Planet Earth II [4k Ultra-HD + Blu-ray]

The sublime Sir David Attenborough is now 90 years old. So what have BBC Earth done? They have wisely pulled out all the stops while he is still with us. If this is his swan song (and we earnestly hope it won’t be), it reads like a love letter for his planet, and ours. Like Jane Goodall, he has spent a lifetime battling for the voiceless and powerless, for the ultimate political underclass — the non-human biosphere. Here he shows us its immense beauty and variety in many vast ecosystems: Islands, Mountains, Jungles, Deserts, Grasslands and Cities. Earth’s current biodiversity, the greatest it has ever had, has taken five million years to create. Think about that figure for a moment before preceding to the next sentence. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that Earth’s biodiversity has been reduced by 40% since the year 1970. Toward the end of the series Sir David says an area the size of Britain is expected to be buried under urban concrete and steel over the next decade. Half the world’s human population now lives in cities and the percentage is incrementally increasing. More demands, pressures, assaults on the natural environment.Of all the episodes I thought in advance I would enjoy Jungles most. Why? Because rain forests make up only 6% of Earth’s land area yet contain over 30% of all plant and animal species on the planet. They are gardens where competition is intense, where natural selection operates in overdrive, where only the most inventive and adaptable populations carry on. So, if you want to see biodiversity in action, look here. Life is most creative in Earth’s jungles. But I suppose I knew this already and have seen many wonderful and fascinating documentaries on them, including those by Sir David.The other ecosystems or eco-regions are beautiful too. I especially loved the amazing footage of the rare snow leopards in the Nepalese and Tibetan Himalaya (of course in the Mountains episode). The near-mythic snow leopard is highly endangered, its habitat among the most difficult on Earth, a place where game is scarce, temperatures unbearable (for us), terrain formidable. So these beautiful animals are among the great survivors on the planet, though who can say how much longer they can hold on, as their population numbers are dwindling.To save space here (and not challenge your patience), I will only write about the last episode now, the one that surprised me most — Cities. Yes, surprising. Here’s a quick list of places with their featured wildlife:Jodpur, India — langur monkeysNew York City — peregrine falconsMumbai, India — leopardsRome — starlingsToronto — racoonsJaipur, India: — rhesus monkeysHarar, Ethiopia — spotted hyenasHong Kong: — hawksbill baby turtlesAlbi, France: — pigeons and large Wels catfishAt the beginning of the episode on cities Sir David says:“This is the newest habitat on Earth. It’s here that animals have to contend with the greatest change that is happening to the face of our planet. It may appear hostile to animal life, but for the bold this is a world of surprising opportunity.”Of all the locales, I was most astonished by what is happening in Ethiopia. We know the rap on hyenas — universally feared and despised. Vicious and aggressive (it is thought), they roam in packs. Their high-pitched cackle seems hysterical, demented to our ears. Their elongated necks are ungainly, making them look like hunchbacks. They don’t walk; they lope suspiciously, or they swagger. Their small ugly faces have intense glowing eyes that frighten. They’re scavengers, wanderers, interlopers, canine raiders. They drool when excited, salivating before tearing into a carcass. They’re dirty, ill groomed, look diseased. In short, they bring bad news. Little Red Riding Hood cringed before a wolf, yet a laughing hyena would have driven her mad. All of which is to say they could use some love.In Harar, Ethiopia they get this. They are welcomed, enjoyed, respected. They are treated as guests. This has been happening, incredibly, for over 400 years, a time when Shakespeare was still living and writing. Why this love and acceptance? Because of human ideas, folk beliefs. Bad spirits once haunted the city. Nothing could rid it of them. But one day these spirits met their match. The growl and aggressive glare of a hyena scared them off. Never mind how this happened in the past. It was four centuries ago. A tradition was established, one still honoured today. The hyenas know this — not the history, but the situation. In the wild, yes, they can be vicious. They have to fight for every scrap. And it’s true, or seems to be: nobody loves them. But something comes over them when they lope through holes or gaps in the city’s stone walls. They arrive at night in a pack. They are well ordered and none growls, their heads slightly lowered, as if submissively. They know where they are going: to a cobblestoned square near the meat market. There the butcher is waiting for them. He puts out scraps, including thick bones he cannot use. The jaws of hyenas are among the strongest of any mammal on Earth. They break through the thick bones, whereupon the hyenas suck out the precious, highly nutritious marrow. This is grand dining for them. They are happy, though their tails do not wag.A call in the night summons them. It comes from a man named Yusuf. His father or grandfather or great grandfather taught him how to make it. He sounds like a hyena. The call is welcoming, beckoning. The hyenas hear it and happily come to it. There Yusuf waits with meat scraps in a metal pan. The hyenas arrive and might easily assault the pan, instantly grabbing all the fresh meat. But, no, they don’t. They sit and wait. Yusuf holds up a scrap in the night air. One hyena comes forward. No jockeying, no bickering. Each knows it will get a scrap or two or more. There is enough to go around. Their civility and intelligence is a wonder to behold. No man has trained them outright. It was their hyena ancestors who taught them. They looked, beheld, understood. Then, through the genius of nature, the knowledge was passed down the ancestral line.I’m not a softie, but I nearly wept. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought Yusuf might even stretch out a hand to pet one of them, but no, he wisely did not. They are not pets and will not be made to be so. They are wild through and through, yet sensitive and intelligent enough to know what is happening, altering their behaviour accordingly.This shows what attitude can do. Treat others with respect and dignity and it is liable to be returned. Perhaps the spotted hyena could teach us something valuable. There are no suicide bombers among them.Sir David says of them:“Throughout the rest of Africa, spotted hyenas are feared because they kill livestock, sometimes even children. They are perhaps the most vilified animal on our planet. But here in Harar their relationship with people is entirely peaceful.”I love their example, their wisdom.Is there hope? Of course there is. Wisdom is not the monopoly of hyenas, nor of the people of Harar. Singapore is used as an example by Sir David, the most modern, forward-thinking eco-nation on Earth. Why is this? Because they have made biodiversity a priority, a policy, a mission. They want a green world for their people. So they have opened their gates and arms to wildlife by building structures that attract wild things. Over two million trees have been planted in the city-state over the past 45 years. Singapore is becoming an open forest in which people live happily with wild animals. It’s richer in species than any region on Earth, including even Madagascar, an incredibly bio-rich place made by over 40 million years of isolation, yet one whose forests and wildlife are now under threat from man. “Create the space,” Sir David says, “and the animals will come.”So true.Milan in Italy is another place that’s looking ahead, not behind. The city is greening itself, a forest appearing on rooftops and balconies everywhere. Birds are taking notice. Others animals will eventually follow. It doesn’t take much, if imagination, intelligence and willingness are not considered too much.Sir David gets the last word, as he should. He says this to us, looking straight into the lens, his determined look telling us, “I hope you are listening”:“It could be possible to see wildlife thriving within our cities across the planet. We, after all, are the architects of the urban world. Now, over half of us live in an urban environment. My home, too, is here in the city of London. Looking [at] this great metropolis, the ingenuity with which we continue to reshape the surface of our planet is very striking, but it’s also sobering. It reminds me of just how easy it is for us to lose our connection with the natural world. Yet it’s on this connection that the future of both humanity and the natural world will depend. It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.”

