In the first episode, the new expedition to the ice continent of Antarctica begins. Scientists arrive at their camp on Shackleton glacier, located in the Transantarctic mountains, to begin their 6 week long dig.

In this episode we find out how the great discovery in the 1990s of the Cryolophosaurus, dubbed the T-rex of Antarctica, and a 25-foot-long plant eater, the Glacialisaurus, lead to a renewed interest in a continent that was once thought to be largely devoid of life.