‘Attenborough’s Journey’ Recap

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the documentary special, ‘Attenborough’s Journey’.
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It is definitely safe to say that everyone loves nature documentaries and understandably so. After all, they’re filled to the brim with incredible beauty and engrossing stories about the various creatures that populate our world, the kind that manage to teach us something new and exciting about the incredible beings we share this tiny little blue ball with. But what’s truly fascinating about nature documentaries, is that they are also synonymous with a particular name, Sir David Attenborough, and there’s good reason as to why that particular name rings familiar and is often associated with stories about the magnificent animals that populate our world.

Because David is one of the most well-known documentarians in the world and he himself has narrated or hosted countless nature shows. To the point where generations of people around the world have seen his work on television. But while we all know his voice and his visage since David has been introducing the world to nature for decades on end, what we don’t know much about… is the man himself. For his history, what drives him and what his plans are for the future have always taken a backseat for the documentary in question. But that all changed last night when the documentary special, Attenborough’s Journey, made its debut on BBC America. For this Sir David Attenborough themed story, allowed for us to finally learn about the life and times of this legendary man and well, as it turns out… his desire to know more about the world started at an early age.

For in his youth, he took the time to examine artifacts in his own backyard and his fascination with how those artifacts came to fruition, motivated him to simply learn about how the world works and while that fascination never left David in his college years, for a time it seemed as though it might become nothing more than a hobby. Because he landed a gig at the new BBC back in the 1950s and appeared to be headed toward a career that was strictly dedicated to curating television shows. In fact, at one point, he was the head programmer at BBC 2 and guided that new arm of the network to incredible heights. But the draw of his early days at the network, wherein he hosted one of the world’s first nature shows, motivated him to return to that in the mid 1970s and well… we absolutely know how that story ends, since David was able to become an outright juggernaut when it comes to nature related storytelling.

But while it is indeed important to know what steps brought David to the iconic standing that he has today, what truly allowed for this documentary to stand out, was its presentation of David in a more intimate manner. Since we were able to see him on location, working behind the camera and working near the wildlife he adores, and this was special… simply because we truly saw his love for Earth on display in this part of the documentary. For every sunset and every one of nature’s creatures, elicited palpable joy and a curiosity to learn and teach that so many of us shed after childhood and seeing that in full force here, makes it clear that David has truly come to understand just how special we are to be on this planet with this variety of wildlife and we would do well, to try and indulge in an ounce of his wonder. 

In fact, there’s more that we should emulate in regard to how David views nature. Because the back end of this documentary, wherein we came to learn more about David’s conservation efforts and fight to combat climate change, speaks volumes to the fact that we turn a blind eye to such topics too often and that if more of us banded together and spoke the same message then perhaps we could genuinely engender change in our world. In the end however, the wonder of David’s career and passion serves to remind us that one person… can in fact make a difference, when they truly dedicate themselves to a cause in the same manner that David has and that makes this a truly special documentary. One that celebrates the life of a true icon and inspires the viewer along the way, by showing us exactly how passion and determination can outright achieve wonders. Until next time.

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