Dr. Ballard explores the history of volcanoes, and life on earth as he travels from the summit of Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii to the crown of its submerged cousin Loihi, a voyage that spans over 16,000 feet from top to bottom. His trip from the lifeless world above the clouds, through the diverse ecosystems on the mountainside, and into the ocean deep runs the gamut of life on earth.
EP2 Wrecks of the AbyssNov 27, 2012
Textbooks say that the Ancients did not have the guts to brave the open sea, out of sight of land and exposed to the elements, but not surprisingly, Dr. Ballard and his crew are out again to rewrite history. In Wrecks of the Abyss, captain and crew sail out into the deep water sea lanes of the Mediterranean in search of ancient shipwrecks that generations of scholars have written-off as impossible finds.
EP3 It's AliveDec 04, 2012
Together, with peer scientists from Britain, Ireland, Iceland, and the U.S., Dr. Ballard searches for the origin of life in the planets most unforgiving environment: the darkness and chill of waters thousands of feet beneath the surface. Here, on the slopes of the Mid-Ocean ridges that divide the earths tectonic plates, are formations called chimneys, where molten lava superheats the ocean, mixing in the nutrients and hardening magma that allows life to thrive against the odds.
EP4 Ocean's FuryDec 11, 2012
Dr. Ballard thinks that rogue waves and all waves are getting larger and more frequent on the seas. In Oceans Fury, Ballard travels the world in search of the forces behind the motion of the ocean, meeting with scientists and practitioners along the way. He talks to oceanographers, climatologists, river boat pilots, surfers, fishers, and more all to prove a single point: the ocean is growing more dangerous by the day.
EP5 Inner vs. Outer SpaceDec 18, 2012
Dr. Ballard takes-on the long-held belief that space colonies will save the earth, as argued by on-air Apollo 11 crewmember Buzz Aldrin. To do so, Dr. Ballard travels to Hawaii to meet with experimental open-water aqua farmers; to California, where fast moving personal underwater vehicle are being developed for future ocean colonies; and Texas and Alaska where oil platforms are being converted into sea colonies and new imaging technology is unlocking resources hidden on the ocean bottom.
ComedyFan2010
A very interesting topic. Ocean is something one really wants to learn more about. And Bob Ballard is definitely a good choice to guide us through this topic and show different issues on it.Unfortunately it is just above average. The one episode I found fascinating was that with the shipwrecks. There were also some magnificent shots just like in the next episode about the beginning of life. But there was just not enough of it. There were too many preparations, talking and in many cases too repetitive.Can't say I regret watching it but it could have been done better.
thebridge-75936
Alien Deep features world-renowned experts highlighting timely and important ocean research. The content itself is well-filmed and interesting. Sadly, the subject matter has fallen victim to an unfortunate modern cable trend: stretching the material to create a multi-part series when it really could have been done in a single documentary. The result is a few great interviews/action sequences spliced together with a whole lot of filler. Expected a little more from NatGeo, but I guess this new setup is what sells.
abraxas1122
I love nature documentaries, but this one is a big fail. Fires of Creation has not more than 10 minutes of its running time with actual underwater footage of the actual expedition. The rest of the time is wasted in cliff shots of the guy staring at the ocean, people scuba diving, silly 3D renders, skiing on grass and all sorts of fillers and irrelevant stuff. There's more shots of Ballard's face than anything else. I know he's the host, but the subject matter should be the real star. Worse, the ramblings just get repeated over and over. The only interesting footage is of... wait for it... a relative of a cat shark. Do yourself a favour and watch something else.
