BBC and AMC go looking for ‘Eden’
Having just completed two seasons of “The Crown” playing the disappointed and dissipated Princess Margaret, actress Helena Bonham Carter narrates the new BBC series “Eden: Untamed Planet” (8 p.m. Saturday, BBC America, AMC and AMC+, TV-PG).
As the title implies, “Eden” travels to remote regions generally untouched by human habitation. At the same time, it explores the effects of man-made climate change on even these bucolic outposts.
First up is “Borneo: Sacred Forest,” a visit to the island rainforest that boasts some 40,000 species of plants and animals — 6,000 of them unique to Borneo. But don’t let the lush tropical feel fool you. The soil is actually quite thin, having been washed away by eons of heavy rain. In the logic of natural selection, the very paucity of nutrients has inspired resourcefulness among the survivors and some of the Earth’s most diverse assortment of plants.
Next week’s installment, “Namib: Skeleton Coast and Beyond,” visits one of the Earth’s hottest and driest deserts. How does this produce an “Eden”? A dense sea fog offers moisture to compensate for the stingy clouds and creates a shrouded landscape quite unlike any other on the planet.
› An enchanted blade helps an aging serial killer (Vince Vaughn) switch bodies with a teenage girl (Kathryn Newton) in the 2020 shocker “Freaky” (8:15 p.m. Saturday, HBO). An obvious nod to “Freaky Friday,” released under the Blumhouse Productions imprint, “Freaky” received positive reviews and numerous award nominations for its cheeky blend of slasher horror and comedy.
› Cord-cutters who hope to keep up with the summer games, or wish to apply portion control and limit their viewing to recaps, might turn to Peacock, NBC Universal’s streaming service. Peacock has created a dedicated Olympics channel called Tokyo NOW, offering events and recaps. Fans can start their day with “Tokyo Live” streaming 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. “Tokyo Gold” will anticipate the day’s most compelling events and feature profiles and interviews with athletes. “Tokyo Tonight” (7:30 p.m.) wraps up the day’s coverage. This menu of Peacock programs kicks off on Saturday.
› Does stand-up comedy lend itself to cartoon animation? “Tig Notaro: Drawn” (10 p.m. Saturday, HBO, TV-14) presents a standup routine by the acclaimed comedian in several different cartoon styles. Notaro’s comic style leans heavily toward storytelling, and many jokes are based on personal experiences, including a hospital bed marriage proposal, an altercation with a fellow comedian and a road trip with Dolly Parton.
The relationship between a standup and her audience is pretty electric when it’s working. There’s a certain power derived from a mass of people sitting in the dark, hanging on every word and erupting in nervous laughter. I’m not sure if animation distracts or detracts from the experience. I have a similar reaction to recent attempts to repackage podcasts with footage. Podcasts and comedy monologues tap into an almost primordial oral tradition. We like to listen to stories. Turning radio into television or comedy into cartoons is an interesting experiment, but not necessarily an improvement on the original(s).