Worth watching: “No Borders” series on National Geographic

Last Sunday, the National Geographic channel aired the first part in its “No Borders” series of documentaries. I like documentaries, so I recorded “The Boy Who Plays On The Buddhas of Bamiyan” and then forgot about it. Yesterday, the second film in the series, “Ou Dede and His Daughters” aired. It is classified as a documentary, but some of it felt like it was scripted. I checked on the internet, and I found this quote: “And although you may wonder whether some shots or even sequences were contrived, the whole thing carries such conviction and the story is so fascinating that you willingly believe in the basic truth of what you see.” I think that sums it up. It’s the most interesting thing I’ve seen on TV in a while. After watching that film, I started watching “The Boy Who Plays On The Buddhas of Bamiyan” and it is also fascinating. Check here for a summary of the series.

The regular broadcast time in Taiwan for this series appears to be Sunday at 9 pm. Check listings for reruns and program shuffling. Use the “英文” download button on the Chinese National Geographic site for weekly listings in English.