Reviewed by Louise Bolotin
Presented by Benedict Cumberbatch | UK cert E | UK RRP £25.99 | Runtime 300 minutes
The world’s biggest ocean is the star of this 6-part natural history documentary and it’s fascinating stuff. The statistics alone are staggering – 25% of the world’s water is in the south Pacific and there are 20,000 islands scattered across its vastness. It’s truly a great wilderness and one that is increasingly under threat from the impact of humans – it’s overfished, with stocks of tuna and other fish diminishing, and the coral reefs are disintegrating. The cover blurb describes South Pacific as a fragile paradise, which seems pretty accurate.
Each episode looks at a different aspect of the incredible array of life and nature. We learn about the underwater volcanoes that erupt regularly and try to form new islands, and the bizarre wildlife that is found nowhere else on earth – flesh-eating caterpillars, vampire beetles with antifreeze for blood and ginormous crabs that can open coconuts. And there are the native peoples, who first arrived on the scattered and isolated atolls thousands of years ago and who have to date maintained many bizarre rituals that have helped them survive their difficult environment. The way of life of these peoples is threatened too and South Pacific shows us just how they are struggling to hold onto their culture and traditions as globalisation encroaches.
The series is narrated by actor Benedict Cumberbatch (Hawking, Atonement), whose delivery is a little flat and dry for the most part. He lacks the enthusiasm of David Attenborough, which takes the edge off the extraordinary cinematography. Nevertheless, South Pacific is compelling viewing – if you’re a fan of the BBC’s other natural history series, you won’t want to miss this one.
EXTRAS *** Each episode has a 10-minute clip of behind the scenes footage showing how it was made.