Wild Arabia

Am a big fan of nature documentaries, especially the work of David Attenborough. Having been recommended 'Wild Arabia' through Amazon and here, it was instantly put down on my list as a must see. Also heard nothing but praise for it, which has nearly always been a good sign, so that further sparked interest.

'Wild Arabia' is as good as others on Amazon have said and there is not much to add, actually feeling much more than just a documentary. Throughout it's an awe-inspiring, utterly transfixing experience where one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art. This may sound like extreme hyperbole, but to me 'Wild Arabia' is completely deserving of its praise and even deserving of more, should have lasted longer than the mere three episodes it lasted.

It is hard knowing when to start with the praise. 'Wild Arabia' for starters looks amazing, reasons enough to make book a trip to see the more naturalistic parts of Arabia. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals and humans), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The scenery and habitats are some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life. The rich colours just leap out and the scenery from this part of the world has rarely looked more beautiful. The music here is a remarkably good fit, throughout it not only complements the visuals but enhances them and there is an authentic flavour to it.

What of the narrative and information aspects? Can't fault 'Wild Arabia' in this aspect either. The narration has a great well-balanced mix of facts that will be familiar to the viewer and others that will induce the right amount of surprise. In short, it's just fascinating, informative and thoughtful with lots of insight, a tremendous respect for the subject and an intimate approach that works just right.

From start to finish, 'Wild Arabia' managed to intrigue and illuminate, and there is a freshness to the material, not feeling derivative of anything. The narration is delivered articulately, there's an enthusiasm and precision about the delivery and it never feels preachy and always lets the scenery and such speak for itself.

The wildlife themselves are a wonderful mix of the adorable and the dangerous, and one actually finds they're rooting for them in exactly the same way they would a human character. Not just that we also see how humans interact and adapt which was just as great and interesting to watch and the two aspects are balanced beautifully. There is a good deal of suspense and emotional impact. There are some scenes where one is amazed that they managed to be filmed in the first place.

In all the three episodes, 'Wild Arabia' feels much more than a series and it doesn't feel episodic or repetitive. The episodes instead feel like their own story, without being too reliant on that approach, with real, complex emotions and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.

Overall, wondrous in every regard. Not to be missed. 10/10 Bethany Cox

My expectations for Wild Arabia were low because I expected little wildlife in the desert lands, so I wasn't expecting the crew to be able to capture many interesting shots to fill the series. To an extent, that was true. The first episode was loaded with excellent info, though many of the animals were small and slow moving to avoid overheating. The third episode had a couple of good segments, but it primarily focused on domesticated animals and human development. But the 2nd episode was absolutely spectacular, jam packed with wildlife and far more predators than I thought lived on the peninsula.

If you know nothing of Arabia, the whole series is a good watch. If you only care about the nature side, skip the final episode. And if you want to skip straight to the action, only watch the 2nd episode.