Not to be confused with the saga of two hunks traveling the country hunting demons and such, NatGeo’s Super/Natural (now on Disney+) is a nature documentary boasting James Cameron as executive producer and Benedict Cumberbatch as narrator. Conceptually, the six-episode series exposes the “secret” “super” “powers” that things in the natural world possess, so we can drop jaw when we cast our unworthy human gaze at them. Anyone of the opinion that squirrels and ants and fungi suck because they’re boring would do well to fire up this one and be amazed and humbled.
SUPER/NATURAL: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A gorgeous angle on a sun-dappled Canadian forest.
The Gist: This first episode is called “Strange Relations,” and focuses on the unexpected ways animals help each other survive in a world where someone’s always trying to mate or not get eaten. So: Meet the goshawk. It’s called “the phantom of the forest.” It uses its ability to glide stealthily through the trees and pretty keen eyesight to snatch its prey for a snack. But this segment is not about the goshawk. Oh no. Those spectacular shots of the goshawk navigating its environment by nimbly manipulating its wings and tailfeathers were just the filmmakers showing off. No, this is about all the animals who think the goshawk is a total j-hole for wanting to eat them. The chickadee, for example, which, upon spotting a goshawk, cheeps a “coded message” to its woodland pals, especially the squirrels, who can mimic that cheeped message and help warn any mice, bunnies or other miscellaneous vulnerable creatures of the danger. And get this – the goshawk is fast, but the cheeped message is faster. Time to hit the Taco Bell drive-thru, Mr. Goshawk.
Next, a frigid North American wood. It gets down to 30 degrees below zero at night. But this little fuzzy squirrel here, he can’t hibernate. Too small. He’s gotta go out in the freezing cold and chow on some nuts or whatever. An animal has to be special as heck to survive this chill – quick, efficient, . He climbs up a tree like every squirrel does, but then he flings himself off and stretches out his built-in glider wings and soars. (Where’s his moose best buddy?). Cumberbatch calls him a “ninja of the night,” and you can’t disagree. But that’s not all. It’s dark and the woods are tangled and confusing. How’s he going to get home? Well, this species of flying squirrel also has a GLOW-IN-THE-DARK BELLY. We can’t see it without an ultraviolet light: the white fur on his little tum-tum glows iridescent, which allows him to spot his fellow squirrels in the dim moonlight so he can return to the cozy hollow tree and snuggle in for the night, belly full and satisfied.
But that’s not all. We’ve got some adorable baby burrowing owls who can make a very un-baby-burrowing-owl-like sound. Mexican fireflies that pulse their bioluminescent lights in sync. African cocktail ants who can take on a whole giraffe. Ugandan mongooses who munch ticks right off the backs and nether-regions of warthogs (is it me, or one of those shots kinda pornographic?). Brazilian dolphins and fishermen who help each other snare their dinner. A crazy dynamic among trees, fungi and tree-munching beetles. But not remoras eating the parasites off shark skin, we already know about that one.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Super/Natural exists somewhere between the sensationalized animal-doc content of Absurd! Planet and Wild Babies and the more heavy-duty David Attenborough stuff like Our Planet and Planet Earth.
Our Take: Betcha never knew a tree could be friends with an ant. I don’t think they’re taking each other out for drinks on their respective birthdays, but it is a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship that inspires a wow or two and lifts Super/Natural above the usual let’s-watch-a-nutty-exotic-bird-dance and hey-look-at-that-scary-shark nature documentaries. The popularity of animal-based nonfiction TV inevitably results in derivative fodder, but when something like this comes along and shows us something new and amazing, it speaks volumes about the world we live in. It’s always full of new things to discover – and it has no shortage of exquisitely skilled photographers who painstakingly capture it with stunning beauty.
Whether subsequent episodes – about evolutionary adaptations, predator-prey dynamics, mating rituals (no nature series worth its salt skips over wacky mating rituals) and more – are as fascinating as the first remains to be seen. But if nothing else, the visuals are gorgeous and Cumberbatch, although he’s no Attenborough (there’ll never be another Attenborough after this one, I’m afraid), meets expectations by bringing the necessary, very British balance of whimsy and gravitas to the proceedings. If nothing else, it offers a welcome respite from all the hysterical megapredator stuff clogging streamer menus.
Sex and Skin: Fireflies mating in silhouette. Very artsy!
Parting Shot: A flying squirrel zooms through the air and lands gracefully on a tree trunk in uber-dramatic slo-mo.
Sleeper Star: Seriously, those ants. They’re amazing. Not only do live in acacia trees, but they chew holes in them so the wind blows through them and it sounds like bees and therefore keeps the elephants from chowing on the foliage and killing the tree. And when giraffes aren’t scared by that sound and munch away anyway the ants climb on the giraffe’s face and bite it and shoot acid out of their abdomens until the giraffe figures out that eating acacia foliage isn’t worth the trouble. Moral of the story is, DON’T MESS WITH THE COCKTAIL ANT. They’ve figured out how to out-survive your weak ass.
Most Pilot-y Line: Cumberbatch: “If you think you know nature, think again.”
Our Call: STREAM IT. Super/Natural brings the astonishing facts and the visuals to match.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com.
