South Pacific [DVD]

I thoroughly enjoyed this DVD and it is definitely more than just a documentary series. Some of the footage is absolutely breathtaking and groundbreaking given that there are new grounds being conquered here.
Every episode has its own functional theme and has a quirky little diary series at the end which acts as a documentary on the series as such.
I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone with an inkling of interest in the South Pacific islands.

First of all lets go through some of the negatives I have read about this phenomenal mini series. The narration is cited by some as being bland and monotone - Benedict Cumberbatch in my opinion is only second to the sublime David. A. His voice is soothing and is description is perfectly concise and factual. Score - Some people believe it reminds them of Africa but it is fitting as it is definately in keeping with the tribal aspects of the south pacific (which are also given some attention throughout the series). Third - repetitive sequences. Whilst these do exist, I find this is commonplace in wildlife series (see Blue Planet and Planet Earth)- its simply a way of ensuring that stragglers can understand everything rather than assuming everyone has either followed the series from the first minute or has an encylopedic knowledge of marine bio-diversity. Who cares if they repeat huge sharks attacking struggling chick albatrosses learning to fly, flapping in dangerously shallow waters? Not me.

This is what makes the series staggeringly great value. It covers history and the influence of man, evolution and how certain species migrated across islands when it could have been quite easy to focus purely on marine life. After all, only 1% of the south pacific is land. The aerial shots provide an excellent sense of scale and the last episode provides a fitting analysis of how procarious and precious the south pacific is to everyone. I deliberately avoid going into details about certain episodes because I don't want to ruin it for anyone....

Finally, the Diaries section at the end of each episode is a great (and for me unexpected) addition because, like the immense Planet Earth series - we fully appreciate the lengths, timescales and risks taken by cameramen to bring never-before-seen shots. Who would have thought filming the inside of a big wave had never been done before?

Simply breathtaking this is an essential in Blu-Ray format.

Outstanding natural history series. Combines the fascinating photography amd information about indigenous species found in David Attenborough's programmes, with wider ranging, and thought provoking, anthropological and geological facts and theories.

The photography is unsurpassed. I could sit and watch the underwater shots of breaking waves in the first episode again and again, and the aerial footage throughout the series is beautiful.

It might be helpful to have an atlas to hand, as most of the aerial shots make it very difficult to work out exactly where a lot of the small islands are located, but this is my only tiny criticism of the whole series. I already have a waiting list of people wanting to borrow the DVD's!South Pacific [DVD] [2009]