Walking with Dinosaurs

Walking with Dinosaurs
The official DVD cover of Walking with Dinosaurs
Genre	Documentary
Created by	Tim Haines Jasper James John Lynch Andrew Wilks
Developed by	Andrew Wilks
Directed by	Tim Haines Jasper James
Creative director	Mike Milne
Narrated by	Kenneth Branagh Avery Brooks
Composer	Ben Bartlett
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer	John Lynch
Producers	Tim Haines Jasper James
Production locations	The Bahamas, California State Parks, Chile, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Tasmania
Cinematography	John Howarth Michael Pitts
Editor	Andrew Wilks
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Impossible Pictures
Original release
Network	BBC, Discovery Channel, TV Asahi, France 3, ProSieben
Release	April 16 (1999-04-16) – May 21, 1999 (1999-05-21)
Related
Other shows in the Walking with... series

Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that of Avery Brooks. It is the first entry of the Walking with... series and used computer-generated imagery and animatronics to recreate the life of the Mesozoic, showing dinosaurs and their contemporaries in a way that previously had only been seen in feature films. The programme's aim was to simulate the style of a nature documentary and therefore does not include "talking head" interviews. The series used paleontologists such as Michael Benton, Thomas R. Holtz, Jr., Peter Dodson, Peter Larson and James Farlow as advisors (their influence in the filming process can be seen in the documentary The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs). The Guinness Book of World Records reported that the series was the most expensive documentary series per minute ever made. A £40 million 3D movie based on the series is currently being produced by BBC Worldwide and 20th Century Fox.

Reception

In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted on by industry professionals, Walking with Dinosaurs was placed 72nd. The series won three Emmy Awards: Outstanding Animated Program, Outstanding Special Visual Effects and Outstanding Achievement in Non-Fiction Programming - Sound Editing. CommonSense Media greatly praised the program, giving it 5 stars out of 5 and saying that, "Somebody had a great idea, which was to make a documentary series about dinosaurs, but with a twist. The aging Ornithocheirus on a desperate final flight to his mating grounds, the sauropod hatchlings struggling for survival in the late Jurassic, the migrating herds and the undersea life of 150 million years ago would all seem as real as a nature program about polar bears or snow monkeys." This technique of narrating the prehistoric life as though it were current proved to have a lasting impact, and has been used several times since, for example in the BBC's 2011 Planet Dinosaur series.

Companion book

A companion book was written by Tim Haines to accompany the first screening of the series in 1999. The settings of some of the six episodes were changed between the time the book was written and the screening of the television series, and some of their names were changed: 'New Blood' is set at Ghost Ranch; 'Cruel Sea' is set at or near Solnhofen in Germany near what then were the Vindelicisch Islands. The book elaborated on the background for each story, went further in explaining the science on which much of the program is based, and included descriptions of several animals not identified or featured in the series.

The Arena Spectacular

Tyrannosaurs in the arena

Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular is a live adaptation of the series that originated in Australia in January 2007 (as Walking with Dinosaurs - The Live Experience), and toured North America in 2007–2010, Europe in 2010, and returned to North America until 2011. It also toured Asia beginning in December 2010. In 2011 the show came to its final destination, New Zealand, and the show has now ended.

Film adaptation

Main article: Walking with Dinosaurs 3D

BBC Earth and 20th Century Fox are currently working on a CGI/live-action film adaptation of the original TV series. It is being directed by Neil Nightingale and Pierre De Lespinios, and it will be released on October 11, 2013.

Scientific inaccuracies

Michael J. Benton, a consultant to the making of the series (and Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at Bristol University), notes that a group of critics gleefully pointed out that birds and crocodiles, the closest living relatives of the dinosaurs, do not urinate; they shed waste chemicals as more solid uric acid. In the first episode of Walking with Dinosaurs, Postosuchus urinates copiously. However, Benton notes that nobody can prove this was a real mistake: copious urination is the primitive state for tetrapods (seen in fishes, amphibians, turtles, and mammals), and perhaps basal archosaurs did the same. He believes many other claims of "errors" identified in the first weeks fizzled out, as the critics had found points about which they disagreed, but they could not prove that their views were correct.

Ornithocheirus was depicted as far larger than it actually was. In the book based on the series, it was claimed that several large bone fragments from the Santana Formation of Brazil possibly indicate that Ornithocheirus may have had a wingspan reaching almost 12 metres and a weight of a hundred kilogrammes, making it one of the largest known pterosaurs. However, these specimens have not been formally described. The largest definite Ornithocheirus specimens known measure 6 metres in wingspan. The specimens which the producers of the program used to justify such a large size estimate are currently undescribed, and are being studied by Dave Martill and David Unwin. Unwin stated that he does not believe this highest estimate is likely, and that the producers likely chose the highest possible estimate because it was more "spectacular." However, no other Early Cretaceous pterosaurs reached its size.

