If you could make an animal-themed TV network, what shows would you have?

[TheMightyOrca]

So I was looking at the TV schedules for the "educational" networks in the vain hope that a legitimate nature documentary managed to sneak in between marathons of Alaskan Wild Alien Sasquatch Hunters. Not much luck yet, there are reruns of animal programs but they air at like, 5 am. For years I've lamented that Animal Planet has been focusing on reality shows that have little to nothing to do with animals, (other than humans) and the few animal shows they do have are mostly about how dangerous and deadly they are to people. What I find so disappointing is that there are a million possibilities for animal and nature centered programs, so it can't be for lack of ideas.

So, say you're put in charge of an animal themed educational TV network. What kinds of shows would you have?

 

[Chlidonias]

I actually used to think about this! Animal Planet was great when it started, and then it started getting swamped by programmes about pets and chimps (not that there's anything wrong with pets and chimps, but only in moderation), and then even they got swamped by absolute drivel.

I'd be largely going with Attenborough and BBC wildlife series. (Although the recent trend for all the "Wild [insert country]" programmes was a bit tiresome because they often weren't very good compared to the original ones like Wild South America). Also the older series like Flight of the Condor, Durrell in Russia, Oddie in Paradise, etc.

There are quite a few good zoo series which would bear repeating too, like Wild Island (about Singapore Zoo), Zoo 2000, etc.

 

[DDcorvus]

I actually used to think about this! Animal Planet was great when it started, and then it started getting swamped by programmes about pets and chimps (not that there's anything wrong with pets and chimps, but only in moderation), and then even they got swamped by absolute drivel.

I'd be largely going with Attenborough and BBC wildlife series. (Although the recent trend for all the "Wild [insert country]" programmes was a bit tiresome because they often weren't very good compared to the original ones like Wild South America). Also the older series like Flight of the Condor, Durrell in Russia, Oddie in Paradise, etc.

There are quite a few good zoo series which would bear repeating too, like Wild Island (about Singapore Zoo), Zoo 2000, etc.

BBC also has some good series with Attenborough although it has been a while since they launched anything spectacular. The Dutch movie (which has been released as a series now as well): De nieuwe wildernes - The new wilderness - about the Oostvaarderplassen was very nice as well using the horses to tell the story even though in my view the narration was to anthropomorphic. Of course this can be solved easily in an English version.

And Chlidonias you don't want to have a show called: Chlidonias looking for....... Although I'm afraid the shows of Chlidonias looking for slow loris and Chlidonias looking for Douc langurs might be a bit of a disappointment for the average viewer.

 

[Chlidonias]

And Chlidonias you don't want to have a show called: Chlidonias looking for....... Although I'm afraid the shows of Chlidonias looking for slow loris and Chlidonias looking for Douc langurs might be a bit of a disappointment for the average viewer.

epsiode summaries in the tv guides would go something like this:

Episode One: Chlidonias fails to find a Moon Rat.
Episode Two: Chlidonias fails to find a Chinese Pangolin.
Episode Three: Chlidonias fails to find a Marbled Cat.
Episode Four: Chlidonias fails to find a Baikal Seal. Come on! Seriously?
Episode Five: Chlidonias' show is cancelled.
Episode Six: adventures with albino Ostrich chicks.