'Any chance the BBC will take my Irish TV License fee instead?' - everyone was loving Blue Planet 2 last night

The barreleye fish has a transparent skull

Blue Planet II - In the deep waters of the Antarctic Sound, the Blue Planet II team found a carpet of life, teeming with dense coverage of invertebrates including giant sponges, two metres tall. Giant sponges - (C) BBC NHU - Photographer: screengrab

thumbnail: The barreleye fish has a transparent skull
thumbnail: Blue Planet II -  In the deep waters of the Antarctic Sound, the Blue Planet II team found a carpet of life, teeming with dense coverage of invertebrates including giant sponges, two metres tall.  Giant sponges - (C) BBC NHU - Photographer: screengrab
Aoife Kelly

Sunday night's episode of Blue Planet II blew the socks off viewers as it travelled to The Deep, revealing the secrets at the bottom of the ocean.

We know less about it than we do about Mars and the latest episode of the fascinating BBC series showed us volcanic activity on the ocean floor and hydothermal vents which boast as much life as tropical rainforests.

Sir David Attenborough explained how one in the Atlantic called The Lost City is one of the most important.

"Within its 60 metre towers something truly extraordinary is taking place: under extremes of pressure and temperatures, hydrocarbons - the molecules that are the basic component of all living things - are being created spontaneously."

The 'Lost City' hydropthermal vent in the Atlantic. Blue Planet II, BBC

He added, "Indeed, many scientists now believe life on Earth may have begun around a vent like this four billion years ago."

In fact, given there are seas on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, he added, "If life can exist under such extreme conditions down here, then surely it could exist somewhere out there?"

Viewers were amazed by the stunning episode which also explored lakes at the bottom of the sea and the creatures that inhabit them.  A fish with a transparent head was one such wonder.

Here's a flavour of the reaction:

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