Wildlife on One (1 Viewer)

[JTweedie]

I was doing a bit of research into programmes that David Attenborough was involved with over his career. I remember watching Wildlife on One back in the day, although as far as I remember, it was one of those things I caught by chance when it was on. The last episode broadcast was in 2005 after 33 series and 253 episodes.

I've listed them all below which gives a sense of the breadth of topics they covered (and this is excluding other series such as Natural World as well as Attenborough's own Life series). Invertebrates are increasingly featured in new series today, but a whole episode dedicated to the Earwig? I think I remember that episode. The BBC is sitting on this rich archive, it would be amazing if they made them available.

One question I have - did David Attenborough definitely present every programme? Wikipedia says so, but archived pages from the British Film Institute miss out many episodes which makes me wonder if occasionally other presenters were involved. In the list below these are listed after a ???.

Series 1 (1977)

The Bird that Beat the US Navy 1x01
Behind the Jaws 1x02
The Year of the Deer 1x03
The American Eagle 1x05
Prairie Dog Town 1x06
A Safe Polar Bear is a Distant Polar Bear 1x07

??? Run Cheetah Run 1x04
??? Charming Snakes 1x08

Series 2 (1977)

The Private Life of the Barn Owl 2x01
Garden Jungle 2x03

??? Bandicoots and Desert Frogs 2x02
??? Some of my Best Friends are Vultures 2x04

Series 3 (1978)

Who's a Clever Birdie? 3x01
At Home with Badgers 3x02
Last Chance for the Grevy? 3x04

??? Big Bill: The Story of a Heron 3x03
??? Bob Cat 3x05
??? Goldfish 3x06

Series 4 (1979)

Squirrel on my Shoulder 4x01
The Real Mr Ratty 4x02
Return of the Fur Seal 4x03
Scorpion 4x04
Birds of the Volcanoes 4x05
Fox Watch 4x06

Series 5 (1980)

The Impossible Bird 5x01
Zen: The Pigtail Monkey 5x02
Rhino Rescue 5x03
Vampire 5x04
Amorous Amphibians 5x05
A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican 5x06

Series 6 (1980)

Gently Smiling Jaws 6x01
Red River Safari 6x02
Whale of a Tangle 6x03
An Island Shall a Monster Make 6x04
Wings Over the High Sierras 6x05
Shipwreck 6x06

Series 7 (1981)

Gannets Galore 7x01
Wild Otter 7x02
The Water Walkers 7x03
Where the Fish are Friendly 7x04
Flowers from the Flames 7x05
Out in the Cold 7x06
What Price the Countryside? 7x07
Twentieth Century Fox 7x08

Series 8 (1981)

Return of the Sea Eagle 8x01
The Mouse's Tale 8x02
Lady of the Spiders 8x03
Orinoco Hog 8x04
The Mysterious Bee 8x05

Series 9 (1982)

Ambush at Masai Mara 9x01
The Great Hedgehog Mystery 9x02
The Gentle Giants 9x03
Baboons Rule OK 9x04
St Lucia: Lake Wilderness 9x06

??? Encounter Underground 9x05

Series 10 (1982)

Yellowstone Below Zero 10x02
The Serpent's Secrets 10x03
The Dolphin Touch 10x04
Grizzly 10x05

??? The Bat that Cracked the Frog Code 10x01

Series 11 (1983)

The Dragon and the Damsel 11x01
Sealion Summer 11x02
Kusieb: the Vanishing River 11x03
The Passing of the Buck 11x04
A Touch of the Butterflies 11x05

Series 12 (1983)

Run Rabbit Run 12x01
Aliens from Inner Space 12x02
Sparrows of St James's 12x04
Nightlife 12x05

??? Last Stronghold of the Eagles 12x03

Series 13 (1985)

Pterdactyls - Alive? 13x01
Roadrunner: Clown of the Desert 13x02
New Father Thames 13x03
Sailing with Whales 13x04
Redtail 13x05

Series 14 (1985)

The Fastest Claw in the West 14x01
Titbits 14x02
Sulawesi: Island of Discovery 14x03
Sea Snakes: Friend or Foe 14x05

??? Marmot Mountain 14x04

Series 15 (1987)

Meerkats United 15x01
The Bodysnatchers 15x02
Serpents: Swiftlets and the Chasm of Gloom 15x03
Case of the Vanishing Squirrel 15x04
Birds of the Sun God 15x05
Ladybird, Ladybird 15x06
Nautilus: 500 Million Years Under the Sea 15x07
In-Flight Movie 15x08
Mysteries of the Chinese Crane 15x09

Series 16 (1988)

Who Really Killed Cock Robin? 16x01
The Longest Nose in Africa 16x02
Punk Puffins and Hard Rock 16x03
Odd Noses of Borneo 16x04
The Ravening Hordes 16x05
Oasis 16x06
The Tale of the Pregnant Male 16x07
The Bee Team 16x08
Kingdom of the Crabs 16x09
Trivial Pursuit? The Natural Mystery of Play 16x10

Series 17 (1989)

