2008

S1.E1 ∙ Bee

Sun, May 04, 2008

An actor tells us about bee life: the queen, fat, doing nothing but laying eggs. We see unfertilized eggs hatch into sons and fertilized eggs hatch into daughters. A sterile daughter does all the work: antenna to hear, foot pads to smell, compound eyes, and a stinger; communicating with her sisters by dancing. Royal jelly is fed to one baby sister to make her fertile and a queen. Then, we see the life of a drone, with many brothers doing nothing, waiting to have sex. A female passes; the drones fight until the strongest wins and can mate in flight. Pulling out, after sex, he leaves his penis behind, like a cork, and bleeds to death. His mate becomes queen.

7.2 /10

S1.E2 ∙ Fly

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

An actor in a black leotard with a loose black cap enacts the life of a male fly, first demonstrating how flies, with their capacity to see movement 200 times better than human eyes, see the impending swat of a newspaper and avoid death, flapping wings 200 times per second. Wearing red goggle eyes, and sporting six legs, the fly demonstrates how he can sit upside down on a ceiling (little Velcro-like hooks) on its paws, which also taste. The actor demonstrates how a fly eats (spitting on the food first, then sucking it up with his proboscis). Then the fly mounts a nearby female and, smiling, explains that he has sex several times a day with any female.

6.9 /10

S1.E3 ∙ Mantis

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

In a green leotard with tight-fitting green cap, an actor shows us the life of a male mantis: with forelegs held as if praying. She demonstrates how the mantis can move its head almost 180 degrees and change colors to camouflage. The mantis approaches his mate, a cannibal, but that doesn't scare the male, whose sex drive trumps good sense. He approaches, mounts and penetrates: she turns her head and snatches off his head, as he keeps copulating.

7 /10

S1.E4 ∙ Snail

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

An actor in a seemingly-see-through flesh-colored leotard tell us about being a snail: first showing its one large slimy foot. She twists her body to fit inside her shell, with the foot the bottom and the anus on top of the head. In a mix of live action and animation, we see the snail withdraw entirely into the shell. The snail has both penis and vagina, and can produce arm-like darts, used to inflict pain on its partner before mating. Two snails approach each other for some sadomasochism and copulation.

7 /10

S1.E5 ∙ Worm

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The life of an earthworm, as explained by an actor in a long, segmented, tube-like costume. The worm has no brain, but at one end is a mouth with no teeth, and at the other end, an anus. The earthworm pees and breathes from each segment. The earthworm is both male and female and, to have babies, must mate with another hermaphrodite, in the sixty-nine position. The sexually mature earthworm demonstrates its clitellum, a muff-like segment wrapped about it that the earthworm moves to collect its eggs and its partner's sperm. Then, the worm sloughs the clitellum. In two to three weeks, baby worms emerge.

6.8 /10