Earth: A New Wild Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Earth: A New Wild Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf February 21, 2015

The world is changing, always evolving. “Earth: A New Wild” is a five-episode series dedicated to understanding how nature is coping with its future, sending host Dr. M. Sanjayan around to numerous continents to discover the secrets of planetary growth and how extremes as processed by animal life. Through “Home,” “Plains,” “Forests,” “Oceans,” and “Water,” “A New Wild” takes time to study impending disaster and hope for a brighter tomorrow, focusing on human involvement to help ecosystems and creatures along, working diligently to correct many mistakes made along the way. It’s an epic look at the corners of Earth and its mysterious ways, with Dr. Sanjayan excited to share his often remarkable findings with the viewer.

“A New Wild” follows a pattern over its five episodes, shadowing Dr. Sanjayan as he visits environmental extremes with hopes of discovering something unseen, piecing together a new puzzle of life. The series is mostly successful in terms of originality, using a template of travel and awe before detailing extraordinary events. A visit to China finds the doctor confronted with the sight of 14 baby pandas looking for someone to play with -- the end result of a breeding program instigated to increase numbers as the panda faces extinction. Time in Norway spotlights a traditional castration method involving the biting of reindeer testicles that’s viewed as more humane than typical medical intervention. I think it’s safe to write that I’ve never seen that before. Entering forbidden jungles, the wonders of the ocean, and the beauty of forests, “A New Wild” isolates the miracle of nature and its wondrous habits of adaptation, while securing a human element that details caring, brilliant minds committed to correcting poisonous mistakes along the way.

Episodes:

Disc 1

“Home” (57:14)

Dr. Sanjayan begins his journey in China, where extensive scientific study has occurred to bring pandas back from the edge of extinction. However, sophisticated methods of breeding are only the beginning, with necessary training involved to “re-wild” the animals, making sure they can adapt to their natural surroundings. In Africa, chimpanzees are being isolated by land development, with Dr. Jane Goodall working to construct “corridors” to ease travel, thus opening the primates to fresh breeding partners. In Bangladesh, tiger attacks on humans have increased, examining a difficult mingling of man and animal. In India, big animal carcasses are frequently left to rot at the fringes of major cities, but vulture numbers have dwindled over the last decade, helping disease spread. Working to repopulate the air with proper meat-eaters, local scientists assume a parental role to the vulture, even teaching them how to fly. And in Austin, TX, the idea of a necessary predator is explored during the annual migration of bats, which cloud the air on a quest to lower local insect numbers.

“Plains” (57:14)

In South Africa, local elephant populations run too high, creating a problem with overgrazing, necessitating plans for annual culling events. However, a local farmer and lifelong elephant admirer has radical ideas on the issue. In Russia, the Saiga antelope is threatened with extinction, with its horns harvested for Chinese medicine. These dwindling numbers require precise attention to the brutal mating season and monitoring of the young. In Norway, the reindeer population is closely guarded by the locals, with some using a traditional method of castration that requires the biting of testicles to control animal aggression during mating season. A visit to South Dakota showcases the plight of the prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets, who are subjected to a plan of repopulation to help the land. In Montana, a local rancher has an interesting theory on cows and their ability to transform into a composting machine due to herding patterns. Returning to Africa, Dr. Sanjayan investigates nomadic herders using night vision goggles to help repel invading lions.

“Forests” (57:14)

Traveling deep into the Ecuadorian jungle, Dr. Sanjayan enters the “Intangible Zone,” a place of almost perfect ecological balance, home to a native tribe helping outsiders acquire clues to the area’s history. In Portugal, a forest of cork trees provides another example of a balanced ecosystem, with management of predators helping to keep order. Indonesia’s farmlands have been invaded by confused territorial elephants, requiring a team known as the “Flying Elephant Squad” to gently return visitors to the comfort of the jungle, away from man. Canada is home to the Great Bear Rainforest, where the annual herring run refreshes the riverbanks and the water, bursting with life. And in Brazil, technology is being used by local tribes, who labor to put a value on their surroundings to protect what the forest offers the planet.

Disc 2

“Oceans” (57:14)

The delicate predator-prey system in Palmyra is turned into a ferocious feeding frenzy with an influx of sharks. Melanesia deals with overfishing, establishing a system that tags bluefin tuna, helping to pinpoint spawning areas worth protecting. In the Bahamas, lemon sharks are in need of human help to survive, with Dr. Sanjayan assisting with the delivery of a pup. Key Largo is home to a man-made coral reef, allowing scientists to study how artificial life can spur additional growth. In Mexico, a fish farm is revealed under the water, housed in an enormous geodesic sphere. And in New York City, a scientist is working to return oysters to polluted water, with their natural filtering system beneficial to all, including returning species.

“Water” (57:14)

To help local wildlife to water, tribesmen in Kenya dig wells under the sand, allowing the area to nourish and sustain. In the Sahel, a local man is determined to perfect local barriers to help preserve fresh water. Of course, not all sources of water on are the mend, with a visit to Uzbekistan detailing ecological destruction, while a kayak trip down the Colorado River observes dam systems, some of them outdated enough to call for detonation. And in Missouri, snow geese visit a man-mad wetland, holding out hope that wildlife will embrace the fruits of man’s labor, restoring the population and vitality of the land.

Earth: A New Wild Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Offering an AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation, "A New Wild" falls into line with most PBS nature-themed releases. Stitching together various film and video sources, the series looks appealing, without tremendous extremes in HD quality, with the majority of Sanjayan's hosting sequences looking clean and crisp. Sharpness is welcoming on animal textures, capturing fluffy fur and battle scars, while landscapes retain depth and character, allowing for pauseable detail. Delineation is stable. Colors are bright and true, finding a wide range of hues to embrace with the stars of the show, while oceanic blues and forest greens are particularly pleasing. Some mild banding is detected.

Earth: A New Wild Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix delivers the basics of documentary filmmaking with clarity and consistency. Narration and interview footage with Dr. Sanjayan is fresh and clear, retaining his passion and the educational thrust of the series. Scoring is mild but effective, preserving tone with distinct instrumentation. Atmospherics register as intended, mostly utilized in surround activity, which fills out the environments with subtlety. Low-end is sparsely tended to outside of violent incidents and thundering air travel.

Earth: A New Wild Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (3:16, HD) is a brief chat with Dr. Sanjayan, who shares the creative goals of the documentary series.

Earth: A New Wild Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dr. Sanjayan is a fantastic host, filled with excitement when coming across unique discoveries, but also hesitant to partake in a few of the challenges, revealing fear and a little disgust (you try to put your mouth around a reindeer testicle), losing the daredevil presence so many of these shows employ for cheap thrills. He's human and passionate, making the trek across the globe stimulating, servicing educational needs and spectacle, providing needed examples of hope as most documentaries rely on gloom to keep viewers engaged.