National Treasures

I have a terrible admission to make.

I usually don't watch David Attenborough programs all the way through.

I know. Not very British. (I'm English)

These are the programs that are supposed to be worth the licence fee alone.

What can I say! 

Well, two things really. I'm very sorry. And get over it, mugwump.

I did catch a bit of tonight's. 

Planet Earth Eleven, it's called.

They kept harking on about how difficult it was to film so I thought they would appreciate my support..

(Next time I'm trying to get a streak-free shine on my windows perhaps they'll return the favour. What I'm saying is that we is that we all have challenges).

After turning off some fairly dull sloths, trying "Britain's Next Great Magician" which was criminally shit (and I like magic), I returned towards the end.

Penguins!

Great!.

Really! 

(That cynicism is yours so take a good look at yourself).

Who doesn't love a penguin!

But the story really came alive in the "extra" last 10 minutes (after the main program had finished) when we follow the camera crew through their filming challenges in Antarctica.

Now that was exciting.

Yes, there were the usual hipsters wearing their beard uniform. But you know what, they are simple folk who need to belong and they were in Antarctica so I gave them slight break on that.

Seeing, through their eyes and perils, the live volcano crawling with penguins blooded (bloodied?) from battle, mothers guarding chicks from predators, hopeful for the return of their troubeld warriors from the cruel breakers, it connected with me much more than all the slow-mo, high def, 1000 frames per second schtick. 

Animals are amazing . This planet is amazing. And I suspect a lot of people who are not amazing watch these amazing programs for that alone. 

But some of us and I don't know how many it is  (30%, 70%, 2%, 90%)  are seeing it in 3-D.

We're seeing it in high-definition another and not because our TV says so.

We are asking what in this struggle applies to humanity.

And not because we are simply sharing the same planet's changing environment.

We are animals.

But we are not all animals.

We are the human animal. With our necessarily human lens.

I enjoyed that extra segment more than the others. 

Because we are the context of our own lives.

And even though that was the point I was aiming to make, I don't know if my little epiphany is profound or idiotically obvious.

You can decide.

I am going to have a Penguin.