"Beneath the Frozen World" is the 3rd of 4 episodes the series made in the Antarctic region.
This is probably the most unusual episode I've seen of "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" for several reasons. Its emphasis was NOT on animals or sea life! While you see a few here and there, the show is much more focused on the predicament the Calypso crew found themselves in as the Antarctic ice began sealing them in and preventing their going home! I would have assumed that an old converted destroyer could have just plowed through the ice but apparently it couldn't! So, you see lots of improvised ways they tried to keep the ice from building up around the boat and lots of unusual activities--such as using the helicopter and balloon to explore the area and look for openings. Despite only a few portions about animal life, still well worth seeing and well made. Plus, seeing fish, squid and many other species surviving and thriving in such awful conditions was very interesting. To see many of these, they used the saucer-like sub.
By the way, I am a scuba diver and don't know a lot about the history of scuba equipment. However, the crew diving about the frigid waters did not appear to be using dry suits but modified super-thick neoprene. I can't believe they were able to stand the temperatures and I would have loved to have seen more about this. Also, these divers are among the best in the world but watching them diving UNDER the ice was impressive--it's very dangerous and very difficult.
This is probably the most unusual episode I've seen of "The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" for several reasons. Its emphasis was NOT on animals or sea life! While you see a few here and there, the show is much more focused on the predicament the Calypso crew found themselves in as the Antarctic ice began sealing them in and preventing their going home! I would have assumed that an old converted destroyer could have just plowed through the ice but apparently it couldn't! So, you see lots of improvised ways they tried to keep the ice from building up around the boat and lots of unusual activities--such as using the helicopter and balloon to explore the area and look for openings. Despite only a few portions about animal life, still well worth seeing and well made. Plus, seeing fish, squid and many other species surviving and thriving in such awful conditions was very interesting. To see many of these, they used the saucer-like sub.
By the way, I am a scuba diver and don't know a lot about the history of scuba equipment. However, the crew diving about the frigid waters did not appear to be using dry suits but modified super-thick neoprene. I can't believe they were able to stand the temperatures and I would have loved to have seen more about this. Also, these divers are among the best in the world but watching them diving UNDER the ice was impressive--it's very dangerous and very difficult.
