Does anyone still watch any good nature shows?

[Beringia]

I haven't watched PBS for a while. I think that was the only channel I used to go to for nature shows.

Read an interesting comment on facebook from a wildlife filmmaker today, Timothy Barksdale, aka Birdman, (Timothy B Roadcurlew on facebook) and he said National Geographic and Discovery Channel were bought out by big money and no longer produce good shows.



"When Rupert Murdoch bought out the Grosvenor family interests over the period of years, he slashed budgets and fired good people. the Rape of National Geographic was under way. He was actually following what John Malone had begun at Discovery when Malone's company - Liberty Media- bought all the Discovery Channels including Animal Planet. A great show called - ALL BIRD TV- which was getting better and better, was suddenly slashed in 1999 of funding disagreements.It was the #3 rated show in the WORLD on Discovery internationally at the time. Not quite that big in the US. But it always comes down to Money. If you want to put a real wildlife filmmaker in teh field to get a shot, it takes time. Sometimes - A LOT of time.

This whole thing is reflective of the larger battle we are fighting right now. Money controls everything in our society. The only morality is financially driven because so few people control ALL the money."

[llmart]

1. I do.

I'd rather watch them than most of what's on TV these days.

If you have Netflix, the new series "Our Planet" is exceptional!!!

[targetpractice]

3. Second that for "Our Planet"

One of the David Attenborough's best... since his original "Life On Earth"

[llmart]

6. The photography is stunning!

The mating dances of different birds made me chuckle.

[5X]

5. Nature on PBS has been showing Attenborough's series, Wednesday nights here. n/t

[mcar]

16. It is brilliant

And depressing. The cinematography is amazing.

[llmart]

17. You are correct. It is depressing on one level because of the statistics they present.

My heart hurts when I hear how such large percentages of species and habitat are gone. Especially on this Earth Week anniversary when I can remember being so energized at the very first Earth Day. Watching the melting of the polar ice caps and the consequences of that on polar bears was painful.

[mcar]

18. We just watched Coastal Seas episode last night

Seeing what has become of some coral reefs is

[mnhtnbb]

23. I just watched the 1st episode and was blown away.

Definitely recommend it and can't wait to watch more episodes.

[llmart]

24. Glad you enjoyed it.

Judging by your avatar you'll just love the videos of birds doing their mating dances, especially David Attenborough's comments.

[Cattledog]

2. Disney now owns National Geo.

So I expect a boost to production.

[Beringia]

4. Good to know

[marble falls]

7. As close as I get to circuses, zoos and rodeos is a nature documentary.

[dalton99a]

8. The best shows ever were made by a public agency

the British Broadcasting Corporation

[Bayard]

10. BBC

Seconded.

Added bonus--sometimes they show old X-files episodes.

[Wounded Bear]

11. True that!

Spectacular cinematography and no documentary should be allowed if David Attenborough doesn't host it.

[Mariana]

15. Sir David isn't going to be with us forever.

It's very sad to think about that, isn't it?

[Wounded Bear]

20. It is...

I remember a couple of months ago I thought he was gone. So happy to find out I was wrong and he is going strong.

A couple of years ago, I found a copy of Planet Earth in a 2d hand bookstore. When I went to check out, the clerk asked if I had the right version. I was a bit dumbfounded to learn that there was a version apparently hosted/narrated by Oprah. Nothing against her, but I had seen episodes of the series before. I got the right one.

[Collimator]

9. Nova and Nature on PBS

Wednesday nights in my area. The most recent episode was "Big Birds Don't Fly". It took me a few minutes to get the tie-in to the song, "Big Girls Don't Cry."

I learned that the cassowary lays beautiful green eggs and that the ostrich has both the biggest and smallest eggs in the bird world--biggest actual egg compared to that of other birds, smallest egg relative to its body size. Yay, knowledge!

[happybird]

13. That was a good episode

The baby Emus visiting the watering hole for the first time made my heart race, I was so nervous for the adorable little guys.

And the descriptions of the Elephant Bird

[Collimator]

14. Alas, I must admit. . .

. . . That my thoughts strayed to omelets and drumsticks during parts of the program.

[Wounded Bear]

21. That's what eradicated the Dodo and the Elephant birds...

[Collimator]

22. I know, I know. . .

. . .But at least I wasn't suggesting an all-you-can-eat buffet.

[cyclonefence]

12. "Zoo" on Cinemoi

Cinemoi is an odd little channel that I found only recently. Film and fashion are what they mostly show, but they have a series about an Irish zoo which shows how the zookeepers work with nature preserves in Africa to restore animals to the wild, how they protect rhinos from poachers (remove their horns under anesthesia) and many other wonderful things. I have no idea how widely available this channel is (I have Verizon cable); the schedule seems to be catch-as-catch-can, but it's well worth watching if you happen upon it.

[aikoaiko]

19. Does Naked and Afraid count?

It sucks me in.

[lunatica]

25. There is Curiositystream channel which you can stream for

less than $4 a month. It has the latest in nature shows as well as human evolution, futuristic documentary programs and the latest in science and history with National Geographic level photography and videos. You will get addicted to it. Try it out.

https://curiositystream.com/?utm_campaign=S-Brand&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_content=303480466686&utm_term=%2Bcuriosity%20%2Bstream&gclid=Cj0KCQjwhuvlBRCeARIsAM720HpU3ydUWpvPx55FXUaU7YY5DuRxlb5PWdK6DjT9i4I8jmKHXBgt-CEaAg2KEALw_wcB

[TexasBushwhacker]

26. Also Kanopy.com and Tubitv.com

Kanopy uses your public library system for content. Tubitv is ad supported.

[lunatica]

28. Thanks! I'll try these out. n/t

[TexasBushwhacker]

30. If you like nature shows

Check out "Saving Sirga" on Tubitv. It's about a lion saved as a cub.

[Beringia]

31. Thanks

[kimbutgar]

27. BBC America also has a great show Planet Earth

[mantis49]

29. I've been watching "Hostile Planet" on NatGeo channel.

So far only the first episode, but it is heart-breaking. It delves into the effects of climate change on animal species.

[hunter]

32. Will Smith and "One Strange Rock" isn't bad.

It's a National Geographic series, also on Netflix.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Strange_Rock

We don't watch any television but Netflix and DVDs. We have the minimal Netflix subscription, and an inexpensive DSL connection that we'd have anyways. I find DVDs in the thrift stores, we borrow them, or rent from Redbox. Sometimes my wife will buy a new DVD of a movie we like, and we'll share it with family and friends.

No cable, no satellite, no broadcast... we quit them all a little over a decade ago.

Best thing are never seeing commercials, and compared to cable it's cheap.

Money won't control our society if we don't let it. We've got to start somewhere.

It's a standing joke in our family that I boycott everything.

Except the things I don't.

[Danascot]

33. Tales by Light on Netflix

follows several nature photographers on shoots all over the world. Some of the most stunning photography and cinematography I've seen.

[Beringia]

34. Thanks