NATURE: Attenborough’s Life Stories 3-Part Special

David Attenborough in the Natural History Museum

Credit: Courtesy of Emilie Sandy © BBC 2011

In honor of Sir David Attenborough’s 60th anniversary on television, this Nature special will focus on three fields that Attenborough feels have been transformed most profoundly: filmmaking, science and the environment. Richly illustrated with the sequences he has spent six decades capturing (re-mastered in HD), new interviews in which he revisits the content, stories and locations that were featured in his landmark series, and packed with the personal anecdotes of the BBC’s most accomplished raconteur, this series will be a singular synopsis of a unique half-century. Nature: Attenborough’s Life Stories (3-part miniseries) airs Wednesdays, January 23, 30, and February 6, 2013 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 11 and 1011).

Watch Attenborough's Life Stories: Part 3 Preview on PBS. See more from Nature.

Episodes:

Wednesdays, January 23 - Life on Camera - Sir David Attenborough revisits key places and events in his wildlife filmmaking career, reminisces through his old photos and reflects on memorable wildlife footage, including swimming with dolphins and catching a komodo dragon. Returning to his old haunts in Borneo, he recalls the challenges of filming on a seething pile of guano in a bat cave.

Wednesdays, January 30 - Understanding the Natural World - Sir David Attenborough shares his memories of the scientists and the breakthroughs that helped shape his own career. He also recalls some of his more hair-raising attempts to bring new science to a television audience: standing in the shadow of an erupting volcano as lumps of hot lava crashed around him or being charged by a group of armed New Guinean tribesmen.

Wednesdays, February 6 - Our Fragile Planet - Sir David Attenborough reflects on the dramatic impact that human beings have had on the natural world during his lifetime. He tells surprising, entertaining and deeply personal stories of the changes he has seen, the pioneering conservationists in whose footsteps he has followed, and the revolution in attitudes towards nature that has taken place around the globe.