• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Planet Earth II - David Attenborough BBC1 8-9pm Sunday 6/11/2016 (1 Viewer)

I do find the music generally very irritating though - this is consistently the worst feature of Attenborough's series. It's all about exaggerating the drama/comedy of the action, at the expense of the natural history and the actual sounds of animals in their environment.

I couldn't agree more. This "Hollywood" music, coupled with the increasingly anthropomorphised script, detracts from what is brilliantly teachnical film making.

Why can't the footage be allowed to speak for itself?

Malcolm
 
King Edward said:
There's a fairly small range of really popular subjects so we get the same few species again and again.
Click to expand...

Not at all. Right now another thread on BirdForum is about tropicbirds nesting above a lake of boiling lava on Hawaii. Don't tell that would be boring to watch on BBC...

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=330672

Or an alligator catching herons by putting a stick on its nose - potentially the winner in a category of both horror and comedy... There is much visually stunning, filmable, interesting and outside the media circle of elephants, grizzly bears and such.
 
Last edited:
Today this series managed a miracle.... I finally "got" birds of paradise. That awesome vision on the forest floor - WOW!

More more more!

John
 
Truly awesome. Not just the bits mentioned above. The wasp/frog scenario was totally new to me. The whole show was awesome!
 
Due to the very annoying "mood music" I now (since episode one) watch it with no sound. Why would they play music over natural sounds? I have never undersood this. When I go out into the outdoors to look and listen at nature, I never hear orchestral music in the background, so why does the natural program makers insist of adding this annoying distraction. It's beyond my way of thinking.
 
Agree, the film work is outstanding but why would you nearly drown out the 'singing' of the Indri, one of natures most iconic sounds, with music and not being able to listen to the actual rainforest because of intrusive music.

It's not just these programs though as all nature/wildlife films seem to have it.

Would be so nice if the DVD set had the option to turn it off.

It was otherwise an enjoyable program but felt left wanting...looking forward to the deserts though as these are amongst my favourite birding destinations
 
jurek said:
I agree that BBC would be even better with novel topics.

They should employ two people as consultants: Vlad Dinets and Darren Naish. Or at least look at their blogs.

Both are dying breed of naturalists interested in nature itself (not ecology, genetics etc). Vlad is originally Russian and is a sort of adventurer, Darren is English and hasva special interest in small and obscure amphibians, rodents etc.

Both regularly put on their websites sights and info which I never saw in any popular book. I did not know before there is in USA a cave called Eternal Flame, with a gas seep producing fire burning forever, or there are pools in Altai made of pure quicksilver, or a cave in Mexico full of multi-meter perfect crystals, or that crocodiles catch herons by balancing sticks on their noses (really), or there are transparent frogs which fight with bony spurs on their arms, and lots more.
Click to expand...

It's a very long time since I heard of Vladimir Dinets, we used to call him the 'naked Russian' as he claimed the best way to see stuff in the forest was to walk around naked?!

We always thought his claimed sightings were ambitious at best, he went everywhere and saw EVERYTHING and some stuff not seen for years and years, i.e Rhinos at Danun Valley. Is he credible, we always thought he was a bullshitter due to the stuff he claimed to have seen?

Is this a Scottish Wildcat at the bottom of this page, looks like a hybrid at least to me? On the first page is a video of a Mountain Lion attacking him he says, he threw his coat on it to stop the attack?

This isn't a character assasination, it's just that I've been aware of him for years and many of his stories seem at best, incredible?


A
 
Last edited:
Vlad Dinets admits on his website that he was coloring his earlier travel stories. I hope in his research publishing he sticks to the scientific integrity. If you question it, contact him directly and ask for answers at the source, fair and square.

He is very good naturalist anyway, and has remarkably fresh perspective on the natural world. He finds things which are not standard but just as remarkable. For example, Eternal Flame Falls are located in New York state, look as a candidate for the major nature attraction at least on photos, but I never heard about them until Mr Dinets put a photo on his blog.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Flame_Falls
 
Last edited:
jurek said:
Vlad Dinets admits on his website that he was coloring his earlier travel stories. I hope in his research publishing he sticks to the scientific integrity. If you question it, contact him directly and ask for answers at the source, fair and square.

He is very good naturalist anyway, and has remarkably fresh perspective on the natural world. He finds things which are not standard but just as remarkable. For example, Eternal Flame Falls are located in New York state, look as a candidate for the major nature attraction at least on photos, but I never heard about them until Mr Dinets put a photo on his blog.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Flame_Falls
Click to expand...

I'll be honest, regardless of his professional credential, I take anything he says with a pinch of salt, throwing a coat on a Mountain Lion.....?

Most of his earlier reports which were on the Oriental Bird Club forum seemed like pure fantasy to many, including me.

A
 
On tonights episode, just before the Harris Hawks, what the species to be heard in the background? A harsh rasping call that I hear on many other tv shows.

And mods, don't think I didn't notice the censorship.


A
 
Superb programme as always :t:

I would have loved to see how the filming of the Harris Hawks and the Grounds Squirrels came to be - in the 10 min diaries at the end of the show, but never mind - it was not to be.

Wow, at the group of Harris Hawks hunting as a team - another unknown fact to myself that BoP's hunt as a team.
 
Last edited:
Timbirder3 said:
Andy, the rasping call is Cactus Wren. You hear it on any show set in the desert, even if it's not set in the USA/Mexico.
Tim
Click to expand...


Thanks Tim, that was actually my chief suspect!

I've even heard it overlaid on things that are supposed to be in Europe.

Cheers, Andy
 
Last edited:
It's a bit like the generic countryside soundtrack used in numerous British dramas that contains the distinct calls of Bee-eaters
Tim
 
Warning! This thread is more than 7 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

IAN JAMES THOMPSON
The Green Plannet with David Attenborough starts on BBC1 Sunday 9th January 2022!
Replies
4
Views
1K
aeshna5
A
P
A David Attnenborough Special - 22.30-23.05pm - Sun BBC1 28/6/2015
Replies
3
Views
2K
JTweedie
JTweedie
JTweedie
Upcoming BBC programmes
Replies
10
Views
5K
Telephoto Paul
Telephoto Paul
Telephoto Paul
BBC: The Hunt
Replies
15
Views
7K
Tarsiger
T
P
Britain's Big Wildlife Revival 18/8/2013 BBC1 1/6 18.35-19.35
Replies
4
Views
3K
Euan Buchan
Euan Buchan

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top