RICHMOND, England — David Attenborough's new natural history series, "The Blue Planet," an exploration of the world's oceans and seas, could hardly have had a less fortunately timed world broadcast premiere.
The BBC aired its first episode on Sept. 12, the day after the most shattering events in recent history. "It seems dreadful to suggest there are these terrible events, that you have a titanic problem on that scale and on the other hand you have this program out, and you worry no one will notice it," he said. "But I have to admit it did occur to me."
In fact, something astonishing happened. "The Blue Planet" aired as scheduled. Not only did critics rave, but millions of Britons found themselves deeply moved on that emotional day by its remarkable footage of marine life, including a breathtaking sequence of a blue whale, the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth, plowing through the Pacific waters off San Francisco at 30 miles an hour.
Thousands of viewers sent letters and e-mails to the BBC, expressing appreciation. "The extraordinary thing was, they got a high audience," Attenborough said. "I must be careful not to be too portentous about this, but on Sept. 12, it was the one thing you could look at on television in which human beings played no part, and which would be going on no matter who was bombing whom. It gave people some solace."
In retrospect, Attenborough can see why "The Blue Planet" had such a profound effect on a day of such global turmoil. He has long been aware that part of the success of natural history series on TV is an appeal that borders on the spiritual.
"That factor heightens the undercurrent of natural history programs," he said. "They are one of the few things on TV which have nothing to do with human politics or people trying to sell you something. The natural world is beautiful, it's unpredictable, and it's also true in a profound sense.
"We try to present it as it is. Our sin is that we don't want to put human beings in the picture, and of course in reality they are in the picture. What human beings do affects the animal kingdom. The picture we convey is of wild nature, as if human beings are not included. That's a distortion, an illusion. But the consequences are that we as program makers benefit from the perception that there are no human beings [on screen]."
