I was reminded of the perennial non-question “What would aliens think about us if they watched our television broadcasts?” when seeing the two clips on The Ranger's blog (link through SEED's daily zeitgeist). The same event: a spider catching a bee on a flower, is juxtaposed in clips by the US-audience NG and the BBC. Two clips of about two minutes each, that could not have been more different in tone, editing style, micro-cinematography, script, and (hey! remember this thing documentaries are supposed to be about?) stuff you learn from the thing.
The shallow, sensationalist, and devoid of context NG pice is cringe-inducing. Its voice-over uses language straight out of an ad for toy weapons (a contradiction in terms if ever I wrote one), patronizes the viewer, and insults their intelligence by implying that they have no capacity for absorbing wider information.
The BBC piece uses far more realistic cinematography and editing, and the voice-over is non-judgmental, introduces multiple perspectives, a wider context, and even makes the point that the way we see things is not necessarily the relevant point-of-view, by a wonderful switch to infra-red imaging. Perfect material to teach kids about the multiplicity of life's narratives, and that old chestnut: that you probably don't get the whole picture.
I know which television I'd want the kids that my kids hang out with to grow up watching.