Pick of the Day Nick Baker’s Weird Creatures, Five, 8pm

By BARRY MCDONALD

WEIRD creatures you say? That’s hardly a rarity on TV these days. A simple flick through the channels will reveal a varied and exotic bunch of creatures.

From Jade Goody’s mum to Gillian McKeith, there’s enough to keep Bill Oddie occupied during this year ‘s Springwatch.

With a title like Weird Creatures you could also be forgiven for thinking it’s a documentary on Glasgow’s nightlife. Hang about a city centre taxi rank at 3am on a Sunday morning and Edinburgh zoo will seem dull in comparison.

However, what this new seven-part series is, is a fascinating look at some of the planet’s most exotic animals.

It may not have the budget of Planet Earth but it is a real eye opener.

Forget three-headed flesheating zombies form the planet Zarg, if you want to see some real alien-like creature, just look around you.

It’s naturalism-lite, if you like.

I wanted to give naturalism a go once. I thought it was all about naked barbecues and beach volleyball. Turned out my spelling wasn’t what it should have been!

In the show, naturalist Nick Baker scours the planet looking for the weird, wonderful and terminally shy animals.

In tonight’s first episode, he meets a horned lizard, a delightful little creature who has a habit of squirting jets of blood from its eyes to combat predators.

Frankly, the little reptile is so ugly, I’m surprised any predator would give it a second glance.

It also has the endearing ability to inflate its body like a spiky balloon.

Come to think about it, if I had the same abilities, I could use them to stop those charity muggers from harassing me every lunchtime.

While there are undoubtedly more glamorous natural history shows on television, Weird Creatures takes a refreshing approach, carefully avoiding the cliches of lions in the Serengeti or wildebeestmunching crocs.

This series guarantees to show you things you thought were only possible in Doctor Who.

(c) 2007 Evening Times; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.