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Secrets of the Whales

With Sigourney Weaver's soothing voice, excellent cinematography, and education on these majestic creatures, this Nat Geo miniseries shows off Orcas, Humpbacks, Belugas, Narwhals and Sperm Whales up close and personal. They do show them feeding, but from a distance, and not the super gory way it truly is. I felt bad for those poor sea lions.

The footage from underwater is just so cool to see. The divers did a really good job for those shots.

I mean, it's a documentary about whales, so it's pretty straightforward, but I enjoyed seeing the creatures that are usually seen from a distance.

The content is interesting to watch. However, as you listen to the narration, 99% of whales are females. Whenever there was ever a "he", it was only presented in a sort of futile attempt at something. I never imagined that the liberal female lead bias could be extended even to program about animals.

Enjoying every episode so far of this most excellent documentary. Others have covered it's high quality. I'll just add a couple of quibbles which didn't affect my score.

1- Sigourney's narration grew old. Way too saccharine at times. Also, don't call a mother whale "Mom". She's not your Mom.

2 - The "how they did it" segments were great but they don't always explain the under-water footage. Is that a photographer down there? Remote control device? Who are the belugas smiling at?

One concern is that they show pristine locations and I can just see tour guides taking people there and maybe ruining it.

I absolutely loved this heartwarming film. I learned so many secrets about whale culture.

The footage is superb, and I welcomed the commentary by the divers. Perhaps half of the voice-over narration is informative but, sadly, much of it gets in the way of deeper understanding. Silence (and whale songs) are golden.