The BBC Earth Experience review

Until 31st August 2024, you can travel a few tube stops out of central London and visit the BBC Earth Experience in Earl's Court. I did just that at the weekend, and here's what I thought.

My initial reaction upon entering the main room was very Pam from Gavin and Stacey ("is that it?!"). A large room with angular screens on walls and columns playing Planet Earth clips, people scattered around the floor on beanbags or small benches.

Once I'd realised it wasn't going to be a magical museum-style tour through the Planet Earth documentaries, I settled into a beanbag in the side room and watched the show.

When you're in the right place in the room, it's semi-immersive. The landscape scenes are incredible - crashing thunder, flashing lightening, thrashing rain. Sometimes, rainforest or desert all around you. It's a lovely way to switch off and travel to the seven continents.

I say semi-immersive because there are no ceiling screens, so you're very much aware of the projectors. You can always see other people, no matter where you sit, so it's like being in a cinema where the seats aren't sloping and everyone talks and walks around.

Thankfully (but much to the annoyance of a parent at reception) there's no food allowed in the venue. This saves the experience. If people were munching their sandwiches there'd be nothing immersive about it.

Understandably, there were loads of kids. Which is great for the kids but parents encouraging their kids to "look at the pretty fish!" remind you you're not in the Congo Basin.

The narration is Sir David Attenborough, so nothing to fault in his delivery, but it seems Live Nation cheaped out on the content they licenced because there's very little voice over. The clips are short and don't follow on from one another; in most clips, the narration doesn't even mention which species we're watching. It's a world away from the storylines in the documentaries.

At times, the multiple screens came together to give you the feeling of being surrounded by pack animals. At other times, the joins in the screens just cut the heads off penguins.

Similarly, the quality of the projections was sometimes great but a lot of the time was poorer than a 4K TV or a cinema screen.

There are two side rooms. The first has screens showing microlife and a further mini room showing a video of a poem about the importance of microlife. The second is water life, and has a couple of screens with CGI seabeds, a couple with real videos, and a bubble simulator screen.

Overall, the BBC Earth Experience is enjoyable but not mind-blowing. If you're in London, it's a great way to spend a couple of hours, but I wouldn't travel to the city for it.

The ticket prices vary but were £19 for an adult when we went. The show in the main room lasts an hour, so even the most dedicated viewer isn't likely to be in the experience for more than two hours.

If you can afford it, go along for a pleasant dip into the BBC Earth vaults. Relax and let yourself fall into the colourful worlds of our fellow creatures. Just don't expect too much.