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S18 Ep10

Obsession with Orchids

Premiere: 4/16/2000

No flowering plant has captured the attention of humans, or stirred their passions, in quite the way that orchids have.

About

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NATURE explores why many creatures — humans included — seem to have an Obsession with Orchids.

No flowering plant has captured the attention of humans, or stirred their passions, in quite the way that orchids have. In past ages, orchids — in all their 20,000 or so wild varieties — have been hunted and collected in almost every part of the world. Today, millions of people remain devoted to the plant and its exotically beautiful “faces.” NATURE looks at the human fascination with these strangely compelling flowers in Obsession with Orchids.

The program was filmed in such diverse locations as Thailand, Majorca, Central America, the Caribbean, England, and the United States, and at the 1999 World Orchid Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, where enthusiasts from all walks of life gathered under the spell of an astonishing variety of the flowers from nearly every part of the planet.

Production Credits

Web Credits

Producer
RONNIE GODEANU

Art Director
SABINA DALEY

Designers
LENNY DROZNER
KAREN MATTSON
RADIK SHVARTS

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
DAVID MALAKOFF

Production Artist
RUIYAN XU

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

Content Consultant
GIANNA SAVOIE

About the Writer

David Malakoff is a journalist covering research discoveries and the politics of science for SCIENCE MAGAZINE in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in a wide range of venues, including THE ECONOMIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, and ABCNews.com.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York’s Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs.

Television Credits

Narrated by
Stockard Channing

Producer
Mark Flowers

Photographed and Directed by
Tim Shepherd

Additional Photography
Phil Ball

Editor
Andrew Chastney

Dubbing Editor
Angela Groves

Dubbing Mixer
Peter Hicks

On-Line Editor
Steve Olive

Graphics
Sarah Grigg

Scientific Consultants:
Dr. Hans Banziger
Dr. Philip Cribb
Dr. Robert Dressler
Dr. Dora Emilia Mora De Retana
Professor Hannes Paulus

Production Co-Ordinator
Lea Aldridge

The BBC wishes to thank:
B.B.O.N.T.
Bangkok Flower Centre
Sandra Bell
Burnham Nurseries
Peter Corkill
Julio Cormones
Thoswan Devakul
Rodolfo Dodero
Kerri Dressler
English Nature
Eric Young Orchid Foundation
Greenaway Orchids
Claire Hermans
Johan Hermans
Apichart Jitnuyanond
Kent Wildlife Trust
Lankester Botanical Gardens
Alan Moon
Malcolm Perry Orchids
Margaret Ramsay
Ratcliffe Orchids
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Horticultural Society
Universidad De Costa Rica

Unit Managers
Christina Hamilton
Sally Mark

Series Editor
Neil Nightingale

For NATURE

Narration written by
Janet Hess

Coordinating Producer
Janice Young

Producer
Jill Clarke

Associate Producer
Patty Jacobson

Researchers
Gianna Scaralia
Susane Lee

Production Assistant
Erika Haendel

Production Secretary
Irene Tejaratchi

Manager
Eileen Fraher

Production Manager
Julie Schapiro Thorman

Editor
Patrick Gambuti, Jr.

On-Line Editor
Barry Gliner

Audio Mix
Ed Campbell

Additional sequences directed by
Fred Kaufman

Director of Photography
William Rexer II

Assistant Camera
Jonathan Furmanski
Kipjaz Savoie

Sound
Mark Roy
Brad Bergbom

Still photography provided by
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
The Luesther T. Mertz Library of the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York
Moreno Tagliapietra
Dorothy Cherbavaz

Special Thanks to:
Vancouver Orchid Society
Vancouver Trade And Convention Center
Wally Thomas
Stan Logan
Jean Clark
Joan Walton
Dirk Oertel
Cordelia Head
J&L; Orchids
Don Herman
Juan Carlos Uribe
Alex Hirtz
Jim Ash
Skip Blanchard, Ph.D.
Eric Lamont, Ph.D.
Dave Taft
Luther Travis
Moreno Tagliapietra
Dorothy Cherbavaz
Gustavo A. Romero, Ph.D., F.L.S.
Lisa Decesare
Harvard University Herbaria , Cambridge, Ma
Supervising Producer
Bill Murphy
Executive In Charge
William Grant

Executive Producer
Fred Kaufman

A Co-Production of Thirteen/WNET And BBC-TV

This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which is solely responsible for its content.

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