Loved all of the previous episodes of 'Wildest Africa'. Was past caring really as to whether the series was ground-breaking or not, what was much more important was something that was well made, informative, charming, entertaining, worth investing in emotionally, well written and well presented. Found 'Wildest Africa' to be all of those, while it is not one of my favourite nature documentaries it is really very much a must.
Despite some familiarity, like Mount Kilimanjaro, "Mount Kenya: African Heart of Ice" to me did have a fair share of content unfamiliar to me beforehand. This may sound like a bad thing, if anybody worries that it all went over my head or left me lost. In reality, when it comes to documentaries to me it is not a bad thing if not everything is known beforehand, actually like that about documentaries and think that it should be like that because that way there is more of a chance of learning a lot. While that is true for all the episodes of 'Wildest Africa', this is one of the prime examples.
Tsavo National Park really is a location to behold, every aspect of it looks amazing (not just the diverse habitats but also all the mammals and plants) and shown in its full glory by the ever evocative and intimate yet never static photography. The music doesn't overbear, or at least to me it didn't, never at odds with the drama on screen or lessening the impact of the information given.
Colin Salmon narrates with real engagement with the material, bringing the right amount of enthusiasm and sincerity to it. The information itself is informative but doesn't come over as too academic, with a good and successful attempt in making the information accessible and emotionally investable. Particularly fascinating was everything to do with the "red elephant".
Summarising, terrific. 9/10
Despite some familiarity, like Mount Kilimanjaro, "Mount Kenya: African Heart of Ice" to me did have a fair share of content unfamiliar to me beforehand. This may sound like a bad thing, if anybody worries that it all went over my head or left me lost. In reality, when it comes to documentaries to me it is not a bad thing if not everything is known beforehand, actually like that about documentaries and think that it should be like that because that way there is more of a chance of learning a lot. While that is true for all the episodes of 'Wildest Africa', this is one of the prime examples.
Tsavo National Park really is a location to behold, every aspect of it looks amazing (not just the diverse habitats but also all the mammals and plants) and shown in its full glory by the ever evocative and intimate yet never static photography. The music doesn't overbear, or at least to me it didn't, never at odds with the drama on screen or lessening the impact of the information given.
Colin Salmon narrates with real engagement with the material, bringing the right amount of enthusiasm and sincerity to it. The information itself is informative but doesn't come over as too academic, with a good and successful attempt in making the information accessible and emotionally investable. Particularly fascinating was everything to do with the "red elephant".
Summarising, terrific. 9/10