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An emotional farewell to Frozen Planet


David Attenborough has brought the world and all its beauty to the homes of millions for decades and last night marked the end of another fabulous series.

With 'Frozen Planet' he and his team have shown us the full breadth of life in an otherwise barren land, and in the process he's brought us some glorious snapshots of the natural world.

Sometimes they're joyous, sometimes hilarious, sometimes epic and sometimes deeply sad.

The penguin stealing rocks, the bloody battle between a wolf and a bison, the baby polar bears sliding down a snowy slope. Each made for wonderful television and yet they were but simple observations from a man and a camera.

[See also: Our Frozen Planet gallery]

We live in an era of television where "scripted reality shows" exist, so it's refreshing to see compelling and evocative television born out of life in its purist form.

A seal trying to p-p-p-pick up a penguin lunch was one of the funniest five minutes of television this year. Killer whales, a species that once shared most connotations with a particular Hollywood film, were seen in the truer, more violent light.

Ice sheets melted, froze over, melted and froze once more. Icebergs formed, broke up and crashed together. Think of the Arctic or Antarctic regions and more often than not the perception of what goes on there isn't half as lively as the truth we saw thanks to the BBC.

Seeing the real world from the comfort of home is equal parts of inspiring and wonderfully lazy. From our sofas and behind our packs of biscuits we see fights for survival and harsh environments that most can barely imagine.

Yet it also inspires people to go out there and see it all for themselves

Attenborough's legacy as one of the most important and best television personalities ever will be one of education and inspiration, a greater understanding and awe of the world we live in.

[See also: Top five Frozen Planet themed holiday ideas]

It all finished last night with Attenborough reading out, in his iconic tone, the lyrics to the Louis Armstrong classic 'What a wonderful world'. As he proceeded we saw a montage of footage from his show's over the years.

Thanks to Attenborough we saw the trees of green, red roses too, clouds of white and skies of blue. He showed us the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night, the colours of rainbows and the faces of people going by.

Should he retire now then Attenborough would have gone out on the loveliest of highs. And yes, as we've watched the world he brought us over the years, our world, how can any of us possibly not think...

"What a wonderful world."