The World About Us
Season 2
A series of films from all over the world about our astonishing planet and the creatures that live on it. Combining natural history with an element of adventure, the series featured well-known naturalists such as Jane Goodall and Gerald Durrell, and the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Succeeded by The Natural World.
Where to Watch The World About Us • Season 2
50 Episodes
- The Wild PlacesE2
The Wild PlacesAmerica realised in time that her wild places were disappearing under the pressure of civilisation. Parks and wildlife sanctuaries were established ensuring that spectacles such as magnificent herds of buffalo, the rare, beautiful Pronghorn Antelopes, and the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon should remain for all to see. - Isles of WonderE4
Isles of WonderA Russian expedition travels to various islands in search of animals developed in isolation, such as the flightless birds of New Zealand and the marsupials of Australia. The expedition also finds other animals that have managed to survive the enveloping wave of civilisation: the Komodo Dragon and the prehistoric Tuatara. - Americans on EverestE6
Americans on EverestThe first successful American ascent of Everest took place in 1963. Ten years previously Everest had been conquered for the first time by the British Expedition led by Col. John Hunt. The Americans, however, achieved the distinction of being the first to film from the summit itself. - A Norwegian YearE7
A Norwegian YearNorway has a small human population, living mainly along the coast, so the vast mountain plateaux and the dense forests of the interior are left to the wildlife: the reindeer, the beaver, the fox, and the beautiful snowy owl. After the darkness of winter, every moment of the summer light must be used by the animals to rear their young to a state of independence before the first snow falls and it is winter once again. - Discovering GalapagosE9
Discovering GalapagosHeinz Sielmann is one of the world's leading wildlife film-makers. In the colourful Galapagos Islands he obtained outstanding material on the unique penguins, albatrosses, sea-lions, and giant tortoises. His expedition landed on 'an island of dragons' among thousands of marine iguanas and also managed to film the amazing behaviour of the wood-pecker finch, one of the few animals in the world to use a tool. - One More Shift to PushE10
One More Shift to PushThe Island of Das, somewhere in the Arabian Gulf, is the home for oil-rig men and a vast industry which is bringing wealth and the hope of modernity to Abu Dhabi. This is the story of two viewpoints - of the Europeans who work there temporarily, and of the local people for whom it is a new way of life - Grizzly!E13
Grizzly!The Grizzly Bear has roamed North America for a million years. The invention of the repeating rifle brought the feared and hated bear to the point of extinction, but today's inventions are to the Grizzly's advantage. Scientific devices are enabling John and Frank Craighead to discover the secrets of the great bear so that it may be preserved. - The Distant Warriors of New GuineaE14
The Distant Warriors of New GuineaWar is a ritual thread woven into the pattern of life of the mountain people, the Dani. Although few lives are lost, great displays of measured violence dominate their existence and shape a culture that in many ways resembles that of our own distant Stone Age ancestors. - Easter on AthosE15
Easter on AthosThere are few places, if anywhere. in the civilised world where life has changed less in the last millennium than Athos in northern Greece. Since the middle of the tenth century Athos has been inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. Women, children, and female animals are forbidden. Since the fall of Constantinople in 1453 Athos has represented a unique survival from the great Empire of Byzantium. However, the monastic community is in danger of dying out. The reasons for this, and what would be lost if this were to happen, are the subject of tonight's film. - Letter to ThimpuE22
Letter to ThimpuThe first full documentary from Bhutan, a Himalayan kingdom wedged in between Chinese Tibet and India. After centuries of isolation this autocratic Buddhist society is at last beginning to look beyond its frontiers. This is the story of Bhutan through the eyes of a young Bhutanese schoolboy, Tobgay. - The Living SeaE24
The Living SeaApart from fish and whales, the oceans contain billions of drifting animals, some so small that they completely escaped attention until the nineteenth century. Using remarkable close-up photography, this film by Peter Parks looks at the tiny world of plankton and reveals its surprising complexity and its strange beauty. - The Freedom of the HillsE27
The Freedom of the HillsThe Highlands of Scotland were once considered remote and inaccessible, so were left to the golden eagle and the wild cat. Now, as the wilderness shrinks, more and more tourists are flocking to enjoy the beauty of Strathspey. How is this human invasion affecting the area and its wide variety of unique wildlife? - Seabird SummerE31
Seabird SummerJust off the Pembrokeshire coast lie two small islands-Skomer and Skokholm. The inhabitants number many thousands, of which a few are human. The rest include seals, the unique Skomer voles, and above all great colonies of seabirds like guillemots, kittiwakes, and comical-looking puffins. These bird cities are formed when the ocean wanderers of the winter fly in to become the cliff nesters of the summer. Written and narrated by Tony Soper. Adapted from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds film. - The Golden IsthmusE32
The Golden IsthmusTwo years ago an American Commission was set up to report to President Johnson on the possibility of cutting a new Panama Canal by means of nuclear explosives. Five routes were considered: two in Panama, one each in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Colombia. The final decision will involve not just politics and economics but the social problems of the peoples who live in that area and have done for centuries. The Golden Isthmus tells the story of 450 years of man's efforts to bridge the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in this narrow neck of land, and of the native peoples who have had to suffer them. - DarwinE34
