If you turn on your TV or open up any particular news website right now, there’s probably one thing dominating everything else: coverage of the 2016 election (unless you happen to be watching the safe haven offered by The Weather Channel).
But you’ve almost certainly made up your mind about who you are voting for already – and you may have already voted. If you haven’t made it to the polls yet, make time to do that. If you are trying to get the vote out, great. But those of us that are relentlessly reading or watching the latest on Trump or Clinton (or worse, looking at social media posts discussing the election) are just stressing ourselves out. It’s so hard to look away, but this behavior takes a real toll on mental health.
Fortunately, if you want to distract yourself and clear your head with something amazing, a perfect solution is out there. The first episode of the BBC’s “Planet Earth II” nature documentary series aired in the UK on Sunday, and between that and some other already-released clips, there’s hopefully enough out there to take your mind off the election, even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time. It’s pretty wonderful.
If you haven’t yet, you have to watch the extended trailer. Isn’t this a million times better than cable news right now?
Check out this sloth, who embarks on a swimming and climbing journey across the beautiful island of Escudo in search of a mate.
Or this video from the first episode, where an iguana hatchling tries to escape a terrifying group of racer snakes.
Possibly the greatest scene in documentary history. Incredible. #PlanetEarth2 pic.twitter.com/01dDjDJcdX
— ✏️ (@MrLukeJohnston) November 7, 2016
The original trailer here (which has mostly different footage than the extended trailer) is lovely as well.
You can see how the BBC captures some of these amazing shots with behind-the-scenes footage of David Attenborough flying over the Alps in a hot air balloon.
A 360 degree video of an orchestra playing Hans Zimmer's "Planet Earth II" soundtrack is much more soothing — and inspiring – than anything on the networks right now.
You can watch Planet Earth II on Sundays already if you are in the UK. The US premiere airs on January 28, 2017, on BBC America - just a week and a day after the inauguration.
