BBC's 'Planet Earth' Special Edition review (plus giveaway - 3 winners!)

Title:  BBC's 'Planet Earth' Special Edition (Blu-Ray)

Release Date:  October 4, 2011 (available now)


Run Time: About 9 1/4 Hours + 6 1/2 Hours Bonus Material (total of 6 discs)


Own It On Blu-Ray:  http://bit.ly/nAUZjd

Growing up, my parents encouraged us to watch nature shows, like Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom.  I can remember many a Sunday spent watching African jungle cats chasing prey or monkeys grooming in their natural habitat.  It's so important to show children that animals do have life in the wild; that they aren't just zoo animals to visit every now and then.  I want my children to enjoy nature shows too and I was excited to get the opportunity to review BBC's Planet Earth Special Edition on Blu-Ray.  I had hopes that the Blu-Ray experience would be as realistic as possible and was not disappointed.

We recently viewed Disc 1 of 6 and the cinematography was just breath taking.  I felt truly up close and personal with the animals that were filmed.  Perhaps a little too close!  One kill scene upset my 10 year old a bit because she was hoping the caribou would escape the hot pursuit of the wolf.  As she cried for the baby animal, I told her as gently as I could that animals in the wild need to eat too.  That's just how nature works.  There were other scenes where the prey did escape (the Impala took a flying leap into the water after being chased rather cunningly by a pack of dogs), so there were small victories in the animal kingdom.

I'm looking forward to watching the rest of BBC's Planet Earth on Blu-Ray.  I literally dragged a couch to sit front and center on the screen so I wouldn't miss a minute of the beauty of nature.

Check out this clip of the Emperor penguins... did you know it is the male that hatches the egg?  In the dead of winter, no sun for 4 months, no less!  Check out other clips from BBC's Planet Earth on YouTube.





From the sponsor, about Planet Earth's SE and LE DVDs:

Planet Earth Limited Edition Collector's Edition (love the globe!)

Planet Earth Special Edition and Planet Earth Limited Collector’s Edition look more beautiful than ever, taking advantage of new advances in high definition technology since the original release. Both the 6-disc Blu-ray and DVD box sets showcase over three hours of fresh bonus materials including a sneak peak at Alastair Fothergill’s next project Frozen Planet, the all-new specially made program Greatest Planet Earth Moments and several other new features. Additionally, the Planet Earth Special Edition Blu-ray contains the eleven production video diaries and the bonus series Planet Earth: the Future, which were not included on the original Blu-ray release. Available only while supplies last, the Planet Earth Limited Collector’s Edition comes in an exquisite, numbered, collectible globe package with an exclusive set of four art cards.  These products are available for purchase now.

Quick facts you might be interested to know about the Planet Earth series:

• The production budget was $25 million (most expensive factual series ever created by the BBC!)
• It was 5 years in the making 
• First nature series to be filed entirely in HD
• Filming took 2,000 days in the field and used 40 cameramen
• Filmed at over 200 locations around the globe

Giveaway:  I have been provided with the opportunity to give away these prizes:

1 Limited Edition; and
2 Special Editions DVDs!

This giveaway will run through October 31, 2011 at 11:59 PM Eastern time with the winners drawn on or about November 1, 2011 via Random.org.  You must be a US resident 18 or older to enter.  Mandatory entry required and there are several other extra entries available once the mandatory entry is completed.  Winners shall have 48 hours to respond to request for information and if they do not respond within that time frame, a different winner for their respective prize shall be chosen.  Random.org will draw winners in this order:  First draw is for limited edition DVD, 2nd and 3rd draws for special edition DVDs.  Sponsor will be responsible for fulfillment.

Mandatory Entry:   Visit Planet Earth BBC's Fanablechannel on YouTube and watch one video (they're short!) and then come back and leave a comment telling me which video you watched.

Extra entries (because I know you really want to win!)  Each action = one extra entry.  Leave a separate comment for each action.

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Disclosure:  BBC provided me with a review copy to facilitate this review at no cost to me.  This blog post is uncompensated.  The opinions expressed are my own or are related to my family's experience with the product.  Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment.  My thanks to BBC for allowing me the opportunity to experience Planet Earth in HD.