''Nature'' is a wildlife

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

produced by

Thirteen/WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It has been distributed to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

stations by the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television service since its debut on October 10, 1982. Some episodes may appear in syndication on many PBS member stations around the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

. This series currently airs on Wednesday on PBS. It is a weekly one-hour program that consists of documentaries about various animals and ecosystems. The on-camera host of the first season was

Donald Johanson Donald Carl Johanson (born June 28, 1943) is an American paleoanthropologist. He is known for discovering, with Yves Coppens and Maurice Taieb, the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine known as "Lucy" in the Afar Triangle region of Hada ...

, with voice-over narration by George Page. Starting with the 1983 season, George Page became both the on-camera host and the narrator until the series' 19th season in 2000. Since then,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he wo ...

has frequently narrated episodes, as has ecologist Chris Morgan. The program uses a silhouette of a camel thorn tree as its logo.

Nominations and awards

Fred Kaufman and the crew of NATURE-Silence of the Bees at the 67th Annual Peabody Awards

''Nature'' has been nominated for 22

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

, winning 8 during its longevity. In 1986, host George Page was nominated for best Outstanding Individual Achievements in Informational Programming. In 1988 and 1989, it won two Emmy Awards for best Outstanding Informational Series. In 2000, it was nominated for best Outstanding Main Title Design. The episode "Silence of the Bees" won a

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...

in 2007.67th Annual Peabody Awards
May 2008.

Reception

''Nature'' has received generally positive reviews from television critics. Linda Stasi of ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' called it, "A wonderful, remarkable show. Don’t miss it." David Bianculli of ''TV Worth Watching'' called the miniseries "Attenborough's Life Stories", "Beautiful and inspiring." Kaitlin Milligan of ''

Broadway World BroadwayWorld is a theatre news website based in New York City covering Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, N ...

'' wrote, "Awe-inspiring."

Episodes

In other media

Comic book

Three issues of a ''Nature''

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

were produced from 2006–2008. They were full-color corollaries to on-air episodes like "Silence of the Bees," "In the Valley of the Wolves," and "The Beauty of Ugly." ''Nature Comics'' was targeted at pre-teens and teenagers as an educational tool, and was distributed for free to museums, schools, and nature centers. ''Nature Comics'' featured the talents of a number of notable cartoonists, including

Josh Neufeld Josh Neufeld (born August 9, 1967) is an alternative cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Brooke Gladsto ...

Rick Veitch Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. Early life Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he w ...

, Lauren Weinstein, and

Thomas Yeates Thomas Yeates (born January 19, 1955) is an American comic strip and comics artist, comic book artist best known for illustrating the comic strips ''Prince Valiant'' and ''Zorro'' and for working on characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Ca ...

. The series was edited by David Reisman. ''Nature Comics'' #2 was given an

Association of Educational Publishers The Association of Educational Publishers (AEP) was a U.S. non-profit organization for educational publishers. It was active in public awareness campaigns on effective educational resources, as well as aiding communication between educational o ...

2008 Distinguished Achievement Award (in the Specialized Audience Instruction/Graphic Novel category)."2008 Distinguished Achievement Award Winners: Curriculum,"
Association of Educational Publishers website. Accessed Sept. 22, 2010.

Issues

''Nature Comics'' #1 (2006) — related episodes: "Christmas in Yellowstone" (Season 23), "Penguins of the Antarctic" (Season 23), and "Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History" (Season 23) * Mark Schultz (cover art) * Jonathan Bennett *

* Lauren Weinstein *

R. Kikuo Johnson Reid Kikuo Johnson (born in 1981) is an American illustrator and cartoonist. He is known for illustrating several covers of ''The New Yorker'' in addition to the graphic novels ''Night Fisher, The Shark King,'' and ''No One Else.'' In 2023 he bec ...

Sabrina Jones Sabrina Jones (born on October 6th, 1960, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American painter and comic book artist, writer, illustrator, and editor. In addition to her own graphic novels, she is associated with artist/activist collectives suc ...

''Nature Comics'' #2 (2007) — related episodes: "Silence of the Bees" (Season 24), "In the Valley of the Wolves" (Season 24), and "The Beauty of Ugly" (Season 24) *

* Lauren Weinstein *

(cover art and inside story) *

Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist. Early life Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating in ...

''The Unexpected World of Nature'' (a.k.a. ''Nature Comics'' #3) (2008) — related episodes
"The Dragon Chronicles"
(Season 25)
"The Wolf That Changed America"
(Season 25), and "Frogs: The Thin Green Line" (Season 25) *

(cover and inside story) *

* Lauren Weinstein *

Hope Larson Hope Raue Larson (born 1982) is an American illustrator and cartoonist. Her main field is comic books. Biography Larson grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and attended Carolina Day School.Anne Fitten Glenn"Graphic Insight" ''Mountain Xpress'' ...

References

External links

* * *
''Nature Comics'' official website
* ''Nature Comics'' free PDFs
#1#2#3
{{PBSTV 1982 American television series debuts 1980s American documentary television series 1990s American documentary television series 2000s American documentary television series 2010s American documentary television series 2020s American documentary television series Television series by WNET Documentary films about nature English-language television shows Nature educational television series Television series about mammals Television series about birds Television series about arthropods Television series about fish Television series about reptiles and amphibians Discovery Channel original programming