The unique thing about the penguin colony showcased in this exemplary episode of "Nature" is that it's situated smack dab in the shadow of a British outpost, occupied by four humans on an Antarctic peninsula. The penguins don't seem to mind the humans and the humans—four young women--relish the chance to occupy a ringside seat at a sprawling, active arena of wildlife for the summer months in that part of the world. In addition, cruise ships bring a steady stream of tourists for day trips just to take shots of penguins. In short interview segments, we meet the women who run the outpost and operate the gift shop where tourists buy penguin souvenirs and they tell us about the joys and hardships of the job. They clearly enjoy being there and are delightful hosts. We see just enough of the tourists and get just enough soundbites from them to allow a sufficient sense of their experience of the place. Fortunately, however, the largest part of the hour by far is devoted to close-up shots of the penguins and their activities during a season devoted to pairing off, mating, laying eggs, hatching them and raising their chicks to near adulthood before heading elsewhere at the outset of the harsh winter.
The penguins are, of course, terminally adorable and their antics are extraordinarily telegenic as they spread their flippers and squawk loudly and run around the island tending to such business as gathering pebbles, one at a time in their beaks, to build nests for their mates. However, the hour does not shy away from the harsher aspects of penguin communal life. For one thing, there are predatory sea birds flying about, waiting to separate an egg from its nest and poke into it and eat its contents right there in front of its mother. After the eggs are hatched, the same birds come back looking to catch a baby chick or two. We see one practically swallow a chick whole. Even worse, we see a group of surly adult penguins attack a penguin toddler that has wandered from its nest and stumbled awkwardly into their group. They peck at it until it's dead, a wanton act that defies easy explanation. On a less lethal note, the penguins can be a constant thorn in each others' sides as they steal prize pebbles from their neighbors' nests to build up their own. Also, even though they tend to be monogamous, fights do break out between penguin females when one tries to steal another's mate. And after the encroaching female has been driven off, the poor mate is punished with some nasty pecks for even thinking about philandering.
All this is set against a breathtaking Antarctic backdrop of snowy cliffs, icy slopes and ocean waters where the penguins swim and leap in magnificent formations in their race to find food among the abundant sea life below the surface. The BBC high-def cameras capture it all in spectacular detail.