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Johannesburg - As gripping as a drama series and packed full of firsts, the hugely expensive BBC wildlife series The Hunt originally premiered on DStv in January.
If you missed it – like the bulk of the predators chasing prey in the series – look out for its special September repeats. They happen in clusters of episodes, but believe me, that’s okay, because this is the stuff of binge-watching.
Its cinematographic firsts aside (polar bears pool-hopping to hunt seals as ice melts, the world’s most elusive otters captured on film for the first time, and more), the series is notable for its approach. By showing that the majority of hunts in the wild are unsuccessful, the series elicits sympathy for the starving predator, normally portrayed as the villainous killer. It also shows how its scenes were constructed in the-making-of segment, admitting to editing tricks and revealing astounding camera innovations, such as a special rig on an elephant to get world-first tiger-hunt footage.
It will give you a sense of wonder – and of loss as climate change makes its impact.
The best things about it? A jumping spider called Portia, a sequence of a blue whale eating krill that took two years to film and the fact that it’s narrated by David Attenborough.
See the trailer here:
Catch epsiodes 1 to 4 on Saturday, 17 September at 18:30 to 22:30 and episodes 5 to 7 on Saturday, 24 September on BBC Earth (DStv 184).
