“We have no editorial control. The cameras run and there no scripts. They just film what we do. What they do with the show is Animal Planet’s business.” That’s what Paul Watson, the founder and president of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said of the TV series Whale Wars while appearing on the June 4th, 2009 installment of CNN’s Larry King Live.
Whale Wars is about to air the end of its second season. The show documents Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd crew’s efforts to halt Japanese ships from killing whales off the coast of Antarctica. Watson’s “no editorial control” admission means credit for the high dramatic quotient of the series goes to the makers of the Animal Planet series.
They are much deserving of praise as Whale Wars is edited extremely well. The pace is usually brisk and entertaining and the end of episode cliffhangers, leave the viewer clamoring for the next installment.
A Truly Riveting Episode
A prime example of just how well the show is assembled comes in Episode 8 of Season Two, Bait and Switch. The title comes from an offensive strategy formulated early on in the program by the Sea Shepherd crew aboard their vessel the Steve Irwin.
They decide to harass the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru. They do this knowing their likely to do very little damage to the huge well fortified vessel with their Butyric acid, bottle lobbing attacks. They instead hope their presence around the factory ship will draw in their real target the three far more vulnerable Japanese harpoon ships.
The Sea Shepherds on the Offensive
The plan is implemented, as the two inflatable boats and helicopter from the Steve Irwin start buzzing around the factory ship. In one harrowing sequence one of the small craft rushes head on at the Nisshin Maru hoping to land a bottle of acid on, the ship’s bow. The bottle misses but the whaling crew retaliates by directing an LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device) at the helicopter.
Paul Watson ups the ante in the confrontation by swinging the Steve Irwin alongside the factory ship. This immediately draws in the harpoon ships. The rest of the episode is a series of gripping offensive moves and counter moves between the Japanese whaling fleet and the ecological crusaders. The show concludes with one of the harpoon ships dragging a stern line threatening to entangle the propeller of the Steve Irwin rendering her defenseless.
Catching up on Whale Wars
With episodes like Bait and Switch playing with all the intensity of a Hollywood action film Whale Wars is as series worth catching up on. Past episodes can be seen on Animal Planet’s website and the first and second seasons are available for download on iTunes. The series has become as addictive as the Discovery Channel’s own sea faring reality gem, Deadliest Catch, whose Fifth Season Recap is available now in Suite 101.
Stephen Smith - A Southern Alberta freelance writer for close to a decade; Stephen has been paid to write about TV shows, movies, books and music he would ...
