Frozen Planet

I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to work on the promotional campaign as an editor at Discovery Channel in 2011-2012, and is still one of my favorite projects to date. The only challenge I faced was trying to choose which visuals to use in the 60/30 second commercials, because they were all breath taking. From start to finish, the production value, imagery and breathtaking landscapes are captured with perfection in this documentary series. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this series when I had to (work), and then watched it again when I wanted to (at home)! Over all, well done!

I was looking forward to this BBC series and I was not in any way disappointed. The work that went in to bringing us these wonderful visions of the polar regions is amazing. Thankfully, in New Zealand, we saw the David Attenborough-narrated version as it was meant to be. No disrespect to Alec Baldwin, who narrated the US version, but Sir David has been there and done that in wildlife film-making for the best part of 60 years. He KNOWS what he's talking about. I'm very aware of the "controversy" that surrounds the seventh episode titled On Thin Ice, and the apparent reluctance of US TV to show it because it deals with climate change. My advice is: don't let anyone tell you that this is a piece of climate change propaganda. It's not. It simply lays out the facts in a non-judgmental way and backs them up with historical photography and clear satellite imagery. Watch it and make up your own mind.

As a rule, I don't enjoy programs or documentaries that are filled with superlatives and hyperbole, and usually rate them lower. Having said that, this series is filled with superlatives and hyperbole, and every one of them is justified. For example, when he speaks of the Taiga, a forest that goes all the way around the world and contains 1/3 of all the world's trees, it is done majestically. When we are told that all the spotted eider ducks in the world are contained in that one spot at that one moment in the Bering Sea, it adds to the wonder of it all.

I learned so much during this series. Then I watched it again. Both my wife and I sat in wonder as we went through the series on Netflix.

My only question is about the "seven" episodes. There are only six on our streaming server. If the seventh appears, we will snap it up quickly.

The narration was engaging and professional, the music was majestic, and the painstaking camera work was incredible. I shook my head in wonder many times how they had attained such amazing footage.

This series was one of the best TV experiences I have ever had.

If you decide to watch "Frozen Planet", you might want to think twice if you are squeamish or if you're watching with small children. This is because it depicts nature in the raw...and that sometimes means footage of animals killing each other or dying from exposure. I personally prefer this over an overly sanitized program...but it's best you know and understand this so you can make the appropriate choice.

The film is about both the Arctic and Antarctica and most of the episodes consist of showing the same season in each region. So, for example, the summer in the Arctic would be June-September but in Antarctica you are seeing its summer from December-March. During the course of the episodes you see the usual amazing footage you see in the other recent "Earth" documentaries with David Attenborough...and you often marvel at the people who went to such lengths to get such perfect film. Pretty amazing...and marvelous on a large television.

I think this is a nearly perfect show. My only complaint, and it's a minor one, is that some of the material is repetitive and really noticable if you are binging on the show. I honestly feel they could have edited out an episode or two to make it much more compact.

Despite how much he apparently dislikes the term "national treasure", that term really does sum up David Attenborough to a tee. He is such a great presenter (in his 90s and still sounds, and looks on a side note, great) and whenever a new series of his is aired they are often among the best the BBC has done in years.

Am a great fan of both 'Planet Earth' series and 'The Blue Planet' in particular of Attenborough's work. 'Frozen Planet' is another masterpiece and is on the same level as them. Expectations were high, expectations were met and went beyond that, 'Frozen Planet', along with 'Planet Earth II' transfixed, fascinated, moved and educated me more than any other documentary seen in a long time and is an example of how documentaries should be done. Like what was said for 'Planet Earth II', and how is felt about 'Planet Earth' and 'The Blue Planet', one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art. As hyperbolic as this all sounds, to me and many others the acclaim is more than deserved and even with many fans and a high rating here 'Frozen Planet' is perhaps not praised enough.

'Frozen Planet', as to be expected, looks utterly amazing. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The scenery and habitats are some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life, wildlife, underwater, cave and volcano landscapes are done in a way that will leave even not-so-devoted nature documentary viewers on a whole new level of speechless. How the Arctic and Atlantic surroundings and how they're populated look during each season also fascinates and illuminates, even the controversial climate change episode, and the behind the scenes stuff adds a touch of honesty and humanity, such as the getting trapped in the wind and filming the orcas (killer whales).

George Fenton's music score soars majestically, rousing the spirits while touching the soul. It not only complements the visuals but enhances them to a greater level. Some of my favourite work from him in fact, coming from someone who's liked a lot of what he's done.

Can't fault the narrative aspects in 'Frozen Planet' either. There are things already known to me, still delivered with a lot of freshness, but there was a lot that was quite an education and after watching the full series it honestly felt like the series taught me a lot (and no it's not just the Latin names for the animals), much more so than anything in my secondary school Geography class. "To the Ends of the Earth", "Spring" and "Winter" were especially good. Attenborough's narration helps quite significantly too, he clearly knows his stuff and knows what to say and how to say it. He delivers it with his usual richness, soft-spoken enthusiasm and sincerity, never talking down to the viewer and keeping them riveted and wanting to know more.

The animals themselves are a wonderful mix of the adorable (the penguins, have somewhat of a bias due to loving penguins to bits) and the dangerous (the wolf). There were some truly powerful moments, including the wolf and bison attack, that was unlike any other nature documentary captured attack there's ever been. Powerful in ways that are heart-wrenching and harrowing, lots of suspense and pathos in 'Frozen Planet'.

None of the episodes feel episodic or repetitive, or even feel like episodes. 'Frozen Planet' instead feels like a collection of six individual stories with real, complex emotions and conflicts and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.

Overall, utterly mesmerising and will unfreeze the iciest of hearts. 10/10 Bethany Cox