In this episode Andy is off the coast of California in his quest to find the ocean's best high jumper, the mako shark. In the midst of the Pacific Ocean he comes jaw to jaw with one of the ocean's fiercest predators and sees first-hand the might of the mako. Andy learns how the mako can leap out of the water reaching heights of up to nine metres, as well as reaching top speeds of well over 40mph. Andy must find a way to go bionic by trying out the coolest technology to try and reach the shark's top swimming speed. He also has to find a way to propel himself out of the water to reach the same jumping height as the magnificent mako. Has Andy bitten off more than he can chew in his first Beyond Bionic challenge?
Action adventurer Andy Torbet takes on some of the biggest challenges of his life as he attempts to match the super-skills of some of nature's superheroes, as he embarks on a range of thrilling and daring challenges. In this episode Andy travels to California to find the superhero technology that can help him match the fastest bird on two legs, the ostrich. This super-sprinter has a top speed of 45mph, so Andy tries everything from a training session with Team GB sprinter Asha Philip, to using a jet pack to increase his running speed. He even runs in a pair of the aptly named Bionic Boots, which were inspired by the 0strich itself. But is all the bionic technology enough to beat the ostrich in a head-to-head race, or will Andy be going home with egg on his face?
Andy Torbet is on the east coast of America to try to match one of the best climbers in the animal kingdom. The gecko lizard has incredible climbing abilities thanks to amazing sticky toe pads on its feet that allow it to climb on almost any surface. To match it, the Beyond Bionic team set Andy an impossible challenge to climb a ten-storey glass building using just his hands and feet. Will he be able to track down the tech to help him climb where no human has every climbed before?
Andy Torbet travels to Alaska in his quest to swim like a seal in freezing lake water, under a sheet of ice. His journey begins off the Northumberland coast, diving with grey seals to learn how insulating, fatty blubber gives them unrivalled resistance to the cold. Next, Andy meets Olympic medallist Keri-anne Payne and discovers how cold-water shock affects his body. Then Andy tests out blubber-like insulating technology while being dunked in the Extreme Environments Lab pool at Portsmouth University. Will this chilly challenge see him sink or swim?
Things are about to heat up on Beyond Bionic as Andy Torbet takes on the world's most heat-resistant animal. Very little is known about the mysterious Pompeii worm, which lives deep under the Pacific Ocean on hydro thermal vents. These vents pump out boiling water heated by underwater volcanoes, so Andy's challenge is to survive intense heat, just like the worm, in a specially built Beyond Bionic inferno. Will he be able to find the technological tools to withstand temperatures over 500 degrees Celsius?
Andy Torbet is on a mission to match the hovering skills of the hummingbird. Flapping their wings 80 times per second, these are the only birds in the world able to hover in one spot, using this to help them extract nectar from flowers with their long beaks. Andy begins his quest by testing gadgets that can extend the reach of his arms, to become his version of the hummingbird's beak. Part of the test has them strapped to a rally car - cue the wheel spins and donuts. Next, Andy heads to San Jose in the USA for the once in a lifetime chance to try out a hovering, human-carrying drone. Then his final stop is San Diego, to try out a gadget which lifts humans into the air using the propulsion power of water. Can Andy learn to ride it and finally mimic a hummingbird, or will he get into a real flap?
Daredevil Andy Torbet takes on the bounding brilliance of the grasshopper as he is challenged to match its ability to leap ten times its body length. He finds out that the secret to their gravity-defying leap lies in the elastic muscles in their knees being able to store potential energy. Armed with this knowledge, Andy heads off to try out parkour, uses jumping gadgets and takes a tumble on the trampoline with Olympic gymnast Kat Driscoll. But in the end, it's a high-altitude science lesson that gives Andy his best chance of matching the mighty grasshopper.
Andy Torbet takes on a mission to match the deep-dwelling giant Japanese spider crab. Capable of living at depths as low as 600m, these crabs have amazing protective shells which withstand the pressure of the ocean water pushing down on them. His journey begins in Italy where he visits the world's deepest swimming pool, Y-40, to learn what happens to the body when submerged under many metres of water. Andy also heads to Catalina Island off the California coast for a trip in a submarine, coming face to face with some colourful fish in the process. Finally, he heads to Vancouver in Canada to try out a unique, wearable hard-suit diving system. But will his efforts enable him to complete some tricky, crab-inspired tasks?
Andy is in for a high-flying challenge in this episode of Beyond Bionic as he takes on one of the world's best gliders - the flying squirrel. These tiny aerial acrobats are capable of gliding up to ninety metres from tree to tree with ease thanks to their specially designed bodies. Andy will definitely need a head for heights and be prepared to go to extremes as he takes to the skies to find the right equipment to help him achieve the perfect glide.
Andy Torbet discovers that the Madagascan rainforest-dwelling Darwin's bark spider might be tiny but has a truly epic power - it makes the world's toughest natural fibre and it uses it to make 25-metre-wide webs! To try to match this awesome arachnid, Andy is set the challenge of finding a way to fire a man-made rope to the top of a 30-metre-high building in Norway, before using top technology to help him climb it.
