The second instalment to the Blue Planet series has been four years in the making, and last night fans were finally treated to the first episode of the nature documentary - narrated, of course, by Sir David Attenborough.
The long overdue documentary series is said to be the most ambitious of its kind to date, and after watching the first episode, fans flocked to social media to agree. The TV ratings certainly proved that it was more attractive than rivals X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing, which also formed a part of Sunday night's TV offerings.
Credit: BBC
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According to the Telegraph, a whopping 10.3 million people tuned into the incredible show, compared to 4.3 million on the reality singing competition and 9.3 on the celebrity dancing programme.
It's not hard to see why either.
There were several scenes that grabbed people's attention; whether it was the up-close footage of the fish that broke a small clam on a rock until it got its meal, the ominous yet awesome images of the dolphins interacting with the false killer whales, or the giant trevallies leaping a few metres out of the water to catch birds in their huge mouths.
The Telegraph's review added: "Some of the most eye-popping sequences didn't involve wildlife at all, but revealed the power, majesty and beauty of breaking waves in high-definition slow-motion sequences."
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The documentary involved 125 expeditions to 39 different countries and used top-spec technology to give viewers an unparalleled glimpse of life under the sea.
Ninety-one-year-old broadcaster Sir Dave has said that filming was a triumph, but was also saddening to see how the oceans have changed.
This type of ratings boom was also seen when the similarly-titled Planet Earth II was released, absolutely smashing the competition. Sir Dave told the Radio Times, following the show's release: "I'm told that we are attracting a larger than normal number of younger viewers [16-35] and apparently the music of Hans Zimmer in particular is striking a chord.
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"That pleases me enormously."
Luckily for fans of Blue Planet there are six more episodes left to fill our Sunday evenings and each instalment will be split into different habitats. This week's feature will focus on the deep ocean, and then we'll get to explore coral reefs, the open ocean and coastlines.
Executive Producer James Honeyborne tells the BBC they had to build special equipment to film some of the incredible scenes: "We built a huge piece of housing which we called the megadome, which allowed us to slice the sea in half so you can see above and below at the same time.
"We also built a tow-cam which can be pulled behind a boat which allowed us to travel with really fast-moving animals like dolphins and tuna."
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Bring it on!
Sources: Telegraph, Radio Times, BBC
Topics: Fish, Dolphins, TV and Film, Blue Planet, BBC, Strictly Come Dancing, Sir David Attenborough, Documentary, Technology, x factor, Nature, Film & TV
