Courtesy: PBS/PBS Distribution/WNET
Nature is full of giant creatures, and in a new episode of its hit wildlife series Nature, PBS is introducing audiences to some of nature’s biggest beasts. Nature: Nature’s Biggest Beasts was released on DVD Jan. 14. The hour-long episode takes viewers around the world, presenting the biggest of the big and even the biggest of the small. That central aspect of the DVD forms the program’s foundation, and does a good job of doing so. As interesting as all of the discoveries are throughout the episode, the program is not perfect, sadly. The program’s final statement detracts from the episode, but thankfully not to the point that it makes the episode unwatchable. This will be addressed a little later. While the program’s finale does detract from its whole, it is the program’s only negative. There is at least one more positive to note in examining the episode. That positive is the episode’s pacing. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the episode. All things considered, they make Nature: Nature’s Biggest Beasts its own “big” hit.
Nature: Nature’s Biggest Beasts is its own big, successful presentation. That is due in large part (no pun intended) to its central story. The hour-long program takes viewers around the world, offering audiences introductions to the biggest of the biggest and biggest of the small beasts. From the giraffe, which has to position itself just right in order to be able to get a drink of water, to a certain kind of leech, which can eat other invertebrates, to a giant octopus, which can eat other sea life twice its size and more, the program’s central feature serves as a good starting point for so many biology lessons from high school onward. The program takes audiences into the treetops and skies and even below the waves time and again, wasting little time along the way. That matter, that of the program’s pacing, will be discussed later. The central story will surprise many viewers as it introduces them to creatures that they otherwise might not have ever known about. Case in point are the specific species of bats, beetles and even crabs featured within the program. On a side note, the crab that is introduced in this program looks a lot like the one who held Maui’s hook in Disney’s Moana. One can’t help but wonder if that real life crab served as the model for that character. Getting back on the topic at hand, the various beasts that are introduced throughout the course of Nature’s Biggest Beasts and what makes them so intriguing more than gives audiences reason to take in this episode of NOVA. That ensured engagement forms a solid foundation for the DVD.
For all of the strength that Nature’s Biggest Beasts gains through its central presentation, there is one problem with this episode that cannot be ignored. That problem is presented, go figure, at the episode’s end. As viewers are introduced to the corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef, the narrator makes a direct statement about appreciating and protecting all of nature’s beasts, whether they are the biggest of the big or the biggest of the small. This is important to note because in hindsight, the whole episode essentially rounds out to one big preachy presentation. The thing is that the preachy aspect was so covertly incorporated into the program. It would have been so easy to have not had that element added to the mix, but the fact that it was put in at the very end results in that lasting impression that audiences really are sitting through one big statement story. That realization that audiences will experience can and does leave a bad taste in some viewers’ mouths so to speak. Keeping that in mind, this is a detriment to the episode’s presentation. It is not so bad that it makes the episode unwatchable. Regardless, it is an element that cannot be ignored. Luckily for the episode’s sake (and for that of everyone involved in the episode’s creation), this negative is the program’s only con. Its pacing works with its central presentation to make it that much more worth watching.
The pacing of Nature’s Biggest Beasts is key to note because over the course of roughly an hour, a lot of ground (and water – yes, that awful pun was intended) is covered. From Africa to North America to Asia to the Atlantic and even to the Arctic, viewers are taken around the globe. Considering how many regions and animals are examined, it would have been so easy for the pacing to get out of control and leave viewers behind. Thankfully, that did not happen here. For all of the material that is presented throughout, each beast and each region of the world gets just enough time. The transitions from one segment to the next adds to the positive impact of the program’s pacing. The two elements collectively do just enough to ensure viewers are able to keep up with everything, and in turn to ensure that they gain a certain appreciation for what makes each big beast so intriguing. That time and thought that was incorporated into the program’s pacing and the transitions clearly paid off. Considering the successful result of that material and the engagement and entertainment ensured through the presentation itself, the two elements do a lot to make it another positive offering from PBS. That is even with the issue of the preachy message that was so covertly included in the program. All things considered, Nature’s Biggest Beasts proves to be a possible candidate for a spot on any critic’s list of the year’s top new documentaries.
Nature: Nature’s Biggest Beasts is an engaging and entertaining new episode of PBS’s hit wildlife series that deserves consideration for a spot on any critic’s list of the year’s top new documentaries. That is due in part to the wide range of animals and areas that are covered throughout the course of the program. The program’s pacing and its related transitions, which play into the pacing, make the program that much more worth the watch. The one negative from which the episode suffers is the covert inclusion of the episode’s preachy message about conservation. Yes, we as viewers know that we need to take care of the earth and its many great creatures. The last thing we need in watching such an other wise enjoyable program is to be preached at. The fact that the program’s script saves that preachy message until its end is really slick. It makes the episode in whole seem like one giant preachy message in whole, which detracts from its presentation. Thankfully, the impact is not so negative that the episode is unwatchable. It can’t be ignored either, though. Keeping all of this in mind, Nature: Nature’s Biggest Beasts is a big success. It just could have been even bigger if not for that unnecessary, covert preachy aspect. Either way, it is an episode of Nature that is well worth the watch even with its one con. The DVD is available now. More information on this and other episodes of Nature is available online at:
Website: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PBSNature
Twitter: http://twitter.com/PBSNature
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