This episode is all about bulldogs, English bulldogs in particular but not once is mentioned how unhealthy this breed is. English bulldogs can't breath properly their whole life, they very quickly overheat too alongside numerous other health problems.. Never once was mentioned any support to breeders who promote the healthier variations of english bulldogs or even the reason they don't have a long lifespan. This is a very wrong message to people who don't know any better. It baffles me how people who claim themselves to be bulldog lovers, are so ignorant and selfish for not seeing how those dogs suffer. This could have been a good episode with a greater message but the writers were ignorant too and did't care about the animal wellfare aspect.. a real shame.
2 Reviews
It should be illegal to fill 50 minutes with this much padding.
DirtyStarling16 January 2024
TL;DR - 4/10 - The story is buried under competently shot b-roll that says nothing. CONDENSE!
And now... padding.
Coming from someone who likes dogs and generally likes this type of show: this program should have been 10 minutes long. 15 minutes if they really, really wanted to draw out the feels. The editor didn't need to make a few cuts here and there, they needed to take a weed wacker to this. The entire episode is filled with more padding than a tactical bite suit.
There are two concurrent stories in this episode. The first is the retirement of Blue III, a canine mascot. The second is the dog's handler undergoing major surgery and retiring himself. They're both good, emotional pieces on paper. And yet, it doesn't really feel like the two plots intersect in any kind of significant way, and they really, EASILY could have if the editing had been tighter and the director had focused on telling a story instead of showing all the b-roll they captured. I mean, the b-roll looks fabulous, I can't fault the camerawork or the cinematography. Those guys were on the ball. No, my failure to get into this is all on the direction and editing. I cannot overemphasize how much drawing out every shot and showing every clip of b-roll with gentle music does not make something emotional. It makes me check my watch. A lot.
What WOULD have worked was a tighter script and a focus on how intertwined the life of the man getting surgery and the life of Blue III were. Show parallels between the life of the dog and the life of the man. Show how their lives were intertwined. Show that what happens to one affects the other and vice versa, and show the two of them facing retirement together. That's SO CLOSE to what they actually do, I found myself getting angry while watching it that they threw in all of their b-roll instead of using the best of the b-roll to tell a nice, tight, emotional story. It's aggravating, because I can see what they were going for, but it doesn't get there.
This is the first episode of this series I watched, (by accident, I thought it was playing episode 1, and it played episode 1 of season 2) and it will be the last. When I'm yelling "CUT THIS OUT" multiple times at what should be a feel-good emotional piece full of adorable animals, it doesn't exactly encourage me to seek out anything more the series has to offer.
And now... padding.
Coming from someone who likes dogs and generally likes this type of show: this program should have been 10 minutes long. 15 minutes if they really, really wanted to draw out the feels. The editor didn't need to make a few cuts here and there, they needed to take a weed wacker to this. The entire episode is filled with more padding than a tactical bite suit.
There are two concurrent stories in this episode. The first is the retirement of Blue III, a canine mascot. The second is the dog's handler undergoing major surgery and retiring himself. They're both good, emotional pieces on paper. And yet, it doesn't really feel like the two plots intersect in any kind of significant way, and they really, EASILY could have if the editing had been tighter and the director had focused on telling a story instead of showing all the b-roll they captured. I mean, the b-roll looks fabulous, I can't fault the camerawork or the cinematography. Those guys were on the ball. No, my failure to get into this is all on the direction and editing. I cannot overemphasize how much drawing out every shot and showing every clip of b-roll with gentle music does not make something emotional. It makes me check my watch. A lot.
What WOULD have worked was a tighter script and a focus on how intertwined the life of the man getting surgery and the life of Blue III were. Show parallels between the life of the dog and the life of the man. Show how their lives were intertwined. Show that what happens to one affects the other and vice versa, and show the two of them facing retirement together. That's SO CLOSE to what they actually do, I found myself getting angry while watching it that they threw in all of their b-roll instead of using the best of the b-roll to tell a nice, tight, emotional story. It's aggravating, because I can see what they were going for, but it doesn't get there.
This is the first episode of this series I watched, (by accident, I thought it was playing episode 1, and it played episode 1 of season 2) and it will be the last. When I'm yelling "CUT THIS OUT" multiple times at what should be a feel-good emotional piece full of adorable animals, it doesn't exactly encourage me to seek out anything more the series has to offer.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
