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Whether it is "Planet of the Mammals" focusing on the survival of mammals, the must-see summer documentary "Queen of Nature" starring female protagonists, "Hidden World of Predators" capturing animals at the top of the food chain, or the real-life version of "A Bug's Life" commemorating the 25th anniversary of the release of "A Bug's Life", Youku Documentary has always been committed to widely introducing high-quality content from internationally renowned brands, aiming to present top audio-visual feasts to users.

As a leading documentary platform in China, Youku has reached an in-depth cooperation with the BBC, not only jointly creating new documentary content, but also opening up a year-round BBC documentary section to satisfy the different "appetites" of documentary lovers. This article will review the BBC's high-quality film list on Youku's documentary channel, so that you can use your free time to travel around the natural world, learn new scientific knowledge, and experience human civilization.

"Sky, Home": BBC's natural masterpiece

Stunning audio-visual effects, golden commentary, and unknown wonderful animals have always been the signature elements of natural animal documentaries. The BBC is an international brand that perfectly covers these elements. Its production team, technical means, and content expression are the absolute ceiling of natural documentaries. Previously, Youku released a list of documentaries in 2024 divided into five major themes, among which "Sky·Home" aims to explore the power of nature. One of the representative works is "Planet of the Mammals", jointly produced by Youku and BBC.

As mammals, how much do we know about them that are all over the earth? As the most eye-catching natural animal masterpiece this year, "Planet of Mammals" invited Sir David Attenborough to be the narrator, deeply exploring the wisdom of mammals, focusing on their ability to learn and adapt, and recording their extraordinary journey of adapting to the earth. For 60 million years, mammals have faced many challenges in their survival. It is their unique body structure, more developed brain, and unexpected adaptability that have allowed mammals to survive to this day. While deciphering the secrets of mammal survival, Sir David Attenborough also pointed out the impact of humans who dominate the earth on mammals. There are negative effects such as the vigorous development of tourism interfering with cheetah hunting, and there are also positive examples of scientific management of American bison and successful rescue of endangered species, in order to allow the audience to better understand nature, rather than just viewing nature as an object.

It can be seen that the nature documentaries produced by the BBC are not limited to showing the magic and beauty of nature, but also have made important contributions to leading the audience to pay attention to the impact of humans on nature, which is very consistent with Youku's concept of "deepening the power of nature". "Planet Earth 3" launched last year is another example. The series took many years to produce. In addition to presenting new wonders, new animal behaviors, and new narrative angles, it aims to let the audience "feel the unity of all things" and realize the urgency of humans and nature living in harmony. Therefore, the series paid special attention to the creatures that coexist with humans and the heroes who protect wild animals in the seventh episode "Dancing with People" and the eighth episode "Homeland Defenders", allowing the audience to see the changes taking place in the world and encourage everyone to act together to protect nature and animals.

On Youku, the top ten documentary channel nature lists for many years include not only the Planet Earth series but also the Blue Planet series. The vast ocean is full of unknowns and infinite charm. Blue Planet leads the audience to explore the charm and endless changes of the deep sea and get to know many incredible marine creatures. Coincidentally, these two super IPs are narrated by David Attenborough, the "Father of World Natural Documentary". It can be said that it is his voice that gives these IPs the greatest vitality. For decades, David Attenborough's narration has become the most familiar voice for documentary lovers and English learners, and his gold medal commentary has become the most powerful promotional signboard for BBC natural documentaries.

Today, one of the most comprehensive lists of David Attenborough's films on the Internet can be seen on Youku Documentary. "Dynasty" is another highly rated masterpiece narrated by him, which comprehensively examines the power struggles and hostility of family forces in the animal world, and tells animal family stories that are more exciting than human fictional stories. "Frozen Planet", which is broadcast free all year round, uses the camera to truly show the gradually melting poles of the earth and the various creatures living there. There are also films such as "David Attenborough: Light of the Earth", "David Attenborough's Natural Wonders Season 3", and "David Attenborough: Miracles of Song", in which he personally explores the creatures on Earth and reveals the wonderful animals he cares about.

Of course, the BBC, which has a top production team, often innovates and explores new forms of natural documentaries to present the animal world in a diversified way. For example, Serengeti, which is exclusively broadcast on Youku for all three seasons, takes a different approach and chooses to start from the perspective of animals to describe the magnificent and touching stories of animal families on the Serengeti savannah in Africa. It shoots animal families with a unique human mindset, tracks the most representative African savannah animals, and presents a "miniature version of human society", bringing many real and dramatic animal stories.

In addition, "The Hidden World of Predators" uses the latest digital technology to shoot predators at the top of the food chain; "Big Cats" shows the survival skills of three cats, lions, jaguars, and rusty-spotted cats; "Wild Spy" is just as its title suggests, taking wildlife documentary production to a whole new level, leading the audience to experience the most grand dramatic moments and emotional experiences in nature. "You Bad Coward", which cuts in from the perspective of "bad animals", reveals many surprising non-following animal behaviors; "Spies in the Penguin Group" uses a different perspective to show the extraordinary side of the penguin group; "Little Giants", which reveals the tiny miracles in the natural world, uses the lens to present unique scenes in the tiny world of nature.

