Octopus, Octopus
- Episode aired Dec 21, 1971
- 1h
IMDb RATING
9.0/10
13
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- ConnectionsFeatured in The Dick Cavett Show: Episode dated 14 December 1971 (1971)
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It's amazing just how intelligent these creatures are!
I recently discovered that many of the old "Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau" episodes are posted online. I loved these TV specials when I was a kid and I am watching a few selected episodes that I remember and loved. This one is about the octopus--and it's very enjoyable and educational.
The show begins with Rod Serling narrating (as usual) and telling how Victor Hugo referred to the octopus as a 'devil fish' and wrote about how vicious and awful the creature is. Well, obviously the great writer was way out of his league here and the show goes on to demonstrate how gentle and intelligent these creatures are even though they are supposedly of a lower order than many other creatures. During the course of the show, the team conduct intelligence tests, do some good old fashioned Cousteau-style bonding with the creatures and talk about how incredibly resourceful AND gentle the octopi really are. All in all, very informative and surprising--with the usual prosaic comments by Cousteau added along the way.
By the way, I have noticed how these old shows differ from many newer documentaries. It's not just the way Jacques Cousteau speaks (far less scientific and far more poetical and emotional) but things like the team intervening and saving the life of one of the creatures as it's nearly killed by another. In newer films you'd never see this-- whether they actually intervene or not is unknown.
The show begins with Rod Serling narrating (as usual) and telling how Victor Hugo referred to the octopus as a 'devil fish' and wrote about how vicious and awful the creature is. Well, obviously the great writer was way out of his league here and the show goes on to demonstrate how gentle and intelligent these creatures are even though they are supposedly of a lower order than many other creatures. During the course of the show, the team conduct intelligence tests, do some good old fashioned Cousteau-style bonding with the creatures and talk about how incredibly resourceful AND gentle the octopi really are. All in all, very informative and surprising--with the usual prosaic comments by Cousteau added along the way.
By the way, I have noticed how these old shows differ from many newer documentaries. It's not just the way Jacques Cousteau speaks (far less scientific and far more poetical and emotional) but things like the team intervening and saving the life of one of the creatures as it's nearly killed by another. In newer films you'd never see this-- whether they actually intervene or not is unknown.
helpful•00
- planktonrules
- Sep 25, 2015
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