Loved the 3-Episode presentation of this show - PBS Nature is always an excellent program. But there are a few things I feel I just have to question about this particular Series (& answers would be great to receive back):
1) I can't understand why "Sweet Dreams" (although I do love Marilyn Manson's cover of this song) was chosen for the opening & closing of each episode. It seems to me that a different piece of music (old/new - edgy or not) could have been used that would have been more appropriate for use in this series. "Sweet Dreams" is a sad song with a S&M theme & that's not what this program is about at all. Truthfully, I found it jarring & irritating.
Secondly, after Episode 1, I was so disappointed that we never heard about the lame mother lioness & her 2 cubs ever again. Episode 1 ended with the 2 brother lions approaching what I thought was going to be her (& her cubs) as it mentioned at that time that they were "headed her way & that might possibly lead to her getting a pride of her own." But Episode 2 shows the brothers competing with the established older lion of a different larger pride, which turns out to be a futile effort on their behalf & they move on. The situation of the lame lioness & her young cubs fighting for daily survival gave the show an interesting from the very beginning of the series that drew the viewer into the story & to root for her recovery, survival & the flourishing of her & her cubs - & the hope of her either meeting up with her old pride, being accepted into a new one (with her cubs), or establishing one of her own after mating with one or both of the 2 brother lions. I guess we'll never really know what happened to her & her cubs, unless the reference at the very end of Episode 3 to "... and where a single lioness can overcome impossible odds to live another day" at the is about her (? - and I hope it is). Nature isn't kind to the injured or disadvantaged in the wild & perhaps the Jouberts didn't want the viewers to be shattered by a sad ending to their story, but other Nature shows have always presented the good with the bad - it's the reality of life & death in the wild - the way of the jungle, so to speak, and we did see plenty of death in this program, though not of any of the main animal's in the stories we became vested in. We PBS Nature viewers have learned to accept animal deaths by other animals illustrating the food cycle & the no holds barred filming & presentation of such in their Series' programs. I think it would have been a sad ending to the story of the mother lioness & her cubs, but one the audience could have handled, and it would have been better than just having the storyline hanging with no answers given. So, I'm really hoping that last reference to "a single lioness" (no cubs shown, though) was about her & by extension, her cubs, too.
If not for those 2 issues, I would have rated this 3-part Series 10 Stars. I loved the program. The photography was especially spectacular & the storyline (Wildiife Survival on the Okavango River) one I hadn't seen before in regard to African wildlife. We've all seen plenty of series regarding "The Great Migration" and the rains that follow it, starting another cycle/year of life over again, but not from along the Okavengo River. Kudos to the Jouberts & PBS & the program Sponsors/Contributors for bringing such an excellent program to PBS viewers.
