TVSquad

Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin, is making the rounds on American television shows this week. The 8-year old cutiepie is promoting her upcoming Discovery Kids series, Bindi the Jungle Girl. It sounds like a kid-version of The Crocodile Hunter. This week's press blitz includes appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Letterman, and she'll be giving a speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Her high-profile media appearances coincide with the premiere of her father's final documentary, Ocean's Deadliest, which airs on Discovery on January 21. Bindi's American tour includes a guest appearance dancing with The Wiggles in Los Angeles and New York. Bindi the Jungle Girl airs later this year on Discovery Kids, but a premiere date has not been announced.

I think it's important to note that Bindi Irwin started filming her Discovery Kids series before her father died. She probably would've received a bunch of American press attention even if her father was still alive, but it's logical to assume she's receiving more attention now that he has died.

Animal Planet has plans to air the final special that Steve Irwin taped entitled The Ocean's Deadliest. It was during the filming of this show that Irwin was killed when his chest was punctured by a stingray barb.

I understand that The Crocodile Hunter was loved all over the world and that his loss has been mourned by millions, but is this necessary? I'm not sure what the episode looks like, whether it's complete, or if Irwin is even in the whole thing, but it just feels like more of a ratings grab to me. If anything I just hope that Animal Planet handles the airing of the episode gracefully, gives credit where credit is due, and doesn't try to spin this as "the last minutes of a legend" or something like that.

The episode premieres on Sunday, January 21 at 8:00PM and there will be numerous repeat airings to follow.

[via digg]

The partnership between Animal Planet (owned by Discovery Communications Inc.) and the late Steve Irwin can be traced to the network's inception in 1996. Back then, Irwin's series The Crocodile Hunter was one of the initial offerings of the fledgling network. The pairing of the two resulted in Irwin becoming an international star and Animal Planet reaching 160 countries across the globe. That's why it's no surprise that Animal Planet channels around the globe will honor Irwin on Sunday, September 10th with an all-day marathon of Best of the Croc Hunter programming.