The BEST episodes directed by Owen Newman
#2 - Firebird
Natural World - Season 12 - Episode 2
An atmospheric account of the lesser flamingo, Firebird explores the incredible adaptations these resilient birds possess in the hostile environment of East Africa's Great Rift Valley.
#3 - Lions: Pride in Peril
Natural World - Season 14 - Episode 7
The King of Beasts, the lion, has an image of noble magnificence - a deadly hunter, red in both tooth and claw, to which all creatures defer. And yet, behind this facade, every lion has a personal history of drama, intrigue and tragedy. For seven months, award-winning film-maker Owen Newman followed the lions of the Tokitok pride in Tanzania's breath-taking Ngorongoro Crater. What started out as an intimate story of lions in their full glory evolved into a record of a pride which had fallen on hard times. David Attenborough relates the demise of the Tokitok lionesses, and their two guardian males as they strive to retain their 'kingdom' and protect their cubs among the more powerful prides that inhabit the Crater.
#4 - Year of the Jackal
Natural World - Season 17 - Episode 12
This film, shot over the course of the year at the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, reveals some surprising facts about jackals.
#5 - Cats Under the Serengeti Stars
Natural World - Season 21 - Episode 9
Cameras capture the events of a night on the African plains, revealing the fascinating lives of nocturnal creatures from hunting caracals to the complexities of hyena politics.
#6 - The Crater: Africa's Predator Paradise
Natural World - Season 18 - Episode 13
Documentary about the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, which has the highest concentration of predators anywhere in the world. A huge natural bowl inhabited by over 25,000 wildebeest, it is nonetheless a difficult environment for predators, and numbers are declining
#7 - Chasing Big Cats
Nature - Season 23 - Episode 1
The big cats of Africa have always been favored subjects of wildlife filmmakers. But as little as 15 years ago, no one had captured the unforgettable image of a leopard in its ghostly nocturnal stalk. Viewers had never seen intimate portrayals of the sleek and elusive serval, or witnessed the nighttime romps of the beautiful black-eared caracal. The team of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett filled those gaps with a series of spectacular breakthrough films in the 1990s. Among the first to apply infrared light and night vision goggles to wildlife studies, they combined technology with intrepid determination and a strong dose of luck, illuminating the cats we hardly knew, and giving us fresh insights into those we only thought we knew, such as lions and cheetahs.