Over the course of the previous five episodes, the second series of Planet Earth provided an array of beautiful sequences and narratives for the 12 million of us who have tuned in each week. Tonight's finale was no different.
This week focused on how animals adapt to lives in cities, from peregrine falcons hunting among New York's skyscrapers to hyenas that live peacefully alongside the people of Harar.
The episode examined how some animals are struggling to survive in urban environments, and questioned how cities can be built to serve their needs as well as those of human inhabitants. The scenes filmed using night-vision cameras showing leopards hunting around the wastelands of a busy city like Mumbai, just metres from passing pedestrians, were especially extra-ordinary.
It easy to forget that humans share this planet with millions of other creatures; even those of us who live in concrete metropolises are never as far from nature as we often suppose.
At 90-year-old David Attenborough is not just the grandfather we all wish we had, but the voice-over that guides his audience through the wilderness. The BBC will struggle to replicate that relationship when he eventually decides to retire, simply put he is irreplaceable.
But for all the fascinating imagery and wonderful moments, perhaps the show enduring legacy will be how it has demonstrated the continued public appetite for high quality nature programming. Having eclipsed the viewing figures for the X Factor and I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here, and in an age of Netflix and binge-streaming, the show has shown there is still an audience for television that educates as well as entertains.
Here's what people have had to say about the finale on Twitter...
Amazing camera work in #PlanetEarth :earth_africa: They could make me eating a bowl of cereal, look majestic
- Will Spencer (@willispenc) December 11, 2016
#PlanetEarth finale. What a program :clap:
- Mariwan (@MariwanSayda) December 11, 2016
David Attenborough could narrate Terms and Conditions and I'd listen to every single word. #PlanetEarth
- :v: (@CySaunders24) December 11, 2016
Highest density of Peregrine Falcons in the world = New York. Highest density of Leopards = Mumbai. Fascinating #PlanetEarth
- James Clarke (@DesigningSchool) December 11, 2016
In London you get leopard-printed females prowling the town. In Mumbai you get the real thing. #PlanetEarth
- Ange Chan (@vodkaangel22) December 11, 2016
Imagine watching The X Factor instead of #PlanetEarth David Attenborough has a better voice than all of them and he doesn't even sing.
- :v: (@CySaunders24) December 11, 2016
How has David Attenborough got me feeling sorry for Pigeons ffs?! :weary: #PlanetEarth
- Lewis Pearce (@RealLewisPearce) December 11, 2016
I have never seen anything like this. Incredible. #PlanetEarth
- Christopher Hooton (@ChristophHooton) December 11, 2016
#planetearth great final episode just goes to show #animals can live peacefully amongst humans
- Gemma louise (@welshgirlm) December 11, 2016
The Beeb smashing it again with #PlanetEarth #Cities tonight! Unbelievable film making, Jeff!
- Simon Lockett (@sjlockett) December 11, 2016
It has become a platitude to say 2016 has been a terrible year, there may have been ebbs, but Planet Earth 2 at least has been majestic.
Featured image credit: BBC
