- This page is about the 1999 TV series. For the 2013 movie of the same name, see Walking With Dinosaurs (film). For the companion book of the TV series, see Walking With Dinosaurs (book).
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Walking With Dinosaurs is a six-part dinosaur television documentary mini-series that was produced by the BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in the United States on the Discovery Channel with the Branagh's narration replaced with that of Avery Brooks. The series uses computer-generated imagery and animatronics to recreate the reign of the dinosaurs, beginning in the late Triassic period and concluding in the late Cretaceous period at the K-T boundary mass extinction event, 66 million years ago.
The Guinness Book of World Records reported that Walking With Dinosaurs was the most expensive documentary series per minute ever made.
Blurb
Imagine you could witness a prehistoric sunset - imagine you are watching insectivorous pterosaurs chase moths in the moist evening air and bull Triceratops lock horns over a young female. This is no longer a dream.
Walking With Dinosaurs makes that distant world as real and natural as images from today's Serengeti. Tracing the 160 million-year history of dinosaurs, from their first appearances to their abrupt demise, this series marks a watershed in television imagery.
Classic natural history techniques, leading edge computer technology and animatronics combined with the latest scientific findings, recreate the sights and sounds of an endlessly fascinating era. Walking With Dinosaurs brings to life the mystery and excitement of the age when these reptiles roamed our planet.
Episodes
| Image | Episode title | Episode number | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
New Blood | 1 | 16 April, 1999 | |
| This episode follows life in the late Triassic period in Arizona. It features Coelophysis, one of the first in the lineage of the dinosaurs, a pair of Thrinaxodon and their desperate struggles to stay alive and to raise a family and a female Postosuchus, a fierce predator designed only for killing. The episode concentrates on the harsh conditions Triassic life is put through and the end of the episode emphasizes that the age of the dinosaurs has begun. | ||||
|
Time of the Titans | 2 | 23 April, 1999 | |
| This episode follows the diverse Jurassic megafauna in North America. The episode mainly concentrates on the lives of a adolescent female Diplodocus and her constant fight for survival against predators and even her own habitat after hatching. The episode also follows an adult herd of Diplodocus and their ceaseless search for food. This episode showcases some of the other late Jurassic fauna including the armoured and dim-witted Stegosaurus, the egg-thieving Ornitholestes, and the lions of the Jurassic, Allosaurus. | ||||
|
Cruel Sea | 3 | 30 April, 1999 | |
| This episode, like the previous episode, focuses on life in the late Jurassic period in Oxfordshire. The episode follows several Ophthalmosaurus pups and their fight against the elements. The episode also follows a male Liopleurodon, the largest carnivore ever. There are a few scenes concentrating on the small population of carnivorous dinosaurs in the region and how they are able to survive on such small areas. The episodes concentrates on the environment the inhabitants of late Jurassic Oxfordshire live in. Like the previous episodes, this episode emphasizes the Jurassic megafauna and their success. | ||||
|
Giant of the Skies | 4 | 7 May, 1999 | |
| This episode follows the lesser known yet prominent group of reptiles that dominated the skies during the Mesozoic era, the pterosaurs. The episode concentrates on an old male Ornithocheirus and his epic journey to the mating grounds. During his journey, the episode showcases some of the animals he flies past. These animals include Iguanodon, a large hadrosaurid, Utahraptor, a ferocious assassin and Iberomesornis, an ancient type of bird. At the end of the episodes, the narrator refers that breeding doesn't just bring new life, it can also bring death. | ||||
|
Spirits of the Ice Forest | 5 | 14 May, 1999 | |
| This episode is set in Antarctica during the middle Cretaceous period. The episode focuses on how dinosaurs survive in the harsh and cold conditions that are thrown at them. The episode follows a colony of Leaellynasaura and shows how they live, procreate and how they survive from predators and the pitch-black winters that occur annually. The episode also depicts how the Leaellynasaura social hierarchy functions. The episodes also showcases some of the other Antarctic lifeforms like the large Muttaburrasaurus, the relative of Allosaurus, Australovenator and Koolasuchus, a giant, primeval amphibian. | ||||
|
Death of a Dynasty | 6 | 21 May, 1999 | |
| This episode is set in the late Cretaceous, 65.5 million years ago in Montana. This episode focuses on the last in the lineage of dinosaurs and the K-T boundary mass extinction event. This episode follows a female Tyrannosaurus rex trying to reproduce but the toxic environment takes its toll on her offspring. After mating, the episode focuses on her struggle to protect her nest from egg thieves like Didelphodon. Shortly after her chicks hatch, the 10 mile comet slams into Earth and marks the end of the reign of the dinosaurs. The epilogue of the series notes that dinosaurs are exactly extant and that birds are their descendants. | ||||
Companion book
A companion book written by Tim Haines was published in 1999 to coincide with the series. Like there are six episodes in the documentary, there are six chapters in the book however, there are some notable differences. Some of the locations were changed in the book (e.g. New Blood is set in Ghost Ranch in the book rather than Arizona in the documentary). The book also elaborates on the background of each story and the book goes more in depth into the science on which the series is based on. The book also includes descriptions on the creatures that were featured in the series but were not identified and even creatures that were not included in the series.
Deviations from the series
- At the end of the episode New Blood, a Plateosaurus frightens away a Coelophysis. In the book, a Postosuchus attacks the herd and loses. Near the end of the episode, the Coelophysis gather around a waterhole. In the book, this happens earlier. In the book, the first thing to happen is the Postosuchus attack.
