CBC Television's The Nature of Things has received two nominations for Banff World Television Awards, competing with productions from around the world.

The science and nature program, hosted by David Suzuki, was nominated for best science and technology program for an episode called "Living Forever: The Longevity Revolution."

David Suzuki hosts The Nature of Things, which has nominations for best science and environmental program at the Banff World TV Festival.
(Greg Pacek/CBC)

It is competing in that category with a program made for Discovery Canada, The Real Superhumans and the Quest for the Future Fantastic, produced by Bird Plane Productions Inc. in association with Proper Television Inc.

Nature Of Things episode "Game over: Conservation in Kenya" has been nominated for best environment program, competing with U.K. programs Attenborough Explores and The Human Foot Print and U.S. series Nature, with an episode called "Crash: A Tale of Two Species."

More than 100 TV shows and documentaries were nominated in 22 categories, the Banff World Television Festival announced Thursday.

"The Banff World Television Awards (Rockies) are among the world's most coveted television awards," said festival executive director Jennifer Harkness in a press release.

"The high number of entries from the more than 44 countries and territories, representing a 15 per cent increase from last year, proves the award's continued growth and recognition within our international television community."

Three Iraq War related documentaries — Alive Day Memories: Home From Iraq, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, both from the U.S., and BBC production No Plan No Peace, earned nominations for best political documentary. The acclaimed film Iron Ladies of Liberia by a South African-Liberian-U.S. creative team, also earned a nomination in this category.

Three Canadian documentaries earned nominations in the social and humanitarian programs category — Up The Yangtze, an exploration of the impact of the Three Gorges Dam on Chinese families, Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma, which follows the Doctors Without Borders doctor on a trip through Africa, and Le Voyage D'une Vie, a documentary about a family coping with the father's suicide.

Canadian-made reality programs Chef School, Colin and Justin Home Heist, Til Debt Us Do Part and X-Weighted got nominations in the lifestyle program category. The U.K.'s How to Look Good Naked and U.S.-made National Body Challenge: The Dawkins Twins also were nominated.

Canadian-Australian children's tale Erky Perky: A Zen Tale got a nomination for best animated film and How the Gimquat Found Her Song for best children's program. Generation XXL got a nomination in the youth program category.

CBC's action series The Border received a nomination for its interactive programs for mobile phones, as did the U.K.'s The Cell.

In the performance programs category, Kent Nagano Symponicité, featuring the dynamic conductor of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, won a nomination along with Bravo! Canada's production Fiddle and Drum, based on the Alberta Ballet dance production featuring the music of Joni Mitchell.

Other works nominated in that category were Car Men out of the Netherlands and Germany and War Oratorio from the U.K.

The nominees for best comedy programs include:

• Big Bang Theory, U.S.
• Desperate Housewives, U.S.
• Extras: Episode 9, U.K.
• Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul, U.K.
• Summer Heights High, Australia.
• The Chaser's War on Everything, Australia.

The nominees for best continuing series:

• Life on Mars, U.K.
• Nip Tuck, U.S.
• Skins, U.K.
• The Street II, U.K.
• Time of Your Life, U.K.

The nominees for best history or biography program:

• 1968 with Tom Brokaw, U.S.
• Get Collins, Ireland
• Hindenburg, U.K.
• Tammuz, Isreal
• Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn, Australia.
• White Light/Black Rain: The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, U.S.

The nominees for wildlife and natural history program:

• Equator, Japan, New Zealand.
• Four Wings and a Prayer, Canada, France.
• Sharkman, South Africa.

The awards will be present June 9 at the Banff Television festival in Banff, Alta.