Davis Attenborough The Essentials Collection

David Attenborough's now legendary encounter with young gorillas is featured in this episode as he looks at the history of primates, whose ancestors sought their fortune in the treetops. There they developed binocular vision for accurately judging distances, and the ability to grasp trees with a firm grip. The group includes dazzling gymnasts, deafening choristers and highly cultured monkeys

This episode covers the great coniferous forests which ring the earth just below the Arctic ice in the north. Also covers other temperate forests such as the redwood, sequoia and pine forest. Life forms covered include birds, squirrels, moose, owls, lynx, wolverines, woodpeckers, shrews, voles, deer, bears, chipmunks, salamanders, ducks, snakes and fungi.

How pollution and exploitation, including oil spills and sewage dumping, have endangered wildlife and the Mediterranean terrain. Also: visits to areas where animals still live safely, such as the coasts of Majorca and Tunisia.

This episode looks at those that hunt other creatures and ways of avoiding capture. Attenborough is attacked by a pair of skuas as he approaches their nest, which demonstrates this particular bird's aggressive behaviour, both when taking food and defending its young. Off the shores of Patagonia, the same group of killer whales returns each year to ambush sea lion pups, which stray out of the safer shallow waters. Having grabbed their prey, they take it back out to sea and 'play' with it for some time before killing it. Poison can be used both as a weapon and a deterrent, such as by the viper and tomato frog respectively. Some animals advertise their defensive measures in advance, in case deployment occurs too late. Among them are the skunk, which discharges an appalling smell, and some salamanders that display their toxicity by remaining stationary, with their warning markings visible. Several species of stick insect and their elaborate camouflage are shown. However, none of these methods of protection pose problems to army ants, which can subdue any of their prey, simply by virtue of their size and vast numbers. The Harris hawk is unusual, since it hunts in teams, and a group of six are shown practising their skill in the desert of New Mexico. The final sequence depicts a troop of chimpanzees displaying strategy and co-ordination as it successfully pursues colobus monkeys through a forest in the Ivory Coast.

This episode introduces Antarctica and the surrounding sea and islands. It describes how the continent changes throughout the year.

The first episode looks at how birds first took to the skies in the wake of the insects. It begins in Mexico, where Attenborough observes bats being outmaneuvered by a red-tailed hawk.

Special tools like chisel sharp front teeth and underground dwelling enable this group of mammals to feast on roots and seeds.

Predators and prey must evolve speed, endurance and maneuverability to outwit each other, and the pack hunters must maintain order in the ranks.

A mammal capable of having a varied diet can be highly adaptable and exploit new environments including the cities where they thrive.

A range of adaptations from sucker-feet to gripping tails help the tree dwellers to survive, and in the dark forest super senses come in to play.

The world of invertebrates exists in a web of relationships with plants and other animals. Unique footage of the world's smallest insect (a fairy wasp only quarter of a millimetre long) shows it flying underwater to find the eggs of water beetles in which to lay its own brood. Some ants 'farm' the trees that give them shelter, creating areas known as 'Devil's gardens'. To make sure these grow without competition, they kill off other seedlings in the surrounding vegetation. The blister beetle's larvae huddle together on the end of a piece of grass and mimic a female bee. When a male bee tries to mate with the 'female', the larvae grab on to his belly. Confused, he flies away and searches for a real female. When he eventually finds her and mates with her, the beetle larvae hurriedly swap from his front on to her back, and hence get carried back to her nest where they eat her pollen supplies.

The ultimate portrait of our planet looks at the key factors that shape our natural history. The lives of animals and plants are dominated by the sun and fresh water which trigger seasonal journeys. The latest technology and aerial photography enable the Planet Earth team to track some of the greatest mass migrations. In the Arctic spring, a mother polar bear and cubs emerge from their winter den. They have just two weeks to cross the frozen sea before it melts and they become stranded. Share the most intimate and complete picture of polar bear life ever filmed. Further south, time-lapse cameras capture the annual transformation created by the Okavango floods.

After filming for three years, Planet Earth finally captures the shy Mongolian gazelle. Only a handful of people have witnessed its annual migration. Don't miss the bizarre-looking Tibetan fox, captured on film for the first time. Over six weeks the team follow a pride of 30 lions as they attempt to hunt elephants. Using the latest night vision equipment, the crew film the chaotic battles that ensue at close quarters.

This installment takes a look at the immense diversity, social skills and displays of the lizards. While they are highly adept at camouflage, occasionally there is a need to break cover in order to ward off rivals. Attenborough holds up a mirror to an anole and causes it to extend its colourful throat flap as a warning sign. Madagascar is host to over 60 species of chameleon but one of the largest, Meller's chameleon, is native to Malawi and two rival males are shown jousting. A female South African dwarf chameleon demonstrates its ability to change colour when communicating to a potential mate, and the chameleon's muscular tongue is depicted lassoing its prey. In southern Australia, Attenborough uses a baited fishing rod to attract the attention of a rare pygmy bluetongue skink, thought to have been extinct for over thirty years until it was rediscovered in 1992. Shinglebacks are among the most devoted lizards and breeding pairs can reunite each year for up to two decades. Alongside South Africa's Orange River, large groups of flat lizards feed on the swarms of black flies, but the males also use the occasion to indulge in social squabbling. The Mexican beaded lizard is one of the few with a poisonous bite, but males do not employ it when wrestling each other. Finally, Attenborough comes face to face with a perentie, Australia's largest monitor lizard. Under the Skin focuses on filming in Australia.