PBS’ Nature Gears Up for 26th Season
‘The Silence of the Bees’ to Examine Colony Collapse Disorder
By Alex Weprin -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/4/2007 4:57:00 PM
Nature, a staple on PBS for 25 years, is kicking off its 26th season with “The Silence of the Bees,” an episode examining the scientific theories surrounding causes and potential effects of Colony Collapse Disorder.
Debuting Oct. 28, the show will follow scientists and bee experts as they try to explain the phenomenon.
“This is like CSI for agriculture -- it is painstaking, gumshoe detective work,” said Dr. Ian Lipkin, a researcher at the country’s premier human-pathogen lab at Columbia University, who was enlisted to help crack the mystery of CCD.
Additional episodes from the show’s 26th season will include “In the Valley of the Wolves,” “The Cheetah Orphans,” “The Beauty of Ugly,” “Australia: Land of Parrots,” “Titus” (following a Rwandan mountain gorilla of the same name), “Bears on Top of the World,” “Desert Lions” and “Superfish.”
The season will also see the premiere of the Nature-branded documentary film tentatively titled Crash the Red Knot and the Horseshoe Crab, which explores the horseshoe crab and the surprising effect its plummeting numbers could have on the Red Knot bird.
Nature will launch video podcasts on its Web site to coincide with the programs, featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. New features for this season will include a newsletter and streaming video.
Nature is produced by Thirteen/WNET New York for PBS.
