Penguin Town (2021) s01e03 Episode Script

[waves splashing]
[atmospheric music playing]
[narrator] It's been a scorching hot day.
Mr. Culvert returns
from an unusually difficult hunt.
The sardines were far
and the currents were strong.
He's been gone way too long.
The brutal heat wave has already forced
some penguins to abandon their nests.
Mr. C has no idea
if his bride and their eggs are safe.
[braying]
[narrator sighs in relief]
Mrs. Culvert is one devoted mama.
And he is her knight in black and white.
[braying]
They're making it work.
But they'll need each other
now more than ever.
[braying]
An even more pressing danger
is barreling straight towards their eggs.
[all braying loudly]
[opening theme song playing]
Yeah! ♪
Yeah, yeah ♪
Till my breath's all gone
I'll be pushing on so strong ♪
I'll keep pushing on ♪
Till the river runs dry
I've got to try, try, try ♪
I'll keep pushing on ♪
When my soul's burnt through
I won't be feeling blue ♪
I'll keep pushing on ♪
Till my dying day
I won't give it all away ♪
I keep pushing on ♪
[birds squawking]
Yeah! ♪
[vocalizing]
[braying]
[narrator] It's Africa, it's summer…
and it is hot.
Everyone in Penguin Town
is looking for a way to keep their cool.
[upbeat music playing]
Chilling out by any means necessary.
And if the ocean's not close,
you need to get creative.
Air conditioning works.
But any shady spot will do.
[water splashing]
Or…
a private spa.
[serene music playing]
Nice.
If you gotta relieve yourself,
do it in someone else's pool.
At the rehab center,
Junior, the adolescent misfit,
has no idea
that there even is a heat wave.
He's the awkward kid in class,
still not quite
through his first adult molt.
His bite wounds have healed.
But if he wants his freedom,
he needs to get in shape.
The last time he went swimming,
he was attacked by a fur seal.
[penguins braying]
He could use a little…
encouragement.
[rescue worker] Go on. Get in.
[narrator] You got this, bro.
So what if it's the baby pool?
It feels amazing.
And, yep, not a seal in sight.
Swimming builds the muscle
he'll need to survive in the real world.
But just when he's starting to love it…
time's up.
His juvenile feathers
are no longer waterproof.
Until he completes his molt,
workouts are strictly limited.
He's still a long way from free.
But at least, for the first time ever,
he's got some friends.
Even if they are a bunch of misfits.
The rest of the penguins,
the ones living without air-conditioning,
don't have it so easy.
Even the Bougainvillea bush gets hot.
They've suffered through a month of this
with no way of even knowing
if their eggs are cooked.
But they endure.
All for this.
[cooing]
[braying softly]
Only a day or two old.
One more African penguin
to build the colony.
And there's a chance for another.
But if this chick isn't strong enough,
she'll stay trapped and die.
Less than half of all second eggs make it.
Come on, baby. You can do it.
Success!
[whimsical music playing]
A second healthy chick.
Now the Bougainvillea family is complete.
[chirping]
But as all parents know,
this is when the real work begins.
Mom and Dad
now have to feed these fluff balls
25 pounds of fish
over the next two months.
Only the well-fed survive.
So, Dad sets out
to get his kids their very first meal.
[suspenseful music playing]
The quickest route
is through Car Park Gang land.
He's ready for a fight.
[suspenseful music continues]
Who's that?
A new penguin he's never seen before.
Mmm, handsome fellow.
Something about this guy seems familiar.
All right, Mr. B, time to go.
You've got newborns to feed.
On the waterfront,
it's the busiest time of year.
When it's this hot,
everyone looks
for a shortcut to the beach.
[indistinct chatter]
For the Culverts,
this surge of traffic is a nightmare.
It was bad enough before eggs.
Now, lives are at stake.
There's a perfectly good gate
just a few feet away.
Most of them get it.
Even the giants use the gates.
But one stubborn loner
does not like the detour.
He might be a bit too…
husky.