List of episodes

#	Title	Era	Director	Original air date
1	"New Blood"	220 mya	Tim Haines & Jasper James	16 April 1999 (1999-04-16)
220 million years ago, Late Triassic (Arizona) Filming location: New Caledonia The episode followed a female Coelophysis as she tried to survive in the dry season. The Coelophysis was shown hunting a herd of Placerias (a giant synapsid or mammal-like reptile), looking for weak members to prey upon. Early pterosaurs called Peteinosaurus were featured, depicted cooling themselves in what little water was present during the drought. A female rauisuchian Postosuchus (one of the largest carnivores alive in the Triassic) was shown following the Placerias herd, and kills one of the members who had earlier been bitten by her and weakened by blood loss. Still searching for food, the Coelophysis are shown discovering a burrow of the small mammal-like cynodont. Eventually, one young cynodont strays too close and is eaten and the father attempts to protect the youngster, but to no avail. At night, the pair of cynodonts are shown eating their remaining young, then moving away. The female Postosuchus is later shown to have been wounded by Placerias's tusks (the wound is on her left thigh), and is beaten out of her territory by a rival male Postosuchus. Wounded, sick and without a territory, the female dies and is eaten by a pack of Coelophysis. As the dry season continues however, food becomes scarce and the Coelophysis start killing and cannibalizing each other. Finally, the wet season comes again, and the majority of the Coelophysis have survived (including the female), along with the cynodont pair, who have a new clutch of eggs. The episode ends with the arrival of a herd of the prosauropod Plateosaurus, foreshadowing the future dominance of the giant sauropods after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. Animals: Coelophysis  · Thrinaxodon  · Placerias  · Postosuchus  · Peteinosaurus  · Plateosaurus  · Dragonfly  · Lungfish  · Lacewing
2	"Time of the Titans"	152 mya	Tim Haines & Jasper James	23 April 1999 (1999-04-23)
152 million years ago, Late Jurassic (Colorado) Filming location: California State Parks, Chile, Tasmania, New Zealand This episode followed the life of a young female herbivorous Diplodocus. After hatching at the forest edge, she and her siblings retreat to the safety of the denser trees. As they grow, they face many dangers, including predation by Ornitholestes and Allosaurus, and a Stegosaurus, which kills one by accident while swinging its tail. Close to adulthood, the group of young Diplodocus are nearly all killed by a huge forest fire that night, leaving three, then two survivors including the female. They are driven out onto the open plains, where they find a herd. The protagonist female mates, but not long afterwards is attacked by a bull Allosaurus. She is saved when another Diplodocus strikes the allosaur with its tail. In the end, her species will only get bigger. In the DVD release, most of the narration from the original broadcast is missing. Animals: Diplodocus  · Allosaurus  · Ornitholestes  · Stegosaurus  · Brachiosaurus  · Anurognathus  · Dryosaurus  · Dung Beetle  · Damselfly  · Ornithopod
3	"Cruel Sea"	149 mya	Tim Haines & Jasper James	30 April 1999 (1999-04-30)
Eustreptospondylus puppet head that was used in Walking with Dinosaurs at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History 149 million years ago, Late Jurassic (Oxfordshire) Filming location: The Bahamas, New Caledonia The ichthyosaur Ophthalmosaurus breeding ceremony is the main event of the episode, but sharks and other predators, including the pliosaur Liopleurodon, are on the hunt. The opening portrays a Liopleurodon snatching a Eustreptospondylus from the land, but there is no evidence of this ever occurring (according to the producers, they were influenced by similar attacks by killer whales on land creatures, such as sea lions). A pod of Ophthalmosaurus arrive from the open ocean to give birth. Many of the babies slip out successfully. But when one mother has trouble giving birth, a pair of Hybodus sharks go after her, but are frightened off by a male Liopleurodon, which eats the front half of the Ophthalmosaurus, leaving the tail to sink down. Meanwhile a Eustreptospondylus swims to an island. It discovers a turtle carcass and must fight another Eustreptospondylus for it, though the fight really consists of them roaring at each other. Later during the night, a group of horseshoe crabs gather at the shore to lay their eggs, which attracts a flock of Rhamphorhynchus in the morning. However two or three are caught and eaten by a Eustreptospondylus in the morning. While the Ophthalmosaurus juveniles are growing up, they are still hunted by Hybodus, which in turn, are prey for the Liopleurodon. While the male Liopleurodon is hunting for prey, he is encountered by a female Liopleurodon, and after biting one of her flippers, she retires to escape. In the end of the episode, a typhoon kills many animals, including several Rhamphorhynchus, and washes the Liopleurodon ashore. He is then suffocated by his own weight and is eaten by a pair of Eustreptospondylus. The episode, however, ends on a more positive note, as it shows that the juvenile Ophthalmosaurus have survived the storm, and are now off to live and breed in the open sea. Animals: Ophthalmosaurus  · Liopleurodon  · Eustreptospondylus  · Cryptoclidus  · Rhamphorhynchus  · Hybodus  · Perisphinctes  · Leptolepis  · Horseshoe Crab  · Squid  · Bark Beetle  · Turtle  · Jellyfish  · Fish  · Coral
