Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday, I watched two Animal Planet documentaries on king cobras. The first one was Austin Stevens' show. I know how we all feel about him. The second one was a Wild Kingdom episode with Dr. Romulus Whateverhislastnameis (can't remember, sorry). The difference in the two shows was interesting. Stevens attempts to be more style than substance, though he has very little style and no substance (remember that show when he said the boomslang was the most venomous snake in Africa?). But Romulus seemed to have some credibility. I know y'all have seen these shows before. What do y'all think, and, in a related question, how much of this stuff that's on Animal Planet and National Geographic is total crap?

RP

Rom Whitaker is more substance than style, and I say that in a totally complimentary way. To my eye, Animal Planet leans more toward shock value than NatlGeo, while NG seems to strive toward portraying the private herper in the worst possible light, quite often focusing on the multiply-bitten keepers while ignoring the far more responsible ones of the hobby. Their Reptile Rulers/Snake Wranglers series, however, is usually quite good.
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Venomous snakes---best hobby on earth!
Bill Huseth

I see what you mean. My favorite is Mark O'Shea. His shows are informative and focus more on the animals. Rom is good. Jeff Corwin is pretty good. He tries so hard to be funny. For someone who is not a comedian he pulls off a pretty good show. Steve Irwin is not too bad.
My question is this. Why is every snake seen caught and displayed for the camera? And if it is venemous a foreign object is stuck in its mouth so the fangs are displayed erect. This does'nt help the snake and it is definitely shocking. I often enjoy just seeing snakes in the wild without feeling the need to go out and restrain every one that I see.

Dan

Dan,
Just my thoughts--Fangs and venom are the stuff of the collective unconcious--what simultaneously attracts and repels the average human who is not a herp lover. If they weren't shown, the average joe wouldn't tune in--and it's all about ratings.

It's the same reason that in shows about big snakes, there are often 12 guys wrestling the pissed off anaconda into submission. I cheer on the snake because I know that once the big fella' is subdued, they usually pry his mouth open to show "all of the backward slanting teeth".

Even though most people have an idea of what the inside of a snake's mouth looks like, or that rhino vipers have 2 inch fangs, they expect to see it all the same. And, they must gleen pleasure from it--if they didn't they wouldn't tune in with the expectation. Kinda' a milder version of why some people go to horror flicks. SNAKES ON A PLANE combines elements of both, therefore will unfortunately generate revenue. I guess whether it be documentary supposidly geared to inform & educate or bad cinema, it's "entertainment" to those who create & watch it on TV or in a theater.

I'll get off of my soap box now--but thanks for listening to my aggrevation/frustration.

rgds,
althea

Dan,
Good call on O'Shea; he's certainly one of my favorites, as well. As for Corwin, he's knowledgeable, but I find myself wishing he WOULDN'T try so hard to be funny. I definitely prefer
a "substance over style" presentation.
As for your "why display" question, althea pretty much nailed it. While holding the snake's mouth wide open certainly stresses it, the show is simply giving the viewers what they want. I have to admit I get stoked seeing venom dripping off a taipan's fangs. If the practice were ever banned, I'd still watch the shows and would still enjoy them.
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Venomous snakes---best hobby on earth!
Bill Huseth

There are several very good shows and some horrible.
I personally think NG is much much better than Animal Planet but they both show snakes so that's great.

In fact, there are several posters here that have been on these shows or had shows about them.

Lastly, many of us grew up back when there were NO such shows or at most Mutual of Omaha's wild kingdom etc. We are unbelievably lucky to be able to see so many high quality shows.

P.S. Has anyone seen the new National Geographic Mamba special? I missed it when it first came out is it any good?

I met Rom at the Daytona show last year and had some nice talks with him about conservation and field hunting, great guy who was not "full" of himself, very down to earth. Reminds me of some of the guys herping back in the late 60's and early 70's in Florida. A.S. seems more like a Steve Irwin; lots of bluster and theatrics for the camera. Nat Geo is o.k. but they still have WAY too many commercial endorsements.

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Cheers
Lateralis
"I would rather be precisely wrong than approximately right"
Marion "Doc" Ford