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TV review

Vintage Dinosaur Telly: The Magic School Bus

TV review

Seatbelts, everyone! A few weeks ago I reviewed The Magic School Bus in the Time of the Dinosaurs, and mused at the end that I might have to seek out the TV episode on the same theme…which was in no way an appeal for commenters to do the work for me and provide a link, oh no. (As if I’d be so lazy.) Nevertheless, Zain Ahmed obligingly provided a link to a YouTube video. Thanks, Zain! (Admittedly, it’s not exactly…

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Prehistoric Planet 2: Giant Paperclip

TV review

Whereas the first two episodes of Prehistoric Planet 2 took us to the Islands and Badlands, the final three transport the viewer to Swamps, Oceans and, er, North America. Why the sudden change of theme, to a continental locale rather than a type of habitat, in the final episode? It hardly matters, I suppose, if it means we get to see more of Prehistoric Planet‘s utterly fantastic T. rex. What’s more, in this series, I finally got what I really wanted… …That is, a…

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Prehistoric Planet 2: Snack Babies

TV review

It’s back! Already! This year, I don’t quite have the time to squeeze out a blog post after the release of every episode, but I’m still determined to mark the occasion in suitable fashion. So, I’ll post once today, having seen the first two episodes, and again on Friday. Can you believe that another season is already upon us? I guess that’s what Apple’s endless pit of money will buy you. That, and Darren Naish’s increasingly snazzy shirts. I’ll admit…

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Prehistoric Planet – A Modern Vision of the Past

TV review Uncategorized

I was only a year old when BBC’s landmark series Walking with Dinosaurs first aired, but I have to imagine watching it in 1999 must have felt similar to the way I felt watching Prehistoric Planet this week. Not since then has the age of dinosaurs ever been portrayed so believably. For the first time in a big-budget media project we’re getting depictions of Mesozoic life that isn’t plagued by concessions and strange design choices. Feathers are commonplace. Multi-ton behemoths…

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Prehistoric Planet – Azhdarchids Stride Again

TV review

And so Prehistoric Planet comes to an end, although thankfully not with the extinction of the (non-avian) dinosaurs as some had feared. Instead, we’re treated to glimpses of Late Cretaceous life in woodland environments, and although the show remains dominated by dinosaurs, plants do get their due this time. Starting with a herd of Austroposeidon clearing trees in the South American forest (and a look at how plants aggressively colonise the space created), the episode then shifts north, following a…

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Prehistoric Planet: Long Hot Polar Summer

TV review

Prehistoric Planet’s third installment takes us to the Late Cretaceous poles, an environment that seems to have featured surprisingly often in palaeo-media. It opens in North America with some Arctic dromaeosaurs, drawn to migratory edmontosaurs fording a river. There are much stronger shades of the old ‘pack hunting dromaeosaurs’ trope here, with the animals seeming to co-ordinate their efforts, although they are clearly after juveniles and, in the end, scavenge the remains of an individual killed by the currents of…

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Prehistoric Planet: Take Me To The River

TV review

The third episode of Prehistoric Planet provides reassurance that at least some of our favourite stars will return. Velociraptor is the first animal to make a re-appearance, this time depicted hunting roosting pterosaurs on a cliff face around a waterfall. Not content with just sticking fantastic-looking feathers on their maniraptors and calling it a day, the Prehistoric Planet team want to show us exactly how the creatures make use of their plumage. In this case, Velociraptor utilises its ‘wings’ and…

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Prehistoric Planet: I Bless The Rains Down In Mongolia

TV review

Our second trip to the Prehistoric Planet takes us to a series of desert landscapes, including the Gobi, North Africa and South America (twice). And in contrast with the first episode, it’s rather heavy on dinosaurs – as one might expect, given that a marine reptile flopping around in the sands wouldn’t look very dignified. Other creatures do significantly feature – pterosaurs, of course, and a little anonymous lizard chasing flies around the faces of sleeping Tarbosaurus. However, the dinosaurs…

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Prehistoric Planet: Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

TV review

IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! As such, I’ve decided to hammer out a short post on the day that each episode is aired to the world on Apple TV+. Naturally, like every other palaeo-enthusiast on Earth, I’ve suddenly signed up for a free trial of Apple’s streaming service. And, like most others, I’ll be delving into the settings menu before the payment period begins. But I digress. It’s here! The One True Heir to Walking With Dinosaurs. However, it would be…

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Vintage Dinosaur Telly: Dinosaur!

TV review

So. A couple of weeks ago, I blogged a few words on Dinosaur!, a book written by David Norman in 1991 to tie in with a TV show of the same name (in which he made several appearances). At the time, I mentioned that I hadn’t seen the show and hadn’t been able to find it online. Chasmo-commenters both here and on Facebook immediately sprang into action, directing me to multiple YouTube uploads of the entire series. (Perhaps I shouldn’t…

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