Creature Comforts: Winter, The Zoo

The latest and last episode of Creature Comforts displayed a fatal weakness in the program's concept: if the human interviews are not entertaining, neither is the show. While the animation is great and the animals are adorable and funny with their settings and actions, it's what's being said that's at the heart of the show.

"Winter" was a very boring segment, with hardly a chuckle to be found. Nothing said really stood out as a fresh or unique take on the winter months. It's cold, I get it. Straightforward juxtapositions of voice to animal didn't improve things. The man who got very, very cold was presented as a penguin on a floating piece of ice. And the man talking about jumping into cold water as part of a polar bear club was, in fact, a polar bear. The cleverest moment, and only real highlight of this segment, came with a groundhog talking scientifically about how the tilt and rotation of the Earth affects the climate. Turns out this groundhog was the famous Punxsutawney Phil who determines how many more weeks of winter we'll have based on the sight of his shadow. This was the only smart twist in segment one.

The second half of the show, "The Zoo," had a significantly higher number of laughs. However, the idea of taking people's interviews about their living conditions-- in retirement homes, jail, etc.-- and turning it into animals talking about living in the zoo seemed oddly familiar. The old folks were especially entertaining. The elder lions, slowly talking into the microphone, were a hoot. I also loved the Abbot and Costello like exchange between a hard of hearing warthog and the interviewer: "Tell me about the food here?" "About what?" "The food." "Fuse?" "Food." "What is 'fuse'?"

Stealing the show, however, was another visit to the Panda Breeding Facility, with the sassy female panda having a war of words with the amorous male panda. An entire episode devoted to this group would not be a horrible idea.

Padding out the half-hour were animals talking about what celebrities they've been told they look like. This really didn't use the format of the show very well. The first bit, with a pug-looking dog saying she looks like Jane Fonda was cute, because a pug-looking dog has no resemblance to Jane Fonda. But that's about as far as the concept could go-- animals saying they look like someone who, obviously, they don't look like.

Still, I can't complain too much. Creature Comforts is still great to look at. The visuals remain smart and creative, with all sorts of fun background action taking place. The deer using several helium-filled balloons to float away to freedom stood out. I also enjoyed seeing the polar bears doing vodka ice shots while another talked about doing whatever they can to cope with the bitter cold.