'A Perfect Planet': When David Attenborough's new BBC Earth show will be available to watch in the UAE

The five-part series will air in the Mena region this January

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  Episode 1, Volcano: Yasur volcano erupting on Tanna Island, Vanuatu. Photo: Huw Cordey / Silverback Films 2018

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  Episode 1, Volcano: Kurile Lake, a caldera and crater lake in Russia, is considered to be one of the world’s greatest natural feasts, provided by the fertilising ash that formed from the volcanic eruptions. Photo: Toby Nowlan

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  Episode 1, Volcano: flamingos on Lake Natron in Tanzania, which is home to Ol Doinyo Lengai (Mountain of God) active volcano. Photo: Darren Williams / Silverback Films 2019

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  Episode 2, The Sun: sunlight through the canopy in an Asian jungle. Photo: Huw Cordey / Silverback Films 2017

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  Episode 2, The Sun: An Arctic fox with its pups on Karrak Lake in Canada. Photo: Sarah-Jane Walsh / Silverback Films 2019

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  Episode 2, The Sun: an Arctic wolf hunting on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada. Photo: Alain Lusignan/ Silverback Films 2018

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  Episode 3, Weather: millions of fruit bats leave their roost at sunset to head into the surrounding forest to feed in Zambia. Photo: Ed Charles / Silverback Films 2017

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  Episode 3, Weather: once a year the red crabs of Christmas Island move en masse to the sea to breed. Photo: Amy Thompson / Silverback Films 2018

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  Episode 3, Weather: a mother wild Bactrian camel with her young in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Photo: Ed Charles / Silverback Films 2019

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  Episode 4, Oceans: A wave crashes on the shore of Fernandina Island in the Galapagos. Photo: Ed Charles / Silverback Films 2017

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  Episode 4, Oceans: A marine iguana warming up in the sun on the shores of Fernandina Island in the Galapagos. Photo: Ed Charles / Silverback Films 2017

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  Episode 4, Oceans: lemon sharks swim in the shallow waters by the mangrove forests of Bimini in the Bahamas. Photo: Ed Charles / Silverback Films 2017

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  Episode 4, Oceans: A rockhopper penguin brooding its chick on Sealion Island in the Falklands. Photo: Sarah Walsh / Silverback Films 2017

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  Episode 5, Humans: a critically ill kemp’s ridley sea turtle is given medical treatment at the New England Aquarium, near Boston in the US. Photo: Nick Shoolingin-Jordan/Silverback Films 2019

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  Episode 5, Humans: a young orphaned elephant with his keeper at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust’s Nairobi nursery in Kenya. Photo: Nick Shoolingin-Jordan / Silverback Films 2019

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  Episode 5, Humans: the Sea Shepherd crew joins forces with Gabonese marines for a patrol in search of illegal fishing activity off the coast of Gabon in Africa. Photo: Tamara Stubbs / Silverback Films 2019

English broadcaster, natural historian and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough will lend his weighty voice to a new series airing on BBC Earth from January 4.

While the title may seem slightly ironic given the times we live in, Attenborough explains how various forces of nature work to make the Earth a perfect planet, in terms of sustaining lives. This is at least true for the first four elements of the five-part series: volcanoes, sunlight, weather and oceans.

David Attenborough sets the record straight

Volcanoes, for instance, Attenborough calls “the architects of the planet”, responsible for “creating over 80 per cent of the Earth’s surface”. For weather, he explains how “annual patterns have been reliable for years, and it’s this reliability on which life depends”.

The brass and woodwind instruments were recorded in each of the musicians' living rooms

As for the fifth element, a statement by BBC Earth reveals: “The final episode looks at the dramatic impact of the world’s newest force of nature: humans – and what can be done to restore our planet’s balance.”

Or, as Attenborough puts it more bluntly: “Human activity is now so dominant that it’s disrupting the forces of nature and the vital habitats life needs to survive on Earth.”

A Perfect Planet airs from Monday, January 4, at 9pm UAE time on BBC Earth.

Recording amid Covid-19 restrictions

Sir David Attenborough narrates 'A Perfect Planet' for BBC Earth. Photo: Alex Board

The post-production leg of the series fell prey to the coronavirus pandemic, especially as the UK went into lockdown. Series producer Huw Cordey says: "Sir David embraced new ways of recording his voiceover, and the music for the series had to be finished in Iceland, one of the few places we could gather a string orchestra and record them playing live. Covid restrictions prevented us doing the same with brass and woodwind instruments, so they had to be recorded separately in each of the musicians' living rooms."

The music of A Perfect Planet 

A Perfect Planet also features an original score by British composer Ilan Eshkeri, of Stardust and Still Alice fame.

The BBC's natural history programmes are known for their catchy background scores. Award-winning composer Eshkeri follows in the footsteps of German film score composer Hans Zimmer (who is Christopher Nolan's go-to) and Oscar-winner Steven Price (of Gravity fame), who created the music for Ten Pieces and The Hunt respectively.

Eshkeri's oeuvre includes collaborations with Annie Lennox, David Gilmour, Sinead O'Connor and KT Tunstall. "A Perfect Planet celebrates the extraordinary world we are a part of, as well as showing the delicate balance of the systems that support life, and what we need to do to ensure its future stability. I hope my music can play a small part in helping to inspire change."