Gary Manuel Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I love nature programs! When they are done well they can make unmissable TV shows, as David Attenborough has shown over the years. These shows are one of the things that make me happy to pay my BBC license fee. I've just watched "Spy in the Wild". Wot a load of tosh! The animatronic models are pretty impressive and I assume they have actually used them to infiltrate their real life relatives environment. But that's where the positives end. We are meant to believe that all the wonderful close up shots of the animals that are being filmed were a product of these little plastic creatures with fixed low cost camera lenses poking out of their tiny little heads at obscure angles. I'm sorry but I'm too intelligent to take this seriously. This is not what I expect from nature programs. And as for David Tennant's narration skills, well they are about on a par with his acting skills in Doctor Who and pretty much everything else he has ever done. Come on BBC. You can do better than this! edit - apologies for the rant, but watching this has really annoyed me, so I came on here to see what was happening. Not much more than on TV, but at least it's worth looking at. Edited By Gary Manuel on 29/01/2020 22:09:07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I can't really comment as I nodded off watching it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 I enjoyed watching Wildlife stuff, no fun anymore Bercows gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J D 8 Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Made me laugh when the spy beaver was pushed out of the way by the busy Beaver doing it's stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 I have seen the earlier instalments of this series and this thread prompted me to check it out on iplayer as it makes assembling carbs more interesting. Anyway i can understand the feelings Gary has. I think there are probably more shots of the spy animals than there are from them and im not sure why. Its like they are trying to put the fake ones centre stage as part of the action when in reality they are just normal cameras being better hidden than ever before. I would far rather have seen the shots exclusively from these (admittedly impressive) spy creatures alone and then have an entire episode dedicated to how they did it at the end of the series. That or ditch them all together and just use the helicopter and non pelican disguised drone shots like you would normally. Its not like they used these spy creatures instead of the normal equipment. The massive number of external shots of these fake ones shows that if anything they had more 'normal' photography options than normal! The whole thing feels like a giant advert for some animatronics firm. But, I suspect the real reason for the different vibe of the series comes from the fact that it was a joint effort with PBS and is probably adjusted in its style to make it more appealing to the US market. I watched a netflix only series Sir David did and even he changed his style/narrative slightly to get his message (climate change) across to the US audience. All that said, listening to the chorus of flatulent gorilla's and watching the egrit thing get trampled by the elephant only to stand up all dishevelled with a bent beak did amuse me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Leslie Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Well I enjoyed it. I wanted to see the results of some of the fantastic improvements in animatronics available today. My only worry really was what could happen to the animals if they did mange to break open one of the spy cams? A squirrel with a mouth full of battery and electronics would not be a very happy or well animal, hence the need for a real live cameraman to be nearby. As Jon says the egret with the twisted beak and nookie bear tumbling down the waterfall was funny. I would like to see a programme based on the making of these spy cams, that would be more interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie holdford Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 One of the chaps who builds the spy cams and operates the flying spies, is a member of our club. As a professional he can fly anything, anywhere, any attitude, any speed. Amazing to see him fly when he gets a chance to be at the patch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 I wouldnt say i didnt enjoy it, just that its not how i like my documentaries. I have plenty of DA's docs on DVD and they are so good i can watch them again and again. This sort of thing i can watch and enjoy but its not something i would buy given the opportunity. While i am sure someone else will pick up the baton, for me nature documentaries mean David Attenborough and despite being well into his 90's he is working on a number of new series. I just hope he is able to finish them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Jenkins Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 Well, I enjoyed the programmes I've seen so far. Each to his own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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