From Jim Bawden:
Wolverine Documentary: A CBC-TV First
I freely admit I knew next to nothing about wolverines.
And then I watched the preview tape of CBC-TV’s Nature Of Things documentary: Wolverine: Ghosts Of The Northern Forest. For the very first time anywhere wolverines are shown in their native habitat and these are not the quick, blurred  shots usually glimpsed in other documentaries. Continue reading.Â
I’ve always loved watching predatory birds flitting around the skies of Southern Ontario. As a kid, I marvelled at their ability to cruise updrafts, endlessly circling in search of prey. Driving along the 401 east of Toronto means a likely chance to see one or two hawks perched on power poles or treetops.
And while the majestic bald eagle can be found in Ontario, I have yet to see one in the wild. Luckily, there’s “The Eagles Next Door” to sate my hunger. Thursday’s newest instalment of The Nature of Things explores the lives of Haliaeetus leucocephalus, that have gradually migrated into Vancouver. As host David Suzuki points out, it’s becoming more common to find one of these birds roosting on a back deck or in a tree in the city’s suburbs.
The benefit is two-fold. Bald eagles find plenty of food to eat (including scavenging at landfills) and spots to raise their young, and scientists are able to observe once-endangered species more easily. As John Elliott, research scientist at Environment Canada says, there are more bald eagles breeding in the Fraser Valley now than there were in the whole of the contiguous United States in the 1960s. Informative and entertaining, “The Eagles Next Door” explores which trees the birds prefer to nest in, how the animals have adapted to deforestation in the city and folks like Russ who rejigged his backyard to encourage birds to nest there. Footage from his cameras in White Rock (you can watch the bald eagles on his property via webcam) shows how nests are built, the laying of eggs and both parents raising eaglets Lima and Kilo. The 12 months in the lives of the bald eagle family is documented.
It’s not all good news for bald eagles, however. Being so close to humans means altercations where birds almost always end up injured—there is amazing footage of an eagle saved from a power line—and eating out of landfills may be turning them into scavengers.
“The Eagles Next Door” is from Parallax Films, the folks behind Bahama Blue, Battle Castle and When Disaster Strikes, and the episode is visually stunning. Extreme close-ups allow viewers to see droplets of water shaken from feathers and the intricate steps taken when hunting prey. Check it out on Thursday night.
The Nature of Things airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on CBC.
From Jim Bawden:
Wasted: A Must-See NOT Documentary
Wasted is a top Nature Of Things documentary that puts a face on the compelling subject of alcohol addiction. You can catch it Thursday night at 8 on CBC-TV. Got that?
The hour begins with film maker Maureen Palmer’s profile of her partner Mike Pond who was a psychotherapist helping people with addiction in Penticton, British Columbia. And then he succumbed to alcoholism himself –living smack dab in wine country didn’t help needless to say. Continue reading.
From Jim Bawden:
Myth Buster: A Possible New Series
It’s simply time for CBC-TV to order a full season of Myth Or Science. The fourth in this irregular series on The Nature Of Things comes up Thursday night at 8 on CBC. And once again the photogenic Dr. Jennifer Gardy is in total command as she tackles all the myths we’ve ever heard about the weather.
Like its three predecessors this hour is jam packed with great visuals and Gardy’s fantastic TV presence –she has the scientific credentials but is also aware of what she has to do on TV to keep us interested. Continue reading.
Earlier this year, I watched a stunning documentary called Alive Inside. In it, social worker Dan Cohen shows that music seems to combat memory loss and cut through the fog of Alzheimer’s disease. It was a stunning and hopeful documentary about the power of music, something that’s echoed in Thursday’s new instalment of The Nature of Things.
“Sonic Magic: The Wonder of Science and Sound” jets from Canada to Italy, Australia, England and the United States as scientists, engineers, professors and historians uncover how music is being used to destroy cancer, halt brain disorders like the aforementioned Alzheimer’s disease and even change what food tastes like. Some of the most interesting footage of sound is presented in the first few minutes, as sand and water twists, jumps and wobbles into complex geometric patterns under the affect of sound waves played by musical instruments. (I used to pop the foam covers off my stereo speakers so I could watch the cones vibrate.)
Meanwhile, Trevor Cox plays a saxophone in the London tube to get a read on how architecture changes the way we hear sounds. A interesting example of a building celebrating sound is in Pisa, Italy where The Baptistery of St. John enables an opera singer’s note to resonate for nine seconds. Some information seems obvious—living in a loud environment like a busy metropolis raises one’s stress levels—but how noise can change the way food tastes is fascinating.
And the story of Daniel Kish, blind since 13 months of age using a technique he calls “flash sonar†to navigate the world on foot and on a bike? Simply incredible.Â
