dvd talk

I bought the documentaries life and planet earth the other day. I found that David Attenborough’s narration to planet earth was irreplaceable. It was truly beautiful to watch despite the knowledge of humanities detrimental impact on the environment. Attenborough had a warmth and passion in his voice and the times he spoke seemed to illuminate rather than distract from the film. I was excited to start watching Life, but could only make it into one episode before turning it off in disgust. We can thank the discovery channel who owns the US distribution rights for turning me off, mostly because they somehow decided that Oprah Winfrey would appeal to the widest possible audiences. To go from the sophistication of David Attenborough to Oprah is mind blowing; it would be like asking Oprah to narrate a documentary on Autism. The visuals remain stunning, but my joy is severely hampered by Oprah’s inclusion. What are her qualifications, and why does it seem that American’s hate anything that has the hint of intellectualism to it. It was a distraction to say the least, needless to say I plan on buying the region free UK version and selling this one.