Blubber Lovers 17x01
Unearthing the Mole 17x02
Birdman of Afikin 17x03
Kalahari Bigfoot 17x04
Rockies and Rollers 17x05
Under the Weather 17x06
Whistling Hunters 17x07
Parrot Fashion 17x09

??? Jewel in the Sun 17x08

Series 18 (1991)

Devilfish 18x01
Island of Monkeys (AKA Rhesus Monkeys?) 18x03
The Haunted Huntress 18x04
Lifesize 18x05
Enter the Dragons 18x06
Eat a Beaver, Save a Tree 18x07
Sky Raider 18x08
Beauty and the Beast 18x09
The Transformers 18x10

??? Backstreet Bandits 18x02

Series 19 (1992)

Too Close for Comfort? 19x01
Invasion of the Killer Mink 19x02
Sylvia the Star the Tern 19x03
Flying Foresters 19x04
When the Fish Come In 19x05
The Prankster 19x06
Barrels of Crude and Wallaroos 19x07
Babies Beware 19x08
Little Leviathans 19x09
Pandas aren't Always Cuddly 19x10

Series 20 (1993)

March of the Flamebirds 20x01
Itaye and the Fig Tree Troop 20x02
The Swarm 20x03
Noses of Nancite 20x04
Clowns of the Air 20x05
Wanted Alive : The Story of the Black-Footed Ferret, the Most Wanted Animal in the West 20x06
They Came from the Sea 20x07
Haunt of the Fishing Owl 20x08
Springbok of the Kalahari 20x09
Shadow of the Hare 20x10

Series 21 (1994)

Orangutans: Out on a Limb 21x01
Alligator Hole 21x02
Tiger of the Highlands 21x03
Nature's Neons 21x04
Malice in Wonderland: A Coral Reef Drama 21x05
White Birds of Winter 21x06
The Storm Troop 21x07
Gremlins of the Night 21x08
Earwig 21x10

??? A Graze with Danger 21x09

Series 22 (1995)

The Tale of the Big Bad Fox 22x01
A Monkey for All Seasons 22x02
Night of the Leopard 22x03
King of Kingfishers 22x04
Sea Otters: The Clam Busters 22x05
Rainbow Warriors 22x06
The Tale of the Peacock and the Tiger 22x07
Nightgliders 22x08
Lake of the Flies 22x09
Baywatch: A Dolphin's View 22x10
The Besieged: War of the Termites 22x11
Advance of the Armadillo 22x12
The Wild Bush Budgie 22x13

Series 23 (1996)

Hippos Out of Water 23x01
Meerkats Divided 23x02
The Dolphin Diaries 23x03
Stoats in the Priory 23x04
Thunderbirds 23x05
Bat-Eared Fox 23x06
Lost Lakes of the Pacific 23x07
Possums: Tales of the Unexpected 23x08
Gannets: The Storm Birds 23x09
The Rat Race 23x10
Last of the Rhinos 23x11
Deadly Liaisons 23x12
The Immortal Salamander 23x13

Series 24 (1997)

Pygmy Chimpanzee: The Last Great Ape 24x01
Reef Encounter 24x02
The Lion's King 24x03
The Eagle Empire 24x04
Butterfly: Beauty or the Beast? 24x05

Series 25 (1997)

Otters: The Truth 25x01
Zebra: The Trailblazers 25x02
Wild Boar: King of the Wildwood 25x03
Piranhas 25x04
The Beetles: Record Breakers 25x05

Series 26 (1998)

Bands on the Run 26x01
Wolves in White 26x02
Small Cats, Serval Secrets 26x03
Crowned Lemurs: Blade Runners 26x04
Pine Marten: Spirit of the Wood 26x05
Where Lemmings Dare 26x06
Uninvited Guests 26x07
Birds in Black 26x08
Spirit of the Mustang 26x09

Series 27 (1999)

Should Elephants Weep? 27x01
Squirrels Under Siege 27x03
Ospreys: The Fish Hawks 27x04
Reefwise 27x05
Giraffe: The Impossible Animal 27x06

??? 21st Century Safari 27x02

Series 28 (1999)

Birds Behaving Badly 28x01
Hyenas: Heroes or Villains? 28x03

??? Spiders from Mars 28x02
??? Bushbabies: A Leap in the Dark 28x04

Series 29 (2000)

Pussies Galore 29x01

??? Bear Crime: Caught in the Act 29x02
??? Warthogs Hogging the Limelight 29x03
??? Global Swarming 29x04
??? Gelada Baboons: The Battles of Braveheart 29x05
??? The Real Macaw 29x06
??? India's Wild Dogs: The Wild Bunch 29x07
??? Hyrax: Little Brother of the Elephant 29x08
??? Up with the Gibbons 29x09

Series 30 (2001)

Sensitive Sharks 30x02

??? Water Vole: A Life on the Edge 30x01
??? Chimpanzees: Toolmakers of Bossou 30x03
??? Pelicans: Taking the Plunge 30x04
??? Foxy Business 30x05
??? Operation Thunderball 30x06
??? Dingoes: Outlaws of the Outback 30x07
??? Giant Otters: Wolves of the River 30x08
??? The Octopus Challenge 30x09
??? Monkeys of the Rock 30x10
??? Enter the Mantis 30x11

