Life

Natural Educational Dramedy - another great job by the BBC
Over the past two decades, the BBC Natural History Unit has become a prolific documentary factory of the highest order, with ever-improving skills and increasing dedication. Some of their productions are relatively minor, but this is one of their flagships, and you can tell this because they use David Attenborough as the narrator (who is still in top form).

The theme for this 10-part series is the challenges of life and how various animals and plants solve them. This includes unusual and extreme food gathering techniques, hunting strategies, surprising evolutionary weapons and defenses, adaptations to harsh environments, mating rituals, and the lengths they go to in order to pick the right breeding partners.

Each episode covers this vast topic in specific areas: The first episode is an overview and top-20 hit parade of the upcoming episodes. Each of the ensuing episodes then cover a branch of the animal kingdom, including reptiles, insects, mammals, plants,...

Why pay the same for lower quality?
The Life series is fantastic, but it comes in two versions -- this one, narrated by Oprah Winfrey for the US market; and the original version as narrated by the naturalist David Attenborough.

While the cinematography remains unchanged, Oprah's narration lacks the depth that Attenborough's years of experience as both naturalist and narrator brings to the table. I strongly recommend waiting for the US release of the original BBC version, narrated by David Attenborough.

You have got to be kidding me.
This is atrocious. I'm watching "Life" on Discovery channel right now, with Oprah narrating. Some of the reviewers said that the script was re-written for her, and I can believe it. I can't believe Attenborough saying lines like "hunting crab seals is toooo much work!" Oprah narrates this thing as if she were reading a bedtime story to little kids and comes off as snarky and condescending. In the opening segment, she's discussing a fox chasing an ibex kid and it's basically like "heeeere comes the fox! UH OH!!"

The most embarrassing thing is that I'm thinking that British people think that Americans demanded this. Who's going to be doing the next special, Dr. Phil? "Oh-kaaay, here comes the alee-gaytor, it's prey tries to run, but that neeeever works! HAW HAW HAW!" Don't get this. Get the real version.

Click to Editorial Reviews