Prehistoric Planet (Season 2, 2023)

[JAGzilla]

First episode is outstanding. Just really well done in almost every way. A touch more discussion of the fossil basis for some of this stuff (or lack thereof) would have been nice just to raise awareness among the GA of how this science actually works, but that's the only gripe I have, and it's a small one.

I particularly loved the time taken to depict animals like turtles, fish, and corals living just as they would today. That (understandably) tends to be overlooked in Paleo media in the rush to show off the fantastical monsters unlike anything we have today. The world around the dinosaurs was as full of life back then as now, and a lot of it hasn't changed much. The scene with fish and shrimp eating the Mosasaur's shedding skin was brilliant. Very plausible and a good way to show that these Jurassic World sea monsters were just animals as tightly linked into their complex ecosystem as any modern creature.

[shadowgigan]

Just finished episode 1. Loved it! It looks fantastic! Really has this ethereal feel to it. Learning about some new creatures as well.

The mosasaur challenger gave me a bit of a jump scare lol.

[JAGzilla]

Second episode was slightly less amazing, but only slightly. The Mononykus was the highlight for me; I love the barn owl coloration and facial disk, and it's great to see this obscure little dinosaur getting the exposure it deserves.

The lizard sequence was inspired by a nearly identical scene in a BBC documentary about Africa. The Tarbosaurs were replacing lions. I'm a bit mixed on that scene... it was cool to see a unique scene like that remade in Cretaceous form, but a bit distracting and 'seen it before' if you're already familiar with it.

I appreciate the restraint they're showing with the large therapods so far. There's obviously a big hunt scene coming up, but they're taking the time to show other aspects of therapod daily life first.

The Dreadnoughtus scene was impressive. I'm glad they're keeping the dinosaur vocalizations kinda low-key. No Jurassic Park whale calls here.

[DynomikeGojira]

Ice World is by far my favorite episode especially with the Nanqusaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus hunting interaction. Even with one episode left Prehistoric Planet is tied with WWD as my favorite dino documentary of all time and while I'm a little saddened that we only have one episode left but there have been early discussions for potential others seasons.
https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documenta ... ewsupdate/

[eabaker]

It's really weird to see a thread here about a show I'm currently working on promo content for (and when I say "currently," I mean that as I type this I am copying footage drives and uploading stills to Dropbox).

[Executive Hamster]

Tried to get an apple account so I could watch the show, but I cant access the account, so looks like Im going to have to watch it through other means. Fuck apple, seriously. How are they going to lock you out of your account "for security reasons" for just trying to sign in.

[GodzillaXGomoraFight]

Watched this show the week it came out on Apple TV and by far the best dinosaur documentary I've seen since Walking With Dinosaurs. The great speculation of dinosaur behavior such as flashy little arms for Carnotaturus or fire-starting Troodon kind of bugs me a little. Feel as if the actual science and research is behind the scenes and they don't really explain why certain choices in the show are made. Otherwise, love the dinosaur designs, the production, and the narration by Attenborough.

[Rody]

It's really weird to see a thread here about a show I'm currently working on promo content for (and when I say "currently," I mean that as I type this I am copying footage drives and uploading stills to Dropbox).

Say what
Seriously, that's very cool! I'm guessing you probably can't give details, but I'd be curious to know what content you worked on.

I am currently going through my third viewing of the show, so it's probably obvious how much I'm enjoying this series.

[eabaker]

It's really weird to see a thread here about a show I'm currently working on promo content for (and when I say "currently," I mean that as I type this I am copying footage drives and uploading stills to Dropbox).

Say what
Seriously, that's very cool! I'm guessing you probably can't give details, but I'd be curious to know what content you worked on.

I am currently going through my third viewing of the show, so it's probably obvious how much I'm enjoying this series.

I didn't work on the show itself, but on some promotional content for the recent launch event.

[Leviarex]

If there's one word that encapsulates what makes this series great (aside from truly stellar cgi), it's "uniqueness". After all, how many cgi dinosaur documentaries feature Tyrannosaurs swimming and not causing a scene among their usual prey by their presence, Triceratops feeding on cave clay, or sauropods with neck sacs on top of not jumping from to period? What also makes it great is how the featured genera include obscure (to the general public at least) ones that've been described during the last decade (Dreadnoughtus, Olorotitan, Nanuqsaurus, ect.).

[JAGzilla]

Watching Fresh Water right now. The Velociraptors hunting pterosaurs on the cliffs was a clever scene. It was cool as hell how they took inspiration from snow leopards and emphasized the raptors' ability to leap, drop, and withstand a fall, using those wide tail feathers to control their descent. The semi-pack hunting thing was a nice compromise, too, throwing a bone to the pop culture ubiquity of that concept while acknowledging that there's no real fossil basis for it. The raptors were together but not necessarily cooperative.

[Leviarex]

The semi-pack hunting thing was a nice compromise, too, throwing a bone to the pop culture ubiquity of that concept while acknowledging that there's no real fossil basis for it.

And in the case of Deinonychus, being flat out contradicted by the isotope study done on the teeth of different specimens a few years ago. As for the series itself, if season 2 covers The Late Jurassic, its Allosaurs are bound to be awesomely designed if its T-Rexes and Tarbosaurs are any indication.

[Count Dracula Clone]

I was very impressed with this series. I've not watched a satisfying Dinosaur Documentary for a very long time. More then anything I greatly appreciated their attempts to mirror modern animal documentaries, as it real helps sell them as real creatures that once existed.

[Voyager]

From what I’ve seen, it looks good, but I don’t think it tops WWD.

[Count Dracula Clone]

From what I’ve seen, it looks good, but I don’t think it tops WWD.

What was it about Walking With Dinosaurs that you enjoyed, if you don’t mind me asking.

[JAGzilla]

It can't top WWD simply because WWD was the first. It had full creative reign to show the Mesozoic era in all its glory, in a way never seen before. It went all out and gave us pure gold (for its time and ignoring a few little quibbles), and consequently this genre of dinosaur documentaries just got off to an extremely front-loaded start. If you get a sweeping tapestry of all the main highlights up front, it's like... how does anyone adequately follow that up? You can't just do the same thing again, now that it's been done.

So no, Prehistoric Planet can't top WWD and it knows that. What it does instead is choose one point in time, the latest Cretaceous, and use it to highlight what's been learned since WWD and some things WWD didn't have time to show. It also takes a different stylistic approach by imitating the BBC nature documentaries of the last twenty years, sometimes almost shot for shot. It carves its own distinctive niche.

[JAGzilla]

Just got done with Ice Worlds. Might've been my favorite episode yet. Some of my favorite dinosaurs set against almost unbeatable Arctic landscapes. I enjoyed the hadrosaurs playing the role of caribou, braving river crossings and and lethal mosquitos as they migrate for food and breeding grounds. Some of the designs in this episode were really top-tier, especially the feathered Ornithimimus and the intricately detailed coloration of the Pachyrhinosaurs. That Arctic wolf vs. musk ox style confrontation with the Nanuqsaurus was a major highlight of the series, giving us the classic clash of tyrannosaur and ceratopsian with all the fresh new flavor of today's paleontology. Exquisite stuff.

[DynomikeGojira]

Ice Worlds was my favorite episode as well.

[Voyager]

Would love for there to be a Bahariya formation episode in a theoretical season 2. Carchar, Spino, Deltadromeus and Rugops in one scene

[Gojira1604]

Best Dino documentary ever?
What time periods would you all like to see done if future PP episodes are produced?