Whale Wars Season 2 - DVD

Content: The environmental activists Sea Sheperds are back on the road to stop Japanese whalers from cruelly slaughtering whales, dolphins and other sea creatures. For thirty years, Captain Paul F. Watson has been leading this fight and is not ready to stop, despite various setbacks and death threats. Whale Wars follows Watson and his crew in their efforts to track down the Japanese whaling ships and get in their way before they can begin slaughtering the endangered marine mammals. Because there's one success the Sea Sheperds can definitely put on their flag: whenever they're around, no animals are killed.

Whale Wars is an entertaining and sometimes very exciting docu-series that not only follows the various sometimes very dangerous actions of the environmental activists (such as throwing butyric acid at the whaling ships, which makes the whale meat inedible), but also sheds light on everyday life on the ship and addresses many a dicey situation that is not directly connected to the Japanese whalers. For instance, right at the beginning of the second season, the crew is trapped in ice, which not only tugs at the outer hull of the ship, but also at the nerves of the crew members. In addition, there are brief fears that Captain Watson may have been the victim of an anthrax attack, and the activists also face new ways in which the Japanese are attempting to rout the uninvited guests.

What makes the docu-series particularly interesting is that the activists aren't just portrayed as heroes. There is also a recurring theme that some oversized egos or miscommunication cause long-planned actions to go awry. Certainly, some of these situations are, which is not untypical for docu-series of this kind, overdone or completely staged for dramaturgical reasons, but this does not change the basic authenticity of the Sea Sheperds' work, all the dangers and problems. And it is from this that the series then draws its tension and entertainment value.

It is good and above all important that there are people like Captain Watson and his crew and even if the behavior of some of the activists sometimes rather leads to astonished head shaking, than to admiration on the part of the viewers, so it is to be evaluated altogether positively that this dangerous and ambitious work of the animal welfare activists and eco-activists is paid tribute with such a series. And therefore applies then also: despite some small weaknesses and by constant repetitions of some scenes emerging lengths quite worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation is on the level that can be expected from a current documentary series. The picture is clean, there are slight blurs here and there but these are dependent on the filming conditions. The sound is dominated by the voice-over dubbing that overlays everything, otherwise the music and the dramaturgically enhanced sound effects play the main role in the tonal events. Good.

Extras: Bonus material is unfortunately not present on the three DVDs.

Conclusion: Whale Wars is an entertaining docu-series in which the dramaturgy feels a bit staged here and there, but which nevertheless offers an engaging insight into the work and daily lives of dedicated environmental activists fighting against the senseless slaughter of whales. The 11 episodes of the second season present themselves in good picture and sound quality, only the lack of bonus material is slightly negative. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp