Faraway Look: The Land of the Magpie Goose
(1957)
A friendly and informative glimpse at a distant land, the first Faraway Look series follows Peter Scott and his wife Philippa as they journey to the Antipodean isle of Australia. Taking advantage of Peter Scott’s engagement to preside over the International Jury at the yachting portion of the 1956 Olympic Games, the BBC promptly furnished the pair with recording equipment and cameraman Charles Lagus, a veteran of three Zoo Quest series with David Attenborough.
This episode, the first of the popular series, was entitled The Land of the Magpie Goose and focuses on the abundant Australasian species. With Scott recording footage for his lectures as well as Lagus filming for the BBC, their detailed photography offers a remarkable insight into the great crowds of noisy waterfowl.
An important series, Faraway Look took Peter Scott out of his studio and, when broadcast in the summer of 1957, became the first television series to air from the newly formed BBC Natural History Unit.
Faraway Look: The Virgin Islands (1959)
Peter Markham Scott
