March of the Dinosaurs

Galvasean

Stephen Fry + Dinosaurs = Epic Win?
Written by Jasper James, of Walking With Dinosaurs fame.
It;s on tomorrow from 5-7pm.

million years old. New discoveries reveal that once, at the top of the world, arctic dinosaurs faced a heroic struggle for survival every year.

The programme follows two young dinosaurs – Scar, a young vegetarian Edmontosaurus who hatched in the spring, and Patch, a young male feathered, raptor-like Troodon. As a carnivore, Patch has feasted all summer on baby Edmontosaurus. Unfortunately for him his favourite food is now bigger than he is but Troodon are clever, born to hunt and kill.

Full article here.

Some neat photos here, although TBH, it looks like it may forgo accuracy for excitement... The CGI looks very nice though.

Adam Khor

Well, hate me if you will but... **** accuracy!! It looks like it will be much better than those awful Discovery Channel so called documentaries. I mean c´mon, dinosaurs in the snow and a friggin mosasaur attacking pachyrhinosaurs!? I wanna see this already!!

Galvasean

It'll help the feathered tyrannosaur movement that's for sure. "Too warm for feathers? I live in the fricking snow!"

Adam Khor

I'm ok with feathered polar dinos, it just makes sense. :> Woolly mammoths were, after all, woolly XD

Rubecula

I wonder whether they had white plumage for camouflage, like arctic animals of today?

Adam Khor

Perfectly plausible... maybe they changed colors like modern day ptarmigans or gyrfalcons!

Galvasean

I enjoyed that. Fry is a good narrator. Speaking of narration, it was nice that they resisted teh temptation to go overboard with constant narration. They let the images on screen define themselves a lot, which is nice.
My main gripe was the frequent ad breaks. It got a bit annoying.
Also, how did the mosasaurs that lived under the ice breathe?

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

I enjoyed that. Fry is a good narrator. Speaking of narration, it was nice that they resisted teh temptation to go overboard with constant narration. They let the images on screen define themselves a lot, which is nice.
My main gripe was the frequent ad breaks. It got a bit annoying.
Also, how did the mosasaurs that lived under the ice breathe?

Surely there must have been holes in the ice... or maybe they could breathe oxygen directly from water, like some sea snakes today!

Rubecula

Not bad. I just don't like personalising extinct creatures as though they were human though. Just me I suppose.

Alvin T. Grey

Pish pish and more pish.

I didn't like it at all. Sure Fry was a great narrator, and he didn't over do it like the usual Discovery crap.

But it seemed like walk, preditor, walk some more, different preditor, walk some more after that, different preditor.....Then go out of the way to fit in a Mosasaour.

Also lets show big naked dinosaurs with a cute tuft of feathers (as a nod to recent evidence) and ignore the fact that 90+% of their bodies were still exposed to arctic conditions for months at a time.

Gorgocicle Anyone?

Galvasean

Alvin T. Grey wrote: »

Then go out of the way to fit in a Mosasaour.

I would have though Deinosuchus the giant alligator that lived in that time and place would have been a much better candidate for the river scene.

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

I would have though Deinosuchus the giant alligator that lived in that time and place would have been a much better candidate for the river scene.

I haven´t seen March of the dinosaurs just yet, but, why is a river mosasaur impossible? I remember reading about mosasaur and plesiosaur remains being found in ancient lake and river beds, which would suggest they adapted to fresh water too. Maybe not all but a few of them, like bull sharks and river sharks today.
As for a mosasaur attacking a dinosaur that wants to cross the river, it would be just like a bull shark attacking a swimming horse or antelope (it has happened) or a killer whale attacking moose.

What is it that was so bad about the mosasaur scene, if I may ask?

Galvasean

Adam Khor wrote: »

What is it that was so bad about the mosasaur scene, if I may ask?

I actually quite enjoyed it. However there are two mosasaur attack scenes. One set at a frozen lake and one at a river. I'm sure they were on a budget but some more variety would have been nice.

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

I actually quite enjoyed it. However there are two mosasaur attack scenes. One set at a frozen lake and one at a river. I'm sure they were on a budget but some more variety would have been nice.

The frozen lake idea sounds awesome. I guess they reasoned that a giant crocodile would not survive in cold weather. Was the attack at the river in a cold place too?

Galvasean

Adam Khor wrote: »

The frozen lake idea sounds awesome. I guess they reasoned that a giant crocodile would not survive in cold weather. Was the attack at the river in a cold place too?

Nope. Right next to the 'Great valley' so to speak.

Alvin T. Grey

Galvasean wrote: »

Nope. Right next to the 'Great valley' so to speak.

Right between the Albertasaurus(sauri?) The giant ever present terrasaurs, the mosasaurs, etc.
All that was missing was a suspicious looking bugger with a club and with a nail in it......

I dispear sometimes, I really do.

Adam Khor

Alvin T. Grey wrote: »

All that was missing was a suspicious looking bugger with a club and with a nail in it......

A yet to be described genus of ankylosaur maybe?

Galvasean

Very good write up on the show here:
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/dinosaur/2011/05/march-of-the-dinosaurs/

Capt'n Midnight

Did they show the big amphibians wot were as big as crocs ?

side note, blue whales use blubber as a food store and not for insluation since they are so large that surface to volume ratio is small enough to mean internal body heat is quite enough to keep them warm

Galvasean

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Did they show the big amphibians wot were as big as crocs ?

Nope. They did in the Spirits of the Ice Forest episode of Walking With Dinosaurs though.

Galvasean

So, anyone know when the DVD is out?

dlofnep

I quite liked it