DarwinIn 1835 a young divinity student called Charles Darwin voyaged round the world, calling at the remote and weirdly beautiful island archipelago of Galapagos. What he saw sparked off a theory of evolution through natural selection which was to shake the foundations of contemporary religion and natural science. A Canadian Broadcasting Corporation film - Walk Into the ParlourE35
Walk Into the ParlourThis film, first shown on BBC-1 on April 23, 1966, can now be seen in colour. Gerald Thompson and Eric Skinner, whose award-winning film The Life of the Alder Wood-wasp was a masterpiece of close-up photography, here turn their cameras and remarkable techniques on the spider, which under their lenses and bright lights becomes a fearsome creature with fascinating habits. - Magic in the HillsE37
Magic in the Hills Primitive medicine is the subject of tonight's film which comes from the rain forests of Malaya. Dr. Ivan Polunin, a lecturer in medicine at the University of Singapore, has for many years been studying this art as practised by aborigines in various parts of the world. Magic in the Hills is an account of his journey, to meet the Jah Hut people of Malaya, and to observe the fascinating ritual and practice of their applied medicine. - Beauty and the BeastsE38
Beauty and the BeastsA flower unfurls, a beautiful butterfly emerges from a chrysalis, and the whiplash tongue of a chameleon is slowed down. By using stop and slow motion camera techniques, Italian film-maker Fernando Armati reveals many secrets of nature that would normally be invisible to the naked eye. - Big D Ranch: Hunting for Giants (Part 1)E39
Big D Ranch: Hunting for Giants (Part 1)The Dadanawa Ranch in Guyana covers 3,000 square miles of wild, remote country. Across its savannahs roam 30,000 head of longhorn cattle, and in its swamps and forests live some of South America's most exciting animals-the giant armadillo, the jaguar, the harpy eagle, the jabiru stork, and the giant ant-bear. Stanley Brock, the manager of Big D, is also a naturalist and animal collector and he gets to grips with all these giants, as well as the largest and most powerful snake in the world, the anaconda. - Big D Ranch: Vampires, Piranhas and Giant Ant-Bears (Part 2)E40
Big D Ranch: Vampires, Piranhas and Giant Ant-Bears (Part 2)Stanley Brock, the manager of the Dadanawa Ranch in Guyana, is equally at home in the saddle of his horse or the cockpit of his light plane. In his leisure hours he sometimes flies to enjoy the spectacle of one of the world's greatest and most remote waterfalls, the Kaieteur Falls; but most of his spare time is spent in studying the wealth of wildlife in the forest, swamps, and savannahs. - The Secret BowersE42
The Secret BowersThe birds of Australasia include some whose plumage is among the most beautiful in the world, some with unique methods of incubation, and others whose ways of courtship are incredibly complex. The behaviour of a few even suggests that birds have an aesthetic sense. from the South and West - The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: SharksE43
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: SharksThe leading figure in sea exploration is on a five-year voyage which is the culmination of his life's work. On board his ship Calypso he has a team of scientists equipped with some of the most advanced oceanographic apparatus yet devised, including miniature submarines and underwater film and television cameras. In this the first of several film reports Cousteau turns his attention to the most feared of all the inhabitants of the sea... - Dream of Two CitiesE44
Dream of Two CitiesThe romantic story of two Brazilian cities. Manaus lies isolated in the middle of the Amazon rain forest; Brasilia rises from the desolate sertao - a new capital in the wilderness. Both cities grew as a result of men's dreams: one dream turned into a nightmare, the other appears to be coming true. Manaus is one of the most fascinating, most haunted places man has made for himself to live in; no road leads to this city-only one or two yellow tracks lead away from it and then peter out. Brasilia, in the space of three years, sprang up from an uninhabited desert to become a capital city-the 'city of the future'. - The Two Faces of ChinaE45
The Two Faces of China The Cultural Revolution and that little red book of thoughts are as near as most of us can get to China these days, for now more than ever it is a difficult country to visit. It took Rene Burri, who is Swiss, six years to get permission to film there. The result is a programme that allows us for the first time in many years to see the real face of a China that is in many ways surprisingly unchanged-and more real; to see the Chinese as people, as individual as any, and not just as a mass of yelling robots controlled by a master switch. Behind the facade, behind the banners and political slogans of the Public Image, are the faces of 700 million people, the Chinese. In city and village, knee-deep in the paddy fields of the South, galloping at full tilt across the Mongolian Steppes, they continue in spite of the changes that have taken place to lead their own very personal lives, clinging with a stubborn tenacity to a code of private loyalties and traditions that have withstood 4,000 years of dynastic changes and upheaval. - The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: Search in the DeepE46
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: Search in the DeepIn the second film of the voyage of the oceanographic vessel Calypso, Jacques Cousteau and his team of scientists have reached the Indian Ocean. They test Cousteau's specially designed mini-submarines, which enable them to film underwater the mating behaviour of the great Green Sea Turtles. - Signals for SurvivalE47
Signals for SurvivalThe familiar cries of the gulls along our coastline are only a small part of the language of these birds. During the breeding season especially, they use a number of other sounds as well as postures to communicate with each other. The meaning and use of all these are examined in this remarkable study of life in a colony of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. - The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: Coral JungleE50
The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau: Coral JungleJacques Cousteau's research vessel Calypso has reached the Maldive Islands off the southern tip of India. Divers descend to depths of 300 feet to trace the history of the brilliantly coloured coral reefs. Their explorations reveal a wealth of weird and wonderful marine life, each species having its own ways of surviving in this... Coral Jungle