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Why I Love...Planet Earth

Polar bears
  • Posted at 5:16am
  • 15 March 2007
  • by DavidWhitehouse-RT
  • 2 comments

If there's a single sound more soothing than David Attenborough's voice then I've yet to hear it. It's like a wind chime troubled by a baby's first breath, a verbal muscle relaxant designed to wedge you that few inches further into your sofa. When married with the stunning photography found in Planet Earth it's a veritable tummy rub (by a man with marshmallows for hands).

Of course, we're used to Attenborough documentaries transcending all others. He has, after all, been perhaps the world's most eminent naturalist for upwards of 30 years and he's made many of the greatest programmes we've ever seen.

He exudes an unparalleled authority on his subject matter, which, let's not forget, is in fact every living thing. We expect nothing less than inspirational, mind-bending TV from him. However, no-one saw anything on the scale of Planet Earth coming. It is truly epic, making the Lord of the Rings trilogy look more like an episode of Peak Practice.

To watch it is to be swung between polar opposites of the human condition. One moment we're watching two fornicating slugs suspended from a branch by a string of orgasmic snot and snidely grimacing about how superior we are. The next we're reminded that we're just as insignificant as our hideous insect friends by sweeping panoramic views encompassing entire oceans and the mighty beasts within. It inspires revulsion, awe and everything in between.

Modern recording equipment means that many shows leave us wondering just how a programme was made. With Planet Earth we're left completely clueless, so much so that each episode comes with its own mini "making of" documentary by way of explanation. Despite being shown the show in production, some of the footage still seems beyond the work of even Steven Spielberg's special effects house Industrial Light and Magic.

We've seen the floors of the world's deepest caves and the eyes of the smallest creatures in existence. We've seen mould grow on microscopic insects over a period of months, and a pile of bat poo it would take hours (not to mention a strong stomach) to climb. Set to the stirring strings of that theme tune (Hollipolla by Sigur Ros, fact fans), even a mountain of flying rat crap can be a thing of beauty.

By its pure depth and quality alone we're made aware that this is no ordinary series, but one that commands the expertise, patience and genius of some of television's most incredible minds. It is, like all of Attenborough's shows, one of the few remaining sacred cows of modern television. Alongside Bruce Forsyth and The Sky at Night, its axing would be met, one suspects, with rioting in the streets.

To watch it is to be bombarded with knowledge, and all knowledge is power. To watch Planet Earth is to learn, not just about animals or the world, but about ourselves.

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  • Posted on 10 April 2009
  • at 9:11pm
  • by RexMundi

OP - just remember that Science is the effort to discover and increase human understanding of how reality works. Please be rational. How can anyone be "blinded" by science?! Surely most see it as a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws.

  • Posted on 02 February 2009
  • at 5:14pm
  • by Eileen Thompson

I was astounded at David Attenborough's statement that Evolution is a proven 'Fact' [ Radio Times 31st Jan]. He yet again worships at it's altar and Darwin is Lord of his universe. How refreshing and brave of Rod Liddle to suggest DA may be wrong.

Having watched his programme on Darwin last night, I found him arrogant in his mis-representations of the views of believers in Creation. They certainly do recognise changes within species and have never denied this. What they do deny is that there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that one species has ever changed into another - however long the supposed amount of time. The wolf/dog family will never ever change into the lion/cat family because they have their own inbuilt species design plan, and as far as similarities in the DNA between species goes , I've heard it variously stated that we have more in common with the Bear or Banana than a Monkey…

David Attenborough talks as though the only people who don't believe in Evolution are of the non-scientific kind - but there are many Scientists who are Christians, as well as Scientists who believe in 'Intelligent Design' - although they don't want to go as far as saying it is 'God'.

I believe I'm right in saying that Darwin was a Theologian, not a Scientist ?, so the book that David Attenborough made reference to as having "few technical terms" and was "easy to read" is not surprising is it?

Of course David Attenborough and Richard Dawkin together with their fellow worshippers have an absolute hatred for 'Creationists' , so their evolutionary beliefs are nothing more than an emotional reaction to the God they despise. They choose to ignore the evidence that the rest of us see - I agree with Rod Liddle - "is there a chance that Attenborough himself has been blinded by science ?"

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