When it comes to TV criticism, three things tend to be true: documentaries don’t always get the attention they deserve; when they do, they are probably about nature; and they are probably narrated by David Attenborough. I am not immune to this tendency as you will see from what follows.
There have already been many science documentaries that we haven’t had a chance to cover this year. Here are some of the best.
Let’s start, inevitably, with entries from the incomparable Attenborough. , a six-parter available on BBC iPlayer in the UK, charts the rise of this extraordinary group of animals. An impressive ability to adapt has allowed them to survive in Earth’s most extreme places, but their 66-million-year reign is now threatened by the black sheep of the family: humans.
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Looking back to the start of 2024, on BBC iPlayer (Attenborough and the Jurassic Sea Monster in the US, via ) transported us 150 million years into the past to the time of the pliosaurs. This special reveals how, thanks to the discovery last year of a remarkably intact skull in the cliffs of Dorset, UK, we are learning more about these enormous marine reptiles.
Two more documentaries offer a unique perspective on nature: on Apple TV+ uses immersive audio to capture the unexpected ways that animals communicate with each other, be they Puerto Rican parrots or cocktail ants. Netflix’s , meanwhile, is all about the connectedness of ecosystems. It does a great job of explaining how a tiny shift in one corner of our planet can cause a deadly cascade of environmental changes.
Sticking with the natural world, and are two excellent outings from Disney+. The former is a three-parter digging into the mysteries of these intelligent cephalopods, which may challenge the anthropocentric view of consciousness as a human trait. The latter, narrated by Hollywood royalty Angela Bassett, explores six species in which females rule the roost. It is a fun look at a bevy of animal matriarchies, including lions, leopards and bears (oh my!).
Leaving nature, it has been over 20 years since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, killing the seven astronauts on board. In three instalments, on BBC iPlayer (in the US, , via CNN) commemorates those who died and explores what went wrong on that fateful day.
NASA+, the US space agency’s newish streaming service, has been updating its ad-free educational content. Among the highlights are profile of Victor Glover, soon to be the first Black astronaut to orbit the moon, and an episode on Europa in its series, in the run-up to the launch of a probe to this icy moon of Jupiter.
And finally, something very different in Netflix’s Adapted from The Guardian‘s eponymous podcast, the series is a harrowing look at cyberstalking. Matthew Hardy spent over a decade harassing women over Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, but his offences were often downplayed by police because they took place online. This two-parter highlights the uniquely invasive part technology can play in that abuse. A difficult watch, but enlightening.
BBC iPlayer (UK only)
BBC iPlayer (US details in main story)
Apple TV+
Netflix
Disney+
Disney+
BBC iPlayer (US details in main story)
NASA+
NASA+
Netflix
Bethan Ackerley is a subeditor at Â鶹´«Ã½. She loves sci-fi, sitcoms and anything spooky. She is still upset about the ending of Game of Thrones. Follow her on X @‌inkerley