4	"Giant of the Skies"	127 mya	Tim Haines & Jasper James	7 May 1999 (1999-05-07)
Ornithocheirus puppet head that was used in Walking with Dinosaurs at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History 127 million years ago, Early Cretaceous (Brazil) Filming location: New Zealand, Tasmania The story begins with a male Ornithocheirus (pterosaur) dead on a beach. It then goes back six months to Brazil, where the Ornithocheirus flies off for Cantabria among a colony of Tapejara (pterosaur). He flies past a migrating column of Iguanodon and a Polacanthus (all herbivorous dinosaurs). He reaches the southern tip of North America, where he is forced to shelter from a storm. To pass the time, he grooms himself, ridding his body of Saurophthirus fleas. Then he sets off across the Atlantic, which was then only 300 kilometres wide and, after a whole day on the wing, reaches the westernmost of the European islands. He does not rest there however, as a pack of Utahraptor are hunting Iguanodon. He flies to the outskirts of a forest, but is driven away by Iberomesornis birds. He reaches Cantabria, but was delayed by the storm and cannot reach the centre of the many grounded male Ornithocheirus. Consequently, he does not mate and dies from exhaustion. In the end, a young Ornithocheirus is seen feeding on his carcass. Animals: Ornithocheirus  · Utahraptor  · Dakotadon  · Iguanodon  · Tupandactylus  · Polacanthus  · Iberomesornis  · Pteranodon  · Plesiopleurodon  · Saurophthirus  · Pterosaur  · Fish  · Wasp
5	"Spirits of the Ice Forest"	106 mya	Tim Haines & Jasper James	14 May 1999 (1999-05-14)
106 million years ago, Early Cretaceous (Antarctica) Filming location: New Zealand This episode focuses upon a clan of herbivorous Leaellynasaura as they struggle to survive in the south polar region over the course of a year. During the spring, they are shown feeding on the fresh plant growth and building nests so they can lay their eggs. A male amphibian Koolasuchus has also woken up from hibernation, heading to a river where he will stay during the summer. Out on the plains, migrating herds of herbivorous Muttaburrasaurus are also preparing for the winter. By summer, many of the Leaellynasaura clan's eggs are eaten, but those of the matriarch hatch successfully. A male Allosaur is shown hunting the Leaellynasaura and Muttaburrasaurus, but fails. The Leaellynasaura clan continues to prepare for the winter, as well as raising the young that have now grown. When autumn arrives, the Muttaburrasaurus herd soon head back north, and the Koolasuchus finds a place to hibernate through the winter. However, the male Allosaur manages to catch and kill the matriarch of the clan, and only one of the hatchlings survived. Winter finally arrives, and the forest descends into the eternal darkness that envelops the months that will go by. The Leaellynasaura clan is able to stay active, using their beaks and eyes to forage for food. During this time, the clan and other fauna use various methods of dealing with the cold such as suspended animation, hibernation or using group body temperature to maintain heat. Finally, spring returns, and two Leaellynasaura males challenge one another for the right to mate, and after a short confrontation, the clan establishes a dominant pair once again. Animals: Koolasuchus  · Leaellynasaura  · Polar allosaur (possibly Australovenator)  · Muttaburrasaurus  · Steropodon  · Giant Weta  · Tuatara  · Unidentified Pterosaur  · Giant Mosquito
6	"Death of a Dynasty"	65.5 mya	Tim Haines & Jasper James	21 May 1999 (1999-05-21)
Tyrannosaurus as it appeared in WWD 65.5 million years ago, Late Cretaceous (Montana) Filming location: Chile, New Zealand This episode starts months before the extinction of the dinosaurs. The last dinosaurs are depicted living under stress due to excessive volcanism. The episode focuses on a female Tyrannosaurus who abandons her nest, the eggs rendered infertile due to volcanic poisoning. Her calls for a mate are answered by a smaller male who has killed a young Triceratops and is eating it. Later, after repeated copulation, she eventually drives him off. The mother fasts for an extended period as she tends to her nest, dealing with raids by dromaeosaurs and marsupial Didelphodons. Only three eggs hatch and the mother brings down an hadrosaurid Anatotitan to feed herself and her brood. While defending her two surviving offspring several days later, the mother tyrannosaur is fatally injured by an Ankylosaurus. The chicks remain next to the carcass of their mother the next morning until they, and the rest of the non-avian dinosaurs, are killed when an asteroid slams into the Earth, a catastrophe that triggers the K-T extinction. A short final sequence shows the present-day Earth, dominated by large mammals, but still populated with numerous dinosaurs known as birds. Animals: Anatotitan  · Ankylosaurus  · Deinosuchus  · Didelphodon  · Dinilysia  · Dromaeosaurus  · Quetzalcoatlus  · Torosaurus  · Tyrannosaurus  · Triceratops (carcass)  · Unidentified ornithopods (possibly Parksosaurus)  · Unidentified Butterfly

External links

• BBC Science & Nature - Prehistoric Life
• Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular Official Website