Life: Oprah and Animals

LIFE, narrated by Oprah Winfrey, aired last night on the Discovery Channel. This was the first of five installments, showing every Sunday night. There was no Masterpiece on, so I was able to watch something else. LIFE follows the same premise as 2007's epic television event Planet Earth, but instead of focusing broadly on Earth's ecosystems, LIFE focuses on the basic principles of life on earth: mating, defending, etc.Oprah's narration was criticized by many for replacing Richard Attenborough's BBC narration, but Oprah was actually good in my opinion. Her intonation is familiar and her narration reminded me of someone reading a children's book: warm and inviting. The filming, like Planet Earth, was stunning, but I feel like this is something of a rehash of that former series. Oprah at least spruced it up with her lucid narration.

In other Oprah news, it's been widely reported that ex-View and talk show host herself, Rosie O'Donnell is going to replace the Queen of Daytime TV. This is really sad. I remember watching Rosie's show as a kid and even then I knew it wasn't as good as Oprah's. Rosie is a slob, abrasive and obnoxious. She calls for tolerance when she herself is intolerant. Perhaps because I sided with The Donald during the Rosie/Trump feud a few years back, but I would venture to say that Rosie's show will tank. But people are sick little puppets and they'll probably tune in to watch her opinionated banter. I would have put Ellen in Oprah's time slot. Ellen is famous already and has proven her skills as a talk show host.