Series 31 (2002)

Gangland Lemurs 31x01

??? African Penguin: A Cool Bird in a Hot Spot 31x02
??? Polar Bears on Thin Ice 31x03
??? Iguanas: Living Like Dinosaurs 31x04
??? Navy Seals 31x05
??? Citizen Cane Toad 31x06
??? Ostriches in the Race for Survival 31x07
??? Space Age Reptile 31x08
??? Beasts on the Streets 31x09
??? Be an Animal 31x10

Series 32 (2003)

??? Super Mums 32x01
??? Dolphins: Deep Thinkers? 32x02
??? Winning Dads 32x03
??? Dragons 32x04
??? Techno Wolf 32x05
??? African Assassin: A Wildlife Whodunit 32x06
??? Amazon Assassin: A Wildlife Whodunit 32x07
??? Peregrine: Nature's Top Gun 32x08
??? Beavers: The Master Builders 32x09
??? Sensitive Scorpion 32x10

Series 33 (2004-05)

??? Bears on the Black Run 33x01
??? Squirrels: Are they Tough Enough? 33x02
??? Monitor Lizard: Africa's Greatest Thief 33x03
??? Gadgets Galore 33x04
??? Capuchins: The Monkey Puzzle 33x05
??? Dragonfly: Beauty or Beast? 33x06
??? King Croc 33x07
??? Kea: The Smartest Parrot 33x08
??? Wildebeest: The Super Herd 33x09
??? Crabs: Claw Wars 33x10

 

[RafaelMatias]

Great series it was, although the latest episodes lacked some of the quality the earliest ones had, imo. I have no means to confirm what you ask, but I have most episodes from season 17 (starting with Kalahari Bigfoot) to the end of season 23 (1996) in VHS... unfortunately they're out of reach now, as I don't have a means to connect my modern TV set to the old video cassette recorder anymore... shame. I have thousands of documentaries stuck like that, including those of Natural World, Wild South (NZ) and those of Survival Anglia, from the time wildlife documentaries were really worth watching, also usually featuring equally carefully crafted soundtracks.

 

[JTweedie]

It's a shame that so many of these series are out of reach. Every now and then the BBC will release an episode or two on iPlayer or they might show one on BBC Four if it's part of a season about something, but generally speaking apart from those that were released on physical media, they're pretty much out of reach of most people. I'm sure some will be on YouTube or other sites but it's a sad reflection of our time that these aren't available.

I know that some of Attenborough's earliest shows in the 1950s were not even recorded so they're lost forever.

 

[Mono]

There are lots of episodes on YouTube.
There is a 175 episodes on Internet Archive, 125GB worth

https://archive.org/details/WildlifeOnOneEp95OasisDavidAttenborough23Feb1988/Wildlife+on+One+Ep+252+Wildebeest-The+Superherd+(3+Feb+2005).VOB

 

[Green Sandpiper]

Wildlife on One, along with Survival/ Survival Special on ITV, was a lot of people's entry into the wide world of nature, showing us exactly whats out there on a regular basis. It was also back in the days when the focus was on the wildlife itself, not on the people filming the wildlife.

 

[jurek]

I hope old wildlife films will be made available online for free somehow. I remember several wildlife films from BBC and others which I saw years ago and enjoyed. They have niche interest and there is little money to be made by re-selling them, but I hope somebody makes a sort of online library of old films.

 

[JTweedie]

I've watched 13 of the episodes so far - 240 to go if I can find them all. One person seems be restoring them and uploading them to the Internet Archive and to YouTube and I've been using their Internet Archive page so far where they have 25 of them listed.

Some other uploads have been really poor quality such as direct transfers from VHS that have restored playback issues. Some of the earlier episodes have come out better than the later ones that suffer a lot from pixellation when a lot is happening on screen.

Another observation: men in the early 1980s wore really short shorts! Not sure you'd get away with that these days...

 

[Farnboro John]

I've watched 13 of the episodes so far - 240 to go if I can find them all. One person seems be restoring them and uploading them to the Internet Archive and to YouTube and I've been using their Internet Archive page so far where they have 25 of them listed.

Some other uploads have been really poor quality such as direct transfers from VHS that have restored playback issues. Some of the earlier episodes have come out better than the later ones that suffer a lot from pixellation when a lot is happening on screen.

Another observation: men in the early 1980s wore really short shorts! Not sure you'd get away with that these days...

What goes around comes around. Besides, thong bathing wear is a modern thing.... now if you want a bad fashion then the ever-present brickie's crease is fairly yeuch.

John

 

[JTweedie]

This episode, from 1983, is one of my favourite episodes so far. It shows the transition from day to night and back again in an English village, and we see and hear the animals in each shift.

There's a four to five minute scene in it during a rain shower when there's no narration and no music (in fact no music during the entire episode). All you can hear is the rain and distant thunder and the sounds of the animals. It's a terrific scene and shows the power of using natural sounds in wildlife documentaries.