David Attenborough’s Sequel To His 2006’s Masterpiece Is Not Just Better, It’s Funnier Too – Planet Earth II
Planet Earth II (2017)
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What can you say about a documentary TV miniseries that was voted as the #1 TV series in IMDB’s Top 250 TV Shows? A 2006 documentary series that showcases life on our planet Earth and ranks above the likes of the most popular TV shows – Breaking Bad, Games of Thrones etc. – BBC’s Planet Earth.
A decade later, BBC came out with the second part of Sir David Attenborough’s nature documentary series, Planet Earth II, and it’s better than its prequel! Not surprisingly, the show has been ranked #1 on IMDB’s Top 250 TV Shows, beating its predecessor and other popular TV series.
Planet Earth II, however, is shot in Ultra-high-definition (4K), a first for a television series, utilizing new technologies developed since the first series, including ultra high definition (4K), improved camera stabilisation, remote recording and aerial drone technology.
Planet Earth II – A Nature Documentary You Cannot Afford To Miss
Okay. Let’s blow your mind. Try to imagine this: shot non-stop for over five and a half years (that’s over 2000 days!), the crew of Planet Earth II made trips to over 40 counties, making 117 trips in the process and capturing the most intimate moments of the animal kingdom seldom witnessed in life. Like the incredible dance of death between the baby iguanas and the deadly racer snakes in the episode ‘Islands’. Or the extraordinary moment in the episode ‘Mountains’ when the duo of a mother and daughter snow leopards become trapped between two rival males. Or the fervent hunt of hungry lions that drives them to hunt preys like giraffes, animals much bigger than they can take down. Or the great migrations of the caribou on the freezing northern tundra as they evaded the famished Arctic wolves in ‘Grasslands’. In short, all the superlatives in the world fall short of describing the pure visual extravaganza that is Planet Earth II.
An interesting fact to note is that, as per Wikipedia, most of wildlife documented by Planet Earth II doesn’t display gore scenes. In 90% of the documented chases, prey manages to escape the predator.
It’s universally accepted that without Sir David Attenborough there is no Planet Earth, his beautiful narration lends the show unparalleled gravitas. But, it’s actually Hans Zimmer (Genius, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Gladiator, The Lion King etc.) and his heartfelt scores that connect better with the viewer this time around. Every sound has been flawlessly scored to ensure it fits the narrative perfectly and Zimmer has pulled out all the stops to make it one of his best works.
The soundtrack was released with a compilation of the incidental music specially commissioned for Planet Earth II. The main theme for the series was composed by Hans Zimmer, with the original music for each episode composed by Jacob Shea and Jasha Klebe for Bleeding Fingers Music.
Planet Earth II Moments That Floored The Idiot:
Episode 1 – Islands:
Race to the Death: The unbelievable and nerve-wrecking chase between baby iguanas and racer snakes in Galápagos Islands. The scene is so captivating that it has gone viral online and widely captivated social media.
Episode 2 – Mountains:
The Dance of Itch: The grinding of grizzly bears against trees to rub off their winter fur. The scene and the music accompanying it are both hilarious and comical. The grizzlies are better at making us laugh than most sitcoms out there.
Episode 3 – Jungles:
Feline Empowerment: The showdown between the land-dwelling jaguar and semiaquatic caiman. There was a moment at the beginning when I thought the caiman would take down the jaguar (I like reptiles more than cats). But, I quickly realised that the battle was one-sided: the jaguar mercilessly butchered the caiman.
Episode 4 – Deserts:
A Billion Insects: A locust swarm of biblical proportions laying waste to everything in their path in Madagascar. The sheer space taken by a billion locusts is enough to make people stare in astonishment and trepidation.
Episode 5 – Grasslands:
Wrath of Animal Kingdom: Different animals taking offence to cameras being placed on their turf and destroying the equipment. It’s hilarious to watch the team’s gear being damaged by what they assume to be elephants, but, what turns out to be an attack by different creatures – tigers, bears and, as the team rightly predicted, elephants.
Episode 6 – Cities:
Concrete Jungle Cats: Leopards that silently prowl the nights of Mumbai, India. I never had a clue that Bombay suffered from a cat problem, so, seeing leopards hunt in a metropolitan under the cover of darkness is a revelation.
Planet Earth II is a more than a worthy successor to its prequel and deserves all the heaps of accolades and praises showered upon it. It is a show to be always spoken about in superlatives.
Planet Earth II is television at its best.
Planet Earth II 4K Blu-ray Specifications:
Episodes: Islands, Mountains, Jungles, Deserts, Grasslands, Cities
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Frame rate: 24fps
Main soundtrack: English, DTS HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English (Hearing Impaired)
Certificate: PG
UHD Blu-ray (Disc 1 and 2)
Resolution: 2160p
Feature length: 300 minutes
Disc format: UHDBD66
Blu-ray (discs 3 and 4)
Resolution: 1080i
Feature length: 342 minutes (includes Planet Earth II Diaries shot in HD only)
Disc format: BD50
Planet Earth II on 4K Blu-ray is available on Amazon for $49.99. For Idiots who cannot afford 50 bucks, the series is available on torrents – for FREE!!!
Verdict of The Idiot
Idiot-o-Meter: The Dude Abides!
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The Idiot’s Rating System:
4.0 – 5.0: The Dude Abides!
3.0 – 4.0: Far Out, Man!
2.0 – 3.0: Take It Easy, Dude!
1.0 – 2.0: You’re Out Of Your Element!
0.0 – 1.0: The Goddamn Plane Has Crashed Into The Mountain!
The Idiot's Corner 
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