TV Reviews : Beasts Behind Bars in ‘Urban Gorilla’

“The Urban Gorilla,” airing under the “National Geographic Explorer” umbrella at 6 p.m. Sunday on TBS cable, is billed as a “journey into the world of gorillas living under human care.” More accurately a series of choppy anecdotes than a smooth journey, “Urban Gorilla” is one more proof that good intentions do not necessarily make a good documentary.

Not that this is a bad show--the anecdotes are wide ranging and some are quite interesting. It’s just that “Urban Gorilla” doesn’t provide a decent framework for them and, consequently, doesn’t do justice to a topic that is naturally appealing.

The most interesting segment is the visit to John Aspinall’s famous private collection of more than 30 gorillas. This grandfatherly Englishman is shown playing with his animals--make that friends --even bringing his 9-month-old granddaughter in to frolic. Aspinall has few good words for those who work with captive gorillas, exclaiming that “common sense is revolutionary to zookeepers”; his own efforts show up the experts quite nicely.