Planet Earth (TV Mini Series) Seasonal Forests (2006) User Reviews

Trees Are Pretty Special

[ccthemovieman-1 · 10/10 · 4 January 2009]

Some of the neatest things I've seen in this 11-part series was in this episode, but maybe that's because I share the narrator's view that "trees are among the most magnificent living things on the planet." It was cool to see the tree-less top of the planet at the Arctic, and then slowly the forest begins. Soon, that's all you see are the trees of the Tiaga Forest. which holds one-third of all the trees in th world and all the oxygen planet Earth needs!

Just some of the fascinating sites in this episode included a look at the lynx, one the rarest animals to see; a wolverine (which we are told is "a huge weasel"); in a forest in Chile the world's smallest deer and cat; fantastically-beautiful Manadarin ducks; lemurs, moths and the Amur leopard - the rarest cat on Earth.

Maybe the most interesting segment was the part that showed the incredible birth and migration of a certain kind of cicada in western Europe (I think) that only hatches every 17 years, then climbs all the trees in this forest - one billion in number - hatches overnight, is eaten by about every animal and bird in the area, and then dies and provides nutrition for the soil and trees. You have to see this to believe it!!

What I especially enjoyed were all the overhead shots in this episode. In an 11-part series filled with spectacular photography, this one on "Seasonal Forests" was one of the most stunning to see.

I've missed this vibe since episode 6!

[dakuchonekobing · 8/10 · 28 September 2020]

Finally! I love this episode. I don't know if because I watched this episode in a good mood day of mine, but the fact that since episode 6, I haven't seen any episode which make me satisfy. Honestly I'm afraid that I expected at too high level and so I was disappointed. Now, I'm really satisfied. The music is great at its level, the level of the best nature TV show. Thanks Planet Earth team because of making this episode. I love the forests, I love the animals.

Tree magic with 'Planet Earth'

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 15 November 2017]

Absolutely adore 'Planet Earth', one of the best documentaries ever made and actually is more than that. Have remarked a few times that it and its recent follow up (every bit as good) did for nature and out planet as 'Walking with Dinosaurs' did with the dinosaurs. David Attenborough is widely considered a national treasure for very good reason, no matter how much he himself dislikes the term.

"Seasonal Forests", the penultimate episode of 'Planet Earth', perfectly lives up to the never less than great quality of the previous nine episodes of 'Planet Earth' and is a great representation of what Attenborough is all about and what a good documentary should be like. "Seasonal Forests" throughout, as with the previous nine episodes and with Attenborough at his best, is an awe-inspiring, utterly transfixing experience where one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art. This may sound like extreme hyperbole, but to me and many others 'Planet Earth' is completely deserving of its praise and even deserving of more. To me as well, it is easily one of the best the BBC has done in years.

Where to start with the praises for "Seasonal Forests"? It for starters looks amazing, one of the best-looking of the series in fact. It is gorgeously filmed, those aerial shots are awe-inspiring, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting more with the inhabitants) way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The jungle scenery is some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life and the rich colours positively leap out. The music is epic but has just as many quieter moments that speak just as much. The main theme is unforgettable.

Regarding the narrative aspects, "Seasonal Forests" can't be faulted there 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, and no other documentary in existence has taught me this much about trees. Everything is intriguing and illuminating, with as much for children to be inspired by as well as adults, and there is just enough freshness to avoid it from becoming stale. Attenborough delivers it beautifully, there's a soft-spoken enthusiasm and precision about his delivery and he never preaches.

'Planet Earth' always succeeded in the emotional impact. "Seasonal Forests" once again does that, the whole stuff with the cicada is enough to leave one in awe.

Nothing episodic or repetitive here either. Despite covering a lot, there is a real sense of the episode having its own individual story with real, complex emotions and conflicts and the inhabitants developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.

To conclude, more 'Planet Earth' magic. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Disappointing even by lowered standards

[yavermbizi · 2/10 · 18 August 2019]

While I am of the opinion that all episodes of "Planet Earth" (or, at least, all of the ones I've watched) have certain flaws, this one is probably the episode with the highest flaw concentration. The narration is too sparse, incomplete and when it finally starts coming through it is sometimes factually incorrect or arbitrary. Beyond even the narration, there is no narrative structure to the episode: the "It's the beginning of spring in the forest" part happens three times at different points in the episode, and there is frantic jumping from locale to locale. Finally, the "Amur leopard" segment is a repeat from the very first episode ("From Pole to Pole"), with the exact same footage shown. That's simply a disgrace for a 5-years-in-the-making, 11-episode ordeal.