12 – Continuing the Line

Original air date: 19 December 1990

Above is a graphical outline of the episode, below is a more detailed timeline

Selected material

The proportionately longest sex organ in the world

The barnacle, marked at the bottom of the image, being immobile, needs to stretch very far for a mate. It has the proportionately longest sex organ in the world.

Wolves, their genitals being locked together

The wolves’ genitals are locked together until his sperm has managed to reach her eggs

Attenborough and the royal albatross (the last animal of the series)

She’s already a grandmother and the final words are about her

Introducing the next round of the series, starting with the first episode the final words to this one (sitting by a much studied albatross): “This albatross is over 30 years old. She’s already a grandmother, and this year, once again, she’s produced a chick. She’ll devote the next ten months of her life looking after it. She has faced the trials of life and triumphed. For her little two-day-old chick, the trials are just beginning.”

other episodes

2 – Above the Clouds

Original air date: 10 November 2024 Above is timeline of the programme Selected material Elephants treading carefully (15’33), through a tea plantation The elephants tread

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6 – Forest

Original air date: 5 April 2024 The timeline above shows what happens in the episode Selected sequences Tenrecs use bristles to communicate A group of

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5 – Heat

Original air date: 28 April 2024 Above is a timeline of the episode – Blue marks the filming locations, given. Green marks Attenborough’s comments when

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4 – Cold

Original air date: 21 April 2024 A timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences Polar bear hunting a reindeer A very unusual prey

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3 – Water

Original air date: 14 April 2024 A timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences Macaques hate to get wet But the best food,

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2 – The new wild

Original air date: 7 April 2024 A timeline of the episode The timeline above shows the contents of each story (in black) and Attenborough’s vitally

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1 – Dark

First aired 31 March 2024 The timeline above gives a detailed look at what happens in the episode. Blue marks the filming locations. Green gives

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8 – Heroes

Original air date: 10 December 2023 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode which is devoted to those fighting for

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7 – Human

Original air date: 3 December 2023 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode A humpback creating space that the fish

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6 – Extremes

Original air date: 26 November 2023 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode Selected material A family of FOUR snow

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5 – Forests

Original air date: 19 November 2023 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode A few of the varied examples of

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4 – Freshwater

Original air date: 12 November 2023 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences The gobies scaling the waterfall

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6 – Cities

Original air date: 11 December 2016 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences Trouble at the supermarket Trouble

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5 – Grasslands

Original air date: 4 December 2016 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences The serval vs the rat

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4 – Deserts

Original air date: 27 November 2016 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode For all ‘Planet’ series it feels logical

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2 – Mountains

Original air date: 13 November 2016 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences The snow leopard A female

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1 – Islands

Original air date: 6 November 2016 The table below shows a timeline of what happens in the episode Selected sequences The iguanas vs the snakes

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2 – Conquest

Original air date: 12 November 2010 Above is a timeline of how the programme progresses Selected material The various forms of trilobites Snapshots from 23’10-26’35

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1 – Arrival

Original air date: 5 November 2010 A programme covering the first signs of life on the planet, from tiniest signs of life to multicellular ones

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Extra – Meerkats

Original air date : 28 December 2020 The main characters in this programme can be told apart using this BBC guide This timeline shows how

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5 – Ocean

Original air date: 9 April 2023 A graphical timeline of the episode is below A relatively detailed look at the episode can be seen below

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4 – Freshwater

Original air date: 2 April 2023 A graphical timeline of the episode is below Below is a relatively detailed look at a timeline of the

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3 – Grasslands

Original air date: 26 March 2023 A graphical timeline of the episode is below Below is a relatively detailed look at the timeline of the

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2 – Woodland

Original air date: 19 March 2023 A graphical timeline of the episode is below A relatively detailed timeline of the events of the episode are

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Series in retrospect

The two series of Dynasties should help people to better understand that, just like us humans, those animals are a group of individuals too each

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4 – Frozen South

Original air date: 2 October 2022 The timeline above gives basic information about the flow of the programme. Grey lines show how it is broken into main

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1 – Frozen Worlds

Original air date: 11 September 2022 Life for the Siberian tiger is so hard it has to risk almost anything to get something to eat. Through computer

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3 – Our Fragile Planet

Original air date: 30 November 2012 This programme is about environmental issues, the story being told through Attenborough’s various series (titles shown in the detailed

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1 – Life on Camera

Original air date: 16 November 2012 This programme is about the advances in camera technology during TV’s first 60 years (Attenborough’s period). The programme ran

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4 – The Door Closes

Original air date: 9 December 1993 A detailed look at the timeline of the episode Selected sequences A really daunting task awaiting the young penguins

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2 – The Ice Retreats

Original air date: 25 November 1993 A detailed look at the timeline of the episode Selected sequences Macaroni penguins and the extra egg Macaroni penguins

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More episodes

01 - Arriving
02 - Growing Up
03 - Finding Food
04 - Hunting and Escaping
05 - Finding the Way
06 - Home Making
07 - Living Together
08 - Fighting
09 - Friends and Rivals
10 - Talking to Strangers
11 - Courting
Series in retrospect