Original version

BBC One Channel Islands

Blue Planet II

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Documentary series, presented by David Attenborough, exploring the planet's oceans.

Wildlife documentary series, presented and narrated by David Attenborough, exploring the planet's oceans.

Series 1

BBC Two

BBC Four

CBBC

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

BBC Two Scotland

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two England

England

BBC Four HD

BBC One Yorkshire HD

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

BBC One South HD

BBC One East HD

CBBC Channel

CBBC HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Blue Planet II: Into the Blue

David Attenborough

James Honeyborne

Mark Brownlow

Jonathan Smith

Katie Hall

Blue Planet II: Series 1: Episode 1: One Ocean

One Ocean

Episode 1

Episode 1: One Ocean

BBC One - Blue Planet II, Series 1, One Ocean

New worlds and animal behaviours are uncovered on a journey from the equator to the poles.

Wildlife documentary series presented by David Attenborough, revealing new worlds and animal behaviours throughout the planet's oceans.

In recent years, our knowledge of life beneath the waves has been transformed. Using cutting-edge technology, One Ocean takes us on a journey from the intense heat of the tropics to our planet's frozen poles to reveal new worlds and extraordinary never-before-seen animal behaviours.

Starting in the tropical coral reefs - the most diverse ocean habitat - a baby dolphin is taught the secrets of a coral reef, as its family rubs against a particular gorgonian which may have medicinal properties. On another reef, a tusk fish demonstrates a surprising level of ingenuity - tool use - as it uses corals as an anvil to break open clams. In the Seychelles, half a million terns nest on an island. Fledglings must eventually take to the wing, but danger lurks beneath the waves - metre-long giant trevally fish leap clear out of the water to snatch the birds.

The tropical oceans drive our planet's weather. Sun heats the sea, creating rain, winds and huge storms that drive up towards higher latitudes. Here, unlike the tropics, the seas change with the seasons. In spring thousands of mobula rays gather in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. At night, in a previously unseen event, tiny organisms that light up when disturbed react to their wingbeats, creating an enchanting bioluminescent firework display.

Phytoplankton produce as much oxygen as all the plants on land and lie at the base of marine food chains everywhere. Where the plankton thrive, fish thrive too, and ocean travellers will migrate thousands of miles to take advantage of these productive seas. Predatory false killer whales off the coast of New Zealand are in search of dolphins. But when they find them, the whales team up with the dolphins to form super-pods - a formidable army to take advantage of the bounty of these seasonal seas.

In temperate seas around the globe, spring brings greening oceans. In Japan, a kelp-covered shipwreck is home to the Asian sheepshead wrasse, or Kobudai. At the start of summer a male mates with the females. But when a female reaches both a critical body size and age, it can undergo an extraordinary metamorphosis. Females change gender, and a new male challenges an older male to a face-off.

Toward our planet's poles, the ocean's surface is locked in ice. But in the Arctic, a warm current from the south keeps some Norwegian fjords ice-free all year round. Here, in winter, pods of orcas use dramatic tail slaps to stun herring, and humpback whales follow the noises to find the feast.

Ocean currents move heat around our planet and maintain a climate favourable for life. But our ocean system, in relative equilibrium for millennia, is changing at a worrying rate. Deep in the polar north, we meet walrus mothers and their newborn calves, searching for an ice floe to rest on. But with rising temperatures, summer sea ice is retreating - their battles to survive are becoming ever harder. As we begin to understand the true complexity of the lives of our ocean creatures, so do we recognise the fragility of their home.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Blue Planet II

Series 1

Episode 1: One Ocean

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One Channel Islands

About BBC One