With Congress fine-tuning an indecency bill to rid TV of sex and violence, lawmakers might want to check out the latest snuff films in the nature genre.
On Sunday, National Geographic Channel will air Relentless Enemies, a two-hour special that follows the Darwinian bond between a herd of African water buffalo and the lions who eat them.
Hard as the program strives to show how "this onetime slaughter has developed into more of a duel," trust us—it’s still a slaughter.
Enemies,
sure to please any animal-loving Quentin Tarantino aficionado, delivers on what the press release promises to be a "bloody standoff."
A narrator’s ominous voice sets the mood from the start: "It was a violent time when the nightmare of massive predators stalked the land, and nothing was safe. Well, those nightmares are back."
Although we haven’t seen National Geographic’s Packs on the Prowl ("from simple feeding frenzies to carefully choreographed violence"), or Elephants: The Dark Side ("why the world’s favorite circus act is becoming a deadly problem"), we’re guessing that they would run afoul of good taste, if not decency.
With Lethal Swarms and Killer Ants ("Most are harmless, but some have a violent streak") on Discovery Channel, we long for the innocent days of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.
Flash! shudders to think of what’s in store now that NatGeo has moved Dog Whisperer to prime time. But we hope that anti-indecency-crusading Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) will be watching.
