‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ Recap: ‘North America’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

One thing that everyone prides themselves upon, is knowing everything there is to know, about the area in which they live. The best places to eat, the sights to see, that’s all stuff that becomes engrained in our memory when we’re a native or someone that’s settled into a place that was once considered new to us, and often times, our knowledge extends to the indigenous nature that surrounds us as well. After all, sometimes you just need to get out of the house and explore the world around you and that helps us to recommend beautiful spots to others, where they can reconnect with the world when given the chance. But while one’s knowledge of the world surrounding them can be solid for certain, few of us truly understand the vastness of our planet, and the incredible wildlife that goes about its day as we do the same, and that’s why documentaries about our world are quite helpful in their own right.
​
For they truly show us parts of our world that we’ve never seen before, since they capture the minutiae that escapes us as we deal with traffic and deadlines and diving deep into a world we think we know is precisely what made the next episode of Seven Worlds, One Planet, so incredibly powerful. For a great many of us who watched this show last night live in the place that served as the focal point of this documentary and that made ‘North America’ worth our while since it showed us all kinds of incredible aspects about this continent that few of us knew about, and it accomplished this wonderful feat by taking us on a grand tour of the continent, one that started far north in Canada. Wherein we saw the struggle that the Lynx up there, goes through in the winter months as it searches for food, and really that fight for survival is what immediately sucks one into the story.

Because we sometimes simply forget how hard it is in nature to survive and the show’s exploration of that plight was extended to the bears that thrive in British Columbia, and how they get creative with their meals by hanging out by the shore when the tide has receded , in order to enjoy the bevy of seafood available to them. But their struggle comes with the fact that a great many bears know this trick and call this area home, so being crafty is the key to getting a good meal. However, while it was fascinating to learn more about how wildlife survives up north, there was plenty of knowledge to be shared in regard to the center of North America, and it was quite unique to learn about the prairie dogs that thrive in the plains and how the roadrunner finds its meals. Plus, it was also a nice touch for this story to remind us that sometimes the chaotic side of nature extends beyond the fight for food, since it spotlighted the sheer majesty of the tornadoes that touch down in the plains.

However, while all this was incredible to watch in its own right, and a humbling reminder of how little we actually see of our world, the centerpiece of this tale was its powerful lesson on how we are impacting the world we exist within. Because the manatee, a gentle giant that moves ever so lazily through the inlets in the south before making its way to Florida for the winter, often find their kind badly injured by the boats that traverse above them. Which serves to remind us that perhaps we need to rethink how we make ourselves comfortable, so that both man and animal can enjoy the serenity of the warm Florida waters and the show wasn’t quite done with incredible lessons about the incredible challenges that the world now faces. For climate change is indeed robbing polar bears up north of their natural hunting grounds and that’s prompted some of them to take drastic measures, such as diving into the water to hunt beluga whale and this was simply stunning to watch. In part because it is amazing to see the polar bear figure out a new way to survive, but also due to the fact that it has come to this.

If anything, that last vignette offered up some sobering images for certain, the kind that definitely give one pause and stay with you long after the story has come to its close. For our world is indeed changing like never before, and the more we can do to help, the better, and truly, how this documentary is handling its message thus far is quite brilliant for certain. Because rather than scold the audience, we are simply being shown those changes and are given time to let those powerful images sink in. Plus, taking us on a tour of our world and the beauty it exhibits, also helps to reinforce the message. For if we cannot rally together and make the necessary changes, how many of the beautiful species we spent time with last night, will disappear? Either way, this is turning out to be one of BBC America’s finest documentaries to date, and it should be incredible to see what stunning images and moments await us in the weeks to come. Until next time.  

---