happy_quadruped

On the whole this is a good doc. Let me start by saying that that footage from out people's front doors, where essentially everything outside their house turned into ocean, is some of the craziest footage I have ever seen anywhere, and I watch a lot of docs.

Most people my age remember hearing about the levies breaking. Many also heard about the looting, and it's interesting to see the other side to that, how a lot of looting was more like people getting desperate. Yes, the doc could be biased, but I think it conclusively shows that at least some of the looting was due to desperation, and when you see what people were going through it's hard to disagree.

I also remember hearing about the superdome breaking, but hadn't seen it with my own eyes until now. And I remember how badly Mike Brown ended up being portrayed in the media... I'd say his persona in this doc lives up to the rep.

I do think it probably should have been shorter than 5 episodes. Good editing could probably have made all the points and kept it to 4 at the most.

Some other viewers have mentioned the concern that a lot of the talking heads in this doc are operating from the position of hindsight, protecting their legacies, etc. I don't think it's an invalid concern but on the whole I found them interesting to hear from. You can form your own judgements.

I think the existing reviews here undersell this show. Les Stroud is a stronger guide on bears than I've seen in other nature shows - he clearly seems to understand them well, and teaches both the bear's psychology/behavior and how to best interact with them. I particularly appreciated Kodiak Kings and Salmon Slaughterhouse, and I felt like I had a seasoned guide to show me around.

The show is uneven, and the caribou episode is the weakest. He didn't have as much to say about them, and seemed more like disturbing them by landing nearby in a copter repeatedly. The polar bear episode was middling.

Still, on the whole I would watch another show by him. I think some people were put off because he seems dramatic, but he isn't wrong that he's in their territory and needs to play by their rules, and that's what he's communicating.

I found this to be a lot more interesting than expected. I originally put it on because I was super bored and expected it to be a bit fantastical given the Bermuda Triangle urban legends. But the film covers some real issues that I hadn't heard of before, such as blue holes and methane hydrate, and give real explanations of them.

I also liked the discussion about whether the Puerto Rico trench could cause tsunamis, and the discussion about breakers being more dangerous in calm water than stormy water.

On the whole I think this has turned me on to the "drain the" series and I look forward to more.