Life in the Freezer
Life in the Freezer DVD cover
Picture format	4:3
Audio format	Stereo
Episode duration	30 minutes
Executive producer	Alastair Fothergill
Presented by	David Attenborough
Music by	George Fenton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
First shown on	BBC One
Original run	18 November– 23 December 1993
No. of episodes	6
IMDb profile

Life in the Freezer is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 18 November 1993. Image File history File linksMetadata Attlitf. ... Sir David Frederick Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS (born on May 8, 1926 in London, England) is one of the worlds best known broadcasters and naturalists. ... George Fenton (born October 19, 1950) is a British composer best known for his work writing film scores and music for television. ... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the primary channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... A nature documentary is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat. ... Sir David Frederick Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS (born on May 8, 1926 in London, England) is one of the worlds best known broadcasters and naturalists. ... November 18 is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

A study of the seasonal cycle of Antarctica, it was the first of Attenborough's more specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began with Life on Earth. Each of the six 30-minute episodes (except the last) examines how species cope with life on the Antarctic continent during the year. This article is about the tv programme Life on Earth. ...

The series was produced in conjunction with The National Geographic Society and Lionheart International, Inc. The producer was Alastair Fothergill and the music was composed by George Fenton. Flag of the National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, is a not-for-profit scientific organization based in the United States. ... George Fenton (born October 19, 1950) is a British composer best known for his work writing film scores and music for television. ...

Part of David Attenborough's 'Life' series of programmes, it was preceded by The Trials of Life (1990) and followed by The Private Life of Plants (1995). Trials of Life is a BBC (in conjunction with The Australian Broadcasting Service and Turner Broadcasting System Inc. ... This article is about the year. ... The Private Life of Plants (1995) is a six-part BBC television series presented by David Attenborough, on the growth, movement, reproduction and survival of plants around the world. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Background

Over the course of the series, the seasonal effect on the continent is explored, from one of the most harshest winters on the planet to the arrival of spring, which welcomes a population of ocean travellers returning to breed. Then, in the summer, creatures such as seals and penguins struggle to raise their young before winter once again sets in. At this point, the ice sheet doubles and animals must leave to find food. For other senses of this word, see winter (disambiguation). ... Look up spring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other senses of this word, see Summer (disambiguation). ... subfamilies Otariidae Phocidae Odobenidae Pinnipeds are large marine mammals belonging to the Pinnipedia, a family (sometimes a suborder or superfamily, depending on the classification scheme) of the order Carnivora. ... Modern Genera Aptenodytes Eudyptes Eudyptula Megadyptes Pygoscelis Spheniscus For extinct genera, see Systematics Penguins (order Sphenisciformes, family Spheniscidae) are an order of aquatic, flightless birds living exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

David Attenborough accompanied a 20-strong crew to Antarctica and spent three years filming the series. They had to contend with monolithic glaciers and extreme weather conditions, including mountainous seas, 160kph blizzards and harsh temperatures. Austrias longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austrias highest mountain, the Grossglockner A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ...

Once again, following on from The Trials of Life, the team used the latest camera technology and techniques, and had to travel into territory that had been previously inaccessible to filmmakers.^[1] For example, to photograph the wildlife of the sea, boats, divers, suspended capsules and remotely controlled cameras mounted on inflatables were used. Particularly dangerous to divers were leopard seals and other predators, so some underwater sequences necessitated the use of cages for safety. The team also used a small, steel-hulled yacht, the Damien II. It had a retractable keel, which enabled the vessel to venture into shallow bays and land camera crews on to remote islands, where they could remain in contact via radio. A steadicam was used to obtain close-ups of fighting fur seals, with another person carrying a pair of wooden poles close by, in case one of the creatures attacked the human visitors. Binomial name Hydrurga leptonyx (Blainville, 1820) The Leopard Seal (Hydrurga leptonyx) is one of the true seals belonging to the family Phocidae. ... To film this recreated Victorian London street scene, the cameraman next to the lamp post is using a steadicam and wearing the harness required to support it. ... Genera Callorhinus Arctocephalus Fur seals make up one of the two distinct groups of mammals called seals. Both the fur seals and the true seals are members of the Pinnipedia, which is usually regarded as a suborder of the order Carnivora but sometimes as an independent order. ...

