David Attenborough has educated more people about nature and wildlife than probably anyone left on this planet, a planet Attenborough has documented for sixty years now. His latest series, 'Africa' (BBC1) doesn't fail to please or reach the extraordinary standards of previous ventures. Attenborough is, rather as Lonesome George was, the Master of all he surveys. He is extremely generous to his camera team, crediting their amazing work and he has long dominated Sunday nights with his brand of exceptional television. Sir David, as he is known in Britain, spoke to us as an Elephant mother stayed with her dying Calf. The pathos in the scene was astonishing, the camera work exceptional and the whole segment was very moving. We saw the beauty of the Rift Valley and how Africa, like the rest of the planet, is climate dependant - how the heat fired up the savannah during drought, and how the rain brought new life to the fore when the torrents come down. We witnessed the splendour of the flamingo, one of the oddest but extraordinary birds alive, and how they perched in acidic waters that would scald this reviewer fairly sharpish. We observed how nature seems cruel and harsh but also beautiful. 'Africa', and programmes like it, have done more for the Green Movement over the last forty years than anything else; we should cherish Attenborough for making it so.
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