Frozen Planet

[Mr Pee]

Did anyone else watch the first part of "Frozen Planet", the latest offering from the BBC natural history unit and David Attenborough? Absolutely stunning. I am in awe of the cameramen and production team who are able to catch such remarkable footage. The sequences that particularly stood out for me were the killer whale hunt- the poor seal!! - and the birth of an enormous iceberg as it broke away.

And of course, as usual, the Concert Orchestra provided the musical accompaniment, which on this occasion I thought complimented the amazing footage without getting in the way.

[ahinton]

Did anyone else watch the first part of "Frozen Planet", the latest offering from the BBC natural history unit and David Attenborough? Absolutely stunning. I am in awe of the cameramen and production team who are able to catch such remarkable footage. The sequences that particularly stood out for me were the killer whale hunt- the poor seal!! - and the birth of an enormous iceberg as it broke away.

I saw it and was likewise most impressed.

And of course, as usual, the Concert Orchestra provided the musical accompaniment, which on this occasion I thought complimented the amazing footage without getting in the way.

I can't quite agree with you there, although there have been and doubtless will be far worse examples!

[Serial_Apologist]

If, like Planet earth, this series persuades more skeptics as to the evidence of global warming and makes them change their ways, so much the better.

(George Fenton's er, background music, ain't that bad in terms of the genre, imho)

[mangerton]

I watched it yesterday evening. Amazing pictures, and all the better in HD. Like others on the thread, I felt the music complemented the visuals and was not intrusive.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Mr Pee]

I watched it yesterday evening. Amazing pictures, and all the better in HD. Like others on the thread, I felt the music complemented the visuals and was not intrusive.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

I watched it in HD as well- wonderful.

[Richard Tarleton]

Superlative photography. I switched to HD just in time for the great grey owl footage near the start - for all the amazing Antarctic bits, the hauting beauty of that owl flying out of the fir forest was the best bit of the programme.

[decantor]

What we saw on screen was jaw-droppingly wonderful - I admire enormously the skill, courage, and patience of the cameramen who reveal to us things we could never see with our own eyes. But I did have some reservations about the programme as a whole. With such startling and powerfully beautiful images before us, do we really need mood music? Rather as in Coast, where a swelling score tries to convince us that every cliff and wave is a drama, I thought the soundtrack was subtly manipulative without quite ever being intrusive - which was maybe what was intended. And the sainted Attenborough's voice-over occasionally verged on the melodramatic - did anyone count how many times we were told in hushed tones that something was "the ----est on the planet"? There was enough material for a whole new edition of the Guinness Book of Records.

I can't deny that it was all addictive viewing, but I felt it ran close to being 'over-presented', a lily gilded. And I envy those who watched in HD: I did too, but my eyes are too old to reap the benefit!

[Chris Newman]

I can't deny that it was all addictive viewing, but I felt it ran close to being 'over-presented', a lily gilded.

I do not know. Here is an eighty-five year old man who has dedicated his life fighting for wildlife, wildernesses AND the arts. He fully realises that mankind has made a total pig's ear of this planet and most of us are determined to drag every other species down with us. Quite rightly Sir David is equally determined to get his vital message across even though he knows it is almost certainly too late.

[decantor]

I do not know. Here is an eighty-five year old man who has dedicated his life fighting for wildlife, wildernesses AND the arts. He fully realises that mankind has made a total pig's ear of this planet and most of us are determined to drag every other species down with us. Quite rightly Sir David is equally determined to get his vital message across even though he knows it is almost certainly too late.

And I do not understand. The implication of the post above seems to be that we should evaluate a programme on national TV on the strength of the age and achievement of its front-man, and on its subtext as an addendum to An Inconvenient Truth. Is Frozen Planet being screened in China?

In detail: most of the "pig's ear" was wrought before the damage was perceived, and Brits are already paying a high price for the remedy; and I have never met anyone "determined to drag down" other species (apart from harmful bacteria and viruses).

Are we then to offer our critiques of BBC programmes with a mind only to the political implications? Is Wagner never to be redeemed? I don't understand.

[doversoul1]

decantor
I am not sure if my reservation is exactly the same as yours but I think these programmes should be seen as exceptionally high quality entertainment and not a representation of ‘real’ wildlife which they tend to imply.

[Mr Pee]

decantor
I am not sure if my reservation is exactly the same as yours but I think these programmes should be seen as exceptionally high quality entertainment and not a representation of ‘real’ wildlife which they tend to imply.

I don't quite see your point, Doversoul. Programmes such as this enable the viewer to see aspects of the natural world that most of us would never experience- killer wales hunting in organised pods, polar bears fighting over a mate, and wolf packs hunting bison, all of which were shown in Frozen Planet. All the footage was genuine, and the result of months of filming, nothing had been "set up" for the cameras, so in what way was it not showing 'real' wildlife?

The fact that it was hypnotically beautiful and wonderfully filmed does not make it any less real.

[doversoul1]

Mr Pee
No, it is not ‘set-up’ but it is a collection of highlights. Everything happens in front of your eyes in an hour. There may be a lot of information but I am not so sure if these programmes add genuine understanding of wildlife. But this does not devalue the programmes as they are. They are great achievement as visual entertainment.

These days I prefer watching how young great spotted woodpeckers in my back garden learn to hang on to the peanuts feeder and peck at the nuts without losing balance. It takes them a few days. Take no notice. I am getting old

[Serial_Apologist]

Mr Pee
No, it is not ‘set-up’ but it is a collection of highlights. Everything happens in front of your eyes in an hour. There may be a lot of information but I am not so sure if these programmes add genuine understanding of wildlife. But this does not devalue the programmes as they are. They are great achievement as visual entertainment.

These days I prefer watching how young great spotted woodpeckers in my back garden learn to hang on to the peanuts feeder and peck at the nuts without losing balance. It takes them a few days. Take no notice. I am getting old

On the contrary, I have always found David Attenborough first class at explaining the biological and ecological aspects behind the beauty, as part of his vital message that life is all an interlinked pattern, our appreciation of the beauty therein both part of, and playing and encouraging a positive part in, that pattern.

Trouble is, old-style sacience taught us to see the parts and not the interconnected whole; and language by its nature doesn't help, as can be seen by this message!

[amateur51]

On the contrary, I have always found David Attenborough first class at explaining the biological and ecological aspects behind the beauty, as part of his vital message that life is all an interlinked pattern, our appreciation of the beauty therein both part of, and playing and encouraging a positive part in, that pattern.

Trouble is, old-style sacience taught us to see the parts and not the interconnected whole; and language by its nature doesn't help, as can be seen by this message!

I have one significant problem with the otherwise magnificent David Attenborough and that is his shorthand for the evoluntionary process. He often says things like " The lemurs have adapted over centuries to become ...", suggesting to my mind that a committee was involved with a standing item: 'evolution - decisions required'.

No such committee exists of course and the lemurs did not adapt - they were adapted by natural selection.

[Serial_Apologist]

I have one significant problem with the otherwise magnificent David Attenborough and that is his shorthand for the evoluntionary process. He often says things like " The lemurs have adapted over centuries to become ...", suggesting to my mind that a committee was involved with a standing item: 'evolution - decisions required'.

No such committee exists of course and the lemurs did not adapt - they were adapted by natural selection.

Precisely.... but forgiveable poetic license, I feel...