Sunday TV Choice: Tribe with Bruce Parry (BBC Two, 9pm)
Cast your mind back to 2005, a year of achievements and tragedy.
The London bombings occurred, Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc and Pope John Paul II died.
On a lighter note, YouTube launched, the Live 8 concert took place and the BBC launched a new series entitled Tribe, in which former Royal Marines commando Bruce Parry travelled to Northeast India, Ethiopia, West Papua, Gabon, Mongolia and Venezuela to spend time with local communities.
A huge success, it was followed by two further seasons in 2006 and 2007, but then came to an end. Parry made a handful of other shows, but has largely been off the small screen for a decade, concentrating on fighting for the rights of indigenous people across the world.
However, he’s returning with a fourth series of Tribe, and it seems the format hasn’t changed – well, as the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
“The original trailblazer of immersive documentary-making is back,” says Tom Coveney, BBC commissioning editor. “I’m thrilled Bruce will once again entertain and inspire viewers with his unquenchable thirst for adventure and infectious curiosity; this series is both a great watch and a chance to learn invaluable lessons at this critical time for our planet.”
Those who remember the original run will no doubt recall Parry’s participation in rights and rituals that are far removed from life in the western world, and there may be more of the same in the new programmes.
“I’m not sure how, but the years – and too many litres of jungle intoxicants – have not dimmed Bruce’s passion and curiosity for those living lives vastly different from our own,” claims Jamie Belmont, creative director of the show’s production company, Frank Films. “The energy and willingness to have a go remains – however extreme the task. Yet his time away has brought a new wisdom, his return has a greater urgency as these communities become ever more precious.”
The opening episode sees Parry journey to the remote Amazonian tributary where the Waimaha people make their home. Despite living in one of the rainforest’s least accessible places, they have been visited by westerners before, whose negative impact initially make the locals wary of the adventurer’s presence – until he devotes himself to learning about their culture.
Next week he’s in the Namib desert, having been invited to live with the Mucubal; while exploring the impact climate change is having on their lives, he becomes the first white person some of the villagers have ever seen. Finally, episode three takes him to the the Indonesian island of Sumba, where he finds out about an ancient religion involving ancestral spirits and a blood sacrifice.
“Living with people who experience the world in such profoundly different ways was eye-opening in 2005, but today it feels vital,” explains Parry. “I believe we have so much to learn from those who still live in deep connection with the world around them. It feels a huge privilege that the BBC has allowed me to explore these places and themes once again.”