Original air date: 26 October 2011
Below is a graphical timeline of the episode
A more detailed timeline of the programme is below, includes much more information
This programme contains many sequences that are simply unforgettable
The flowing glacier @15’20 would have been the first but obviously a video is not allowed here and a few snapshots do it no justice.
The icy covered trees are irresistibly beautiful
In the Antarctic the sequence of killer whales ‘playing’ with their prey is among the best. They seem to start with the wrong species of seal (that is likely to bite back and therefore cause too much nuisance) so after having broken down the ice floe enough to identify the species they turn away and find another floe that contains the right species (a Weddell seal). They start creating waves that knock it off the floe and into the sea where they can attack it. The sequence takes only 12 seconds in the film, but this is only the start. The seal managed to escape to another floe but finally ended up as prey.
Notice that a part of the sequence is filmed underwater among the killer whales, even in front of them (top right).
The sequence of the sea underneath the ice is a continuous marvel. A few snapshots have to do.
Images inside the caves are just as amazing as the snapshots above show
The variety in the crystals is claimed to be, partly, due to slight breeze from Mt Erebus.