Natural World (TV series)

History

Natural World began in 1983 as a successor to The World About Us, a long-running documentary strand on BBC Two. The World About Us had been commissioned in 1967 by David Attenborough, then Controller of BBC Two, to promote the new colour television service. Attenborough realised that many telecine films from the Travel and Exploration Unit had been shot in colour and would suit a documentary series, alongside natural history content from the Bristol Unit and overseas broadcasters.

The World About Us launched on 3 December 1967, the first full evening of colour television in Britain, with Attenborough as series editor. The first episode was "Volcano" by Haroun Tazieff; the Natural History Unit's first contribution was "Forest and Firebird" on the scarlet ibis. The series was described by producer Barry Paine as "a series designed to sell colour television sets". The World About Us initially covered geography, anthropology and natural history due to the difficulty of sourcing colour films.

Over time, the Natural History Unit's programmes grew in prominence, leading to the relaunch as The Natural World in 1983. The title shortened to Natural World in 2001. The World About Us continued until 1986.

Format, content and notable episodes

The World About Us helped popularise the long-form documentary on British television with its 50-minute length, longer than the half-hour programmes then common. The running time later extended to 60 minutes. The first series editor, Peter Jones, gave filmmakers time and budget to explore subjects in detail and avoided a house style, allowing the style to match the subject. This freedom gave filmmakers autonomy; Jones said "the idea was to give the audience a surprise each week.

It was as far from the contemporary concept of formatted television as you could get." Unusual subjects included plankton, wasps, cephalopods and manure ("The Wonderful World of Dung", 1991). Later series editors maintained the ethos. Mike Gunton, series editor from 2001 to 2004, introduced more human elements, granted additional field time and continued stylistic experimentation.

"Cats Under Serengeti Stars" (2003) was filmed entirely in black and white; "Dune" (2003) was told from a grain of sand's point of view. Programmes typically fell into three categories: strong emotional stories; popular or unusual animal subjects; and films offering a personal perspective. Filmmakers were granted up to 100 days in the field.

Awards

Natural World has collected a steady stream of industry and festival honors over the years. In 1986, Vanishing Earth took home the Prix Italia, and Kingdom of the Ice Bear earned an Emmy for its cinematography. The Royal Television Society named Natural World the Best Documentary Strand in 1999, later giving photography awards to "Mississippi, Tales of the Last River Rat" in 2005 and "Wye, Voices from the Valley" in 2007. That Mississippi episode also won at the Grierson Trust's British Documentary Awards in 2005.

Other celebrated episodes include "A Tiger Called Broken Tail," which won top honors at Jackson Hole in 2011 and the International Wildlife Film Festival in 2012; "Madagascar, Lemurs and Spies," a three-time IWFF winner in 2012; "My Life As A Turkey," which received the Golden Panda at Wildscreen in 2012; and "Kangaroo Dundee," a prize-winner at both Jackson Hole and IWFF in 2013. In 2018, H is for Hawk: A New Chapter, co-directed by Mike Birkhead and Beth Jones, won a Grierson Award for Best Natural History Film.