Absolutely adore 'Planet Earth', one of the best documentaries ever made and actually is more than that. Have remarked a few times that it and its recent follow up (every bit as good) did for nature and out planet as 'Walking with Dinosaurs' did with the dinosaurs. David Attenborough is widely considered a national treasure for very good reason, no matter how much he himself dislikes the term.
"Seasonal Forests", the penultimate episode of 'Planet Earth', perfectly lives up to the never less than great quality of the previous nine episodes of 'Planet Earth' and is a great representation of what Attenborough is all about and what a good documentary should be like. "Seasonal Forests" throughout, as with the previous nine episodes and with Attenborough at his best, is an awe-inspiring, utterly transfixing experience where one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art. This may sound like extreme hyperbole, but to me and many others 'Planet Earth' is completely deserving of its praise and even deserving of more. To me as well, it is easily one of the best the BBC has done in years.
Where to start with the praises for "Seasonal Forests"? It for starters looks amazing, one of the best-looking of the series in fact. It is gorgeously filmed, those aerial shots are awe-inspiring, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting more with the inhabitants) way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The jungle scenery is some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life and the rich colours positively leap out. The music is epic but has just as many quieter moments that speak just as much. The main theme is unforgettable.
Regarding the narrative aspects, "Seasonal Forests" can't be faulted there either. The narration has a great well-balanced mix of facts that will be familiar to the viewer and others that will induce the right amount of surprise. In short, it's just fascinating, informative and thoughtful, and no other documentary in existence has taught me this much about trees. Everything is intriguing and illuminating, with as much for children to be inspired by as well as adults, and there is just enough freshness to avoid it from becoming stale. Attenborough delivers it beautifully, there's a soft-spoken enthusiasm and precision about his delivery and he never preaches.
'Planet Earth' always succeeded in the emotional impact. "Seasonal Forests" once again does that, the whole stuff with the cicada is enough to leave one in awe.
Nothing episodic or repetitive here either. Despite covering a lot, there is a real sense of the episode having its own individual story with real, complex emotions and conflicts and the inhabitants developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.
To conclude, more 'Planet Earth' magic. 10/10 Bethany Cox
