Our Planet

Every frame a desktop wallpaper.

The nonagenarian's dulcet tones are yet again put to use over the top of some remarkable footage of animal life, sprinkled with a few insights and music that strains a little too hard to add various emotions to particular scenes. The theme of the loss of biodiversity and habitat is nothing new, but each episode draws attention to the way such losses produce a cascade of consequences, including for the climate, as a reminder of the parlous if not hopeless state of the biosphere at this juncture.

is a very, very, very fine planet

Essentially a sequel to Planet Earth and Life, and equally good except for the fact that it's no longer quite as groundbreaking. There's also a greater focus on humanity's effect on our planet, but provides some nice optimism for how we might yet be able to save the environment.

S1: 80 S2: 80

rip earth

What a beautiful, beautiful world we have.

The footage is absolutely stunning and the pacing is high enough to make it consistently entertaining.

As usual, another reliably beautiful series that highlights many interesting animals and ecosystems; this excels when it goes microscopic (the Oceans episode was a definite highlight), but oddly the production overall seems more listless and defeatist than usual – of course the climate crisis is nowadays an unavoidable talking point in this context, but the references dotting every episode seem overdone, as well as the over anthromorphising of some of its “stars”. Still worthwhile for the peaks.

I don't think there is anything better you can choose if all you want is to turn off your brain and watch something beautiful and relaxing. A much recommended choice for calm and quiet nights.

G E M

Our Planet hits a familiar but effective style, and features the most jaw-dropping footage in nature documentary history.

The pictures were absolutely gorgeous. State of the art filming technology. It's fascinating how the smallest minutiae was captured at the most impossible of times. Just beautiful. It was almost a bit too perfect, too slick for my taste. When watching my wildlife documentaries, I like them a bit more rough on the edges. And I also LOVE to see and know about the camera crew's experience, being that close to such incredible feats. Themed episodes weren't really themed... it was all over the place.

A very beautiful look at nature. Shame on the person who set the music balance relative to the narration. The music is often overblown and too loud. Intensely beautiful photography and marvelous narration.

Watched this on mushrooms and it ruled.

Amazing.

[through season 2]

The footage of the Oarfish and Hairy Angler alone are worth the price of admission

The animal death at the end of the second series is the most brutal I've ever seen, A+

Attenborough comes out with his most harshly worded series as he inches closer to the end of his time on Earth. Imploring humanity to spare the natural world further indignity and allow it a minute to revive itself. He signs off with a utopian vision in which he endorses man being eradicated by radiation, allowing for the resilience of the local fauna and flora to play out, reclaiming the land that was once rightfully theirs. That vision is current day Chernobyl.

For anybody who's seen Planet Earth and its various spin-offs this series might seem a little bit too familiar, showing species and events that have already been featured in many other wildlife documentaries, however its photography is perhaps the most stunning yet, and importantly it is very explicit in all the various ways we as humans continue to destroy this planet.

Spiritual successor to Planet Earth and Life, its stunning visuals and often heart wrenching tales are engrossing. Attenborough has mastered the art of narration at this point. Its centered on our role in habitat decimation but usually doesn't come off as too preachy.