Life of Mammals [DVD] [2002]

Since I can remember, David Attenborough has been involved in some truly awe-inspiring projects - The Natural World, Living Planet, Life in the Freezer, etc etc. What unites the various programmes is the obvious dedication and love of the subject matter from all involved.

Beautifully shot, edited and narrated, The Life of Mammals is an epic study of some fascinating wildlife. Starting with the Platypus, surely the oddest of all mammals, and moving gracefully and majestically through countless other species, the series ends with a fascinating treatment on Humans themselves.

Attenborough's chosen subdivisions of the group makes the large volume of material easier to digest - Chisellers, Meat Eaters, Water Dwellers, Opportunists, Tree Dwellers, Insect Hunters - they're all equally interesting, endearing and lovable.

As with any Attenborough project, there's a fair share of groundbreaking technology used to give a new insight into the natural world. Luckily this new technology is used sparingly, and with obvious benefit where it is.

There's rarely a dull moment's viewing in this series, or in any other Attenborough - BBC collaboration. Lovers of nature documentaries will not be disappointed.

The series begins with "A Winning Design", which distinguishes mammals from other living organisms. This episode follows marsupials, and hence spends most of its time in Australia. There is some wonderful footage of the duck-billed platypus, perhaps the most bizzare mammal alive today. From here, the next three episodes deal with small herbivores as David charts the development of mammals by examining animals of greater and greater evolutionary complexity. Spectacular later episodes include "Meat Eaters", in which large cats and dogs are compared, and "Life in the Trees", in which David is hoisted to the top of the rainforest canopy to observe the astounding gibbons, who move from branch to branch with breathtaking speed and agility. There is also the amazing "Return to the Water". David stands inside a life-size computer-generated blue whale, and states that the ancestors of these giants were "deer-like creatures" - a fact that surprised me! The last two episodes then examine man's pre-cursors in social monkeys, baboons and finally man himself.

This series, along with the Blue Planet, must rank alongside David's finest work. Fortunately, he shows no signs of slowing down, although one can only wonder if there is any creature he has not yet filmed, or if he could add to what he has produced here. There is a host of previously unseen behaviour in this series, mainly due to the advantage of cameras that are capable of filming with practically no light. The behaviour of platypus in their nest, as well as lions hunting at night, are particularly memorable. David has produced another masterpiece, and it is hard to see how the BBC will ever replace him.