Frozen Planet episode to show in USA after all
When the US Discovery Channel stated it was not going to show the episode of the BBC’s series Frozen Planet which focuses on the effects of climate change on the polar regions the news was greeted with disappointment by US commentators. But now it seems that Discovery have changed their minds and the series will show in full in the spring, including the climate-themed episode that shows this Wednesday in the UK.
Press reports earlier this month suggested that the final programme of the series had been marketed separately in order to help the show sell better abroad. There were also suggestions that the US market might be less interested in a climate themed episode, although as in the US the series is to be narrated by Alec Baldwin, and the climate episode differs from others by featuring David Attenborough on screen extensively, this may be a more mundane explanation.
However Discovery announced today that the polar climate episode will air along with the rest of the series. Associated Press report:
“Discovery Channel’s documentary series “Frozen Planet” will premiere March 18, and will encompass seven episodes including a program on climate change hosted by David Attenborough.
“On that seventh episode, the famed British naturalist will investigate what rising temperatures will mean for the planet and life on it.”
The episode will be the BBC’s most extensive look at the subject of climate change in a flagship nature documentary, and the usual suspects have been trying to raise controversy around it.
Lord Lawson took the opportunity of a column in the Radio Times to attack Attenborough, accusing him of ‘sensationalism’. (We looked at Lawson’s critique and found it to be based on a flawed interpretation of scientific evidence.) When Attenborough and Brian Cox appeared before the Lords Select Committee, back in May, Attenborough was also questioned about so-called ‘controversial’ statements made in the programme that someone had brought to the attention of Baroness Fookes, a Tory peer. He laughed the question off.
We’ll see whether the programme gets a mention in a report from Lawson’s influential Global Warming Policy Foundation, to be published thursday, which will apparently accuse the BBC of ‘at times… fraudulent’ coverage on the issue of climate change.
We’ve been enjoying Frozen Planet so we’re glad that it will show in full in the US. Click here for a preview of the Frozen Planet polar climate episode.