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quality family viewing
Meerkat Manor tv review
by rick grant    rickgrant01@comcast.net

      Out on the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, a docudrama is in session, seething with intrigue, betrayal, jealousy, sibling rivalry, and vicious gossip. And that’s only among the documentary film crew and producer/writers Chris Baker, Anne Sommerfield, and Caroline Hawkings. These creative filmmakers spent over a year filming a family of meerkats, giving them names and writing stories that mirrored their actual lives. The result is the addictive soap opera on Animal Planet called Meerkat Manor–now in its third season.
      The adventures of the Whiskers’ clan is endearing and funny family viewing. Long time viewers are hooked on the nervous little meerkats as they struggle for survival in an unforgiving environment. Flower is the dominant female of the clan. Zaphod is her partner and the dominant male. Youssarian is Zaphod’s younger brother. Tosca and Shakespeare are the children of Flower. The meerkat melodrama involves fights with arch-rivals the Commandos, storms, death, family politics, and the mysterious disappearance of a popular clan member.
      In recent episodes a splinter group has formed with Rocketdog leading the faction as the dominant female. Times are hard with a drought threatening to wreak havoc on the Whisker and Rocketdog groups. The splinter group, under Rocketdog’s leadership, ventures into the Commando’s territory to find water. The raid is discovered and the Commandos attack, resulting in a humiliating retreat for Rocketdog’s group, who join back up with the Whiskers. Food is still hard to find and mass starvation is a real possibility.
      Hope springs eternal when the rains come to the Kalahari and suddenly the little insects and worms come to the surface providing a feast for the reunited Whisker clan.
      However, trouble is brewing on the horizon. Flower’s two daughters are pregnant. She has to decide to either let the family grow with new offspring or ban her two daughters, forcing them to from their own clan. Ah, such drama unfolds on a weekly basis in this ongoing meerkat docudrama. For the third season, Sean Austin narrates this kid-friendly series that, by giving the meerkats human qualities, helps children relate to the animal kingdom. The meerkat soap opera is instantly appealing. Just watching these cute creatures dart about, then stop and stand on their two legs to watch for trouble. The pregnant females are adorable with their fat little bellies sticking out when they stand on their two hind legs and they can eat an amazing amount of small creatures and insects.
      Meerkat Manor runs on Friday nights at 9 pm on Animal Planet. It’s quality family viewing.

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