Oprah's New Life

The eye-popping Discovery Channel series captures "how we all cohabit, thrive, and survive here on our beautiful planet."

I don't have a lot of professional regrets, but turning down the chance to do the Discovery Channel series Planet Earth three years ago ranks high on my list. At the time, I didn't think I could carve out the hours necessary to narrate the 11-episode series—which turned out to be one of the most visually spectacular television experiences of all time.

Not often does life give you a second chance. This time it did.

I started doing voice tracks several months ago for Life, the new Discovery series premiering in March 2010. Featuring the mating rituals of the humpback whale, the dramatic rescue of a baby elephant by her grandmother, and an eye-popping array of birds, insects, and reptiles from all over the world—some of them captured for the first time, all on state-of-the-art HD film—Life lives up to its name. It's an all-encompassing, glorious, and sometimes terrifying exposé of how we all cohabit, thrive, and survive here on our beautiful planet.

I marvel at the beauty and wonder of nature and am in perpetual awe of the miracle of life in all forms, so to have a chance to lend a voice to the symphony of Life was an opportunity I couldn't resist.

-Oprah

Start the slideshow of images from Life 

Above: Strawberry poison dart frog, Costa Rica.

White pelicans with nesting chick, South Africa.

Humpback whale, Tonga.

A baby elephant catches up with Mom, Kenya.

A grizzly bear fishing for salmon, Alaska.

A sailfish stalks its prey, Mexico.

Stalk-eyed flies, Peninsular Malaysia.

African straw-colored fruit bats, Zambia.