Planet Earth I & II (2006-2016) - Review
Narrated By: David Attenborough
Series Producers: Alastair Fothergill & Tom Hugh-Jones
Music Composed By: George Fenton & Hans Zimmer
Certificate: PG
I'm
going to start off this review with one of my disclaimers. If you've
read any of my other reviews, you'll know that me talking about
Planet Earth is a breakaway from my usual kind of
reviews. I've yet to actually write about a documentary series, and
until now, I've usually talked about things that include a story and
characters, but obviously a documentary is quite different from this.
For that reason, I'm sorry if this review turns out rustier than
usual. With that out of the way, let's waste no more time and take a
look at Planet Earth.
Originally
commissioned in 2006 by the BBC, Planet Earth is a
nature documentary that looks at animal and plant life from across
the globe. It documents the struggles that many creatures have to go
to to survive, how they hunt, how they survive in hostile
environments as well as how they deal with the problem of constantly
shrinking habitats. From pole to pole, and with no part of the
natural world left untouched, the series celebrates and presents our
planet to us in a quality and intimacy we've never seen before...
One
of the things that helps set Planet Earth apart from other
David Attenborough-narrated documentaries (e.g. The Hunt,
Life Story, Frozen Planet etc.), is that
it's not interested in focusing on just one aspect of the Earth, but
presents us with a bit of everything. Over the course of two series,
it shows some great range and features practically every habitat on
Earth – the grasslands, mountains, jungles, seas, ocean depths, the
arctic etc. Given how much it manages to cover in a space of just one
series, you'd think it would be hard to justify Planet Earth II
ten years later, but it honestly does. Because of how much the planet
has changed in that time, it gives the second series the chance to
show off even more. The advancement of technology in that time also
means that the second series looks absolutely stunning, and able to
look superior over an already excellent-looking first series.
Seriously, I don't really buy into the HD TVs, Blu-ray or 4K craze,
but if ever there was a show to argue the case for them, Planet
Earth and Planet Earth II are it. To top it all
off, both series have achieved incredibly strong ratings and
popularity, especially with younger viewers, and with the second
series managing to best competition from shows like Strictly
Come Dancing and The X Factor (a fact that
somewhat restores my faith in viewing audiences).
It
may be a nature documentary, but Planet Earth also
manages to create some of the most tense and attention-commanding
bits of television in recent memory. Many scenes are genuinely
nail-biting, tense and suspenseful to watch, with one scene that
stuck out particularly in my mind being the racer snakes and baby
iguana chase. You can find that scene on YouTube, but let's just say
that it is one of the most perfectly filmed, edited and scored scenes
I've ever watched. That's the thing about Planet Earth
– many of its best scenes are dangerous or harsh, but there's still
just as much variety as there is in the location work. It isn't
afraid to have the occasional sweet moment, with two of the very
first scenes from the first episode looking at a flock of penguins
huddling for warmth, followed straight after by some adorable polar
bear cubs taking their first (slippery) steps on the ice.
The
fact that the show came out as one of the best looking things on
television is testament to the incredible work of the wildlife
cameramen. I've always admired the sheer dedication, skill and
patience that their job requires, and the stunning results it
produces here just cannot go unappreciated. Each episode finishes
with a roughly fifteen-minute long look at how each episodes was
brought to life by the production team, and to see their work given
the credit they deserve is brilliant. The production team have to go
through a lot to get the results they're after, often having to wait
lengthy amounts of time whilst also enduring brutal conditions and
climates. Other times, such as when it comes to going so far down
into the ocean that all natural light is lost and a submarine has to
be used, it can still produce some beautiful footage. Couple this
with frequent and able use of techniques such as time lapsing,
long-lens shots and intricate and detailed close-ups, and … just
give the production team behind all this a massive round of applause.
Linking
all these breathtaking visuals together is David Attenborough's
narration. What can I say? We've reached a point where it would be
more unusual to watch a nature documentary without hearing his voice,
but he's just as well-suited and great in the job as you'd expect.
Attenborough does a fine job at providing context to what we're
seeing and transitioning us from focusing on one animal or area to
another. Accompanying his narration is a really strong soundtrack
that's once again just as varied as the visuals and locations, and
with the underrated Hans Zimmer as one of the composers, what else
would you expect? It can be light and delicate one moment, but when
necessary, it's more than capable of taking a darker or more dramatic
twist that can really emphasize moments of drama and suspense.
One
of the possible reasons offered as to why Planet Earth
has garnered such popularity, is that it can help us to escape the
trivialities, conflicts and arguments we see so often in our lives
and on the television. It can help us to re-establish our connection
with the natural world, and I speak for myself when I say that it can
be very easy to lose that connection. Heck, Planet Earth II
was released in 2016, a year dominated (and tainted if you ask me) by
things like Trump and Brexit, and if that's not incentive for an hour
of escape and re-connection with this show, then I'm not sure what
is. However, this is an aspect of the show that's also come in for
some criticism, with a minority of environmentalists arguing that the
series presents a too idyllic and glossy vision of nature, and
neglects to highlight the harm human beings have done to the world.
But with respect, I just can't share this criticism. For example,
organizations like Greenpeace just don't click with me, because while
I certainly share their goal of a greener world where all species
have somewhere to live, the way they go about it just isn't
effective. Spending an hour every night ramming nothing but the need
for environmental protection down an audience's throat isn't going to
work. Instead, what Planet Earth presents is some smart
environmentalism, by showing us the beauty of the natural world and
what we could have on a wider scale if we limit our destruction.
Besides, there are still some times where Planet Earth
does tackle the issue head on – the first series was even followed
up by three episodes of Planet Earth – The Future,
which looked at the impact humans have had on the world! The last
episode of the second series also looked at wildlife in cities,
showing us how some species are beginning to adapt, and how human and
animal life can exist side by side.
Planet Earth I & II
In
conclusion, there can be little doubt that this is by far the BBC's
greatest nature documentary series, and possibly one of the best to
ever be created. It has everything you'd want from such a series –
great range, incredible visuals and camerawork, moments that scream
drama and suspense, whilst also being very informative to watch. I
honestly can't find anything of significance that goes wrong here,
and I have little hesitation it calling it one of the best TV series
in recent years and definitely something you should check out.
Planet Earth I & II
10/10