David Attenborough is, of course, the champion of knowledge when it comes to nature and the living world. His shows usually explore the lives of various species by focusing on the topic of the episode, such as hunting or mating habits. We're given the major facts without all the extraneous trivia that surrounds each creature.
In this series, Attenborough takes this trivia and expands on it, thus making it less trivial and more relevant when understood. For example, we know a zebra has stripes but unlike a tiger it doesn't blend in with the surrounding environment - it stands out which, for a creature that is not a predator but prey, seems unusual. He investigates by exploring past theories and beliefs, presenting research and new ideas that try to explain why an array of creatures have evolved unique characteristics and abilities which are considered curious.
Each episode has a runtime of about 22 minutes, but in that short time Attenborough manages to explore two curious creatures and deliver a compelling argument for each ones curious trait. In this show he does not only provide a narrative voice but a hands-on role in order to show us documents, artwork, collections of species, and other materials that have been gathered over the years by various museums and institutions studying nature.
There is never a boring moment in "Natural Curiosities" - each episode moves swiftly and is over before you could ever tire. The format of each episode is similar but because each case is unique there is no feeling of repetition. What you get here is a splendid show for people who like nature documentaries but want to see something a little less mainstream, because it focuses on the surreal things in nature, rather than the highlights of well known places. This is a show that will take you to many places, not to see epic vistas and magnificent wildlife shots, but to analyse nature's way of doing things that may have baffled scientists for years.
