Customer Reviews

Meerkat Manor Season 1 (3 DVD Set)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The 4 disc version that Amazon offers is a DVD-R set, and it comes in one case. For those not familiar, DVD-R's are the recordable DVD's that are sold in stores, with odd colors on the bottom side. Though it is guaranteed to play, realize that this also effects the potential resale value. Other major website retailers do not deal with this version, and second hand stores may not take it on trade. The 3 DVD set that comes in a 3-case box is the official version that one would expect, and is commonly sold throughout the market.

Meerkat Manor is a Discovery Channel Animal Planet series shown successfully worldwide. It is a series in the style of a soap opera about a clan of meerkats named "The Whiskers" that is the subject of a ten-year study by Cambridge University. The show is narrated by Bill Nighy in the UK, Mike Goldman in Australia, and Sean Astin in the USA. There are a total of 13 episodes in this first season.

The following Meerkats are the major players in season one: Flower is the leader and dominant female of the Whiskers group, and reserves the right to mate for herself. Because she is the leader, she wears a radio collar that enables scientists and film crews to track the group. Zaphod is her partner, the dominant male, and group defender. Youssarian was dominant male of the Whiskers until Zaphod, his older brother, overtook his position. Mozart is one of Flower's daughters that was evicted from the Whiskers by her mother for bearing offspring. Tosca is another of Flower's daughters that was exiled from the Whiskers for bearing offspring, and permanently exiled after taking charge of the Splinters, the larger of two groups created by the temporary breakup of the Whiskers. Shakespeare is one of Zaphod's sons and is quite courageous. He survived two bites of a puff adder and successfully saved Flower's pups from an attack by Big Cy of the Lazuli group of Meerkats. His fate has been a topic of controversy.

The drama can be intense, as life and death are starkly portrayed in each episode. Meerkats within the clan are incredibly dedicated to each other's safety, to the point of risking their lives for the others' survival. Family dedication even extends to the other females lactating so that Flower's pups will be fed by multiple sources. The show reveals that Meerkats don't do well on their own because their very survival depends on lookouts being constantly vigilant while the others dig deep into the ground for their meals of worms, lizards, and the occasional fat millipede. Desert storms wreak havoc, and birds of prey are a constant threat to the pups and occasionally to the adult meerkats themselves. However, in case some violent confrontation does occur, the film crew avoids showing close-ups of the gruesome details. This makes it probably OK for family viewing, although in the case of young children you should probably make that call on a child-by-child basis. "Meerkat Manor" does have a lot of value in teaching you much about the daily life and habits of these interesting creatures to the point that you'll probably find yourself caring a little too much about what happens to each of them individually as well as a group. I highly recommend it.

Meerkat Manor chronicles the lives and deaths of a family of meerkats living in the Kalahari desert in Africa. MM is a nature show but by focusing on the individual personalities and conflicts it gives the show a definite Soap Opera quality. A soap opera where the stakes are life and death.
The "cast" consists of:
FLOWER: The leader who rules with an iron fist and a big heart. As matriarch only she is allowed to mate, any female that gets pregnant runs the risk of being exiled. Evicted meerkats have only two choices, hope to be eventually forgiven and be accepted back in the group or death by predators or disease. Zaphod is Flowers partner and mate.
Yousarrian is Zaphods brother, but he is also Flowers ex and he is mentally unstable and unpredictable and his antics lead to more than one crisis that will end in death. Flowers daughters Mozart, Tosca and Daisy all get pregnant during this season which leads to tons of problems, evictions and tough choices.The episode DAISYS CHOICE is heartbreaking. Meanwhile Flowers son Shakespere tangles with a snake which leaves him fighting for his life. It is very touching how his sisters Mozart and Tosca stayed by his side to protect him as best as they could.
Also it wouldnt ba a soap without villians. The Lazuli are the main enemy this season, led by Big Cy they are a dangerous threat to the Whiskers. The only other lazuli who gets screen time is Carlos who is more interested in making love not war and handily seduces all three of daughters.
My only complaint is Sean Astins boring narration, so much drama deserves a little spice in the narration.
Overall 13 drama filled episodes at 20 bucks is a steal. And Season two is even better. EP

[Spoiler Alert!]

Forget "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race." "Meerkat Manor" is the best reality/survivor show ever made. If you missed the beginning, here come the first 13 episodes of the Whiskers family in a two-disc set. These fierce little critters have been called the Sopranos of the Kalahari. But they're not. They're better. What's more, these episodes can be watched by the entire family.

Matriarch Flower is the boss, protecting her family from invading meerkat tribes, such as the Lazuli, making sure the home (burrow) is fit and that all are well fed. Flower, whose recent demise left fans grieving, will be the subject of a 2008 theatrical release, "Queen of the Meerkats." It can't come too soon.

The Animal Planet hit is the result of a 10 year study by Cambridge University. Students mix into the footage from time to time, taking notes. During these moments, you realize just how small meerkats are. Adults are about a foot long, pups only a few inches, but when confronting an enemy, these little guys are bigger than life.

