12 replies to this topic

[Quilt Fairy]

From the Discovery Channel website:

Tonight, the next landmark natural history series from Discovery and the BBC, Africa, premieres on Discovery Channel starting at 10/9c. From the makers of Frozen Planet, Life and Planet Earth, Africa is a surprising look at a seemingly familiar continent that still holds many secrets.

The premier of this show was last night, and I want to shriek like a little girl: OMG, it was fuckin' awesome! The giraffe fight was even more violent than it showed in the promos. Who knew? Lots of times I had to flip the channel for a minute because something was just a bit much. I couldn't watch when the armored crickets were moving in on the unprotected baby birds, and I didn't catch who won the spider-wasp fight, although I was rooting for the spider. And nighttime black rhino get-togethers at a secret watering-hole? Again, who knew?

I don't even have an HD set, and I thought it was the most beautifully filmed thing I've seen. Definitely looking forward to this show each week.

ETA: Discovery, this almost makes up for the cancellation of Dirty Jobs. It does not, howver, make up for Amish Mafia.

Edited by Quilt Fairy, Jan 10, 2013 @ 1:05 AM.

[BlueSapphires]

Ahh, shit... what was the first episode called? I can't find a rerun listed anywhere. I LOVE this stuff, thanks for the alert!

[Quilt Fairy]

The specific episode was called 'The Kalahari'.

[bojanglesthe4th]

Great show! The first ep's giraffe fight was so epic. Just caught last night's second episode, and I was practically screaming at the TV for the cameramen/producers to give water to the elephant calf. How could they just let it die like that?? I was almost sick to my stomach, and so sad for the mother. Is there some rule against them interfering?

Edited by bojanglesthe4th, Jan 16, 2013 @ 7:16 PM.

[feverpitch]

Nature photographers usually don't like to interfere with the wildlife. I don't know if it's a written code of ethics or just something that's understood. I've seen the first episode so far and am working on the second. Really great show so far.

Oh and Quilt Fairy, I believe the spider got away. It rolled itself down a dune hill.

The second episode is called "Savannah", the 3rd episode "Congo" and I believe the 4th episode is called "Cape".

Edited by feverpitch, Jan 17, 2013 @ 10:51 PM.

[BlueSapphires]

I still can't find a repeat of the first episode.

And yeah, they don't mess with nature. It's horrifying, but it's the circle of life.

[Dom Curry]

I love the photography but can't stand Forest Whitaker's narration. He rushes his words and the sentences don't flow together. It sounds clipped and makes his narration disconnected from the picture. I imagine he's eating a pizza and reading the lines between bites. Is he doing the whole thing? I've just seen "Savannah" so far.

Giving the calf a drink of water wouldn't have helped it, IMHO. It needed more than a sip and interfering would have compounded the problem. I doubt the mother would let someone near her baby, it'd introduce more stress, and would delay the mother more from the herd. And you'd have to give the baby (and mother) drinks tomorrow, the day after, ... It's best to let nature run its course. There is a 2-hour show about a woman who runs an elephant sanctuary where they do tranq a calf, give it medical attention from a vet, and return it to the herd. But that's a completely different situation.

[dreamy]

I just can't watch this stuff - I understand that this is the circle of life, and at least it's nature, not crazy people killing for no reason, but somehow, watching that baby elephant die or the bird decide to care for the bigger child, and let the second, weaker one die, really upsets me.

What does it say about me that I'm becoming *somewhat* inured to human violence, yet even more sensitized to animal death?

[walnutqueen]

What does it say about me that I'm becoming *somewhat* inured to human violence, yet even more sensitized to animal death?

Dreamy, it says to me that you are a kindred spirit!

[dreamy]

My sister! I still haven't watched last night's episode. Then again, as a child, I used to hide my face during the tough parts of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (does anyone remember this show?), until my father told me it was over. Maybe I need to have someone do that for me again!

[PoeticJustice32]

I think it was stated during the "Planet Earth" series that filmmakers and the like decided years ago that they would let nature take its course. I was upset at first thinking how could anyone sit by and let a little baby zebra get eaten by a lion or whatever the case is but I understand it now and actually support it. They can't very well save every animal.

The first 5 minutes of the last episode had me on my toes. That baby turtle escaped getting eaten by a crab, almost drowning because of rough current and then after all that almost got eaten by a damn bird. I thought for sure the poor thing was going to get sucked up by some big fish just when I was breathing a sigh if relief. Luckily the little thing made it...at least from what they showed.

[feverpitch]

It is upsetting that filmmakers don't tend to save animals they film (it's probably more upsetting to them) but I guess it's for the best since, as Poetic said, you can't save every one. Given that for some animals (or most?), up to 50% of the young don't survive their first year, nature is brutal. I do remember however, that during some nature show, maybe Frozen Planet, some filmmakers did save a baby penguin who had fallen into a hole in the snow in the Arctic and couldn't get out.

Edited by feverpitch, Feb 1, 2013 @ 8:03 AM.

[dirtybubble]

LOVED! this series.

The only thing I didn't like was the episode where the film makers talked about their experiences. Meh I don't care. Plus it takes away from the mystery and uncharted beauty of Africa to see these clowns trapsing thru it. I mean I understand plenty of people call even the remote areas home but I don't know, it just takes away for the untouched beauty to see the "white man" with his expensive equipment and cars in the shots.