As Good as it Gets
Coast is a magnificant 3 series exploration of the Briish and Irish coastline. In terms of production standards, this is simply as good as it gets.

The same format is used for each of the 28 episodes. Some 3 to 5 presenters travel along a segment of the coastline explaining its history, geography, geology etc. They interview local residents and various experts for additional insights. Computer graphics are employed to great effect to show us among other things what a stretch of beach would have looked like hundreds of years ago. They even set up experiments to demonstrate various processes such as extracting oil from peat. In other words, Coast is a very integrated and multifaceted approach to documentary making. There are many reasons why the production quality is so high in this series, notably the affable but informed team of presenters and the uplifting music but chief among them I think is the stupendous aerial photography.

Please don't make the mistake of assuming that this is all about jelly fish and sea birds. On the journey we are told all about the history of the Channel Tunnel, we travel in a naval submarine and we visit some of the most expensive sea front real estate in the world. There is something here for everyone. More than anything else Coast is an inspiration. It shows off the sea board of the British Isles at its best. Like me, you will want to get out and investigate it for yourself after having watched the dvd, but this time armed with a greater understanding. I simply cannot recommend it anymore for anybody with even the remotest interest in the coast.



Coast - a must!

This is an excellent series with true BBC investigation and great contribution from experts and people that lived during the times that some of the programs refer to.
It is definitely worthwhile buying and watching the whole series and it gives many hours of entertainment at a very good price. I actually think that buying the 3 series in one box is a great advantage and worth the extra money as you can not get enough of it.Great value!
Please go ahead and buy all 3 and you will enjoy it for sure!!


Very, very disappointing
Sadly yet another example of BBC "dumbing down".

Each episode starts with an over-long, American style introduction with over-loud music and this sets the tone for the whole. This is a double shame because the producers are trying to handle a very big story in quite a short time slot and every second should be precious to the story-telling.

Huge stretches of coast are covered at a time, but largely ignored with just a few places being mentioned and even then only in passing. In the first episode, for example, whcih starts at Dover, there is nothing at all on Rye with its beautiful old town and its litererary associations, ditto Hastings Old Town, nothing about Brighton's history and the Royal Pavilion, etc.

The real problem is that the "coast" of the title is simply being used as a device to segue, as the media folk say, from one bleeding chunk to another. The bleeding chunks in question are contributed by a miscellaneous bunch of presenters who each have their own story to tell. Thus it feels like four or five different series cobbled together in parallel, which is very disjointed.

The "natural world" bits are good and well presented, but surely merited a series of their own rather than being squeezed into this. Most of the other bits are pretty purile. The history is all human interest, for example, with no real history at all. Did it not seem strange to the producers to tell the story of the English Channel without describing how the Spanish Armada was defeated, or where William the Conqueror came ashore?

I was very disappointed by this offering as there is potentially a great story to tell here. The BBC had the oportunity to do so, but have totally messed it up. At best, this might be of interest to 11 year olds, but as adult info-tainment it is a sad and total failure. One shudders to think what would happen if the BBC were to re-make something like Civilisation today.

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