TV Chatting

A new National Geographic Channel special will give viewers an inside look at the life of the largest creatures on Earth, the Blue Whale. 

Narrated by Emmy award-winning actor Tom Selleck,  Kingdom of the Blue Whale takes viewers on a journey with some of the world’s preeminent experts to explore the little-known wintering grounds of these elusive gentle giants, chart their migratory paths and identify where this population produces their young.  This information is vital information to the protection and survival of the species.  The team even hopes they will be the first ever to film an infant calf underwater.

Filmed during sea voyages off the coasts of California and Costa Rica, Kingdom of the Blue Whale follows a watery trail of clues over hundreds of nautical miles, as scientists unravel answers to ancient mysteries hidden in the darkest depths of the oceans. Back closer to shore, we investigate the traumatic deaths of four blue whales in one season — far greater than the one expected every few years. Is man to blame, and what can be done to prevent the loss of additional whales?

Kingdom of the Blue Whale airs Sunday, March 8, 2009, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the National Geographic Channel.  Check your local cable or satellite listings for channel.  National Geographic Magazine will also have coverage of this landmark expedition in its March 2009 issue. 

Have I mentioned that I love these NGC specials?  My kids enjoy them, they’re educational, and it’s something we can all watch as a family without worrying about the content.  Be sure to check them out! 

It’s time for another new episode of National Geographic Channel’s Dangerous Encounters.  In this episode, “Clash of the Giant Salamanders,” Brady is off to find the world’s largest salamanders. These aren’t you’re everyday salamanders, either. These giants can grow up to five feet long and weigh as much as 80 pounds!

Brady travels from the swamps of Florida to the jungles of Asia to capture and study the big four of the salamander world — a greater siren that breathes through gills, has two legs and can spin like a top; the two-toed amphiuma; the hellbender, with its flattened head and sagging skin the most hideous of the four; and a big, ferocious, battle-scarred beast called the denmaster. Brady checks their size, survival skills and overall sliminess to see which of these beasts is truly the King of the Salamanders. And one of his tests has never been done before on all these salamanders — he tastes their slime! Yes, I said tastes!

Dangerous Encounters: Clash of the Giant Salamanders airs Saturday, January 17 at 8pm ET on the National Geographic Channel. You can find more info at http://www.natgeotv.com/dangerousencounters.

Another new episode of Dangerous Encounters is on tap for this Saturday night.  In this episode, Dr. Brady Barr is racing to the aid of Africa’s giant Nile crocodile.  And when they say giant, they mean it!  The carnivorous giants typically measure 12 feet long and weight half a ton!

Kruger National Park is home to one of the densest concentrations of Nile crocodiles, who rely on their deep water and sandy beaches for their eggs.  A dam upriver is threatening the beaches, so Brady is teaming up with Hannes Botha, an expert on the Nile croc, to see how the habitat change will affect the animals.

As part of their research, they are attaching satellite transmitters to the crocs and letting them go.  The transmitters will allow Brady to see where the crocs are from any computer, anywhere in the world.

Here’s a sneak peek at Dangerous Encounters: Croc Crisis:

You can catch the all-new episode on the National Geographic Channel on Saturday, January 10 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Starting this Saturday, January 3 and continuing through Saturday, January 24, the National Geographic Channel’s Dangerous Encounters returns with new episodes investigating little-known species including sixgill sharks, crocs in crisis, and giant salamanders.

Here’s a little more info on the first special:

Dangerous Encounters: Jurassic Shark
Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT

Dr. Brady Barr is on a quest to shed light on one of the largest and most ancient creatures of the sea — the elusive sixgill shark. Brady’s goal is to find out more about where these giants, which grow up to 16 feet in length and weigh up to 1,200 pounds, roam. Little scientific knowledge exists about the behavior and migration of these massive animals. In fact, scientists aren’t even sure why they have their namesake six gills instead of the more typical five.

Brady’s journey starts in Central America, 1,700 feet below the surface of the ocean in a homemade submarine. Amazingly, inside the tiny sub, Brady literally bumps into a sixgill shark. The curious sharks come at his sub in twos and threes … and even try to sink their teeth into it. Brady then travels to the Seattle Aquarium, where scientists actually scuba dive with sixgills right in Puget Sound. The scientists are trying to find out why the sharks come to this busy area — and swim just 70 feet below the water surface. They think the sharks might be meeting in the area to breed. To see for himself, Brady dons a dry suit to protect him from the Sound’s bitter cold, and dives in.

Brady then leaves Seattle for the coast of Hawaii, where he joins biologist Dr. Dean Grubbs, who is gathering a scientific baseline of information. At the end of his journey, Brady has a much more complete picture of how sixgills behave. And he achieves his personal goal: He gets nose to nose with a sixgill and even swims with the little-known beast — and in the process captures a tiger shark — almost 15 feet long and pregnant.

Here’s a sneak peek:

The other upcoming episodes include:

• Dangerous Encounters: Croc Crisis (Saturday, January 10)
• Dangerous Encounters: Clash of the Giant Salamanders (Saturday, January 17)
• Dangerous Encounters: Return to the Snake Cave (Saturday, January 24)

Find out more at the Dangerous Encounters website at http://www.natgeotv.com/dangerousencounters.