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Koko and kitty
Credit: Copyright Ron Cohn
BBC and PBS Announce
Four New Co-Productions
THE GREAT RACE, KOKO, MOUNTAINS,
and NATURE Natural Born Hustlers
LONDON, UK & ARLINGTON, VA SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 -- Following the success of the ground-breaking BIG BLUE LIVE multimedia television, digital and social event that unfolded over two weeks from Monterey, CA, the BBC and PBS announce four new co-productions as part of their overall partnership deal signed earlier this year. These exciting new programs from the award-winning BBC Natural History Unit and PBS include THE GREAT RACE, a blue-chip series following animal migration; KOKO, a chronicle of the extraordinary life of the gorilla named Koko and Penny Patterson, PhD, who has dedicated her life to Project Koko, the world's longest ape-language study; MOUNTAINS, which will use innovative technology to take the audience closer than ever before to some of the world's most iconic ranges; and, NATURE Natural Born Hustlers (which will air on BBC as World's Sneakiest Animals,) which examines some of the tricky survival strategies of lions and other species.
BIG BLUE LIVE broke new ground for us, said Beth Hoppe, PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager. Our innovative technical and editorial experimentation continues with the great programming that our co-production partnership with the BBC is generating, creating a rich pipeline of programming both directly to PBS as well as in partnership with our NATURE and NOVA strands from WNET and WGBH respectively.
Matt Forde, EVP, Content Production, Sales and Distribution, BBC Worldwide North America, said, Our partnership with PBS is off to a fantastic start with the recent premiere of BIG BLUE LIVE, which illustrates beautifully the scale of innovation and production values possible with big creative collaboration like this.
Tom McDonald, BBC Head of Commissioning Natural History and Specialist Factual Formats said, Our creative partnership with PBS has already got off to a resounding start with the epic BIG BLUE LIVE this summer. Im thrilled to be announcing a new set of titles with PBS which exemplify our appetite to deliver real scale, originality and innovation -- titles which could only be achieved through such a close alliance and a shared editorial vision. Whether its a stand out single film like KOKO; a migration series with a technological twist or a visually innovative landmark like MOUNTAINS, Im hugely proud of the range of form, tone and style that were offering BBC and PBS audiences in Natural History.
THE GREAT RACE 3x60, on BBC One and PBS
THE GREAT RACE follows three iconic species caribou, zebra and elephant on three of the world's most breathtaking wildlife adventures. Each must overcome immense obstacles, from challenging terrain to hungry predators and sheer physical exhaustion. What drives these animals to risk everything in the race of their lives?
The miniseries reveals remarkable new scientific discoveries and only recently understood behavior from a previously unknown zebra migration to an emerging modern elephant society of orphan herds, now learning critical life skills on their own.
Using the latest satellite-tagging technology, a team of scientists and filmmakers can now track the precise journeys of individual animals, witnessing their daily life-and-death decisions first hand as they happen. For the first time, we'll reveal the complete picture of these epic races the successes, the failures and the near misses. This is no ordinary migration tale this time we're taking part.
Executive Producer, BBC: Tim Scoones
Vice President, PBS Programming & Development: Bill Gardner
KOKO 1x60, on BBC One and PBS
In 1971, Penny Patterson, a graduate student at Stanford University, met Koko, the San Francisco Zoo's newborn gorilla. Penny had grown up wanting to communicate with animals and she decided to teach Koko sign language in the hope that they might finally cross the boundary between animals and humans.
After 44 years, Project Koko is the world's longest ape-language study and, according to Penny, the most successful, with Koko mastering hundreds of signs. After a lifetime together, Penny and Koko have a bond like that of mother and daughter.
Early on, their relationship survived criticism from the zoo where Koko was born, the university where Penny earned her degree and parts of the scientific community that began to doubt the validity of Penny's claims about Koko ability.
Koko is now turning 44. Penny won her battle to keep Koko, but wars are still raging can apes really communicate or is this human projection? Should animals be kept in captivity? Should Project Koko continue? What has it achieved?
Koko's extraordinary life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way by Dr. Ron Cohn, who has amassed thousands of hours of footage and photos. We trace Penny and Koko's life together over 40 years: loves, losses, Penny's unfulfilled desire to have a baby and her work as an ambassador worldwide for better understanding and protection of great apes.
Executive Producer, BBC: Sacha Mirzoeff & Jo Shinner
Director, PBS Programming & Development: Pam Aguilar
MOUNTAINS 3x60, on BBC Two and PBS
It is no wonder that people are mesmerized by MOUNTAINS, afraid of them and obsessed by them. They evoke wildness, yet remain a place of secrets.
With each program focusing first on the Rocky Mountains, then the Andes and finally the Himalayas, this series will use drones to reveal the mountains as never before. The audience will be taken from hidden valleys to unknown peaks, with a chance to feel the vertigo, the cold and sense of wonder that these great ranges arouse.
The series will show how the mountains mold the lives of the extraordinary animals and the remote p
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