There was grief and sadness
among fans of Animal Planet's "Meerkat Manor"
last fall when the show's furry star, Whiskers clan matriarch
Flower, died after she was bitten by a cobra.
But even before Flower's death, the cable network began
production on a prequel film about Flower, "Meerkat
Manor: The Story Begins" (8 tonight, Animal Planet).
And her death "certainly gave us pause," says
Mick Kaczorowski, senior executive producer of the series
and prequel movie.
"The film's ending is where Flower becomes queen of
the Kalahari and assumes her position as leader of the Whiskers.
We knew (with her death) that we had a much bigger ending
than we would have, and we knew we had to address Flower's
death in the movie. Now it's a complete tribute to Flower."
The idea to make a movie stemmed from the popularity of
Flower and the show, which remains one of Animal Planet's
highest-rated series. "She's a remarkable character,
and we wanted (the movie) to be character-based," Kaczorowski
says.
Although it's still a soap-opera-style nature program about
meerkats, "The Story Begins" stands in stark contrast
to the weekly series, which is filmed as a straight documentary.
For one thing, the prequel movie began with a script based
on the notes of University of Cambridge professor Tim Clutton-Brock's
team, which chronicled Flower's early life. For another,
Flower is playe
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