What if AI: Exploring the Mysteries of the Universe

On this interesting planet, in the vast universe, how many mysteries are there that we don't know? Documentaries can not only show the natural and animal world, but also often explore the mysteries of the earth and the universe, subverting our cognition. Bringing together many authoritative scientists and experts, the BBC has produced many cutting-edge popular science documentaries, aiming to answer our questions about the universe.

The Earth alone has countless amazing stories, incredible wonders and epic scenes. "Earth" uses the iconic dramatic storytelling techniques of "Planets" to reveal the legendary events of the Earth. The series uses five episodes to tell the amazing story of this planet for 4 billion years, from mass extinction, ice ages, the flourishing of plants, the evolution of the atmosphere, to the rise of mankind, exploring the most epic moments on Earth. "Wonder of Earth", which is exclusively broadcast on Youku, shoots four rare natural phenomena, using lightning, huge waves, volcanoes and auroras as clues to explore other strange phenomena related to them around the world, revealing the natural forces that drive the Earth.

The classic program "Cosmic Wonders" opens the audience's horizons, with British scientist Professor Brian Cox leading the audience to explore the mysteries of the universe. Brian Cox tells the universe and our different connections with the universe from four aspects: fate, stardust, gravity and light, and uses science to directly answer eternal questions such as "Who are we? Where do we come from?" The science fiction blockbuster "Alien Conjecture" goes a step further, following the British Royal Astronaut, Lord Martin Rees, trying to explain whether aliens have a similar physiological structure to humans on Earth and explore the possibility of extraterrestrial life. These programs all answer our common questions about the earth and the universe, and are very suitable for extracurricular education for primary and secondary school students.

At the same time, in the "What If AI" themed film list that has been released this year, Youku also announced that it will co-produce "Moon Hotel (tentative name)" with BBC Earth. The series is based on scientist Professor Wu Ji, and uses extremely shocking film and television special effects and plot-style design to restore the vivid scenes and thought-provoking stories of moon travel. Another joint masterpiece worth looking forward to!

History and Humanities

A classic must-see, with both breadth and depth

"History does not stop, but life moves forward." Youku Documentary Channel continues to enrich its "History Theater" library and continues to present high-quality content in all fields to users. It includes many BBC historical and cultural documentaries with both breadth and depth, including the new version of "Civilization" with a Douban score of 9.2, "The New Secrets of the Terracotta Warriors" using 3D modeling technology, and "The Plastic Surgery Capital of the World" focusing on the topic of plastic surgery.

The new "Civilization" series invites speakers historian Simon Schama, scholar Mary Beard and David Olusoga to explore the human desire for creation. In nine episodes, more than 500 works of art from 31 countries are introduced. "Art is history," Simon Schama emphasized, because these works of art "record the rise and fall of empires, the evolution of the world, and trade routes that bring us new ideas and new perspectives around the world." Through works of art, we see the past, and through "Civilization", we have a full view of the history of human civilization. This is one of the classic must-see lists for countless documentary lovers, and it is worth watching many times!

Different from the grand narrative of Civilization, all three seasons of Secrets of the Museum have entered the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK, revealing the curatorial process behind the scenes, from the production process of the collections, their significance, to the extraordinary efforts made by the museum to keep these stories alive. It is a typical behind-the-scenes series that is worth exploring for art lovers. And New Secrets of the Terracotta Warriors introduces the world to the spectacular sights and unexpected discoveries of the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, and exclusively visits University College London and the Terracotta Warriors Museum to learn about their groundbreaking research, using 3D modeling technology to restore the heads of the Terracotta Warriors, revealing new secrets of the Terracotta Warriors.

In addition to literary and historical documentaries, social documentaries have the same educational significance. Understanding others is an important function of documentaries. It can bring us closer to the lives of others and explore important social issues. "The Plastic Surgery Capital of the World" focuses on the topic of plastic surgery and the individual significance of plastic surgery, and "Different Me" records a group of people who encounter challenges in life. The protagonist of "The Plastic Surgery Capital of the World", Annie, suffered facial disfigurement due to a fire when she was an infant. She will go to Seoul, South Korea, the world's plastic surgery capital, to visit the authoritative plastic surgeon Dr. Kim. In addition to consulting about the possible direction and risks of her own surgery, she also interviewed several girls and talked about their personal views on the upcoming plastic surgery. She has her own ideas about the practice of full-face surgery in the name of beauty. Some of the protagonists of "Different Me" suffer from vitiligo, some suffer from Tourette syndrome, and some have been burned. This thought-provoking documentary brings together strangers with the same disease to see how they will help each other.