Supernatural
Pearl, 10.45pm
All good things come to an end and this eye-opening, brilliantly shot BBC nature series is no exception. Supernatural is said to have rewritten the ground rules for wildlife film-making, using new techniques to uncover the near-paranormal powers of animals.
The series concludes tonight with this 30-minute special, which goes behind the scenes and looks at the 'real talent' behind the production: the animals. In addition to many entertaining, intriguing and often humorous moments, the animals reveal - through their close relationship with the film-makers - many new secrets of their natural behaviour. For example, the filming of a flock of greylag geese took months of preparation. At every stage, the BBC cameras were with them - taking their first steps as they followed their human foster parent, experiencing swimming lessons in the pool, spending a day in the office, and learning to fly alongside a 'microlite' aircraft.
The wild animal stars are recorded using an array of new filming techniques. A troop of bemused monkeys, in one episode, creates havoc among the camera team as the crew uses a fly-by-wire submersible to capture footage of hippos swimming underwater. While the monkeys play among the controls and monitors, the hippos investigate a decoy hippo in their midst. Not to be missed.
When The North Wind Blows