The phrase “TV event of the week” seems to have pointlessly malleable applicability. Assemble a good-looking dessert or sing a song slightly better (or worse) than most people could, and TV executives feel entitled to out-hyperbole the internet. Heaven forbid someone in the middle of a karaoke session should knock out a decent crème brûlée: it would probably be met with more excitement than the sodding moon landing.
Australian viewers watching a pudding that moves over on Ten this week might have had their attention briefly drawn away to When Attenborough Met Obama on ABC1: admittedly just two men chatting in chairs, but certainly more of an “event” than most shows can claim to be. As a starter for a full series, it was prohibitively impressive. Next episode: When Noam Chomsky Met The Ghost of Kennedy? Probably just as well it was a one-off.
The statesman’s and naturalist’s conversation mostly focused on environmental issues, such as climate change and the damage being done to the Great Barrier Reef. </open News Corp mode> Pah! Typical left-wing luvvy undergraduates! Not surprised the ABC broadcast this factual nonsense </close News Corp mode>
It’s sad in a way that Attenborough’s career has lasted long enough to necessitate his emergence as an activist. At one time he could almosthave been considered old-hat – someone only your parents watched – but as time has snuffed it, and much of the planet too, his relevance has only increased.
Attenborough has done a reverse Top Gear, a show that has staggered from the realm of edgy into the truly fuddy-duddy. As our collective complicity in Mother Nature’s knackered organs became clear, Top Gear began to look as cool as a broken petrol pump at an all-day dad joke festival.
Obama wasn’t quite up to scratch as an interviewer, managing a tired smile for most of the meeting, but not much more. He seemed distracted and forlorn at points but perhaps it’s not surprising. It must be hard to muster enthusiasm in front of an octogenarian getting excited about slugs when, after this, you know you’ve got to go to a meeting and order a drone-strike. I imagine a sleep-deprived Jack Bauer would have struggled to interview Steve Irwin for the same reasons.
Overall, though, it was a riveting 35 minutes, using Attenborough’s birthday (and longevity) as a hook to explore humankind’s ongoing impact on the world. Just as well he got to spend his special day at the White House.
I’m not sure When Attenborough Met Abbott would have been quite as informative. Attenborough would have found his passion for nature extinguished by a PM who thinks coal is good for humanity and windfarms not just aesthetically awful but bad for your health too. Perplexed and terrified, Attenborough would have ended the exchange with a caterwaul as he dived through a window.
Thank goodness outside Australia there are more level-headed countries where this sort of TV event is met with a warm reception. Over here, the mere act of confronting anyone in cabinet with an expert who’s grounded in reality would probably be regarded as some sort of communist stunt.
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