Blue Planet II (2017)

Blue Planet II delivers the most vivid underwater cinematography ever captured, with revolutionary filming techniques revealing deep-ocean behaviors for the first time. The final episode’s stark portrayal of plastic pollution directly influenced the UK government’s ban on microbeads and plastic straws—a policy shift documented by 80% of surveyed viewers citing the series. It outperforms #6 Apollo 11 in emotional impact, as Attenborough’s narration turns science into a call to action. Over 37 million plastic straws were eliminated annually following the ban, a concrete result of its data-driven advocacy.