Blue Planet Live, episode 1, review: This tranquil wildlife spectacle felt like a welcome holiday from the febrile tumult of the news

A Mediterranean monk seal pup - BBC
A Mediterranean monk seal pup - BBC

Whale snot tastes of weak cabbage soup crossed with Brussel sprouts. That’s what we learned when presenter Chris Packham got a face full of the stuff on Blue Planet Live (BBC One). It was almost an aquatic version of Lulu the elephant on Blue Peter half a century ago.

Following the phenomenon that was Blue Planet II - which broke ratings records and won three BAFTAs when it aired 18 months ago - was no easy task. Wisely, this series didn’t attempt to compete, instead settling for a format familiar from Springwatch. Live links were supplemented by pre-recorded VTs as the action flitted between three locations worldwide.

Packham opened proceedings at the world’s biggest whale nursery in Mexico, where over 300 mothers and calves were arriving for breeding season. Breathless with excitement at the brow of a boat, he watched a female great whale and her calf approach, eager for human attention. In a clip from earlier in the week, he tickled her and in return, got cabbagey fluid blown into his face.

“I’ve been snotted on by a whale and I’m a very, very happy man,” he gushed. Such guileless joy and irresistibly infectious enthusiasm is what makes Packham the heir to Sir David Attenborough’s wildlife throne.

Over on the Great Barrier Reef, Liz Bonnin followed the trials and tribulations of new-born green sea turtles. She couldn’t help becoming emotional as hatchlings emerged from the sand and flapped endearingly down to the ocean.

Blue Planet Live presenters - Credit: BBC
Blue Planet Live presenters Chris Packham, Liz Bonnin, Steve Backshall Credit: BBC

Finally, Steve Backshall was in the Bahama to witness spectacular shark gatherings. The all-action presenter donned diving equipment and took the plunge live with some sizeable bull, tiger, reef and hammerhead sharks.

His voice sounding distinctly Darth Vader-like underwater, Backshall reassured viewers that “you’re more likely to be killed taking a selfie than by a shark” and that being surrounded by these apex predators was like “walking with a pack of poodles”.

Even more impressive was footage of behaviourist and conservationist Cristina Zenato, known as “the shark dancer”, hand-feeding 8ft beasts, removing hooks from their mouths and looking for all the world like a devoted labrador owner as they nuzzled into her lap.

Another standout pre-recorded segment followed attempts to ensure the survival of South African penguins by establishing a new breeding colony. Uncanny hand-painted decoys helped entice the birds to better fishing grounds.

As is compulsory on BBC nature programming nowadays, we got copious environmental finger-wagging. There was much talk about the health of our oceans and how marine life is struggling to survive. Backshall reiterated how we must “learn to love sharks” without ever truly justifying why. It was also refreshing how pretty much every expert interviewed was female.

Blue Planet II  - Credit: BBC
Blue Planet II was a huge success Credit: BBC

The live element added a frisson of unpredictability but glitches were few and far between. There were some clunky segues as the three presenters passed the baton across the globe. Packham overused the word “extraordinary”, while Backshall’s bubbly breathing occasionally became distracting.

Bonnin’s delivery was halting at times and towards the end of the hour, she began to repeat herself. She also had an Alan Partridge moment when cameras cut to a woman on a beach and she chuntered: “That’s not wildlife, that’s a person.”

Such quibbles were minor. Beautifully shot as we've come to take for granted, this tranquil hour of television felt like a holiday from the febrile tumult of the news. While turquoise waters danced with flashes of piscine colour, it was rather like gazing into a supersized aquarium in the world’s most impressive dentist’s waiting room.

Blue Planet Live continues with three more episodes over the coming week, supplemented by daytime companion show Blue Planet UK, which looks at marine life closer to home.

If you need a break from Brexit, I'd heartily recommend diving in. The water is warm, the people are lovely and the wildlife even lovelier.