bird of paradise (33’50). Attenborough’s own words describe this bird better than most:
“And as he quivers and trembles, he sings as extraordinary and un-birdlike a song as comes from the throat of any bird.” (34’14-16).

While dealing with the migration part, filming the bird flocks signal on the radar at the air traffic control tower in Gibraltar (below) was a piece of brilliance.

Filming locations:

The above shows the scanty information available: Grand Canyon and Chile in the Americas, European locations include Iceland, Wales, Solnhofen (Germany) and Gibraltar. Further locations include Southern Madagascar and New Guinea.

Original air date: 27 February 1979

This episode is about the reptiles. It is more equally balanced between different groups than the previous two.

As the outline above shows the episode starts with a general overview of the scale, while doing so a few groups are expertly dealt with to take care of various benefits of the main reptilian characteristic: the scale and then gradually drifting towards the larger groups.

Sequences of interest

The start and end of their take on the birth is quite different from what would be expected: they start with a mating game among turtles but after its incubation other groups are dealt with (18’30-21’50).

Switching between crocodiles and snakes it seems the cameraman filmed some interesting shots of sunlight with snakes and turtles. These were used to connect crocodiles (talking about them being very ancient like turtles) with snakes. Notice when subtle change when the focus drifts from the tortoise to snakes: A tortoise is seen vanishing in the darkness past the sun which shines on to the lens. Then the scene blends into another where the focal point is the eyeball of a snake (notice the frames around location where the two come together). This is a brilliant mixture of scenes.

Original air date: 20 February 1979

This episode is a continuation of the previous one, vertebrates set their feet on dry land. Like previous episode this one is marked by one dominant group, in this case frogs and toads.

Sequences of interest

There is one set of sequences of particular interest. Starting at 11’20 the viewer is tempted to think the cameraman is filming rather tall plants

that is until Attenborough’s hand spoils the view and it turns out to be absolutely tiny.

This is followed by another illusion involving the sound recording: Attenborough talks as if he is standing somewhere in the middle of nowhere until he utters the word “coalmine”. Instantly the thumping noise of the drill is heard in the background.

Original air date: 13 February 1979

Going back to the water following a different line of evolution, fish.

The outline above shows how dominant bony fish are in the episode, all but the first few minutes are about them.

The part about the deep leads to great sequences like those of the flashlight fish (38’50-40’05) where special light sensitive cameras and a bit of illumination were used.

Fish usually need electricity to get around because the surroundings are too murky for visibility. Filming is such conditions would obviously be harder than needed so undoubtedly the sequences (41’35-44′) were filmed in an aquarium.

Filming locations

The following locations were given in the episode:
1- Mouth of Severn in England (7’40) searching for fossils of ancestral fish
2- Kimberly Ranges in Western Australia (8’30) searching for signs of what shorelines of ancient earth was like
3- Lake Magadi in Great Rift Valley (45’30)