Wild at Home: natural history TV, books, puzzles and more
A showcase of the planet’s most precious species and habitats.
OUR PLANET NETFLIX, EIGHT EPISODES, AVAILABLE NOW
Since Planet Earth exploded onto our screens in 2006 – in all its eyepopping, high definition glory – Sir David Attenborough has captained a string of nature documentary successes, each even more groundbreaking than the last. Our Planet is the latest. And, as you would expect, the series is no less ambitious than its predecessors.
Using the latest in camera technology, it encompasses a grand total of 50 countries and attempts to capture the entire, interconnected ecosystem of ‘our planet’. Over 600 crew members have worked to take the viewer everywhere, from the Arctic wilderness to the African plains. Meanwhile, the musical score deftly moves us from the heart-breaking to the humorous – the wing-snapping, moonwalking courtship dance of an amorous red-capped manakin bird is sure to raise a smile.
But whilst wildlife film-making has reached its pinnacle, the state of nature has hit rock bottom. “We’re the first generation to know the full impact of what we’re doing to our planet, and the last that has the chance to do anything about it,” says executive producer and executive director of WWF-UK Colin Butfield. “We’re at a unique moment in our history where we have the chance to put things right.”
This is Our Planet’s proclaimed raison d’être: to educate Netflix’s more than 137 million users. Though at times it lacks a depth of information in its attempt to span the entire planet, as Attenborough states in episode one, its broad aim is to “celebrate the natural wonders that remain, and reveal what we must preserve to ensure people and nature thrive.”