User Reviews

First and foremost this is the most relaxing show I have ever watched. From the beautiful scenery, to the calming Caribbean accent of the narrator to the wonderful soundtrack, sitting down and watching this took away all the worries of the world. It was also hugely successful in making me yearn to go to the Caribbean. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Wild Caribbean is that it manages to be all this and yet at the same time fulfill the criteria for an excellent documentary in being both informative and entertaining.

I highly recommend this four part series to anyone and thank BBC for another world class documentary.

Okay, so i must start off my stating that i only saw the 4th episode of this show but i was blown away by the absolutely breathtaking scenery that was shown in the episode i saw 'Secret Shores'. This documentary mini-series must have taken ages to film because the things they captured on film, shots of animals eating, playing and such was so intimate and close-up. The music was beautiful and every piece reflected the scene but with a Caribbean twist.

I was honestly in awe, my mouth dropping open at the beautiful and spectacular shots they got, especially the aerial shots...

i have to say to anyone who considers watching this if (and i hope it does) re-runs, to set the VCR or DVD recorder as this is a show that you will need to watch many times over just to take in the beauty of the Caribbean. Its perfect for banishing those winter blues...

I really don't think i've said "wow!" so many times at one show! Absolutely STUNNING photography and an OUTSTANDING show.

Have been a big fan of documentaries for a long time now, of all kinds but especially nature and opera. When it comes to nature documentaries, David Attenborough in my (and my sister's) mind reigns king, but it is always great to see one narrated or presented by somebody else once in a while and there are numerous examples of some great ones. Anybody who hasn't seen any of the 'Wild...' or 'Wildest...' documentaries should do so as they are very good to great.

'Wild Caribbean' is one of those and is a real treat. Anybody who wants to know anything more about the nature and culture of the Caribbean and its various habitats (islands and seas), or be educated completely by it, really should try to track 'Wild Caribbean' down if they can. Not just for trying to see as many documentaries as possible (though that comes into it a little) but also to see whether it is as good as has been said. This is another strong of a 'Wild...' documentary to be that good, if not one of the best ('Russia' is my personal favourite). Do think it deserves more credit than it does and deserves more exposure.

As one would hope watching a nature documentary, 'Wild Caribbean' looks wonderful. Have always wanted to go to the Caribbean, my hopes increased watching this and want to go more now. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate way, never looking static or chaotic. Enough of it is expansive too, not as cinematic as some documentaries seen recently (i.e. 'Our Planet') but nonetheless the photography does look fabulous.

Likewise with the habitats and scenery, the colours are rich and learnt a lot about them. They are more than just beautiful scenery though, some are uncompromising too which stops anything from being one-dimensional. The music here is a remarkably good fit, throughout it not only complements the visuals but enhances them and there is an authentic flavour to it.

Those who love to be educated and have the information delivered beautifully will be in for a treat on both counts. My knowledge was quite limited beforehand on Caribbean nature and wildlife, so did find myself learning a large amount which was great, love to be illuminated watching documentaries as that's what they should do. But there were things already known in too, so wasn't out of my depth. This narration is delivered mellifluously and sincerely, without any signs of preaching.

Wildlife themselves are quite unique and a wonderful mix of the adorable and the dangerous, as well as the well known and the rarely seen. Mostly the latter in my case. The cultural aspect also educated, most of it also unfamiliar to me.

Concluding, a sadly under-viewed must see. 10/10

Wild Caribbean (2007) is another offering from the BBC Natural History Unit. By now we are used to their production values and this mini series of four episodes is no departure. It features glossy footage of photogenic 'wildlife' with specially commissioned bland soundtrack and a soothing male narrator -- not Sir David Attenborough this time but the velvet tones of Steve Toussaint.

The script was written by Sophie Cooper. Sophie emphasises touchy-feely moments between mother and baby (e.g. during sperm whale footage) which makes her script more 'feminine' than that produced by male writers (who usually betray their biases by discussing footage from a male perspective e.g. referring to 'harems' of female animals that 'belong' to an alpha male). However, on the whole, Sophie follows the usual BBC Natural History Unit (BBC NHU) plot devices and as a result her script is blandly-corporate and could have been written by anyone at the BBC NHU. The plot follows the same routine: (1) an introduction to some pretty scene e.g. parent birds feeding chicks which (2) engages the sympathies of the audience and (3) casts these animals as protagonists of the drama. Next comes (4) an announcement of impending threat, e.g. a change in the weather or an approaching predator, which (5) is then acted out on screen either to (6) the death or (7), more rarely, the escape of the imperilled heroes. Immediately after such scenes the documentary cuts to another scene with a new set of animals which are set up to go through the same plot devices. During each episode we see dozens of different sets of animals go through peril and either survive or, more often, die.

What follows is not just a criticism of Wild Caribbean but could apply to almost any of the documentaries produced by BBC NHU. The endless repetition of the same plot device makes it a cliché. The effect is numbing: emotionally, intellectually, and morally i.e. one watches a long series of more or less identical scenes of peril and suffering and random deaths and one ceases to care, to think about it, or to have any moral position on it. It is implied and sometimes made explicit (e.g. by reference to Neo-Darwinian theory which is treated as unquestionable fact) that what is being portrayed is 'nature' or 'life as it really is' (i.e. the survival of the fittest) and thus something that simply has to be accepted with fatalistic passivity. It is never made explicit that what is portrayed is a heavily edited selection of footage which is as 'natural' or as 'neutral' as any advert or party-political broadcast and just as determined to persuade the viewer to a particular point of view. The BBC is required by law to avoid bias in its programmes but the team at BBC NHU seem not to realise that this applies to pseudo-scientific, supposedly 'factual' documentaries like the programmes they produce. The team present 'natural history' as if it only had one 'truth' and what they present is that truth. The reality is that real science is full of controversy and debate and has no 'certainties'. What the BBC NHU offers is something that purports to be 'scientific' but in its uncritical Neo-Darwinian dogma more closely resembles a religious viewpoint.

It is distasteful enough to endure this uncritical presentation of Neo-Darwinian quasi-religious values when the protagonists in the drama are animals but when 'Wild Caribbean' introduces footage of human suffering (e.g. the 1995 volcanic eruption that engulfed Montserrat) the 'amoral' editorial posture of the documentary becomes offensive and politically repugnant. The same inducement to lack of concern about animal suffering is transferred to human suffering and the same inducement to cease to feel, think, moralise or engage politically with the issues presented is transferred to human affairs. We cut from scenes of animal suffering to scenes of human suffering and back to scenes of animal suffering and the implication is that there is nothing we can do about any of this and we should simply allow 'natural forces' to weed out the unfit and accept the result without resistance even when this includes our fellow man.

Reading other reviews of BBC wildlife documentaries, it seems that viewers often accept the documentaries at face-value as chocolate-box photo-montage of nice scenery with a lullaby-soundtrack which is 'soothing' or 'relaxing' to watch. There are too few viewers who question whether being soothed or relaxed when viewing endless footage of suffering is an appropriate response. Too few viewers ask whether the editorial posture of these documentaries is overly manipulative and whether they want to be induced to acquiesce to the toxic values and extreme political attitudes these documentaries promote and celebrate. One does not have to be Adam Curtis to be suspicious of the ethical, political and intellectual values offered in these wildlife documentaries. I sincerely hope that a greater number of BBC NHU's millions of viewers become more critical of the 'docu-tainment' they are consuming. However, I am not too optimistic. I suspect that millions of viewers will continue to 'enjoy' these documentaries whilst remaining completely oblivious to what it is they are actually watching and 'enjoying'.