Educational
The Chosen in the Wild With Bear Grylls
Noted adventurer Bear Grylls takes some of the cast of ‘The Chosen’ out for a day of adventure and revelation in ‘The Chosen in the Wild With Bear Grylls.’
Listen, it’s easy to take the pleasures of the modern age for granted. Chances are, if you’re reading this review, you have access to a phone or computer in some capacity.
It’s healthy to stop, smell the roses and maybe even think to yourself, “at least I’m not a mangy cat somewhere in Britain wandering around aimlessly for my next meal, hoping today won’t be the day I get hit by a car.”
Yes, it really is all about perspective, isn’t it?
In Ricky Gervais’ new animated Netflix outing, a group of alley cats endures that scenario every day. These cats certainly have it pretty rough: Best case scenario, you have an owner who at least covers your meals for the day. More likely, you must fend for yourself, occasionally eating some bad fish in a dumpster behind a sketchy restaurant.
This dark comedy delves into the tribulations of being a feral feline. While there is ample opportunity for clever reflection from these animals about their tough situation, the series is more content to barrage its audience with near-constant profanity, gross-out humor and jokes that intend to shock rather than have any semblance of cleverness to them.
If it wasn’t clear from that last paragraph, Alley Cats commits the cardinal sin of a comedy series: It’s just not funny. It takes little comedic creativity to stuff as many f-bombs into a sentence as you can, which seems to be the main trick that this series has up its furry sleeve.
This group of cat companions spend the majority of their time together bickering, cursing at each other and discussing one vapid topic after another. One of the cats, Gus, does offer a few moments of encouragement to his friends—but these fleeting moments of positivity are far from enough to warrant a venture down this alley. Conversation topics frequently revolve around which animals they would prefer to either fight or have intercourse with—a bit that gets as stale as a can of week-old tuna. Add onto that frequent discussions about the inevitability of death, as well as animals getting hit by vehicles or being put down, and this crass comedy will have cat lovers clawing at their ears.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
The appearance of a new baby kitten interrupts the alley cats’ normal rhythms of perusing the streets, watching TV and finding their next meal.
For an episode that clocks in just over 16 minutes long, the short runtime sure does find a way to pack in a dizzying amount of profanity. Close to 50 uses of the f-word are thrown around, along with 10 s-words. Half a dozen uses of the c-word. A use of “b–tard,” “h—” and “pr–k” each. Jesus’ name is misused twice. British expletives, including “a—,” “b-ll-cks” and “tw-t,” are also in the mix.
We hear frequent talk of death. A cat gets hit by a vehicle and dies. Cats talk about killing themselves rather than living with a terminal illness. They also discuss torturing mice and debate which animal might win in physical combat. A cat says if he could choose the cause of his death, he would “die of a hand job.”
A cat poops on a fresh grave, and another pees out of fear multiple times.
A priest prays at a funeral.
With a new member of their crew in tow, the cats continue their typical daily activities—this time with their sights set on testing the limits of their ferocity against an unsuspecting human boy.
I foolishly assumed the first episode of the series packed in about as many profanities as possible, but clearly writer Ricky Gervais had other plans. This episode, once again clocking in at around 16 minutes, boasts over 80 uses of the f-word. If that wasn’t enough, the s-word is uttered three times and the c-word gets 10 uses. The British profanity “a—” is thrown out often as well. Woof.
Much of the conversation here revolves around three topics, all of which make the short runtime feel a lot longer than it actually is. A cat recalls an event where he was molested by a group of human boys, going into detail about the interaction. The group discusses the legality of a cat killing a kid, which leads to one cat sharing how he would suffocate a baby. In an effort to prove that humans are not the dominant species, the cats track down and attack a “fat kid,” initially with the intent to kill and potentially eat him. This plan does not come to fruition.
If this wasn’t enough, the episode ends with a cat getting toted off to be put down.
We do hear a brief conversation between two characters about the scariness of death. They talk about how those who pass away live on in the memories of their friends and families.
Jonah Parker’s first interaction with Plugged In came when he was just five years old, after his parents read a review for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and deemed the content too intense for him. What started out as a contentious relationship between Jonah and a staff of reviewers who knew not of his existence would later turn into an appreciation for the site’s ability to present media content in a way that was accurate and fair. Jonah enjoys analyzing how our entertainment echoes the creativity of our Creator while finding glimpses of Biblical truths within every genre. He believes that Robert Pattinson’s Batmobile is the perfect mix of cool and practical.
Noted adventurer Bear Grylls takes some of the cast of ‘The Chosen’ out for a day of adventure and revelation in ‘The Chosen in the Wild With Bear Grylls.’
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