LITTLE ROCK — This is why you bought that high-definition TV a while back.
Frozen Planet, with stunning photography, premieres at 7 p.m. today on Discovery.
Four years in the making, the seven-episode series is narrated by Alec Baldwin and will present back-to-back episodes tonight.
The series comes from the same documentary team behind the groundbreaking Planet Earth series. If you caught any of that, you know you’re in for a visual treat.
Frozen Planet provides an intimate portrait of the earth’s polar regions, where the expanse and stark beauty of the scenery are like nowhere else.
For all its harsh conditions, the frozen world is filled with more creatures, variety and color than imagined.
Episodes will cover the birth of massive icebergs, a caterpillar with antifreeze in its veins, the greatest concentration of sea birds on the planet and amazingly tiny newborn polar bears who are 25 percent smaller than human babies.
Included in the seven is a “making of” episode that will share the secrets of the remarkable effort it took to capture the spectacle.
This is a wonderful series for the entire family. Parents of small fry, however, should remember that some scenes depict little animals being gobbled by bigger animals. Here’s a glimpse of the lineup.
Today, 7 p.m. “The Ends of the Earth.” The planet’s most extreme seasons are profiled. From courting polar bears in the Arctic to surfing penguins struggling to escape a hungry sea lion in Antarctica, the photography is remarkable.
Today, 8 p.m. “Spring.” Spring in Antarctica means the coasts fill with Adelie penguins. Meanwhile, three ton bull elephant seals fight to win mating rights on the world’s most crowded beach.
In the Arctic, narwhals - the “unicorns of the sea” - cross tusks to establish hierarchy.
March 25, 7 p.m. “Summer.” In summer, life speeds up for polar wildlife as they race to raise their young.
In the Southern Hemisphere, male Antarctic fur seals fight a life-or-death battle for the right to mate while leopard seals patrol the coastline waiting for penguin chicks to take their first swim.
April 1, 7 p.m. “Winter.” In the Arctic, ravens help wolverines find frozen prey beneath the snow, while wolves hunt musk oxen to feed their pups.
In Antarctica, emperor penguins battle the elements to protect their eggs.
April 8, 7 p.m. “The Making of Frozen Planet.” Film crews faced polar winds up to 148 miles per hour and temperatures as low as minus 58 degrees. They were stalked by hungry polar bears, befriended by curious leopard seals and driven nearly mad by month after month of endless squawking by thousands upon thousands of Adelie penguins.
April 15, 6 p.m. “On Thin Ice.” David Attenborough investigates what rising temperatures will mean for the people and wildlife that live at the poles - and for the rest of life on the planet.
April 15, 7 p.m. “Life in the Freezer.” On the Siberian coast, Arctic residents continue to risk their lives to hunt walruses, while the Inuits of Northeast Canada take advantage of extreme tides to access mussels beneath the sea ice.
Antarctica, on the other hand, is so remote that it wasn’t until 1911 that people first reached the South Pole.
Arkie Revolution. Here’s your reminder that Hot Springs resident Sarah Orr’s transformation will be showcased this week on ABC’s The Revolution.
Orr is a wife, mother of two, schoolteacher, and self described diet cola “addict.” She will be this week’s “hero” and featured in daily segments about her five-month self-improvement regimen.
The Revolution airs weekdays at 1 p.m. on ABC and KATV, Channel 7.
Dramatic finale. Whew. I’m still breathless from last Sunday’s penultimate episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead. I actually found myself gripping the arm of my recliner.
Game changer: Evidently one can turn into a zombie without being bitten. Yes! I know! Where’d that come from? Randall and Shane had to be killed twice last week.
The Season 2 finale lurches in at 8 p.m. today. When last we saw our heroes, a herd (pride, school, flock?) of zombies was closing in on Rick and Carl.
Yikes!
More fun. If you’re planning on freezing on Discovery tonight, stick around for the debut of Unchained Reaction at 9 p.m.
The new six-part series, hosted and judged by Mythbuster guys Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, pits two teams against each other as they build elaborate Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction contraptions based on a theme.
Mythbusters. This extra fun science series, by the way, kicks off new episodes on a new night, starting at 8 p.m. March 25.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail: mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style, Pages 46 on 03/18/2012