Attenborough's Life Stories

The three-part Attenborough's Life Stories serves a three-fold purpose, presenting an a) autobiographical retrospective hosted by the great British natural-history TV personality Sir David Attenborough, b) compendium of life stories focusing on many of the most exotic and endangered species on Earth, and c) “greatest hits” assembly of highlights from 60 years of Attenborough's natural history programming. Now 86 and showing only the slightest signs of slowing down, Attenborough weaves together past and present—drawing on clips from at least a dozen BBC series (including Life on Earth, The Blue Planet, The Trials of Life, and Planet Earth) while making present-day returns to many of the original locations. The first segment, “Life on Camera,” is the most personal, with Attenborough recalling how seeing his first nature film in 1934 led directly to his life-long career. Part two, “Understanding the Natural World,” examines how volcanoes, continental drift, and other natural forces wound up distributing wildlife around the world, and also looks at how improved scientific methods and lighter, more flexible cameras have led to more intimate, revealing studies of previously unseen animal behavior. The final episode, “Our Fragile Planet,” addresses climate change, warming oceans, and environmental crises to come, including the impending extinction of up to one-third of all amphibian species. All is not gloom and doom, however: yes, it delivers requisite warnings about our environmental future, but the series also serves up a visual feast of some of the finest nature footage ever captured. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Shannon)