Cameraman Michael deGruy gave an account of what it was like to film beneath the ice during a blizzard:

"I jumped into a seal hole, pushing the ice away as I entered, and they handed me my camera. Surprisingly, I wasn't too cold, except around where my mouth held on to my regulator, and that instantly froze and became numb. Suddenly everything was quiet and I found myself looking at easily one of the most extraordinary scenes I had ever, ever experienced. When I dropped down through a hole in the ice, I was completely surrounded by ice: a tunnel maybe twenty feet across. Everything above me on the land was roaring with wind and down there, there was absolutely no sound except for the distant trills of Weddell seals."^[2]

The last episode looks at the race by humans to be the first to reach the South Pole, and its second half describes how the series was made. Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (known as the great apes). ... Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. ...

Episodes

"I am at the very centre of the great white continent, Antarctica. The South Pole is about half a mile away. For a thousand miles in all directions, there is nothing but ice. And, in the whole of this continent, which is about one-and-a-half times the size of the United States and larger than Europe, there is a year-round population of no more than 800 people. This is the loneliest and coldest place on Earth, the place that is most hostile to life. And yet, in one or two places, it is astonishingly rich."

— David Attenborough's opening words

1. "The Bountiful Sea"

Broadcast 18 November 1993, the first episode introduces the continent of Antarctica and the surrounding sea and islands, its glaciers and the icebergs that form from it. It describes how the continent changes throughout the seasons, as it effectively doubles in size in winter when the surrounding sea freezes over, "the greatest seasonal change that takes place on this planet." Penguins, whales and seals are shown feeding in the Southern Ocean. Many of them eat the abundant krill (which in turn feed on phytoplankton and ice-algae). Humpback whales are shown catching krill through sophisticated co-operation: they create spiralling curtains of air bubbles that drive it into their centre, where the whales can then catch them by surging upwards in the middle of the spiral. Also shown are the various seabirds which feed in the Antarctic sea, especially albatrosses, whose impressive wingspans are possible because they utilise the updraft generated by the huge waves in the stormy southern waters. Because of the patchiness of krill, albatrosses can travel for many hundreds or indeed thousands of miles on a single trip in search of it. All birds scavenge, and a group (including giant petrels) is shown taking the remains of a whale, left by orca. Many birds (including penguins) lay their eggs and feed their chicks on the islands surrounding the Antarctic continent, especially South Georgia where both albatross and King penguins have their nesting sites throughout the year. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ... An iceberg (a partial loan translation, probably from Dutch ijsberg (literally: mountain of ice),[1] cognate to German Eisberg) is a large piece of ice that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. ... Whales are the largest species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ... Families Euphausiidae Euphausia Dana, 1852 Meganyctiphanes Holt and W. M. Tattersall, 1905 Nematobrachion Calman, 1905 Nematoscelis G. O. Sars, 1883 Nyctiphanes G. O. Sars, 1883 Pseudeuphausia Hansen, 1910 Stylocheiron G. O. Sars, 1883 Tessarabrachion Hansen, 1911 Thysanoessa Brandt, 1851 Thysanopoda Latreille, 1831 Bentheuphausiidae Bentheuphausia amblyops Krill are shrimp-like marine... Diagrams of some typical phytoplankton Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton that drift in the water column. ... Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale ,Megaptera novaeangliae, is a mammal which belongs to the baleen whale suborder. ... Seabirds are birds that spend much of their lives, outside the breeding season at least, at sea. ... Genera Diomedea Thalassarche Phoebastria Phoebetria Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellarids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). ... Species (Gmelin, 1789) (Mathews, 1912) The giant petrels are two large seabirds from the genus Macronectes. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... In most birds and reptiles, an apple (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... A baby chicken Look up chick in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ... Binomial name Aptenodytes patagonicus Miller,JF, 1778 The King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) is the second largest species of penguin at about 90 cm (3 ft) tall and weighing 11 to 15 kg (24 to 33 lb), second only to the Emperor Penguin. ...

