Television
Game of survival

IT is life at its best. Life on Discovery Channel on Sunday at 8 p.m. showcases how animals and plants change their behaviour in order to survive. The stalk-eyed fly inflates its head to impress females. In Brazil, monkeys use stones to crack nuts. A pebble toad escapes a tarantula by bouncing down a rock face; the basilisk lizard runs on water; the Komodo dragon has savage hunting techniques. Mammals’ warm blood, fat and fur allow them to thrive in every habitat except the deep ocean. Millions of fruit bats roost together in Zambia, an elephant matriarch steps in to save her granddaughter, and male humpback whales battle violently for a mate. This is a fascinating series on how animals and plants adapt not just to survive but to prosper.

Though the popularity of men like Gordon Ramsay (Hell’s Kitchen), Anthony Bourdain (No Reservations) and Sanjeev Kapoor (Khana Khazana) have touched stratospheric heights, making them as big celebrities as their cookery shows, their goose seems to have been decisively cooked by women. Cookery shows anchored by women seem to have a far higher viewership then those by men. That’s because women like Nigella Lawson, Anjum Anand, Padma Lakshmi and others have a passionate male following, apart from the traditional female viewership. Will Masterchef India on Star Plus reverse this trend? Though its international versions have broken ratings records in England and Australia, it remains to be seen whether host Akshay Kumar — who incidentally started his career as a chef in Bangkok will break the glass ceiling as host of Masterchef India. — NF

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