Rivers Lifeblood
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Rivers Lifeblood
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Rivers Lifeblood is a nature documentary television special about the various ecosystems and animal-plant interactions that are cohered by the flow of rivers around the world. Featuring detailed and colorful footage of otters, bison, dolphins, kingfishers, gorillas, blind spineless eels, gathering snow melt, falling trees, and many more species and phenomena riffing off one another under the baton of the rivers’ life-giving momentum, the documentary is superficially engaging at its worst and richly educational at its best. There are several moments of animal violence, such as when a fish is shown suffocating in a low-tide marsh and when predators like bears and storks are shown ripping up and chomping their prey. There’s also one heart wrenching moment when a baby bison succumbs to the river’s current and floats downstream away from his mother (although the two are shortly reunited). There’s also a short discussion of two species of fish’s mating strategies. There’s no human violence or sex whatsoever.
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What's the Story?
The calm voice of the narrator of RIVERS LIFEBLOOD begins the documentary by pointing out that "the waterways are as much life blood to this wildlife as they are to us." The metaphors run free from there on for the rest of the fifty minute runtime, as the doc’s sweeping panoramas and closeups prove unambiguously just how interconnected all the shown biological and geographical phenomena are. Because of the sheer weight (or should we say biomass) of scientific topics covered, RIVERS LIFEBLOOD is more list-like than narrative. For example, it mixes in closeup images of gathering snow melt right alongside conversation of topics like how a river may separate two groups of gorillas and make them become slightly different from one another genetically over time. Excellent footage and narration are constants throughout.
Is It Any Good?
Rivers Lifeblood runs through a comprehensive set of details about plants and animals whose lives are organized together around the forward movement of rivers around the world. Similar to other nature documentaries, Rivers Lifeblood’s quality is utterly dazzling with respect to its video and audio elements. The slow motion and focused sounds of the riverbed make the viewer feel legitimately enmeshed in the river’s world. Some particularly astonishing examples of “How did they catch that?” moments are when river floods knock down trees in real time on camera, and also when a tiny fish species is shown and heard gathering pebbles and rocks on the river bottom to bivouac against a swift current.
The one strange part of Rivers Lifeblood compared to other nature documentaries is that it rarely specifies which river it’s discussing, or how many rivers around the world share in the phenomena discussed, at any given moment. Because of this, it’ll probably come across as unfocused in the eyes of biologist parents or of viewers who want to learn about any one river specifically. And, as is the case with all other nature documentaries, Rivers Lifeblood might be boring to viewers who aren’t already interested in biology and related subjects. In the end, however, the documentary works wonders both as a curiosity-igniting summary of general river-related information and as an audiovisual spectacle.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how many of these fish, bonobos, tarantulas, armadillos, crickets, turtles, bison, and many many more species can look so different from humans yet still worry about some of the same problems (getting enough food, conserving energy, etc.). What are some things that you do throughout the day that these other animals do as well?
What are some ways in which the rivers shown in the documentary bring together the various animal and plant species?
Why are there so many nature documentaries like this one? What do we gain by making and watching nature documentaries?
How is watching nature documentaries about all these species better and/or worse in your opinion than going to the zoo to observe them in real time?
TV Details
- Premiere date: January 1, 2021
- Cast: Andy Wisher
- Network: HBO Max
- Genre: Educational
- Topics: Bugs, Ocean Creatures, Science and Nature, Wild Animals
- TV rating: NR
- Last updated: October 8, 2021
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