Nature – It’s Terrifying Out There

• Lori Palminteri
• Uncategorized
• May 20, 2020

If I’m known for anything, let it be that I am obsessed—to a border line mental illness—with nature documentaries. Not only do I watch them more than I watch anything on TV, I often watch the same ones over and over. I love learning and I’m continuously in awe of nature’s wonder. For all of Earth’s beauty, nature is about death almost as much as it is about life. Among the animal kingdom, there is non-stop killing and eating of the other specie’s babies (and sometime within their own species). It’s full of turmoil and destruction. And yet. Impossible triumph, stunning views, interesting creatures. This planet continuously fascinates me. Nat Geo’s slogan is, “It’s Amazing Out There.” And it is. Truly. But it is also terrifying.

Chances are you’ve binged watched a lot in quarantine, but here are some documentaries that are worth checking out. Consider me an expert.

1. Planet Earth: This is an obvious one that (hopefully) you’ve probably seen, but every episode is fucking dope as hell. No other way of putting it. Both seasons are epic.
2. Disney’s Dolphin Reef: Truly one of the planets most charming creatures is the dolphin. Disney does a stellar job with this documentary.
3. Disney’s Elephant: Elephants are empathetic which is what makes them so special. I can’t imagine anyone being bored watching this.
4. The Cosmos: I’ve heavily pitched this docu-series and it make reign as my favorite. When Netflix took it off, I just bought it and have watched the entire series 7 or 8 times through. It blows my mind every time.
5. Night On Earth: This one has some incredible footage of lions taking down a giraffe at night with infrared cameras. You’ll continuous go, “how the fuck did they get this footage?” Available on Netflix.
6. Hidden Kingdoms: This documentary is so unreal it looks fake at first and features a couple of my favorite animals, including the scorpion mouse—an adorable little creature that can take down scorpions AND howls at the moon. I almost cried when I saw it howling because it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. They also tell you how they shot this at the end of the series which is cool.
7. Blue Planet: Also a David Attenborough narrated series. As a rule, any Attenborough documentary is solid. As anyone who knows me knows, my love for the ocean is as deep as… well… the ocean. It’s another planet beneath the surface.
8. Myths and Monsters: Okay, okay, so this isn’t really a nature documentary unless you consider human nature, nature. And why not? This one tackles mythology with philosophy and is told with beautiful imagery. Available on Netflix.
9. Hummingbirds: This one is on Amazon and also Attenborough’s smooth voice takes you on a journey with one of evolution’s finest creatures. The high speed camera’s capture the hummingbirds in such a way you can see how truly gorgeous these birds are.
10. Nature: Fabulous Frogs: Indeed frogs are fabulous. Doubt it? This is one of the most engaging nature documentaries. I laughed, I cried, I said, “holy fucking shit” a lot.

There are plenty more amazing documentaries but I’ll cut it off here. Any recommendations?