OceanXplorers

Matt Roush says...

Few series illustrate National Geographic’s mission better than this six-part exploration of the ocean’s depths and the ecosystems that sustain their inhabitants, whose behaviors we’re still studying in fascination. James Cameron (Titanic) narrates and is executive producer of the series set aboard the OceanXplorer, a state-of-the-art research vessel equipped with submersibles and a helicopter to observe the sea’s creatures from above and way below. In the first hour (two episodes air weekly over three Sundays), the team of researchers, marine biologists and technical crew heads to the Caribbean waters of the Dominican Republican, where humpback whales migrate from the North Atlantic to mate, breed and give birth. In a wrenching sequence, the team watches as a mother humpback and her baby calf are attacked by a school of killer orcas. “Look at that, magnificent and terrifying,” marvels an observer from his helicopter perch. The second hour visits the Azores, where submersibles witness the hunting grounds of the sperm whale a mile below the surface.

What's Worth Watching (Aug 17)