From the makers of "Planet Earth" and narrated by global media leader and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, the epic television series "Life" is the definitive exploration of our planet's living things and their spectacular, bizarre and fascinating behaviors.  A BBC and Discovery Channel co-production, the 11-part natural history series airs on Discovery Channel on Sundays from March 21 through April 18, 2010, with two episodes at 8-10PM ET/PT each night, and The Making of "Life" at 10PM on April 18.

"Life" is epic in scope, yet intimate in its storytelling.  More than four years in the making, with over 3,000 days of filming in the field, "Life" spans every continent and every habitat.  Each episode focuses on a different animal or plant group, engrossing viewers with never-before-seen behaviors using the latest in state-of-the-art high-definition filming techniques.  From strange creatures, such as the star-nosed mole that hunts underwater using bubbles to smell its prey, to grand spectacles, like millions of fruit bats darkening the Zambian sky, each episode tells mind-blowing stories of survival with drama, humor and suspense.

""Life" will amaze audiences of all ages throughout the world.  The series captures the awe and wonder of Mother Nature and uses the very best in cinematic techniques and engaging storytelling to bring natural history to Discovery Channel," said Clark Bunting, president and general manager of Discovery Channel and president of Science Channel.  "Told through the stories of nature's most captivating animals and plants, each episode of "Life" delivers on our core mission to educate our viewers about the world around them.  We are honored to have this brilliant program as a cornerstone to our 25th anniversary year and nothing says Discovery better than this groundbreaking television event."

As one of the most influential voices of our time, narrator Oprah Winfrey will introduce some of the most compelling natural history images ever seen -- many captured for the first time ever on film.  These include the first filming of a male humpback whale mating battle (called the "heat run") from beginning to end; Komodo dragons bringing down an animal 10 times their size in a real-"Life" drama that lasted more than two weeks; a pebble toad rolling down a mountain, bouncing like a rubber ball, to escape a tarantula; the bizarre mating ritual of the elusive Vogelkop bowerbird, found in the deep forests of New Guinea; and an astonishing night scene showing massive numbers of Humboldt squid hunting cooperatively for sardines.

Filmmakers developed ingenious methods for capturing the series' breathtaking images.  A "yogi cam," developed specifically for "Life", allowed a camera to track smoothly alongside migrating reindeer and elephants.  Intricate cable rigging was employed to enable the crew to "fly" a camera through thousands of monarch butterflies in Mexico, providing a unique "butterfly-eye" perspective.

The premiere episode of "Life", Challenges of "Life", provides an overview and sets the stage for the ambitious series.  A special Making Of episode caps the series and tells the incredible stories of the dozens of men and women who spent days, weeks and months patiently waiting for a perfect shot.  Other episodes showcase Birds, deep sea marine invertebrates (Creatures of the Deep), Fish, hunting mammals (Hunters and Hunted), Insects, Mammals, Plants, Primates, and Reptiles & Amphibians.

See more photos from "Life" here!