Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ On BBC America, A Docuseries About Each Continent’s Ecosystem And How They Were Shaped

The BBC’s latest nature documentaries have been remarkable for how they’ve been able to leverage new technology to get a closer, more detailed look at the ecosystems they examine. Its latest docuseries, Seven Worlds, One Planet, is no different. But its first episode is made all the more immediate by what’s currently happening in Australia. Read on for more.

SEVEN WORLDS, ONE PLANET: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A graphic of Earth spins to Australia, to show that this first episode of Seven Worlds, One Planet will be focusing on the massive country/continent.

The Gist: The docuseries, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, explores the ecosystems of each of the seven continents, concentrating on one continent per episode. The first episode is about Australia; the episode was moved up to the premiere in response to the Australian wildfires that have devastated woodland over the entire continent, but especially New South Wales (the episode will conclude with information on how to help the firefighters and residents there)..

Through on-the-ground film crews, as well as drones, helicopters and other airborne crews, the show examines the continent wide range of geography and climates; from its snowy mountains to thick woodlands to open plains. It also examines the hearty species that survive in the desert, which covers 70% of Australia’s land mass.

While hopscotching the continent and focusing on a particular species, there are graphics that show how Australia’s ecosystem was shaped by the prehistoric movement of the continents away from each other. Australia used to be much colder and wetter in prehistoric times, but as it moved away from what became Antarctica, it moved north and became drier and hotter.

Some of the species examined are ones we’ve seen before (kangaroos, anyone?), but the show takes its cues from showing species that have either just been discovered, like Jotus Jumping Spider, or ones where we’re seeing their hunting habits for the first time, like the dingo. We also see species like the pierente and horny devil, both in the Northern Territory, Cassowary birds, whose males are the ones who take care of their young, and herding budgerigar birds in Queensland and Tasmanian Devlis in, well, Tasmania. Speaking of the dingo, the last segment goes behind the scenes, explaining the painstaking waiting game the filmmakers needed to play in order to get a rare shot of a dingo — and her cubs — in action.

Our Take: The first episode of Seven Worlds, One Planet did take on a bit of poignancy, knowing that many of the woodlands we’re seeing on the episode, along with some of the species, have been decimated by the wildfires. However, it’s also heartening to know that the filmmakers were able to capture what they did before the wildfires started.

The series proceeds like many of the BBC’s most recent vintage of nature shows has, though this series doesn’t overly rely on CGI, as some of the ones that tried to recreate prehistoric environments might have. But it does take advantage of the latest technology to cover as much ground as possible. This includes amazing telephoto lenses that get clear closeups of a dingo baby with what looks like a piece of kangaroo meat in his nose, or drone and other aerial shots that show sharks herding a massive school of tiny fish towards the shore in order to feast, something that happens only every 10 to 15 years. The macro photography used to show the mating ritual of the Jotus Jumping Spider is remarkable.

Between Attenborough’s always-enthusiastic narration and a dramatic but unobtrusive soundtrack, the scenes are presented in a way that makes them more dramatic and immediate, instead of the the laconic, laid-back manner we’ve seen in nature documentaries in the past. But that’s the way the BBC has been doing it lately, so it’s not revolutionary. Your enjoyment of the show really depends on how you engage with nature specials.

Where the show came alive to us was the last segment, which went behind the scenes. It was fascinating to see the lengths that the filmmakers went to to spot the white dingo they were trying to follow and then how they got shots of her relentless, and ultimately successful, roo hunt. We almost wish more than the last 8 minutes of the episode was devoted to that.

Sex and Skin: There’s some loving between Jotus Jumping Spiders, complete with romantic music. Very tender stuff.

Parting Shot: A shot of a dingo cub shown while one of the filmmakers mention how unforgettable it was to capture an actual dingo den on camera.

Sleeper Star: The crocodiles that would snatch one of the thousands of red flying foxes (bats) out of the air as their dinner are remarkable in their speed and determination.

Most Pilot-y Line: Some of the edits didn’t feel as seamless as they should have, with pictures of a predator followed by those of the prey running or flying away. For some reason, they felt like they were from separate filming sessions, which is something you usually can’t detect on shows like these.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Seven Worlds, One Planet will blow you away with its visuals and its unprecedented access to certain species, even if the presentation itself can be dry at times.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard and elsewhere.

Stream Seven Worlds, One Planet On BBCAmerica.com