Monday, April 03, 2006

Planet Earth

It was great wasn't it? Or was it? There's been a mini-backlash inflicted on this series, and I've got to say I'm not surprised. There were, of course, some wonderful sequences - the 'chandelier ballroom', that snow leopard chase, lions looking very out of place as they traipsed across a desert - but in between it all felt a bit pedestrian, as if trekking across Mongolia, or pot-holing for a week was too much for them, the wimps, and they didn't have any energy left for the other half hour of the programme. Ok, that's a tad harsh, but you see what I mean. As Sam Wollaston pointed out today, it was the commentary which let it down most often (though I doubt this is all down to David Attenborough, as Sam insists), peppered as it was with natural history cliches. I actually had a bet with my dad before Sunday's show aired to see who could get closest to guessing how minutes into the programme it would be before David asserted something along the lines of "Now this desert may look inhospitable, but actually it's teeming with life!". It was the first thing he said. Oh dear. Later, when the rains came, dad suggested it was only a matter of time before the phrase 'burst into life' came along. He was so right.

To pick holes in this undeniably brilliant series is picky to say the least but, let's face it, dear fellow bloggers, this is what we do. :)

4 comments:

JoeinVegas said...

And I just have to wait a year to see what the heck you are talking about. Oh my. Better print this out so I can remember it.

Anna Lowman (annawaits) said...

And the mini-making-of at the end of the episodes? Can you spell C H E A P P A D D I N G? Save it for the DVD, folks.

Very much agreed!

Marie said...

I managed to miss the whole thing. Still, I liked the Sigur Ros music in the trailers.

Anna Lowman (annawaits) said...

But they're releasing it as a single! I always knew they were sell-outs ;)