As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
Good and bad. Good: the BBC Natural History Unit at Bristol have been on holiday to the African bush again, to bring us unique pictures of lions, leopards and cheetahs, spread across a whole week of programmes. Bad: three people keep getting in the way in their Land Rovers. I believe they are called presenters.
Simon King, Jonathan Scott and Saba Douglas-Hamilton are admirable people. They love the natural world, they adore and respect big cats, and they are filled with an enthusiasm for their subject that goes beyond professional detachment and into rhapsody. However, their brief on this series seems to be to translate ie. tell us stupid members of the viewing public what we are seeing. If Notch, the male lion in the Marsh tribe, roars, they tell us he's roaring, while he's roaring. Yes, they do that whisper that wildlife presenters in close proximity to their subject do, but they're still talking over the top of the action. Worse, all three tear around in their jeeps after the lions, leopards and cheetahs as if to make the "chase" more exciting. Even though they are only there to record footage, there's an element of safari about it that I don't like. When they are parked, these presenters are literally between us and the big cats. At one point last night, the female cheetah actually hopped up on the roof of one of the camera vehicles and stretched out there. It was lovely to see her shot close-up from underneath, through the sun roof, but it tells you all you need to know about the intrusive nature of the filming. And when they're not just obscuring the view, they're treating the audience like children, in a programme that airs at 7pm and in a TV age when even children aren't treated like children.
While Douglas-Hamilton, by far the most irritating of the trio, whips herself up into a state of grace about the movements of her leopard ("Bella's making her way up the bank"), King and Scott indulge in the most discredited kind of anthropomorphism, imagining what the delectable baby cheetah, Toto, is saying to her mum, or what Notch is saying to his lady lions. Now, as cat lovers, we are guilty of trying to second guess what Pepper is saying when she miaows at us, but I wouldn't stake my zoological reputation on it. This lot talk with such authority. And yet, when Toto's mum went off to catch an antelope for supper, leaving little Toto back at the mound, unprotected and squeaking like a baby bird, Jonathan Scott, with his comedy moustache, seemed genuinely concerned that she wouldn't find him again. Of course she'd find him! She's a wild animal that lives in the wild!
Give me stunning pictures of big cats. Edit them together by all means. Play African music in the background and drop in dramatic shots of Land Rovers rattling along between catty bits. But don't treat me like a fool, and don't talk over the lions.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 6:45 AM
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I had this problem a few months back with another wildlife programme. I can't remember what show it was (or which animal it was about) (or which channel it was on...) but I do recall that I had to turn it off the narration was so annoying.
Again it was on at 7pm but the viewer was treated like a child the commentary was so basic, it would be deemed patronising by any children that happened to be watching let alone the adult audience the timeslot would expect.
It could be a cat fanciers related problem. Everytime one of ours gets in the litter tray, if someone is there I turn and say "[cats name] is having a wee"
Perhaps I should audition for the next series
Please tell me that I'm not the only person who, for many years, thought the line was "rises like a LEOPRESS above the Serengeti"
I know you're avoiding Big Brother Andrew but here's a relevant snippet about a rat from today's entry in Grace Dent's very funny BB7 blog on radiotimes.com...
"I think Little Brother adds to the experience! And he's got a little limp! He's like, 'Oooh, helloooo, I'm just hungry, feed me!'" sobs Pete in the diary room. This is the problem with anthropomorphising animals: the second you've given them a name, or worse still, a voice, you're emotionally doomed.
I can't watch Big Cat Week on BBC1 since they showed a trailer where all the lions had voiceover artists doing their "voices", and one little fluffy-faced lion cub was saying: "Oooh, I got chased by baboons today while Mummy was at work! It was vewy scawy!" That was it cancelled off the Sky+ box for me. I just can't get involved. Of course, my boundless compassion only really stretches to doe-eyed animals. I could watch Nikki being chased by vicious baboons waving pitchforks all day long.
I noticed the annoyingness of the advert as well and my Mum and I both exchanged withering glances when it came on! What kind of people watch the advert, laugh and make a mental note to watch that witty program. Surely their target audience(nature lovers!) don't appreciate these 'witty' adverts!
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Ah yes........The "All Life Is A Soap Opera/Reality Show" crew. Chase them out of town......
I'd hate to think they were right though...........maybe this is what people want. I don't know....
I suppose you would need to do a survey.
"Does sir/madam like a happy ending to their nature documentaries?"(with adoreably named heroes/anti-heroes/villains etc...)
Nature shows have always been dramatic, even told a story of sorts, but there always remained a sense of detachment. The 'Planet Earth' series for instance has a great many dramatic interludes and a few melancholic moments. The film of the panda desperately nursing it's infant on ludicrously weak milk is one such, but the narration still retained a level of detachment. A degree of emotional manipulation is occurring through the images, but the factual narration keeps it on the straight and narrow.
Johnny Morris has a lot to answer for. When asked to comment the haughty camel agreed, the excited chimp disagreed, and the sleepy lion was too tired.
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