Planet Earth II
Planet Earth, ten years ago, set the benchmark for wildlife documentaries. The
documentary was featured in the then high-definition video, which was considered to be the
zenith of success of the BBC’s Natural History Unit and Sir David Attenborough outstanding
work, which actually began with the groundbreaking Life on Earth in 1979.
After a 10 years gap, Planet Earth has come back with its sequel Planet Earth II, this time
around with even bigger and better video quality. At the series opening only, Attenborough
looked down from the hot air balloon to the earth and promises us to bring us even closer to
animals than ever before and reveal a new wildlife play for the audience. And it all made sense,
as the starting scenes surpasses the former series with its breathtaking visuals.
The first episode featured ‘Islands’, where the series depicted some stunning visions in
the sere Escudo, off Panama. What takes the limelight in the islands is a three toed pygmy sloth
who crosses miles in slo-mo in the search of a potential mate. But what stands as the highlight is
the survival of baby iguanas on the Galapagos island of Fernandina.
The documentary proved to be frightening –from the horrific adult iguanas to their creepy
babies. The audience had their hearts running fast as they saw the newborns run for their lives
against coiling and slithering masses of serpents. This scene surely has stood out in the series
premiere.
Planet Earth even more had more amazing wonders, all juxtapose together to make a
seamless view and letting the viewer awestruck by the resplendency of Mother Nature. The
Madagascan lemurs were well-adjusted by ferociously fighting Komodo dragons; the
anthropomorphic sweetness of a “lonely” albatross waiting to meet up with its life-mate, was
offset by the astringency of a young nod struggling to escape a sticky end in a Seychelles’ “birdcatcher” tree.
But the series’ premiere best part was definitely saved for the last which depicted the 1.5
million of penguin colony on the remote Zavadovski Island, Southern Ocean and their risky
commute in the search of food for sanctuary.
The premiere has overall changed how a lay man view islands. Islands may seem remote
and of little significance, yet they are home to some of most precious wildlife on earth. The