Yeah, I’m not delighted with the narration – I don’t care how you got the pictures, just tell me what I’m looking at. But the pictures more than make up for it.
And thanks, Struan…**Life on Earth ** is what I was thinking of.
I’ve tivo’d but haven’t yet watched any of it. It’s times like this that my cable company’s lack of HD just KILLS me. Normally it just annoys the piss out of me.
I’d never heard of it but my wife brought it to my attention. We won’t get around to the DVR of it until probably all 7(?) episodes have aired, but little glimpses I had were quite promising (though we don’t have HD).
Peculiar. I’ve seen most of the David Attenborough narrated series and I don’t really recall corny lines like those above. Also, the actual filming is never mentioned within the episode, itself. Instead, there are little 5 minute behind-the-scenes production diaries at the end of every episode. Have they changed the narration as well as the narrator? That would suck.
Anyway, it’s an absolutely gorgeous series and well-worth seeing, even if you don’t have an HDTV.
That’s one of the things I felt. They were constantly skipping all over the place. It never really settled down and helped us understand the animals. It’s a complicated story and I wished they’d slow down and show a little more of it.
But it is very beautiful.
Well, I have been enjoying the imagery, but the narration seems a little “fluffy.” I have only watched “Pole to Pole” so far and I guess the Birds of Paradise segment seemed to have more of the corny quotes in it. Like when she says “oops, missed a spot,” when the bird is cleaning its area or when she says something like “I guess anyone would be deflated when giving your best doesn’t work” after a male fails to attract a female. To me, it makes the program seem less majestic. After all, the previews for this program gave me goosebumps every time I’d see it advertised the last couple of weeks. But otherwise, it’s pretty cool.
I came to this party too late, as usual…but the good news is that they will be airing the first three episodes again in the wee hours on Saturday/Sunday, so have set my DVR.
The comments about the narration don’t bode well, however. I always hated “cutesy” narration in nature films and educational films shown in schools…“Oh, look! Mr. Penguin is dressed for the wedding, and here comes the bride!” (cut to scene of white polar bear)
I watched “Pole to Pole” a few months ago. I believe it was intended as kind of a trailer for the remainder of the series, which would explain the fast, jumpy pace.
I have the next two stored in my DVR but haven’t gotten a chance to view it.
Penguins and polar bears intermingling was about the level of SCIENCE from the nature films of my school days, too. (They co-exist only in zoos - living as they do at opposite poles, as far apart as one can get on this planet.)
I watched the Ocean Deep episode last night.
a couple of the things I had seen before, like the “bait ball” with the dolphins & birds attacking, and the ocean sunfish stopping off to get cleaned.
Add me to the list of those put off by the narration as well.
Still looks great in HD, though - can’t wait to watch the other two.
I think my favorite bit so far was in the Oceans episode. Damn, that Mola Mola was HUGE.
It’s a shame they never got any up-close shots of the Blue Whales. I would’ve loved to have gotten a good sense of their size.
Another guy here who liked the film footage (though I didn’t love it) but thought the script was crappy. I got bored fairly quickly.
In spite of the trailers, I have seen it like this before. I think my ability to respond to these shows with the desired “gee whiz” is pretty much exhausted.
I didn’t pay any attention to who was narrating, but I’m glad it wasn’t David Attenborough. He always sounds out of breath (half the time I think he is), which makes me feel sympathetically out of breath, which drives me nuts.
The part that impressed me the most was the cranes flying over the Himalayas…with the golden eagles preying on them. Simply incredible.