David Attenborough with a pair of albatrosses on South Georgia

Screen capture from Life in the Freezer, part 2, showing presenter David Attenborough with two albatrosses on the island of South Georgia. ... Screen capture from Life in the Freezer, part 2, showing presenter David Attenborough with two albatrosses on the island of South Georgia. ...

2. "The Ice Retreats"

Broadcast 25 November 1993, the second programme examines what happens during spring on Antarctica. The sea ice extends for hundreds of miles around the continent, but there are a few subantarctic islands that escape it. Such places are highly valued, for as the sea never freezes, animals can always get ashore. Elephant seals are the first creatures to return to the beaches. They form large breeding colonies, where the males fight fierce battles to gain and retain permanent access to a great number of females and mate with them as soon as they are receptive again. Millions of macaroni penguins occupy huge territories on the islands to breed, as do thousands of albatrosses. The Antarctic peninsula is one of the few regions of the continent inhabited by animals, even in summer. Gentoo penguins build their nests on bare rock and humpback whales seek krill along the coast, while Adelie penguins nest even further south. Crabeater seals, one of the most numerous mammals on Earth, live and reproduce in the pack ice zone around Antarctica. Snow petrels fly many miles into the island to find rock on which to lay their eggs. November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The sub-antarctic islands are the islands in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. ... Species M. leonina M. angustirostris There are two species of elephant seal. ... Binomial name Eudyptes chrysolophus (Brandt, 1837) The Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) is a species of penguin closely related to the Rockhopper Penguin. ... Antarctic Peninsula map Booth Island and Mount Scott flank the narrow Lemaire Channel on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. ... Binomial name Pygoscelis papua (Forster, 1781) Penguin at polish Arctowski base The Gentoo Penguin (pronounced ), Pygoscelis papua, is easily recognised by the wide white stripe extending like a bonnet across the top of its head. ... Binomial name Pygoscelis adeliae (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841) The Adelie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) is, together with the Emperor Penguin, one of the only two types of penguin living on the Antarctic mainland. ... Binomial name Lobodon carcinophagus Hombron & Jacquinot, 1842 The Crabeater Seal, Lobodon carcinophagus, is one of the most remarkable, though least known, of the mammals of the world. ... An icebreaker navigates some through young (1 year) sea ice Sea ice is formed from ocean water that freezes. ... Binomial name Pagodroma nivea (G. Forster, 1777) The Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea) is a small, pure white fulmarine petrel with black underdown, coal-black eyes, small black bill and bluish gray feet. ...

3. "The Race to Breed"

Broadcast 2 December 1993, this instalment looks at the summer, when almost all life in the region breeds. A South Georgian colony of fur seals is shown: the pups grow fast on the rich, fatty milk provided by their mothers and double their weight in just sixty days. As the females become sexually available, the mating season begins — males try to claim territory and mate with females. Chinstrap penguins form large groups on Deception Island, climbing up its steep slopes to find mountain ridges free of snow. Returning birds find their partners by recognising their voice (performing a brief greeting ritual when they find them), which is why the colonies are very noisy during the breeding season. Males and females take turns in catching food, some of which they later regurgitate for their chicks. The summer also thaws some of the ice on the continent's shores. The fresh water allows moss and other plants to grow, which in turn provide food for mites that are adapted to the cold climate — they can survive temperatures up to minus 30°C because they contain a kind of antifreeze. They become active as soon as the ice melts, and reproduce whenever they get an opportunity to do so. Lichens grow even further south than moss, and algae populate some of the snow. In the ocean, life is much more diverse, and blue-eyed shags dive for fish near the peninsula. More than 300,000 petrels come to breed to the Scullin Monolith, one of the few areas of open rock. December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Fat (disambiguation). ... A glass of cows milk Milk is the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). ... Binomial name Pygoscelis antarctica (Forster, 1781) The Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) is a species of penguin which is found in the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica, the South Orkneys, South Shetland, South Georgia, Bouvet Island, Balleny and Peter I Island. ... Deception Island is an island in the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula in Antarctica. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1-10 cm tall, occasionally more. ... Families Tetranychidae - Spider mites Eriophyidae - Gall mites Sarcoptidae - Sarcoptic Mange mites The mites and ticks, order Acarina or Acari, belong to the Arachnida and are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups, although some way behind the insects. ... A man pouring antifreeze into his vehicle. ... Genera Nannopterum Phalacrocorax Leucocarbo The Phalacrocoracidae family of birds is represented by about thirty species of cormorants and shags. ... The petrels are seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. ...