- In the episode Time of the Titans, the female Diplodocus lifespan shown was: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. In the book, it was: 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 12 years, so the Diplodocus age faster in the book. In the series, the Allosaurus attack occurs on the 3rd year. In the book, it occurs on the 4th year. The Stegosaurus kills nothing in the book.
- In the book, the Liopleurodon attack from Cruel Sea occurs much later, the Cryptoclidus catches a Rhamphorhynchus rather than a fish, and the female Liopleurodon does not appear.
- Unlike in the episode Giant of the Skies, Ornithocheirus cannibalism doesn't occur in the book. In the series, the lead female Utahraptor attacks the Iguanodon with no injury, whereas in the book, she is injured by the thumb spike; also, the book describes the Utahraptor attack as an attack by a large group, not just a family. Additionally, in the series the Tapejara ignore the Ornithocheirus, while the book, they try to drive it off, and later on, where in the program Ornithocheirus is driven off by the Utahraptor hunting, in the book it is driven off by turtles inhabiting lake, absent from the program.
- In the book's chapter Beneath a Giant's Wing (or Giant of the Skies in the documentary) the flowering shrub's name is Protoanthus (a fictional plant)[1], while on the show it was unnamed.
- In the episode Spirits of the Ice Forest, the lead female Leaellynasaura is killed by the allosaur, while in the book, she dies of frostbite (in the book, the allosaur ate a subadult male), and is eaten by Koolasuchus at the end of the chapter, instead of the beginning, as in the program. In the book, all the Leaellynasaura chicks survive, and the Muttaburrasaurus don't get lost.
- Dromaeosaurus and ornithopods are not featured in the book, unlike in the episode Death of a Dynasty. The Quetzalcoatlus gets eaten by a group of Deinosuchus in the book after a futile struggle, while the television program features only one Deinosuchus and the Quetzalcoatlus escapes without fighting back at all. In the show, Didelphodon is eaten by the female Tyrannosaurus; in the book, by a male, who eats the eggs itself. Also, in the program, the male Tyrannosaurus presents the female with a dead Triceratops, while in the book it is a Torosaurus - the same one that was seen on the program with the broken horn. Finally, in the program the Ankylosaurus hits the female Tyrannosaurus just once, while in the book, it beats the female to death; also, in the book, the Ankylosaurus is a female with a pair of "scutlings" as well, unlike the program.
Arena Spectacular
A live theatrical adaptation was created in Australia and began touring in early 2007 (starting in Sydney's Acer Arena, and continuing to Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide & Melbourne). Coming from the mind of William May, the show features life-size mechanical dinosaurs operated by teams of puppeteers and drivers as well as music by James Brett.
It was produced by Malcolm C. Cooke & Jill Bryant and directed by Scott Faris. The leading role of the paleontologist (Huxley) was played by both Bruce Spence and Felix Nobis in the original Australian version. The role of Huxley is currently played by James Roberts & Jonathan Bliss.
Featured creatures
- Allosaurus
- Ankylosaurus
- Brachiosaurus
- Iguanodon (carcass)
- Liliensternus (note that this dinosaur never appeared in the series)
- Ornithocheirus
- Plateosaurus
- Stegosaurus
- Torosaurus
- Tyrannosaurus rex
- Utahraptor
Film adaptation
- See also: Walking With Dinosaurs (film)
Walking With Dinosaurs is a family film produced by BBC Earth that was released in theaters on December 20, 2013.
Scientific inaccuracies
One of the main criticisms about Walking With Dinosaurs is the amount of scientific errors it includes.
- There is no evidence that Coelophysis was a cannibal. It has been recently found that the animals found within one of the Coelophysis specimens was in fact a small crocodilian.
- Plateosaurus' forelimbs were not designed to be used of walking but as this discovery was uncovered after Walking With Dinosaurs aired, this error is excusable.
- Diplodocus could never reach maturity in only a decade. The minimum amount of time for Diplodocus to reach maturity is roughly forty years.
- Ornitholestes lacked a nasal crest.
- Liopleurodon never grew up to 25 metres in length nor weighed 150 tonnes. The largest species of Liopleurodon, L. ferox had a maximum length of 6 to 7 metres and had a maximum weight of two tonnes.
- Anatotitan/Edmontosaurus lacked a head crest (though this was proven only in 2013).
Censorship
In the initial U.S. broadcasts of the series, a few scenes were omitted from some of the episodes. The most notable deletions were a shot of the Thrinaxodon pair devouring their offspring, and a scene where a dead-in-shell Tyrannosaurus embryo is preyed upon by a pair of Didelphodon. The DVD and VHS contains the original UK broadcast, so the omitted scenes were restored.
Critical reaction
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, including Best Animated Program (For More Than One Hour).
Related Media
Prehistoric Planet
In 2001, a series called Prehistoric Planet was created.
It was an edited version of the series narrated by Ben Stiller targeted to younger audiences, and it aired on the Discovery Kids channel. Though all episodes of season 2, except for the finale, used footage from Walking with Beasts.
Andy's Dinosaur Adventures
Another series targeted to younger audiences that used footage from the series.
References
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New Blood • Time of the Titans • Cruel Sea • Giant of the Skies • Spirits of the Ice Forest • Death of a Dynasty |