Madagascar

Exceptionally good
A few BBC wildlife programs are average but the majority are good, very good or exceptionally good. In my opinion "Madagascar" is in the highest category. The series was eighteen months in the making with some difficult and dangerous moments for the cameramen, including a platform high in the trees to film red ruffed lemurs, and the hair-raising nocturnal filming of fossas in the final show. The programs cover both the beautiful and the bizarre, including shell squatting spiders, pygmy chameleons little bigger than ants, Labord's chameleon that lives for only 12 weeks, fish that swim upside-down, giraffe-necked weevils, and lemurs that eat bamboo containing levels of cyanide that would be lethal for other animals. A big plus is that in addition to the fauna and flora we have stunning aerial photography of the varied and spectacular landscapes of the island - mountains, rainforests, rivers, coasts and arid areas.

David Attenborough (as good as ever) provides the narrative,...

Great footage of an island paradise
This is a 3 part series, of course there are Lemurs and Chameleons, the most prolific of Madagascar's fauns.
But there is also interesting birds, insects, a tortoise, and a curious blind fish that swims upside down!
Filmed is stark reality blu-ray and narrated off camera by David Attenborough (he does appear briefly at the very beginning and end) it is a great addition to any nature/bbc collection.
The extras are also worth watching, interesting is The Giant Egg, which chronicles Attenboroughs now 50 year old excursion to the island with vintage film clips and newer ones too.

A fascinating document of a seldom filmed corner of the Earth
Judge Russell Engebretson, DVD Verdict -- "This BBC-produced wildlife documentary, narrated by David Attenborough, was filmed over a period of eighteen months. Spanning only three one-hour episodes, Madagascar is far more modest than the epic Earth series, but still delights. Two episodes, "Island of Marvels" and "Lost Worlds" are on Disc One. Disc Two includes the third episode, "Land of Heat and Dust," and a pair of extra features -- "Attenborough and the Giant Egg," in HD, and "Lemurs of Madagascar," in standard definition. Each episode explores a different area of Madagascar. Lemurs are the stars of the show, found all over the island--from the desiccated south to the tropical coasts, and the mountains between. In one area, golden bamboo lemurs subsist on a diet of cyanide-laced bamboo leaves; other lemurs cross razor-like mountaintops to reach precious pools of water; while another species deftly navigates through a forest of thorn-covered trees. Although a fertile area for...

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