A colony of incubating male Emperor penguins

Screen capture from Life in the Freezer, part 5, showing a colony of Emperor Penguins on Antarctica in winter. ... Screen capture from Life in the Freezer, part 5, showing a colony of Emperor Penguins on Antarctica in winter. ...

4. "The Door Closes"

Broadcast 9 December 1993, this episode describes the migration of most animals northwards (some from the Antarctic continent, others from the few islands surrounding it) as the continent and surrounding sea freeze over at the end of summer. At Cape Royds, the most southernly colony of Adelie penguins is virtually emptied as adults lead their newly feathered young to the sea. Young penguins often fall prey to leopard seals as they try to make their way across the already partially frozen water — and their stripped remains become food for isopods and meter-long nemerteans. However, before going to the sea, the adult penguins must moult their coats. The freezing sea ice usually does not reach South Georgia, and seal pups are still fed there by their mothers in autumn to be ready for the winter. They use their remaining time for play and mock fights in the ocean. Those who do not survive become food for the predator birds — the skuas and the giant petrels. Elephant seals also undergo moulting while on the island. Albatrosses nesting on South Georgia continue to feed and mate, but the ever harsher weather forces most animals further northwards. December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about non-human migration. ... SubOrders Anthuridea Asellota Calabozoida Epicaridea Flabellifera Microcerberidea Oniscidea Phreatoicidea Valvifera Isopods are one of the most diverse orders of Crustaceans, with many species living in all environments, and are common in shallow marine waters. ... Orders Anopla Enopla The phylum Nemertea (also Nemertina, Nemertinea or Nemertini) contains the ribbon worms or proboscis worms, which are a group of unsegmented marine invertebrates. ... In animals, moulting (Commonwealth English) or molting (American English) is the routine shedding off old feathers in birds, or of old skin in reptiles, or of old hairs in mammals (see also coat (dog)). In arthropods, such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans, moulting describes the shedding of its exoskeleton (which... For other uses: see Skua (disambiguation). ...

5. "The Big Freeze"

Broadcast 16 December 1993, this programme deals with those who stay during the coldest weather. As almost all animal inhabitants of Antarctica are forced to migrate, the sea underneath the ice still provides a home to many specially adapted fish whose cells are protected from freezing through an inherent "antifreeze". Many feed on the faeces of other animals. Perhaps the most notable larger creature that does not journey north is the Weddell seal, which can be found as close as 1300 kilometres to the pole. Groups of seals tear holes into the ice to dive for food and come up to breathe. The females come back to the ice to give birth. Also described is primitive plant life such as lichen, which can still be found on the continent in winter, even in the extremely dry and permanently frozen valleys — conditions under which dead animals can lie frozen for many centuries without decomposing. Attenborough observes that the Antarctic plateau is so "forbidding, hostile and desolate" that human life there seems not only insignificant, but also "totally irrelevant". Also explored is the life of the Emperor penguin, "the only birds to lay their eggs directly on ice". While others retreat, Emperors migrate not just to the ice, but into Antarctica itself. The newly laid egg is quickly transferred from female to male. They then incubate the eggs under the harshest conditions on Earth (huddling closely together in temperatures of minus 70°C), while their partners return to the sea. December 16 is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green). ... Binomial name Leptonychotes weddellii (Lesson, 1826) The Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), a true seal, is named after Sir James Weddell, commander of British sealing expeditions in the Weddell Sea. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... Lichenes from Ernst Haeckels Artforms of Nature, 1904 Crustose and foliose lichens on a wall A foliose lichen on basalt. ... Fljótsdalur in East Iceland, a rather flat valley Mt. ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 The Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri), at between 1. ...

