Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans", each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of marine life. The underwater photography included creatures and behaviour that had previously never been filmed.
The series won multiple Emmy and BAFTA TV awards for its music and cinematography. The executive producer was Alastair Fothergill and the music was composed by George Fenton. David Attenborough narrated this series prior to presenting the next in his 'Life' series of programmes, The Life of Mammals (2002), and the same production team created Planet Earth (2006).