Sean Astin's flawless narration moves each episode along from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. The clear Season One favorite is Flower's son, Shakespeare. Whether he's taking a double snake bite for the clan, mentoring a little brother, or squaring off against Big Cy of the Lazuli to protect meerkat pups, he is his mother's son.

Still, there are plenty of personalities to enjoy, including Shakespeare's loving sister, Mozart, and their independent sibling, Tosca, Flower's main squeeze, Zaphod, his nutcase brother, Yousarian, and Carlos, the Don Juan of the Kalahari. Those who have followed the Whiskers through Season Three, can flash back to baby Mitch, who started out as a spoiled mama's-boy bully. And for those who thought Flower was ruthless, we now have Punk, the new queen of the Zappas and her alpha guy, Houdini. Never dull and never contrived, they all have stories to tell.

- Kay Reynolds, The Virginian-Pilot

Animal documentary cameras follow the daily activities of a mob of 12" high Meerkats living in the African Kalihari desert. Alpha female Flower, her mate, Zaphod, socially inept Uncle Yousarian, slutty daughter Mozart, and the teenagers and pups make up a family unit known as the Whiskers. Their 3 square miles of forage territory must be defended from other mobs such as the Lazuli and Commandos. Leadership is dependent on strong and often ruthless decisions that mean only the alpha female may bear pups, and the fate of the group's breeding age adults becomes a series of illicit one night stands with rival non-related meerkats, and hard learned lessons in meerkat morality that leaves younger wanton daughters ousted for pregnancy. Each meerkat has become a star in the series but some more than other such as loyal Shakespeare who may have died battling the Lazuli raiders while babysitting the infant pups.

Keeping up with the numerous yearly litters of four or five pups means the size of the Whiskers group fluctuates as its members stray, die, or disappear after encounters and fierce battles often to the death. It is a dire existence in which family loyalty is reinforced by mutual grooming, scent marking, and hunting juicy huge scorpions and centipedes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Yummy! And, the meerkats are hunted as well by prey birds and other beasties of the desert environment.

Filmed by Cambridge University for over ten years, and narrated by actor Sean Austin, the family life of small weasel-like creatures takes on all the drama and humor of reality TV shows without having to design dresses or cook gourmet dinners. This is real survivor TV at its best and the often harsh reality of the charming and adorable wild creatures brings to the screen a complex and enormously endearing story of animal behavior, love, life, and death. With not much imagination, its easy to see the family dynamic of every Thanksgiving dinner ever forced to attend. Enchanting and educational for all ages.

I bought the first season as a gift for a 12-year-old hearing impaired boy. While I didn't buy it via Amazon (rather Animal Planet where it is $30), I presume Amazon is selling the same series and that buyers will have the same problem. It is not closed captioned! I can't believe that, in 2007, any responsible and enlightened organization would not issue a product without CC. I do, however, love those little rodents. And Flower! Don't even mention her precious little name. :-)

This version of Meerkat Manor has no menu. Having no menu means you have to forward through six episodes to get to the seventh. Extremely inconvenient. Otherwise fine...

It's too bad that such a great show has this POOR QUALITY DVD available. There is NO way to navigate through the dvd - you must go from beg to end i.e. no way to skip over one show to get to next which is maddening if you want to see anything other than the first show of the dvd. The disc label is paper GLUED onto the disc. Kudos to Amazon for a great return department. This product is probably a boot leg copy. The set that comes with 3 discs is the official set. I found it at Animalplanet.com

Mob wars. Family feuds. Illicit affairs. Yes, these are all parts of Meerkat Manor Season 1. The nature show with a twist. The twist being Meerkats. Meerkats are a cooperative animal that live in family groups "mobs". They have a very strict social structure that can get a meerkat evicted for not following the dominates rules. They are also smart and oh so adorable! Season 1 is my personal favorite as it introduces us to the Whiskers. Flower, Zaphod, Youssarian, Tosca, Mozart, Daisy and Shakespeare. No finer meerkats ever lived then the original 7!

While all seasons of MM are excellent, Season 1 is much easier on the heart strings. There are more triumphs then losses, which can't be said for the upcoming seasons. I highly recommend Season 1 for everyone in the family. It is educational and immensely entertaining! The episode "An Awfully Big Adventure" is one of the cutest things I have ever seen on TV and worth numerous viewings alone.

Once you go meerkat, you won't go back!

Love This Show... First let me say that. Then let me say, this is an incomplete set. Would have been fine except that the end of one just leaves you hanging as to weather Flower will kill her daughters babies or let them live along with her own babies. I plan to go back and by the one that says COMPLETE SET. If you want it all, go for that. If on the other hand you want the top ten or whatever this 2 disc. set is probably just the ticket. It is sooooo nice to watch the goings on, without the long and frequent commercial breaks that one has to endure on the Animal Planet network. I know their programming is paid for by the commercials but, Lordy there is a ton of em'. So enjoy the uninterupted pleasure of the Meerkat world with any of these sets.