PARENTHOOD (BBC 1, Sundays, all episodes available on iPlayer) is Sir David Attenborough’s latest documentary, charting a “journey like no other”. It opened with the adorable sight of a newborn gorilla, just moments old, snuggling with his mother. The tired resignation on the mother gorilla’s face is a look that parents will be more than familiar with, particularly several weeks into the school holidays.
This series is all about extreme parenting in the wild. It includes the stories of Iberian lynxes, lions in Botswana, burrowing owls in Arizona, and hippos in Tanzania. Apparently, “the hippo mother is a formidable bodyguard,” which is probably a comment that my teenagers use to describe me; but it was the owls whom I found to be the most relatable. Mum and dad work together “around the clock” to feed their chicks, as “the quest for food is a never-ending commitment” — a line that surely sums up the experience of every parent.
So that the action is not too wholesome, we are also introduced to the utterly nightmarish social spiders of Namibia. Spoiler alert for fellow arachnophobes: these spiders are not well-named. When Sir David portentously utters “Motherhood takes its toll on her. . . She has one final thing to give to her offspring,” I knew that nothing good was going to happen. And, no, Sir David, giving the thousands of murderous offspring the cutesy name of spiderlings in no way detracts from the horror of it all.
Do keep watching, though, for the baby gorilla who reappears at the end. It is a beautiful reminder that future life continues on our planet because of parents’ dedication, commitment, and sacrifice.
Hostage (Netflix, released 21 August) has a premise that requires the suspension of disbelief, but is fun once you have achieved it. The Prime Minister’s husband has been kidnapped in French Guiana, and, to save him, his captors want her to resign. An Anglo-French power struggle ensues.
This five-part political thriller runs along at breakneck speed, with economical dialogue and pacey changes of scene. Suranne Jones and Julie Delpy play the British PM and the French President respectively, in a plot that addresses current hot-button topics such as immigration, national identity, and the rise of the far Right. So far, so obvious.
What is novel about this take is that the power-brokers are women, and it is a man who is in need of rescue. Both leads are excellent, especially Delpy, who is majestic as the tricksy and shrewd “handmaiden to the hard Right”. The dilemma faced by both women in this story of intrigue and blackmail is: just how far will you go to retain power? It is a slightly silly plot, but well worth watching for the charismatic performances.
