And chances are, someone’s getting ready to crack off a little message to the ASPCA over that one–but I assure you, that headline should be taken literally, because today we’re talking about Night, a copy of which Animal Planet, via their press agent Gaiam, sent for review.

Night is pretty much what it says on the box.  More specifically, though, it’s about animals and what they’re like in the dark.  Turns out animals, from squid to elephants to monkeys, are a whole lot different at night.  In fact, they’re much more active, and night is the perfect time for them to get out and hunt. Thus, we send Brandon McMillan, animal expert with Animal Planet, to go forth and get footage of animals at night, which is a whole lot different from footage you see in the daytime.

It’s hardly a surprise to say this about a show coming from Animal Planet, but Night will prove to be both fun and educational, a combination which is often touted but very seldom actually pulled off.  See, not only will Night provide incredible footage of animals via really high-powered night vision, but also provide little nuggets of information in pop-up windows.  For instance, one such nugget advised me that the hide on a cape buffalo’s neck is two inches thick, so as to protect it while sparring for dominance, which is to say, fighting other cape buffalo.  That’s mostly a quote, slightly paraphrased, but it’s a perfect example of what we’re dealing with here in Night.

You’ll get tons of information presented in rapid-fire style. Each episode only lasts a half an hour, so by the time one thing even starts to get dull, they’ll move on to something else.  Plus, they’ll have plenty of other equipment, like thermal imagers and parabolic mikes (you ever hear a leopard eat an impala? You will here!)

The end result is rapid, punchy, and loads of fun and information. You may want to keep away from the smaller kids, though, as there will be lots of bloody meat involved here and you may not want the tykes exposed to the sound of a leopard crunching and slurping its way through an impala.

And thus, the Screenhead Ten Scale hands Night an eight out of ten for being sufficiently rapid to stay away from being boring, and sufficiently knowledgeable to stay away from being pointless fluff.  Night is a terrific experience Animal Planet should be proud of.