Sunday, September 30, 2007

Life in the Undergrowth

Thanks to Netflix, I've been enjoying David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth DVD series. I'm only on the first of two discs, but I must say, this series is a must-see for anyone interested in nature. As a reader of my blog, you may know that I'm a HUGE David Attenborough fan. His writing, narration, and charismatic character make him a real pleasure to watch and listen to. This series delivers the same quality as other Attenborough programs like The Life of Mammals and The Life of Birds. Although I've only seen the first 3 installments of the 5-part series, I've been amazed by the exceptional close-up photography of the insects and other invertebrates. Where else can you see millimeter-long Springtails magnified 100's of times and slowed down to show their unique method of locomotion? As with the other "Life of" series, this show highlights unique characteristics of the subjects, such as a spider who catches its prey by swinging a droplet of silk, and extraordinary events such as the emergence of the 17-year cicadas. If you can get your hands on this series, I'm sure you'll love it. Here's a clip of the emergence of millions of giant mayflies in Europe:



I was also thrilled to see that David Attenborough is coming out with a new series in 2008: Life in Cold Blood, all about reptiles and amphibians.

3 comments:

dguzman said...

I always like to say "The life of buds" like he does in his British accent! I loved that show!

P. Ollig said...

Man, I've been a huge fan of David Attenborough since I first saw his "Life on Earth" series on PBS when I was 7 back in 1980. Thanks for posting that. I think I'm gonna go add it to my netflix queu right now.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a "must watch" for me. I've always enjoyed Sir David's work. I didn't realize there was a DVD of the "Undergrowth" book. Thanks for the tip!