SYNOPSIS

Another extraordinary study of animal life hosted by the greatest TV naturalist we will have the pleasure of `knowing’ - David Attenborough.

The first episode of this typically enthralling ten-part series is entitled “A Winning Design” and highlights the diversity of mammals and their evolution. Also highlighted is the uniqueness of Australian mammals and, in particular, our marsupials including the only known egg producing mammals still extant - the platypus and echidna. Also featured are wallabies and kangaroos, possums, koalas and wombats. As usual, with a series such as this, there is never-before-seen footage of these creatures in their natural environment.

Further episodes of this series are generally `categorised’ into large sub-groups, with many of the episodes self-explanatory:

Episode 2: Insect Hunters

Episode 3: Plant Predators

Episode 4: Chisellers (rodents)

Episode 5: Meat Eaters

Episode 6: Opportunists (mainly dealing with omnivores - including ourselves!)

Episode 7: Return to Water (sea mammals comprising sea otters, seals, dolphins and whales)

Episode 8: Life in the Trees (surprisingly with little detail on the primates)

Episode 9: Social Climbers (the smaller primates)

Episode 10: Food for Thought (dealing with the great apes - along with some comparisons to ourselves; together with humankind and its relationship with the environment plus implications of human domination of the planet in the future).

As usual the BBC Natural History Unit has outdone itself in providing some breathtaking daylight footage, and combined with some superb computer graphics and animation (some quite similar to that in “Walking with Dinosaurs”), night-light, infrared and underwater photography and a host of other technological innovations, we watch more than a sequence of `pretty pictures’ - often allowing us to witness events never seen before. Not that all the pictures are pretty - there are a number of scenes throughout the series that could be deemed as `confronting’ or uncomfortable.

David Attenborough as host is not one to sit back and merely narrate the series - he is out there in the desert, amongst the treetops, waist deep in water (or under it) giving us a first hand account of what is occurring in the natural world; as usual with his unbounded energy and enthusiasm. He could tell me that pigs can fly, and I’ll believe him - then again, all claims are normally backed up with visual evidence, and there are enough surprises in this series to let pigs remain earthbound.

Having watched all ten episodes in two sittings (whew!) it would be unfair of me (even impossible) to nominate any particular highlights of the series - indeed each person will have his or her personal highlights that will differ substantially from mine - each episode contains a number of extraordinary sights and/or facts to satisfy all tastes.

It should be needless to say; but without being preached to we are constantly reminded of our destruction of the habitat of other creatures on this planet, and our abuse of the natural environment.

This 4-disk series is contained in a sturdy slipcase with limited texts within a card outer case - all very nicely presented.

EXTRAS

Extra features for this series appear on disks three and four:

? “Behind the Scenes” - these are quite interesting featurettes, often hosted by Attenborough, containing extra footage of the creatures concerned, plus profiles on some of the natural historians, camera staff and technologies employed in creating the program:

? Platypus

? Elephant

? Big Cats

? Cave Bats

? Grizzly Bear

? Canopies (working in the treetops)

? “Video to Music Sequence” - a featurette of 10 minutes or so - much like setting a series of `cute and cuddly’ pictures to a movement from a symphony

? “Fact Files” - excellent multi page written files with comprehensive information about 20 of the creatures featured in the series”

? Original Score” - the entire (?) musical score set over seven audio-only tracks

? Weblink - for those using a DVD-ROM drive with Internet connection for access to a purpose-built website

It’s a bit of a pity that they didn’t `tack on’ the recently screened biographical documentary about David Attenborough the man; but maybe we haven’t seen the last of him on our screens yet.?

OVERALL

There is not a great deal that can be said about this series that has not already been said before - if you have even the mildest interest in some of the co-habitants of this earth, then this is the series for you! It contains all the charm and harsh realities of the natural world that is both educational and entertaining; the host is both enthusiastic and genuine (at times it is difficult to avoid sharing his awe and delight), and is not employed to provide a `pretty’ voiceover; plus some of the extra features give us an understanding of the lengths to which those involved will go to give us the most accurate possible picture of the world around us and the plight of our mammalian cousins.

It is highly recommended viewing for all ages (though for the youngsters, some parental guidance would be recommended), and a `treasure’ for future reference.

Running time: 550 minutes