Last Chance to See

While this is not an incredibly serious look at endangered animals, who really deserve a serious look; it is none the less entertaining and educational. I found myself getting curious about Stephen Fry, who I had never previously heard of. Turns out he is a rather famous British comedian, though I didn't find him particularly funny. However; I did become rather fascinated with the classy sort of understated way he accepted and projected his cultural/sexual orientation. He was classy and understated about it, yet at the same time just out and accepting of himself and his orientation as normal. And at the same time he was just a wee bit campy and projected and had fun with stereotypes about classy urban gay men. Roll that all up into an outdoor adventure series about endangered animals, and how could it not be entertaining?

First, it needed to be cut quite a bit. But what really bothered me was Stephen Fry's self-centeredness. After the first episode, I guess someone else told him that we really didn't give a fig about how much he hated being there and would rather be home with his wi-fi. He had no truly justifiable reason to be there, rather than someone who knew something about the animals, other than that he had known a fairly well-known author who had been on the original trip, 20 years before. So after that first episode, he toned his self-focused commentary and whining down a bit and, instead, just kept gushing about how awesome the animals were. I was so put off by him and how special he obviously thinks he is that I couldn't even finish watching the series.

Many years back I read Douglas Adams's book "Last Chance to See", in which he so colorfully tells the story of how he and his friend, biologist Mark Cawardine, traveled the world in an effort to see the seven most endangered species of animals in the wild before it was too late. Now, twenty years later, this documentary revisits the same places. Douglas Adams isn't alive anymore, but Stephen Fry is possibly the best man to take his place, providing the series with his witty comments, while Mark Cawardine provides the cold hard facts.

Notably the series has six episodes, presumably because one of the seven animals Douglas Adams wrote about in his book did indeed go extinct since then.

Despite the sometimes sad story that unfolds, the humor with which it is told makes it a delightful watch. Douglas Adams wrote a hilarious passage about the Kakapo bird in his book. If you've read it and want to finally see that strange bird on the screen, this is your chance! As in the book, the bird makes quite a comedic appearance in the documentary. Highly recommended! 9/10