I've been watching this show on the Discovery Channel. It's narrated by Oprah, it's gorgeous on my HD TV and it's all around really really interesting. (Cite here that once again I am a nerd and love to watch educational things especially about animals.... :).
I know that you can buy these DVD's but I think they're like $60* or something so I've just been taping them. I have 8 of the 11 episodes taped and have watched two of them. The first one was about mammals, so you know....I can relate. Fun fact, I don't know if I just missed this in elementary school or what but I totally didn't know bats are mammals. I guess it makes since because I knew they didn't lay eggs, I just never put them in the same category as other mammals. I think it's because they're not hairy....
But anyway, my main thought is the conclusion I came to while watching Episode 3: Fish. I don't know if kids under the age of, say....15, should be watching this stuff. First like all discovery shows there's the animal mating, which actually you don't see in this series, but they talk about it a lot. Second, and most importantly is that I'm pretty sure this kind of stuff will scar little children. I'm pretty sure that I'M scarred.
Case #1: In Episode 2: Mammals we're learning about how mammals can adapt to their surroundings so well, so we're looking at Reindeer (I so don't remember their technical name.....it wasn't caribou). They have specially designed hooves that are soft in the summer and hard in the winter to cut through snow. Nifty right? Then it's talking about the crowning feature of mammals is that they protect and care for their young for much longer than most other species. THEN it goes to a momma reindeer who has lost her calf and how she'll spend days trying to find it. And then in Oprah's soothing voice you hear, but she won't find it alive. Cut to the shot of a dead reindeer and about four vultures tearing meat off of it. Well thanks Life, you've made me cry. 'Preciate that.
Case #2: The entire fish episode. There is just way too much of "there's always a bigger fish out there".
Case #3: And last again in the fish episode. There is some fish in Hawaii, that is two inches long and spends it's entire life sucking it's way up the side of a 400 ft waterfall trying to get to 'tranquil waters' up above it where it can breed. This fish literally uses it's sucker mouth to inch it's way up the side of a freaking waterfall. And this is the message that Oprah leaves us with, "Very few are strong enough to make it. Most spend their entire lives trying to get up the waterfall just to fail and die at the bottom." Again. Thanks for the life lessons. This is really what I want little children to be learning.
Just to be clear, this really is an awesome series and I'm really glad that they are showing it on tv so I can have it and not have to pay for it. I'm just saying I'm not sure I would let little kids watch it. I'm just way to happy with my niece thinking that lions and zebras are friends to every subject her to this. At least not until she's way older.
*I really have no idea the price I'm just throwing something out there....