A diving cameraman films a leopard seal feasting on a penguin

Screen capture from Life in the Freezer, part 6, showing a diving cameraman in eye to eye contact with a Leopard Seal feasting on a penguin. ... Screen capture from Life in the Freezer, part 6, showing a diving cameraman in eye to eye contact with a Leopard Seal feasting on a penguin. ...

6. "Footsteps in the Snow"

Broadcast 23 December 1993, the final instalment discusses human exploration of Antarctica, in particular the mission led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, whose team died on the way back from the South Pole. Attenborough visits the hut at Cape Evans where Scott and his team spent the winter of 1911. The freezing temperatures have preserved everything exactly as it was, including clothing and bedding. It shows their surprisingly well-equipped laboratory and the darkroom where the group's photographer, Herbert Ponting, developed his films. Attenborough contrasts the transportation used by Scott (initially motor sledge, ponies and dogs before ending up on foot) with today's helicopters. The episode also details the scientific work in the modern human bases in Antarctica, especially Mawson Base and its observation of Adelie penguins (partially through tracking devices). The film concludes that although working in Antarctica is now much easier than during the early days of exploration, human footsteps on the continent are still exceedingly rare — in part because of international treaties prohibiting industrial exploitation. December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... Robert Falcon Scott Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – 29 March 1912) was a Royal Naval officer and Antarctic explorer. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Herbert G. Ponting (1870-1935) was a professional photographer. ... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors. ... Mawson Station from the air. ...

"At a time when it's possible for thirty people to stand on the top of Everest in one day, Antarctica still remains a remote, lonely and desolate continent. A place where it's possible to see the splendours and immensities of the natural world at its most dramatic and, what's more, witness them almost exactly as they were, long, long before human beings ever arrived on the surface of this planet. Long may it remain so."

— David Attenborough, in closing

A.N. Wilson controversy

After Life in the Freezer was broadcast, A.N. Wilson, then a television reviewer for The Independent, wrote a column accusing the production team of staging a harrowing sequence in which a leopard seal killed and dismembered a young penguin. He claimed that the chances of filming natural behaviour like this were far too low, and that the crew must have thrown baby penguins to the seal until they got the shot they wanted. Andrew Norman Wilson (born 1950) is an English writer, known for his biographies, novels and works of popular and cultural history. ... The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ...

Alastair Fothergill responded by threatening to sue. In a private settlement, Wilson was forced to publish an apology and retraction acknowledging that there had been no basis for his claims. The Independent also paid an undisclosed sum of money, which Fothergill and Attenborough donated to a fund for the penguins of the Falkland Islands.^[3]

Wilson had previously made similar claims about Attenborough's previous series, The Trials of Life, and had been forced to retract those as well.

DVD and book

The series is available in the UK for Regions 2 and 4 as a single DVD (BBCDVD1106, released 16 September 2002) and as part of The Life Collection. There are no extra features. September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The Life Collection DVD Box The Life Collection is a 24-disc DVD box set of eight titles from David Attenboroughs Life series of BBC natural history programmes. ...

The accompanying book, Life in the Freezer: A Natural History of the Antarctic by Alastair Fothergill with a foreword by David Attenborough (ISBN 0563364319 ), was published by BBC Books on 4 November 1993. It is currently out of print. November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ...

References

1. ^ Life in the Freezer DVD notes
2. ^ Episode "Footsteps in the Snow"
3. ^ David Attenborough, Life on Air, BBC Books 2002.