Prehistoric Nature Documentaries

With Prehistoric Planet launching next month on Apple TV+ I thought other ZooChatters may want to discuss it and other older prehistoric nature documentaries.

Here are the trailers for Prehistoric Planet if you haven't seen them:

Official Trailer

Official Sneak Peak

I'm really excited for this as it seems like it will be the first truly spectacular prehistoric nature documentary since the BBC's Walking With documentaries from the late 90's and early 00's... On that note, Prehistoric Planet is being produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and is narrated by Attenborough.

Will it live up to the grandeur of Walking With Dinosaurs? What are some other great documentaries? Would love to hear from other ZooChatters.

 

I too am extremely hyped for Prehistoric Planet (2022). In recent years I've often remarked to my friends that although I love the Jurassic Park franchise, my immense passion for the recent films likely isn't because I genuinely think they're good, but rather because I have no other high-effort dinosaur media to consume. Prehistoric Planet changes that finally. I am very, very excited for this documentary. I'll be away when it comes out and will have to watch it upon my return, but I'll certainly be doing that first thing.

Also, I was and still am quite the fan of Planet Dinosaur (2009). I've realized recently this doc isn't as well liked by others as I thought it'd be, but I thoroughly enjoy it, nonetheless.

 

Very excited for this, especially since it's releasing in less than a week now!

Some final trailers and sneak peeks to pique your interest. According to consultant Darren Naish, Therizinosaurus is set to appear in one of the segments despite seemingly being absent in all of the marketing so far:

 

You can see a few Therizinosaurus in the Nemegt watering hole scene.

 

More footage from the upcoming documentary:

Mononykus hunts for termites


Deinocheirus fights off biting insects


Tuarangisaurus family ingests gastroliths


Nanuqsaurus trio hunts a herd of Pachyrhinosaurus

 

You are right! Totally missed that.

I love that first clip and its blend of "practical" and CG!

 

The first episode is publicly out on AppleTV+! I won’t spoil anything yet, but it has something to interest almost anyone watching it, from popular and well-known dinosaurs to fairy obscure fish.

 

There is a small cameo of an individual Hesperornithes in one of the shots in the first episode.

 

Oh, I didn't even notice! Do you have the timestamp so I can have a look?

 

Sorry I do not have a time stamp. It was in a shot of the cliffs and you could see a small dark moving shape in the water.

 

Found it! 13:40 in the water. (time may be a bit different but shown at the establishing shot of the cliffs where alcione is)

 

Thankyou!

 

Ah, thanks for telling me! (Prehistoric Planet was a good doc, although I think some potential was squandered in ep 3. All in all, 9.5/10! Let's hope we get more media like this in the future.)

 

What's wrong with ep. 3? I thought that was one of the best ones (especially Deinocheirus lol).

 

Needed more freshwater in the freshwater episode - sure, there were rivers and lakes, but I think turtles and crocodiles should've been highlighted over the decidedly non-freshwater Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, and Quetzalcoatlus.