July 7, 2002 (2002-07-07) – July 3, 2007 (2007-07-03)
The Most Extreme is a documentary television series on the American cable television network Animal Planet. It first aired on July 7, 2002. Each episode focuses on a specific animal feature, such as strength, speed, behavior, anatomy, or diet, and examines and ranks ten animals that portray extreme or unusual examples of that quality. Along with each animal on the countdown, each episode presents an animated segment which compares the animal's ability with something equivalent in humans, followed by an interview segment with people who share some common trait. Old, often public domain, cartoons, movie clips and trailers are often included.
Episodes
"Earth is a planet of extremes. Extreme places, and extreme animals. But some animals are more extreme than others. Join us as we count down to find the most unusual, and the most extraordinary, on Animal Planet's The Most Extreme."
— Opening of the show.
The show was narrated by Adam J. Harrington. On Animal Planet, the episodes were also announced by Simon Arnstein.
Season 1
#
Original airdate
Title
Overview
Animal that was Number 1
1
7 July 2002
Jumpers
The fastest, highest and best jumpers.
Flea
2
7 July 2002
Gluttons
The greediest eaters in the world.
Caterpillar
3
14 July 2002
Speed
The fastest animals on land, air and water.
Tiger beetle
4
21 July 2002
Births
Extreme reproduction in number of young, size and other factors.
Tapeworm
5
28 July 2002
Cheats
The ways animals trick one another.
Cuckoo
6
3 August 2002
Survivors
The animals who best survive extreme conditions.
Water bear
7
11 August 2002
Fighters
Warriors of the animal kingdom.
Ant
8
18 August 2002
Builders
The animal kingdom's most innovative construction engineers.
Termite
9
25 August 2002
Horrors
The animals that most inspire terror in human beings.
Parasitic worm
10
3 September 2002
Strength
Proportionally, the strongest animals in the world.
"Dr. Remote / 'Most Extreme' Leaves Viewers Hungry for More Bizarre Factoids". The Press of Atlantic City. 2003-01-28. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
Spreier, Jeanne (2002-07-28). "Animal Planet looks at creatures who go to extremes". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
McDonough, Kevin (2002-06-29). "'The Most Extreme' looks at strange animals". Record-Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
Stasi, Linda (2002-07-05). "Quick Quiz: The Fastest Animal on Earth Is... ... Big Hint: Not Him". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2022-05-21. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
External links
The Most Extreme at IMDb
Wikiquote has quotations related to The Most Extreme.