Snow Leopard – Uley, Ladakh, India (Image via David Willis/BBC)
20. Planet Earth
If you really want a visual escape, Planet Earth is a good place to land. Not only will you get to visit a vast array of environments and animals from the comfort of your living room, but you’ll get to listen to David Attenborough talk to you about it. His soothing British voice and confident delivery are enough to soothe practically anyone after a tense Thanksgiving dinner (and let’s be real, quite a few of us are in for a whopper of a Thanksgiving dinner this year).
What better way to forget the troubles of our species than by virtually hanging out with others ones entirely? At the very least, it’s a high-quality production that’s worthy of your time. When it first came out in 2006, Planet Earth was the most expensive nature documentary ever made. It also utilized high definition cameras, then a leap forward in quality that has since become standard. The camera work itself is innovative and catches the natural world in a light you’ve likely not seen yourself.
Each episode visits a particular environment, or biome. This includes the Arctic and Antarctic poles, mountains, jungles, multiple ocean episodes, and even a cave episode. The “Ocean Deep” episode is a personal favorite, in part because you get to see spectacular footage of deep sea animals, including those living around hydrothermal vents. The sheer weirdness of some of the animals and environments (including those in the “Cave” feature) is astounding.
Where to watch: Netflix