Secrets of the Penguins

Stopped watching because of the awful narration. I don't recommend this doc. The editing turns simple penguin squabbles into slow-motion "epic showdowns" complete with thunderous drums-because nothing says "life and death struggle" like a flipper slap over a chunk of ice.

They clearly blew the budget on drone shots of Antarctica, because the "plot" (if you can call it that) has all the depth of a snowflake. Or, they had to pay the narrator too much to do much else. By the third act, the repetitive shots of penguins slipping on ice start to feel like unintentional slapstick, and not in a good way.

In summary: If you came for scientific insight or or emotional storytelling, keep waddling. If you want to hear a choir swell while penguins stare at each other... well, even then, you might be disappointed.

This series shows us things that we've never seen before about penguins! The National Geographic Producers and Camera Crew were also very brave and did an incredible job.

There are people that don't seem to like this series solely due to the fact that the National Geographic Team didn't interfere with the natural way of life for these animals. THAT'S A GOOD THING! We shouldn't be meddling with how things work in nature! Unfortunately, that also means not interfering if there are animals in need.

All in all, incredible work. Before watching, I only had a slight interest in penguins for many years. Now, I love them! If you've always had a thing for learning about nature and animals, you will absolutely love watching this series.

Beautiful footage of many different types of penguins. Yes, some scenes are difficult to watch but it's nature and honest. The section on Rockaronis was pretty interesting, a new species. Once I watch a penguin show, I go down the penguin rabbit hole and need to find more as they're just so fascinating and adorable.

Bertie does a fabulous job and it would have been great to have Bertie narrate the whole thing rather than just bits of him here and there. Blake Lively's reading is oddly paced and bland. Very disappointing as we're subjected to it across the shows. I'd love to watch this again in a bit as it's beautiful and so educational but . . . Her voice. Do better NatGeo!

Beautifully filmed account of these amazong birds, while also at times giving some insight into how these programmes are filmed.

Narrating anything, but especially wildlife documentaries, is a skill. This one is let down by a narrator you can hear is trying so hard to be quiet and soft, almost whispering. It doesn't sound natural. Unlike Tom Hanks, for example, in the recent Americas series.

Also, to the reviewers upset at seeing the reality of nature, maybe nature documentaries aren't for you. Stick to cartoons. The camera crew absolutely should NOT interfere in nature. They should just film and observe. The whole point is showing nature in its full, and sometimes heartbreaking, glory. It's not a zoo.

This is incredible! My daughter is penguin obsessed and even we are still learning new things. The early images of the emporers are incredible! The galapagos ones adapting and living alongside humans is absolutely fascinating.

The only reason it's not 10/10 is Blake lively's voice; please don't let her narrate again, it sounds like a bad AI voice! We need someone with gravitas and real emotions.

I think the videographer guy is incredible and has a much better presenting voice. Would love to see more of his work.

The fact that so many penguins survive in such a wide variety of environments is just amazing.