MOST OF US, whether we're old enough to have seen the original or not, recognise that Life on Earth was landmark natural history television. From the moment David Attenborough strolled onto an Australian beach and expounded on stromatolites, through to his whispered delivery as a baby gorilla sat on top of him in Rwanda, viewers knew they were watching something special. What is less well known is how this series was made possible: it had nothing to do with fancy cameras or Attenborough attending a course on script-writing for ground-breaking tv. It was simply that airline timetables had become computerised, which meant that producers could plan round-the-world trips.
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