Planet Earth : TV Series

I do not regularly or occasionally watch the Discovery Channel, but lately I have been clamoring to TeVo hours of the channel on my DVR. The reason for this has been because of the 11 part series "Planet Earth" that has captured my attention. Admittedly, I do consider myself concerned with the environment and I do believe that global warming is a significant issue, but I also love animals. This program satiates both of these interests.

The series is split into different areas of the earth such as the desert, rainforests, etc... and has an extremely unique view of animals and the earth. The program has garnered so much attention that even Oprah recently did a special on it on her own show. The show is narrated by Sigourney Weaver (who is not a good of a nature themed narrator as Morgan Freeman in March of the Penguins, but it works) and plays two episodes every Sunday night. Some of the shots seen in these videos are the first of its kind to ever be captured due to rapid increase in technology and the views and angles the cameramen were able to get. Surley the movies required countless dull hours of sitting around, waiting for the world to happen. This video captures things that nearly all people will never see in their life, such as an extrmeley exotic bird in the south american rainforest floor that is guarded by a tribe of indigenous people. Some of these animals may never be seen again as they are in danger of becoming extinct.

Some of the more notable never seen before footage include a video of a snow leopard in Pakistan which required several trips and hours of sitting around waiting in the moutains to tape. Another extrmely rare yet adorable shot is that of a mother polar bear and her two baby cubs emerging from their den after hibernating for the winter. If seeing these small, fuzzy, cubs with little button eyes does not make you want to fight for wildlife conservation, nothing will.

I am just as guilty as many people of watching reality tv and sitcoms that provide no educational value. However, this series I have found to be interesting, relaxing, and the mere hour of each segment seems to fly by. The discovery channel has kept the commercials during these showings to a bear minimum so the full hour is nearly uninterrupted. It is an excellent program to watch with family as it is educational for children and interesting enough to hold anyones attention. It is also good for geogrphy as the show travels to many locations most Americans have probably never even heard of.

The series can be seen on both the Discovery Channel and the Discovery HD Channel on Sunday Nights from 8-10 E.T. and are worth tevoing.