It's probably not that surprising, but as a kid, I loved watching Animal Planet. I idolized Steve Irwin and wanted to be him (but, not being able to pull off a decent accent, I would have settled for Jeff Corwin). When the new version of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom debuted, I watched every episode. I loved Big Cat Diaries. Hell, I even (secretly) liked that stupid Animal Face-Off show.
Then came my college years, followed by early-adult life. I didn't have time for TV. When I finally got to a point in life where I could reconnect with Animal Planet, I was horrified. I hated it.
It's not that my tastes changed - I still kind of want to be Steve Irwin. It's that Animal Planet changed. The program kind of stopped being about animals. When they made their slogan "Surprisingly Human", that should have set off all kinds of red flags.
Which is why I'm super thrilled to see the previews for the upcoming show "The Zoo", a behind-the-scenes docuseries based at the Bronx Zoo. Based on the trailer, it looks like it's going to be a fascinating glimpse at life at one of the world's biggest, most renown zoos.
Of course, one kick-butt series only goes part of the way to making up for several years of atrociously bad programing (I'm looking at you, Pitbulls and Parolees). But it's a start.
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