ABSTRACT
In 2008 the BBC aired a new series titled Oceans, intended, as stated by explorer Paul Rose in the introduction to each episode, to “understand the earth’s oceans and put them on a human scale.” The series follows a team of ocean explorers that includes, in addition to two oceanographers, a marine archaeologist and an “environmentalist,” the grandson of JacquesYves Cousteau. The BBC team included both human and scientific perspectives on the ocean as well as acknowledgment of the popular history of deep-sea exploration. Through - out the series, these different themes are pursued in tandem with each other as dives in search of rare and spectacular marine species and phenomena are accompanied by investigations of shipwrecks and discussions about effects of climate change on marine environments. In sharp contrast to the BBC’s preceding series about the sea, Blue Planet (2001), Oceans
was very inclusive of the human dimensions of the marine world, manifest in explorations of past shipwrecks, in the present through the dives designed for the camera, and in the reflective discussions and commentaries from the team. The previous series portrayed the world’s oceans as unknown and alien environments with little or no human presence (all humans were behind cameras). It was narrated through the iconic voice of David Attenborough accompanied by dramatic music characteristic of classic nature documentaries.
