Planet Earth III, final episode review: Sir David turns his attention to mankind
The golden rule with David Attenborough documentaries is that the animals are the stars. But Attenborough and the BBC put a twist on that formula in the final episode of Planet Earth III (BBC One). It was Planet Earth not quite as we might recognise it.
“We started making the first series of Planet Earth over 20 years ago,” said Attenborough in his opening remarks. “The truth is most of the animals we have filmed over these last two decades are rarer than they were. The places where they live are in greater danger of destruction.” But, he continued, there was another change. “A new generation are stepping up to save wildlife”.
The third in the Planet Earth trilogy has been a visual feast. It has featured such memorable images as a mother and calf whale lounging in azure waters and a rhino trotting down a neon-splashed street in Nepal. Now, the animals were taking a back seat. Attention instead turned to the environmentalists working to preserve the brittle tapestry of life on Earth.
Focusing on people rather than plants and animals was a departure for Attenborough, a reliably wise and authoritative presence at 97. However, that shift chimed with the message running through the previous seven instalments that humanity was encroaching ever more brazenly upon the habitats of endangered species. If lacking the signature Planet Earth dazzle, it was still a worthy and fascinating addition to the Attenborough hit parade.
The action started in South Africa. Black rhino conservationist Dumisani Zwane was whisking an imperilled pachyderm to safety by helicopter. Then, it was off to Ecuador. Here, frog enthusiast Jaime Culebras searched in vain for a partner for “Sad Santiago”, one of the last morona-santiago harlequin frogs.
Santiago needed a mate before he croaked. Culebras and his girlfriend, Francesca Angiolani, set off for the jungle in search of a suitable paramour. Fingers crossed nobody in Hollywood caught their adventures. They’ll want to turn them into a movie starring Matthew McConaughey and Sandra Bullock. (Frog Day Afternoon, A Ribbit Runs Through It, Spawn On the Fourth of July – run it up the tadpole, and the possibilities are endless.)
The action elsewhere switched to Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa. Campaigner Trang Nguyen was going undercover as an illegal ivory trader to smoke out elephant poachers. She zoomed around the noir-ish streetscapes like the hero of an African-themed Blade Runner.
These were all compelling stories. But by turning the camera back on the humans, the wonders of nature faded into the background. Still, nobody could quibble with Attenborough’s dire warnings about the threat of global warming. Apart from Jeremy Clarkson, who has complained about Attenborough’s focus on climate change, urging him to “tell us about the animals, not the weather”.
Jeremy should stick to farming. This was a gripping conclusion to an often stunning series – even if, for the first time in the history of David Attenborough documentaries, it could have done with more wildlife.
