Planet Earth Live, BBC 1 - Well, not really...

11th May 2012

Planet Earth, not really live, not really kicking !

Anyone else under whelmed by the childish Richard Hammond (still in 'Bottom Gear') and the cloying Julia Bradbury. It may be billed as a global wildlife event but judging by the newspaper pannings there is little to recommend it.

What really gets me is when there are so many fantastic presenters around like Packham, Scott and Attenborough why ‘on earth’ have we ended up with these two. The script is straight from kindergarten and the endless editing annoying - but more fundamentally - it is not live! Anyone knows the Masai Mara is two hours ahead of us… so if you broadcast at 8.00 pm how could you possibly see any live action unless you consider a prancing, precious, primped up, puerile petrol head 'live action'.

This is an anthropomorphic apology of a wildlife programme - soppy and infantile with silly cliff-hanger edits. In my opinion it has badly compromised the blue chip Planet Earth brand. Interestingly Big Cat Diary floundered when they tried to take it live as well. There have been some great moments but none of them live and most from the archive. I suppose my license fee covers repeats?

Paul Goldstein, Exodus Wildlife Photographer & Guide

Previous News Report 04/05/2012

Traditional nature documentaries, filmed years in advance, are clearly not what people want these days. Now it’s all about real time! In a pioneering move, the BBC is taking its famous (and expensive) Planet Earth format and producing it live in front of our eyes.

The dynamic duo of Julia Bradbury and Richard 'Hamster' Hammond will present this series, which will bring us footage of animals live throughout May – a busy time in the life-cycle of many species.
 
‘Hamster’ Hammond had better watch his back as he will be tracking lions in Kenya, while Julia Bradbury will spy on Black bears in the USA with expert Dr Lynn Rogers, as new cubs emerge from their dens. Additionally, viewers will also get to marvel at meerkats, Macaque monkeys, Grey whales and numerous other incredible creatures.

It’s a big project for the BBC but with the experts behind shows such as Frozen Planet and Springwatch involved, it’s sure to be an impressive one.

There will be plenty of opportunities coo and gasp at the sight of baby animals, and of course if you would like to follow in the paw prints of these animals yourself we can arrange that for you! For example, baby elephants and lions can be seen on our trips in Kenya and Tanzania; Black bears amd Grey whales in the US; macaque monkeys in Sri Lanka and meerkats in South Africa.

Episode 1 of 8: Richard Hammond and Julia Bradbury host this live global wildlife event on Sunday 7:50pm BBC 1