Europe from Above

This is one of the best and purest Television programs I've ever seen and should be a standard in practice. No agenda, no bias, just a camera drone in the air, taking some of the most stunning shots I've ever seen and a narrator giving you information and history about the place in subject, and that's it.

What a joy to watch and a must for anyone to show their children. The fact that there are 4 seasons now covering almost every country in Europe and certainly the biggest of them. (Although we might be waiting for a Ukraine episode for a while)

Anyway at under 50 characters left to cap this review I think it is a simple program that offers a lot, and also works as a suitable ground floor for learning about what any country in Europe is all about.

Shocking representation of Europe from the eye of a bird (actually an helicopter and a few drones). The images are good in the sense that they are eye candy. The choices debatable, the commentary is hilarious. Europe defined as 'packed with history', Lorenzo digging mud in Venice with his boat called 'a mega machine', in every episode someone doing maintenance says 'I have the best job in the world'. This is meta-humor. John Waters, move along, this is a new frontier of trash!

After watching nearly all episodes I find that there is too much focus on engineering and technology. There is too little focus on the cities and what could be interesting for tourists. What would be attractive for a tourist to visit is left out. Or would one be interested to know how a bridge or skyscraper is build in any given country? The birds-eye vieuws of the landscape are magnificent however, especially when the season shifts and you see the changes. It shows you landscapes that are truly amazing but then it cuts back to yet another technical feat again. I keep watching because of the fabulous birds-eye vieuws though.

Ahead of the new season that will start in a few days, I watched many (but not all) of the episodes to date of "Europe From Above" (initial release in 2019; 4 seasons to date, featuring 5 to 7 countries per season; episodes run about 45 min.). Episode 1 of Season 1 focuses on the Netherlands, and the thing that strikes immediately is the beautiful photography. Simply eye-candy from start to finish.

Couple of comments: this series is not intended to provide a thorough overview of any given country. It is merely intended to provide super smooth photography from the air, presumably with the help of a lot of drone footage. I hail from Belgium (although now a longtime resident in the US) and of course I was very curious what the episode on Belgium (Episode 4 of Season 4) would bring. Things start logically in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, and in particular with the amazing Atomium, truly something for the ages. To think that when it was built for the 1958 World Fair, if was intended to be a temporary structure! After that, checks out the North Sea coast, with Knokke, Oostende, and the phenom that is shrimp fishing. Another amazing highlight is the Light Festival in Gent (every 3 years). Strangely, not a second about Antwerp, the country's 2nd biggest city. This is frankly inexcusable (and not just because I hail from Antwerp). If a mistake like that is made for Belgium, I can only surmise that other similar mistaken were made in other countries. Bottom line: this series is very enjoyable and the photography is beautiful but bear in mind that these are incomplete overviews.

"Europe From Above" originally aired on the National Geographic Channel but then streams on Disney+, where I caught this. Season 5 will start showing in just a few days (June 7). If you are in the mood to see what European countries have to offer, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Excellent documentary, not just viewing from the air but many selected features are explained very well.