Blood Dolphins is a documentary television series, headed by Ric O'Barry, the film maker and director of The Cove. It chronicles the continuing struggle to expose the dolphin cullings all around the world. In the first episode, they revisit Taiji, Japan to see if things have changed. They...haven't.
Tropes associated with this series are:
- The Atoner: Ric O'Barry was the former trainer of the Flipper dolphins, but when a dolphin literally committed suicide in his arms, he changed his ways. He also has a friend in Koto, Japan who was a former Dolphin Hunter, but now is the head of whale watching and dolphin watching in Koto.
- Batman Gambit: The fishermen pull this to throw off the cameramen. First they postpone the hunt for a few days, then when they start doing it they seem to let the dolphins who weren't chosen by dolphin trainers go-thus making it seem like things have changed. When the heat was mostly off, however, they then began the slaughter again. The team arrived only to see the killed dolphins being gutted.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Japanese Media showing up when Ric's crew first arrived after being harassed by the Taiji Police, which made them back down.
- Corrupt Cop: The police of Taiji who would literally torture people for confessions while being held for 28 days, or use even the most minor charge to deport people.
- Friendly, Playful Dolphin: Ric O'Barry claims that he brought a TV to the end of a dock, and the dolphins (that he had trained) would watch Flipper with him.
- From Bad to Worse: When it seemed like things were getting better, the Taiji Fishermen were filmed gutting dolphins, making it a bluff of what they did before. Also the added security around The Cove.
