A Review of ‘Earthsounds’ on Apple TV+

Written by John Edward Betancourt

An elk featured in “Earthsounds,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

One particular tradition that a great deal of people take part in, in this world, whenever the daily grind becomes overwhelming and chaotic… is to just… escape the city life and get away and immerse ourselves in nature. For the world beyond our concrete jungle is vast and filled with peace and silence, so we have no problem just heading into the mountains or whatever place we fancy to just immerse our minds in the silence of the world and reset and find peace so we can handle the rat race once again. But what’s funny about that thought process, is that the world is not as peaceful as we would like to give it credit.
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Because in reality, as we sit atop a rock, enjoying a sunset and thinking the world around is bathed in the majesty of silence… it’s not. For in fact, the world around us is teeming with life, and it is NEVER silent. For there is wind whipping about that creates noise that we manage to block out, and we also manage to not notice… that wildlife is moving beneath us and around us and is making noise to communicate its intentions and its needs. For the world is living and breathing in every sense of the phrase and it just so happens, that a new documentary on Apple TV+ takes the time to express that powerful truth.

For Earthsounds is a twelve-part documentary that takes us around the globe. Wherein we are treated to a grand exploration, via the soothing voice of one Tom Hiddleston, of the sounds that happen around us, above us, beneath us and even in the waters that surround us. So that we the viewer can properly come to learn just how bustling and busy our world truly is. For it turns out that everywhere you go, there’s sound to be found. It might not be something as awe inspiring as hearing an eagle cry in the skies or hearing humpback whales sing their soothing song. But it’s there. From tiny little bugs moving about a log to the sonic stuff that other animals take part in.

Yet what’s truly impressive about this documentary, is that it does more than just showcase sound and inform us of the bustling nature of our world, it also… is a technical marvel of a documentary. Because it took incredible effort and incredible technology to capture such noises, and some bravery as well, since the elements come into play in some of these environments. Which is why it is nice that this documentary takes the time to explore how these sounds were captured, and who helped with that. To properly show us how documentaries are made, and the love that goes into them and further explore how perhaps… we miss some of the sounds that are sent our way in this documentary.

Since not all of us are beneath the water to hear what this crew heard, nor are we in the heart of the arctic. But what matters more here, is that this series really does make a grandiose effort to have us understand that the world is more than what we make of it. It really is a powerful ecosystem that is teeming with life that creates its own symphony of sound and that perhaps, if we do feel the need to escape our noisy world that we look at our destination differently. With perhaps a sense of awe and humility. For we have been given quite the gift, in that we are the one species that can all the songs the world is singing to us, and we should revel in that, and celebrate it and do what must be done to protect it, so other generations can enjoy it, and that makes this a poignant and refreshing documentary for certain.

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