Jeff Corwin has been tossed around by elephants and tangled with cobras, but now he’s concentrating on animals of an aquatic nature.
Corwin, a longtime TV host and animal conservationist, is spearheading “Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin,” a weekly 26-episode show that debuts Saturday morning on ABC.
The show, part of “Litton's Weekend Adventure” programming shown nationwide, is directly affiliated with Georgia Aquarium; each episode is either being shot at the downtown Atlanta marine emporium or features experts from the venue.
The idea for the show germinated about a year ago, when Georgia Aquarium and Litton Entertainment decided to create a unique series focused on sea creatures.
“It’s been three or four decades since a TV naturalist has been dedicated to the liquid world. This is the first time since Jacques Cousteau that you have an aquatic-based series targeted to a national broadcast network,” Corwin said Thursday.
A day earlier, he and some of the aquarium staff trekked to Jekyll Island to release Murphy the loggerhead sea turtle, a longtime aquarium resident, back into the ocean. TV cameras also accompanied the crew to record footage for an upcoming installment of “Ocean Mysteries,” which Corwin expects to air in about a month.
Saturday’s debut episode follows Corwin and Dr. Tim Mullican, vice-president of veterinary services and husbandry at Georgia Aquarium, as they track down manta rays and attempt to outfit them with satellite tags.
“The idea is to unravel the mystery of these creatures that we’ve known about since ancient times, but we don’t know where they go or why they go. We can’t protect these creatures if we don’t have the data,” Corwin said.
While Corwin, 44, has experienced his share of daunting expeditions during the run of his Animal Planet programs, “The Jeff Corwin Experience” and “Corwin’s Quest,” he believes the surroundings of this current show are the trickiest to navigate.
“The only thing more challenging than filming in an aquatic environment is filming in space,” he said with a laugh. “Even when you’re on land, you could be filming tigers in India, but you have basic elements, like oxygen. Then you add in elements like weather and the challenge of catching up to creatures adept at maneuvering…that’s a reason you don’t see a lot of marine-based series.”
The eight episodes completed so far include a journey to the coast of Mexico to extract blood from wild whale sharks – “You literally become the middle of a 16-ton whale shark sandwich. Luckily, they’re pretty gentle creatures,” Corwin said – as well as filming in Thailand, Florida and Oregon.
“It truly is a global series,” Corwin said. “Sometimes we film at the aquarium, sometimes we don’t. But the aquarium is a character in every episode and the fuel of this series.”
As a conservationist, Corwin’s goal is to allow viewers to vicariously experience his adventures from their Barcaloungers, but also educate them and share skills to help them blossom into environmental stewards.
“The essence of this series is, basically, you can’t protect what you don’t appreciate and love.”
TV preview
“Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin”
11 a.m. Saturday, ABC
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