This final story is about a tiger trying to raise 4 cubs. Below are the main events in the programme.
An outline of the programme
For anyone finding the above outline somewhat overly simplistic way of reflecting the programme the following listing may be detailed enough.
As the list indicates despite criticism there is a very strong environmental message about human population problems in the programme (shown in yellow).
A detailed list of what happens in the programme. Marked are the important environmental messages.
Selected sequences
The filming of the tiger’s vanishing act (5’02-5’10) is a textbook example of splendid camera work.
Although the programme was only some 50 minutes long (and 10 minutes of “Behind the scenes”) the story continued. The fate of the star animals was revealed in a special video.
This is the only programme whose subject Attenborough had not already treated specifically on video (see “Expanded Index”, coming up) and probably the animal with the most names in English. The story is about a fight between a mother and her daughter as the outline below indicates.
The outline shows the conflicts between a mother (yellow) and daughter (dark green) painted wolf
This scanty information may not be enough to reflect the programme for everyone. A more detailed overview is in the listing below as well as an indication of where the (to some) all important environmental message is to be found.
There are two very remarkable sequences of note in this programme.
Running on parched soil across footsteps left by elephants can be dangerous. Tammy’s sister broke her foot while running and was cared for (23’25-25′). Quite a remarkable fact. Usually such an accident would prove fatal to a carnivore, only plant eaters might have a chance (see Life in the Trees episode in Life on Earth).
The ritual to select a new leader (46′-46’30). According to Attenborough this has never been witnessed before, but it may sound too esoteric for most viewers.
This programme is about a family of lions. The below is a timeline showing what happens in the programme.
A more detailed look is given in the listing below, including the important environmental issues.
A listing of what happened in the programme – Environmental issues are shown in yellow
The programme gives an interesting insight into a strange world of a lion pride without any males. It actually leaves more questions than it answers. How do the females fend for themselves?
This programme is quite unique in the series in being about an anonymous penguin. All penguins look the same (to scientists). Nevertheless the film makes a very interesting and informative viewing as the following timeline indicates.
A timeline of the main events of the emperor programme
The graphical timeline above is unavoidably very superficial. A more detailed view can be given in the listing below.
A list of what happens in the programme
In bad weather, anyone watching penguins huddling could hardly avoid noticing it moving. This seems to be, at least partly, for thermal regulation: Outside the huddle the temperature can be around -50°C but surprisingly deep inside a large huddle it can reach an incredible +30°C which would cause overheating!*
The incident with the stealing of the young (27’20-29’20) caused quite a stir and so did their accident of being trapped in the ravine (30’45) according to the presenters of the Breakfast show on BBC the next morning. Due to copyright laws and other problems I can’t include a video of their discussion here.
However they did not seem to notice what seemed to be the most remarkable sequence in the programme: two mothers stuck in the ravine and solving the problem in completely different ways. One sacrificed her young to save herself, the other, using her beak and wings as ice picks as the image above shows, managed to get out of the ravine while keeping her young! The above image is taken from The Sunday Times, 13 October 2019.**
Marked in yellow is obviously the important environmental message of the programme.
References*
Stephen Moss Dynasties: The rise and fall of animal families. BBC books (2018). Pp. 208-11.
**Lindsay McCrae 2019. The Sunday Times. The BBC Dynasties emperor penguin rescue: “We couldn’t watch and do nothing”. Extracted from My Penguin Year: Living with the Emperors — A Journey of Discovery by Lindsay McCrae (Hodder & Stoughton).
This is the first programme in the Dynasties series. The list below gives an idea about the story line. Being a rather recent series it is very important to point out the problem of potential spoilers.
A timeline of the programme showing how the story unfolds
Since the story is concentrates on a single animal species a more detailed look seemed unavoidable pointing out where environmental issues are mentioned (in yellow).
It may seem strange to have the alpha male have the same name as the narrator. In the interview Attenborough implied that this was an unfortunate coincidence. One might ask “Why not just change it?” It is not as if the chimp knew that name (used among the scientists) or would be likely to listen to the programme. Consequently it might seem logical to just change it to something else more logical for the all those involved.
This series is completely different from anything that had been on television before (connected with Attenborough at least) in being restricted to a few individuals of a single animal species. This leads to more sequences, each of them being shorter than before. As a consequence a graphical presentation of the outline is not as applicable, a text form is used instead.
Attenborough is listed as a member of the production team, yet, in an interview he admitted he did not know about the fate of various animals when narrating the finished film. That may seem rather strange. In this series he does appear more frequently than in recent series, actually more frequently than in any other of the those he has narrated.
In almost all episodes the animals get names, a method that used to despised by scientists as being too anthropomorphic. This obviously makes it easier for the viewer to make connections. The only exception is the penguin episode: as Attenborough admits in the interview, above, all penguins (of the same species) look the same so it is hard to stick a label to an individual if you can’t safely stick to it.
This series (and earlier as well) has been critised for ignoring the impact humans have on the environment.
