by Catherine Soulé
Culture Editor

    Though both series boast stunning cinematography and viewer access into some otherwise unknown places on Earth, Discovery Channel’s Life is a more focused, comprehensive look at some of the most intricate processes and habits of plants and animals over Planet Earth’s broader look at our planet.

         
     Life episodes, narrated by Oprah Winfrey, tend to be centered more on animal kingdoms, ranging from birds to mammals to primates. These specific categories develop the diversity of animal species, rather than jumping from one general biome to the next, as in Planet Earth.

     However, the Earth series raises awareness about issues like global warming and trash pollution, whereas Life was created simply for the admiration of plants and animals. Narrated by Sigourney Weaver, the Earth series also provides information about Earth’s core and natural disasters. Life focuses on the relationships between species, methods developed for survival, and habits of animals and plants that include courtship, mating, and offspring rearing.

    Another key difference in these Discovery premieres is the process of filming. For Life, camera crews camp discreetly in various habitats, waiting to observe certain rituals. For example, the courtship of the Bowerbirds had to be filmed up close without disturbing the males in their display. This took weeks of patient waiting and camouflaging by the camera crew in order to get the shots included in the episode on birds. Planet Earth, though it still demonstrates beautiful filming, did not require the amount of labor, as well as traveling, that Life did.

    Overall, Discovery’s Life series is a more comprehensive look at our planet than Planet Earth. Though both are informative and aesthetically incredible, Life presents a focused, dedicated effort that has paid off for viewers tremendously.

(Sources: Discovery Channel)