The greatest ?

[PINJOHN]

felt like watching something serpenty on the tv so i dug out an episode of the BBC series life in cold blood , i chose the one dedicated to snakes and sat back to be entertained and informed , i was not disappointed david attenborough is a genius in my opinion, i liked to think i had a reasonable knowledge of wild life but no matter what the series he presents, he always manages to hit me with something new ether its a animal i have never seen before or perhaps an animal behaving in a way thats new to me.
i truly believe that no body has done more to present snakes in a positive light than david attenbough , i dont doubt that his relaxed informative style together with his sheer enthusiasm for the subject has converted people around the globe from viewing snakes as vile slimy creatures into seeing them as the fascinating and highly interesting animals that they are [ by the way it was in this episode that he first introduced me to the snake that rips of portions of its victim but leaves the main body to rot ] i wonder if you know which snake this is . no cheating now. any way i put forward david attenbough as thamnophis.coms man of the year. are there any other takers

[gregmonsta]

[ by the way it was in this episode that he first introduced me to the snake that rips of portions of its victim but leaves the main body to rot ]

Crab muncher!!!

Well, it is a good series but terribly generalised to grabbing the odd tidbit as always. I much prefer hands on presentation- Rob Bredl made some really good programmes! A lot more focused and informative.

[Selkielass]

Crab eating snakes, isn't it?
I'm going to have to see if I can find that series thru my library. It sounds great. ETS: Ya beat me to it! Cool article about said snake; Don't get crabby!

[gregmonsta]

This is worth watching - PBS Nature - The Reptiles, Part2of4 - Crackle

[PINJOHN]

gregmonsta i think you might have misunderstood the intention of the BBC,s many life series, which was to bring to the viewer the vast range of animal life their similarity's and their differences.
attenborough has done many[perhaps hundreds] of programs about individual creatures, going into great detail about their habits and lifestyles but as i said this is not the purpose of the life series.
In just one episode you might find him on all the continents, such was the scope of these series that not even the BBC could manage it alone and needed to collaborate with leading broadcasting company's from other nations.
I cant believe there would be many nature lovers who have not seen these shows but just in case here,s a few to put on your xmas list
life on earth
life of mammals
life in cold blood
life in the undergrowth
life of birds
the blue planet
natures great events , there are plenty more but my typing finger is sore so look them up your self

[guidofatherof5]

I own a few of the BBC Life series. My kids and I love to watch them.
Makes for a good family night movie.

[gregmonsta]

gregmonsta i think you might have misunderstood the intention of the BBC,s many life series

I haven't actually, I've seen them all, bought a few of the books and apprechiate the ethic and the perspectives I've gained from them .... but, essentially it is no different to shows produced in other countries with exactly the same mindset ... including the link I posted which is almost exactly the same as Life in cold blood (minus a continent hopping 'presenter'). A lot of German productions are fantastic, being the true pioneers of many techniques used globally today in the field of nature filmography. There was a brilliant South African general snake programme that I saw which, unfortunately, is not hosted on the site I found it on anymore (it was special - it had a Florida blue garter giving birth!!).
'Glossary' presentations (such as the BBC's or even my link's example) are fine in their own right but I simply prefer more focused programmes these days. Especially when dealing with a single species focus where at all possible as there isn't enough of that sort of thing. (but that's a biased snake ethusiast who hasn't been turned on by seeing the latest, zillionth, example of 'furries' running around on the serengeti)
Certainly for snake programmes the formula goes something like - must have cobra hooding, egg-eater eating, taipan being deadly, rattlesnake rattling, mamba being aggressive, large constrictor squeezing/eating, flying snake gliding, spitter spitting, shed sequence/swimming sequence/burrow sequence, etc .... and when it comes to garters it's always Manitoba breeding or the red-sideds 'freeze-ability' ... I still enjoy watching though.
Unfortunately examples of these are far too rare when it comes to reptiles or are spoiled by bad presentation on occaision.
I did enjoy 'Life in Cold Blood' .... I just don't think it was better than anything else I'd seen of the same genre. In fact - I think one of his earlier programmes, I think the episode called 'Serpents' (possibly in 'Wildlife specials') was better but I'd need to watch it again to be sure.

[ConcinusMan]

I own a few of the BBC Life series. My kids and I love to watch them.
Makes for a good family night movie.

I only have the "Planet Earth" series. "Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition"

[PINJOHN]

gregmonsta you have got me into serious trouble, your mention of attenborough s hour long special prompted me to start a search around my home for my copy, i had completely forgotten about this production [my copy when i find it is on video] i have turned the house upside down so far no luck my wife is not a happy bunny she is a tidiness freak, unlike my self, now back to searching for SERPENTS

[gregmonsta]

gregmonsta you have got me into serious trouble, your mention of attenborough s hour long special prompted me to start a search around my home for my copy, i had completely forgotten about this production [my copy when i find it is on video] i have turned the house upside down so far no luck my wife is not a happy bunny she is a tidiness freak, unlike my self, now back to searching for SERPENTS

I know the feeling. Made worse by the fact my entire video collection is hidden in various boxes in the attic. I've been meaning to pick up a copy of 'serpents' for ages since it hasn't been shown on TV for an absolute age.