This series was shown for the first time on television in 2016 and created considerable admiration for the latest levels achieved in the photography.The broadcast experience, both visually and sonically, was arguably the best yet in a very long run of natural world triumphs. These have regularly pushed the boundaries of technology relative to their vintage at the time of recording and this series is no exception in that line of development.The likely question for those considering whether to stick with the broadcast version as probably recorded at home, or whether to invest in the disc version, is 'Are there still more technological wonders yet to be unlocked via a BD disc?' Having now experienced the BD version, but not the DVD, the answer to the question is most certainly ‘Yes’ particularly when combined with the increasing use of 4K television. The gain in clarity of both vision and sound is startling. This has the effect of making the viewing experience significantly more involving.At this point it is worth mentioning that the specially composed music makes a great deal of positive impact in terms of creating general ambience and, more particularly, in enhancing the dramatic effects of action sequences.A simple example of this would be the chase sequence between a baby Marine Iguana and the pursuing hordes of snakes. The degree of personal involvement that the viewer is immediately drawn into results from a remarkable fusion of vision and specific sound. Many similar examples could be drawn from the desert, jungle and following episodes and are a valuable addition to the main features.The commentary by David Attenborough for many viewers, and that includes this one, is an integral part of the success of these programs. At all times the depth of his understanding and his commitment and belief in what he says is absolute. It takes the experience far beyond casual, although awe-inspiring, visual entertainment and deeply into the realm of studies. These are delivered in a way that transforms what could be an academic exercise into a gripping natural drama that has implications for all life on earth. The responsibilities for all forms of life are made clear as well as the consequences of failure.Quite apart from the main feature of each program there are also the additional 10 minute documentaries added on which give a significant insight into the making of part of each program. One documentary in this series, for example, features the team enduring the most unimaginably inhospitable environment in their attempt to capture the behaviour of penguins. The privations for the team are extreme and lead from utter dejection to final ecstatic success. On the other hand, the fear of the lone cameraman at night in his city-based hide when spotted by a fully grown wild leopard at pouncing range is palpable. There are also the dare-devil exploits of the parachutists as they attempt to create the experience of a stooping eagle descending at literally breakneck speed – and so they go on!The above observations are only intended to give pointers as to what lies within this series. To do full justice to the series requires an understanding and appreciation that can only be gained by purchasing the discs.For those gripped by this outstanding broadcast series, the Blu-ray option simply offers further visual and sonic thrills and involvement which really have to be experienced to comprehend.

Watched this on the latest LG OLED 65" in 4k HDR and yes, it's beautiful and noticeably better with added sparkle from the highlights and stunning colour. I just wish HDR had been made a standard for HD material, allowing some films to be presented in re-mastered form where the original contrast range warrants it, and also allowing films like Titanic and Avatar in 3D to similarly benefit. I love 3D as much as I love 4k, and would not buy a Samsung TV now since they have dropped 3D functionality. Whether Planet Earth II would be better in 3D I don't know, but it would be interesting to compare if it were possible.Interestingly the 4k HDR playing on the LG OLED says 24p when I bring up the information, yet the HD Blu ray playing on my Samsung 4k says 25p. I would have expected the original to have been shot in 25p (or 50p) by the BBC for broadcast compatibility in the UK, and would therefore expect the 4k version to be 25p, as conversion between 24p and 25p is not normally possible without motion judder being annoyingly obvious. Motion appeared smooth on both TV's (the Samsung is set to motion smoothing - I don't know what settings the LG was on but I guess it was also doing motion smoothing,) I'd be interested to know what frame-rate others think these disks are giving, or whether anyone has an authoritative answer to the mystery. Some reviewers have complained of motion judder.