Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise is a nature documentary series exploring the landscapes and wildlife of Patagonia. The series was broadcast in three parts in the United Kingdom, where it premiered on September and October 2015 on BBC Two and BBC Two HD.
| Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise | |
|---|---|
 Series title card from UK broadcast | |
| Also known as | Wild Patagonia |
| Genre | Nature documentary |
| Narrated by | Santiago Cabrera |
| Composer | Will Slater |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | James Honeyborne |
| Production location | Patagonia |
| Running time | 59-60 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two BBC Two HD |
| Release | 25 September – 9 October 2015 |
| Related | |
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Produced and directed by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Fire and Ice" | Tuppence Stone | 25 September 2015 | |
|
A glimpse at the rarely seen South American wilderness, home to a range of creatures from terrain as varied as the Andes to Cape Horn. Cameras reveal the secret lives of pumas and hummingbirds, soar with condors over glacial peaks and explore monkey puzzle forests dating back to the time of the dinosaurs. The extreme kayakers who gain thrills and excitement from traversing the area's raging waterfalls are observed, as are the native cowboys, known as gauchos, as they round up wild horses. | ||||
| 2 | "Heat and Dust" | Nick Smith-Baker | 2 October 2015 | |
|
This episode follows the path of the relentless wind sweeping east through Patagonia's dry desert from the Andes' peaks. The programme reveals a weird world of maras—a large relative of the guinea pig—and penguins, and witnesses the first faltering steps of baby guanacos—Patagonia's very own camels. Cameras also observe the people who have taken on this inhospitable environment and carved out a home for themselves. | ||||
| 3 | "Life on the Edge" | Evie Wright | 9 October 2015 | |
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The final instalment looks at the 4,000-mile coast that stretches from the cold waters of Cape Horn—where rockhopper penguins overcome huge challenges to raise their young—to the far north's much warmer climate, where huge elephant seals battle for position in the heat of the desert. Orcas ram-raid the beaches, grabbing seal pups to feed their young, and fishermen are also incentivised to gather the sea's bounty. | ||||
Reception
editA review in The Guardian wrote " It’s beautiful and moving and also sad. And that’s about right for Patagonia."[1]
Controversy
editThe Independent recalled that, as The Observer had revealed, "Impressive footage of a volcano eruption used in the BBC seriesPatagonia: Earth’s Secret Paradise has been revealed as fake."[2] The BBC admitted the facts, but responded: "This particular sequence would be impossible to film in the wild."[3]
References
edit- ^ Wollaston, Sam (26 September 2015). "Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise review – wanna see a bonzai deer?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "The impressive footage from the BBC of a volcano erupting is not what it seems". The Independent. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "BBC staff forced to retrain after 'faking' nature shows". Yahoo News. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
