Product: Nature: Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story
Rating: 1.0
Clueless destruction of a very good BBC show.
Last year, the BBC produced an excellent 60-minute show titled, "The Born Free Legacy". It was an excellent look at George and Joy Adamson and their pioneering work with animals, most notably (of course) Elsa the lioness. It lived up to its title of describing the world-changing effects "Born Free" has had. One of the most striking visual examples was of pictures children sent to Dr. Desmond Morris--before Born Free, children saw lions as creatures behind bars, unhappy and fierce. After Born Free, they started drawing lions as happy animals living on vast plains. (None of this is in the 50-minute, completely altered PBS version of this show titled Elsa's Legacy.)I have serious doubts about whether whoever scripted the PBS show ever read the book Born Free, or saw the movie. Repeatedly throughout the show, Born Free is referred to as a "fairy tale" and a "myth". What is going on here?The PBS show also has a fascination with death, spending a long time on Virginia McKenna visiting Elsa's grave, and on an emotional re-telling of George Adamson's murder and funeral. But what's most amazing is that PBS's version says practically nothing about the "legacy" mentioned in the title.The BBC show, "The Born Free Legacy", not only does not have these faults, it is overall a more realistic and compelling telling of the events that began over 50 years ago and continue to shape the world today.If the BBC ever releases "The Born Free Legacy" on DVD, THAT is the version of this show that is worth watching.