Meerkat Manor - TV-Y
TV Rating: TV-Y
Network: Animal Planet Cast: Sean Astin, Stockard Channing
Genre: Reality TV
Available on: 
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Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that it's easy to get emotionally attached to these adorable furry creatures, so if disaster strikes (and it may), it can be pretty sad. Even though the stars are animals, voice-over narration explains their thought processes and assigns meaning to their sometimes-cruel actions. Parents may find themselves starting the "birds and bees" conversation after mating scenes or explaining nature's "survival of the fittest." Some scenes with predatory animals can be a little scary for young viewers.
Families can talk about the circle of life and the way things work in the wild. What must the meerkats do to survive? What challenges do they face, and how do they overcome them? Families can also talk about the social hierarchy within the family. How does Flower assert control over her subordinates? Are her actions truly for the good of the majority of the family?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Emily Ashby
Meet reality TV's newest stars -- the Whiskers family. Led by a domineering matriarch, this gang of about 30 struggles to survive their surroundings (and each other) in Africa's Kalahari Desert.
The Whiskers family is much like many other reality TV subjects. There's evidence of affection among them, but familial love is often superseded by heated disagreements and all-out rebellion. Their lives are filled with secrets, jealousy, and forbidden loves. What's unique about the Whiskers is that they're foot-tall, two-pound meerkats, whose lives were the focus of a 10-year Cambridge University study.
Narrated in early seasons by Sean Astin and later by Stockard Channing, Animal Planet's MEERKAT MANOR introduces audiences to these feisty desert residents and their social hierarchy.
The matriarch, Flower, wears a radio collar that allows researchers to track the gang's movements. Flower maintains a dominant reign over the group and uses intimidation and force to ensure submission from her relatives, most of whom are her direct descendants. She rarely shows mercy to any errant family member, even evicting her own daughters for disobedience.
Zaphod is her partner and the forefront of the family's defense against both predators and their arch enemies: a rival meerkat gang called the Lazuli. Other family members include gentle Shakespeare -- whose heroic effort ousts a dangerous snake from the family's territory, although he suffers a terrible bite that threatens his life -- and young females Tosca, Daisy, and Mozart, who become mothers of their own litters and consequently face Flower's wrath, since she reserves the sole right to procreate. At the heart of it all, the pups add comic relief as they put their babysitters to the test with their playful antics.
Meerkat Manor is the story of a family's reliance on each other to survive the perils of their surroundings. The series offers an educational view into the wild and is a great choice for family viewing. Animal fans might also want to tune into Jeff Corwin Unleashed and Corwin's Quest.
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Sexual ContentAnimal mating scenes might raise some questions from kids. |
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ViolenceMeerkats engage in pretty intense battles with each other and other animals. Some key characters are injured and/or die. |
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Social BehaviorOffers educational insights into wildlife; shows that all families have their ups and downs. |
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