'Nature: The Whale Detective'
(DVD / NR / 2020 / PBS)
Overview: On September 12, 2015 in Monterey Bay, California, a 30-ton humpback whale breached and landed on kayakers Tom Mustill and Charlotte Kinloch. Mustill returns to California to find out more about the whale.
DVD Verdict: In September 2015, a 30-ton humpback whale breached and just missed landing on wildlife filmmaker Tom Mustill and his friend Charlotte Kinloch as they kayaked in Monterey Bay, California.
Both survived the incident, but the traumatic experience haunted Mustill (Giraffes: Africa's Gentle Giants) and left him wondering if the whale was deliberately trying to hurt them or trying its best not to.
To find the answer, Mustill returns to California to investigate, meeting with whale experts and those who have survived similar close encounters.
What he discovers raises far bigger questions, not just about what happened that day, but also about humans' relationship with whales and their future.
Talk about the art of taking something negative and turning into a positive, film maker Tom Mustill takes viewers on an true adventure!
With the help of the community, whale watching boat operators and scientists, in Moss Landing, Ca. Mustill investigates the totality of circumstances that made his whale encounter so unique.
'The Whale Detective' is truly wonderful family viewing, especially if you have ever gone whale watching from Moss Landing!
In closing, this report on recent attempts to understand these giants of the oceans and seas is beautifully filmed and beautifully captured for us all to witness.
When we ponder why and how whales came out of the water and then went back, every new way we learn to communicate with whales is fascinating. And it's all now due to this quite wondrous new PBS documentary. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
www.PBS.org