Or maybe he's just a jerk.
The loner waits and watches
for Mr. C to step away.
And then he makes his move.
Mrs. C saves their eggs,
but this can't happen again,
or they will be crushed.
Daddy's home,
just in time to teach this guy a lesson.
[tense music playing]
[penguins braying]
That's how you go under a fence,
you jackass penguin.
Raising chicks is all about teamwork.
While Mr. Bougainvillea is out fishing,
Mom minds the nest.
[whimsical music playing]
Hatchlings are born tiny,
so they can start eating fish
as soon as possible,
the fastest way to grow up strong.
For the first few days,
they're helpless and blind.
But they're definitely not mute.
[chirping]
So small, yet so demanding.
Mom sits on them to keep them safe,
and just the right temp.
Enjoy it while it lasts, Mama.
In two weeks,
they'll be four times bigger.
And walking.
Penguin toddlers are no day at the beach.
In some ways, hunting is the easier job.
At least Mr. B gets to cool off.
[penguins braying]
But even with giants out here,
he can't let his guard down.
Stay together, team.
There's real danger in these waters.
[growling]
They might look innocent,
but Cape fur seals are ruthless.
They've even been known to take on sharks.
And since hunting was banned in the '90s,
their numbers are on the rise.
Penguins can swim ten miles per hour.
Fur seals?
Even faster.
And every so often,
one goes on a murderous spree.
A rogue fur seal recently killed
25 penguins here in a single day.
Mr. B and his crew need to avoid that guy.
Get in and out as fast as possible,
with as much fish as you can carry.
[dramatic music playing]
And don't look back.
[seal grunting]
Not your average trip to the market.
But he makes it back with a pound of fish.
Most of it is not for him.
One in three chicks
don't make it to adulthood.
So to keep his kids
from becoming a statistic,
Mr. B needs to deliver their takeout.
[chicks chirping]
On today's menu…
Well, on every day's menu,
raw fish guts.
Pre-eaten and fresh from Dad's gullet.
It's like a protein smoothie.
[narrator chuckles awkwardly]
Looks tasty.
Might wanna make the chunks
a little bit smaller next time.
Get every last morsel.
Leftovers will stink in the heat.
Back in rehab,
Junior's true colors are starting to show.
See that?
His black-and-white face
is peeking through.
He's not quite here yet.
Or even here.
He's doing his best.
But now he's been moved
to a bizarre new place.
Is this a bad sign?
He doesn't know most of these penguins.
Some look like
they've been here for a very long time.
Aren't those penguins from Madagascar?
Nope.
Just some wayward rockhopper penguins.
Many of his fellow inmates
are too damaged to ever leave this place.
The lifers.
Junior does not want to end up like them.
If he ever wants to get out,
he's got to learn to take what he needs.
It's called
survival of the fittest for a reason.
[tense music playing]
On the outside, the heat is on.
The Culverts are hanging in there,
but their nest is like an oven.
Even just a few degrees hotter,
and they'll have to leave their eggs.
Their lives are at a tipping point.
[thunder rumbling]
Finally.
Penguin Town is cooling down.
[squawking loudly]
And for the Culverts,
things are looking up.
The rain brings hope to the newlyweds.
Three blocks away,
it's Mrs. Bougainvillea's turn to fish.
[chirping]
She says goodbye to her family…
and sets off into the storm.
Nature's fury can be daunting.
And there are
a lot of seals out there today.
[dramatic music playing]
But her chicks are counting on her.
[thunder rumbling]
Mom will do
whatever it takes to feed her family.
[thunder cracks]
[squawking]
Strength and perseverance only go so far.
Some conclusions are inevitable.
Especially for those
who make their nest in the path of water.
["Hey Boy in the Pines" playing]
Hey, boy ♪
Hey, boy ♪
Black seeds you've sown ♪
My screams will haunt you so ♪
Through the trees, through the pines ♪
Where the sun never shines ♪
You'll suffer when the cool wind blows ♪