Islands

Consider the first 'Planet Earth' one of the finest documentaries ever made and one of the best series ever made on anything. A perfect representation of what makes David Attenborough so deservedly highly regarded and his remarkably consistent body of work (even his lesser work is still good) as delightful as it is.

'Planet Earth II' is every bit as exceptional (even if not quite ground-breaking) and easily a 2016 television highlight, its acclaim is more than deserved. Its first episode "Islands" couldn't have been a more ideal start, meeting and exceeding incredibly high expectations. This may be reiterating what has been said many times about Attenborough's work, but pretty much everything he's done, even those that are not quite masterpiece status, has consistently the same strengths so it's unavoidable. Throughout it's an awe-inspiring, utterly transfixing experience where one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art, that couldn't be higher praise for anything.

"Islands" for starters looks amazing. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The scenery and island habitat are simply spectacular, the rich colours just leap out. For a composer that composes normally bombastic, rousing and pulse-racing music that is epic even in the quieter moments, Hans Zimmer's music here is a remarkably good fit. It's unmistakably Zimmer in style but throughout it not only complements the visuals but enhances them. The main theme is impossible to forget.

What of the narrative aspects? Can't fault "Islands" in this aspect either. The narration has a great well-balanced mix of facts that will be familiar to the viewer and others that will induce the right amount of surprise. In short, it's just fascinating, informative and thoughtful.

Nothing but credit is due too for adhering to what made 'Planet Earth' work the first time and then bringing a freshness with a few nice ideas to avoid it being too stale. Attenborough delivers all this information beautifully in a way only he can achieve, there's a soft-spoken enthusiasm, sincerity and precision about his delivery and he never preaches while knowing what to say and how and when to say it.

The animals are a mix of cute and menacing. Love the iguanas and they are clearly "Islands" biggest highlights of an episode with a great many.

Like Attenborough's best work, "Islands" and 'Planet Earth II' in general feels like its own individual story and never feels episodic or repetitive. There are real, complex emotions and conflicts and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.

Overall, as perfect a first episode of an exceptional series as one can get. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The music,camerawork,narration and overall storytelling and message will blow your mind.

I have just finished the episode and I can't stop saying to myself OH MY GOD ! Hands down the most amazing film I have ever watched. This introduces unseen real animals' life whereas I did not expect to be eye-opening like this at all. I will definitely recommend all of my friends to watch since no one should ever miss this series.

Sir David and BBC are back at it again with an even better production quality, and a much more 'consuming' experience. "It's like the Planet Earth (2006), but better in many ways!" Hans Zimmer's soundtrack also takes it to a whole other level, and even though you are looking at the beautiful Planet Earth, the experience seems out of this world. It's all beautiful, but there is nearly always one standout O-M-G did-you-see? scene in these Attenborough shows. The base- jumping goslings in Life Story a while back, for example. In this, it happens on the island of Fernandina. A marine iguana hatchling emerges from the sand and sets off on the journey to join the adults at the edge of the sea. Oh no, this kind of journey scares me. What's it going to be? From the side of the frame, something else appears, and keeps on appearing … snake! Then another, and another – racer snakes, and it soon becomes apparent how they got their name. These snakes are fast, and hungry, and they want baby iguana for breakfast. Overall, it's easily one of the best, if not THE BEST TV Show ever to have been produced, and everybody seems to love it, because it is impossible not to.

The first 2 minutes(the intro) already beat the first season, well done, looking forward for the next minutes! Good to see Mr David in person..............