16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
‘Planet Weird' Review: National Geographic WILD's Nutty Nature
Much of the three-part 'Planet Weird,' which goes out of its way to find the nutty in nature, is simultaneously fascinating and disgusting—the much sought-after synthesis of wildlife programming: animals eating other animals, mating with other animals (not other species, heaven forfend), and finding revolting ways to do both.
It would be difficult to be a funnier nature show than the recent 'Octopus!,' which featured narration by Phoebe Waller-Bridge ('Fleabag'). But Ross Noble, English comedian and shameless punster, gives it a go. Abetted by writer Siddharth Nambiar, he finds a quip around every corner of northern Canada, the African savanna and the Indian Ocean. It would be unfair to simply steal their jokes, but some groaners deserve special recognition: 'For never was there a story ending in more roe,' Mr. Noble says of the mating ritual of the sockeye salmon, 'than of these salmon Juliets and their Romeos.' Pass the fish knife.
