Going wild

By ROB OWEN
Thursday, March 15, 2007

Television has long transported viewers out of their living rooms and to remote corners of the globe, but in the next few weeks, programs will offer even more dramatic images than usual in a slew of new nature/travel shows. Here's a look at four from different channels and different parts of the world.

"Galapagos"

National Geographic Channel's breathtaking three-hour documentary offers stunning visuals of the animals that make their home on and around this chain of islands, 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, that inspired Charles Darwin's theories of evolution.

Culled from 300 hours of high-definition footage, "Galapagos" (8 to 11 p.m. EDT Sunday, March 18) puts blue-footed boobies on display as they plunge into the water to fetch lunch. It shows marine iguanas as they brave cold water (and playful sea lions) to feast on algae.

At a January press conference in Pasadena, Calif., producer Patrick Morris said the animals that populate Galapagos were approachable and not scared of humans. That allowed the camera crew to get close-up shots of feathers, scales and eyes.

"It's the last place on Earth where people haven't had the impact to scare the wildlife," said Paul Stewart, author of "Galapagos: The Islands that Changed the World." "That's a huge privilege as a cinematographer, to go there and to not intrude."

Naturalist Sylvia Earle, a National Geographic explorer in residence, said Galapagos offers a glimpse into Earth's distant past.

"It is as it was a thousand years ago, basically even a million years ago," she said. "Elsewhere on the planet, things have changed."

"Planet Earth"

Five years in the making and filmed in 204 locations, Discovery Channel's expansive, 11-hour series explores the planet in startling detail.

"Pole to Pole," the first of three hours airing next Sunday (March 25) at 8 p.m., explores the interconnectedness of life _ the ol' "Circle of Life" effect _ at the poles, on the equator and in between. Actress Sigourney Weaver narrates the program, which may take a little too much pride in how challenging it was to make.

"A cameraman waited four days straight in freezing weather to capture this footage," Weaver says of shots of the rare amur leopard.

A blue bird of paradise in Papua, New Guinea, was "never before filmed in the wild," she says, and a cameraman "spent 45 days in hiding" to capture the shot.

The time spent in production hearkens back to a bygone time in nature documentaries, said episode producer Huw Cordey.

"In many ways we're going back to the olden days with the latest technology, the best production values, but which is sort of more traditional in its style," Cordey said.

"We've adopted a cinematic approach," said episode producer Mark Brownlow. "We're trying to give cinema values to a television series through slow editing, a big orchestral score and really long, pensive shots."

"Planet Earth" isn't intended to make a political statement about the state of the environment, but Cordey said watching the program will have an impact on viewers.

"It's not ramming an environmental message down your throat," he said, "but by seeing how incredible the planet on which we live is, we hope that we can get people interested in looking into whatever areas that interested them even further."

"Planet Earth" was filmed in high definition.

Other "Planet Earth" episodes: "Mountains" and "Deep Ocean" (9 p.m. and 10 p.m., respectively, March 25); "Deserts" and "Ice Worlds" (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., April 1); "Shallow Seas" and "Great Plains" (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., April 8); "Jungles" and "Fresh Water" (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., April 15), and "Forests" and "Caves" (8 p.m. and 9 p.m., April 22).

"1,000 Places to See Before You Die"

Named after the book of the same name _ author Patricia Schultz offered some guidance to producers, but wasn't actively involved _ this 14-week Travel Channel series sends Albin and Melanie Ulle off on a journey around the world, taking viewers at home along for the ride.

"1,000 Places to See Before You Die" begins airing at 9 p.m., March 29.

The Ulles auditioned to star in the series after less than a year of marriage, and Melanie said the show taught them "to be each other's allies."

Filmed from September to December last year, the Ulles visited 100 of Schultz's 1,000 places.

An episode in Alaska starts out kind of dull but improves as it continues. Unfortunately, it also turns into an occasional infomercial, as the narrator seemingly shills for an airline ("... offers several direct flights from cities in both the United States and Mexico ...") and several places that offer overnight accommodations ("... among the most breathtaking year-round destination vacations in the world ...").

On a more positive note, the Ulles meet some interesting characters.

"I'm Danny Seavey. I'm a dog musher," says one of these locals, introducing himself and sounding a lot like a fictional Alaskan: Patrick (Derek Richardson) on ABC's "Men in Trees."

The visuals are occasionally beautiful, but nothing here is as arresting as in "Planet Earth" or "Galapagos" or even in some episodes of "The Amazing Race."

"Journey to Planet Earth"

Once upon a time _ in the pre-cable TV era _ PBS was the primary place for viewers to tune to for nature programming. It's no longer alone, but it still offers several ongoing series, including "Journey to Planet Earth," which airs a new episode this month.

In "The State of the Ocean's Animals," the 10th installment in the series, narrator Matt Damon takes viewers on a one-hour search for the reasons behind growing extinction among marine animals.

The culprits are pretty much what one might expect: Global warming, the rising sea level, over-fishing and habitat destruction.

"Journey" begins by taking a detour to look at the role of pop culture in our reaction to marine animals, including, naturally, "Jaws."

There's also a cameo by the "it" marine animal of the moment: The Emperor penguin.

Unlike the other nature shows, this one displays less impressive visuals and cheesy, dated graphics, but its message is valuable and needed, just the same.

(TV editor Rob Owen can be reached at rowen@post-gazette.com.)