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The Best Episodes of Planet Earth Season 1

Every episode of Planet Earth Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Planet Earth Season 1!

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.
Genre:Documentary
Network:BBC One

Season 1 Ratings Summary

"From Pole to Pole" is the best rated episode of "Planet Earth" season 1. It scored 9/10 based on 4286 votes. Directed by N/A and written by David Attenborough, Alastair Fothergill, Gary Parker, it aired on 3/5/2006. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Mountains".

  • From Pole to Pole
    9.0/104,286 votes

    #1 - From Pole to Pole

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 3/5/2006

    A global tour examining the behaviors of animals and revealing the effects of climate change on their environments.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: David Attenborough, Alastair Fothergill, Gary Parker

  • Mountains
    8.8/103,687 votes

    #2 - Mountains

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 3/12/2006

    An exploration of the world's major mountain ranges and the habitats they create.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: Vanessa Berlowitz, David Attenborough, Gary Parker

  • Fresh Water
    8.8/103,396 votes

    #3 - Fresh Water

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/19/2006

    Although merely 3% of water on earth, fresh water plays an important part in the planet's weather and erosion. It is immensely important for all non-marine wildlife, which drinks fresh water and swims, procreates, hunts in it. Its concentrations, such as rivers, lakes and swamps, abound in aquatic and other species, often adapted to 'wet' life.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: David Attenborough

  • Caves
    8.7/103,288 votes

    #4 - Caves

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 3/26/2006

    Although often overlooked, caves are remarkable habitats with bizarre wildlife. Explore the structures created inside the earth as well as the adaptations animals have made to thrive in these environments.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: David Attenborough

  • Deserts
    8.6/103,131 votes

    #5 - Deserts

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 4/2/2006

    Despite the lack of rain, deserts are the most varied of our ecosystems. In fact, about thirty percent of the earth's land surface is covered in desert. Explore the unique conditions present in deserts as well as the survival mechanisms developed by the animals that inhabit them.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: David Attenborough

  • Ice Worlds
    8.9/103,077 votes

    #6 - Ice Worlds

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/5/2006

    Experience life in the most hostile corners of the planet by exploring the terrain, seasons, and animals of the Arctic and Antarctic.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: N/A

  • Great Plains
    8.6/102,896 votes

    #7 - Great Plains

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/12/2006

    This episode deals with savanna, steppe, tundra, prairie, and looks at the importance and resilience of grasses in such treeless ecosystems. Their vast expanses contain the largest concentration of animal life. Over Africa's savanna, a swarm of 1.5 billion red-billed queleas are caught on camera, the largest flock of birds ever depicted.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: N/A

  • Jungles
    8.9/102,985 votes

    #8 - Jungles

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/19/2006

    Jungles cover roughly three percent of our planet yet contain fifty percent of the world's species. Experience the countless flora and fauna that inhabit these unique areas.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: N/A

  • Shallow Seas
    8.8/102,858 votes

    #9 - Shallow Seas

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/26/2006

    A look at the shallow seas of the earth, from coral reefs to kelp forests and beyond.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: N/A

  • Seasonal Forests
    8.8/102,749 votes

    #10 - Seasonal Forests

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/3/2006

    Trees are Earth's largest organisms and are also one of the planet's oldest inhabitants. Seasonal forests (unlike tropical rain-forest) are the largest land habitats. A third of all trees grow in the endless taiga of the Arctic north. Northern America has forests that include California's sequoias, the Earth's largest trees. There and elsewhere, their vast production of photosynthesis and shade presides over a seasonal cycle of life and involves countless plant and animal species.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: N/A

  • Ocean Deep
    8.9/102,834 votes

    #11 - Ocean Deep

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/10/2006

    An exploration of the deepest, darkest realms of the ocean, spanning countless species to a depth of 2,000 meters.

    Director: Alastair Fothergill

    Writer: Gary Parker