A big prime-time TV series that premiered last night on NBC was The Americas - a nature series in the vein of Planet Earth (it looks like it will also air on Sunday nights on BBC 1 in the UK). And since this series is also produced by the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, it's no surprise that the visuals are absolutely sumptuous. Though unfortunately everything else is a little disappointing. A folksy-sounding Tom Hanks is no match for Sir David Attenborough. But most grating is the horribly simplistic commentary - it is clearly dumbed down for the American audience. And it doesn't seem particularly original - I'm sure I've seen most of the featured animals before in one of the many predecessors. And something I don't remember from any of the BBC shows is an accompanying score (perhaps they also had this, but no way did it feature as predominantly as it does here). I'm not sure how I feel about this - it adds a cinematic quality, but detracts from the naturalness of what you're seeing. I probably will continue watching, if only to find out what animals they feature when they cover "The West Coast".
