March of the Dinosaurs

[dinoguy2]

Apr 19, 2011 1:53:04 GMT zopteryx said:

Cool images!

Other than what's already been stated about inaccuracies, I also noticed that the mosasaur (assumed Platecarpus) lacks a shark-like tail. At what's it doing under an ice pack with some dinos flailing about? Is it supposed to be in fresh water?

Still really excited about this one though!

I dunno about this species but... planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=492

[Horridus]

Apr 18, 2011 19:47:28 GMT Himmapaan said:

We all know it's not good enough and of course I wholly agree there. But I still think this is a considerable step forward. I don't think I've seen many major documentaries with such a strong emphasis on feathered dinosaurs in recent years (it could simply be that I've just been ignorant of them). These things do take time beyound the spheres of us dino-nerds.

The thing is, they are once again trumpeting about how they have X number of palaeontologists working as consultants for the show. I hesitate to label all palaeontologists as 'nerds' but they certainly know what they're talking about. If they actually listened to them, we wouldn't have these horrible wingless dromaeosaurs(/troodonts?) with tiny hands.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

I can see the scientists saying one thing..then they do another though. " Well, yeah we were going to do that but this was decided on/better ) basically some exec or director said what he liked or was more cost efficient and that's what was done..even if the palaeontologists advised something else.

This gives them the budget they want , the design someone wants, and have some experts sign off on it. Sounds a lot like Dr. Grant's position in Jurassic Park if you ask me..

[Himmapaan]

Apr 19, 2011 15:23:02 GMT Horridus said:

Apr 18, 2011 19:47:28 GMT Himmapaan said:

We all know it's not good enough and of course I wholly agree there. But I still think this is a considerable step forward. I don't think I've seen many major documentaries with such a strong emphasis on feathered dinosaurs in recent years (it could simply be that I've just been ignorant of them). These things do take time beyound the spheres of us dino-nerds.

The thing is, they are once again trumpeting about how they have X number of palaeontologists working as consultants for the show. I hesitate to label all palaeontologists as 'nerds' but they certainly know what they're talking about. If they actually listened to them, we wouldn't have these horrible wingless dromaeosaurs(/troodonts?) with tiny hands.

I can only defend the makers so far, it's true. And yes, it's less excusable if they had so many consultants but only partially listened to them. I expect they took more liberties than was wise, as both the Chrises ( ;D ) suggested. Again, I can only attribute such decisions to their hoping to ease the still largely unconvinced/uninformed general public into the idea of feathers without dropping something which may look wholly alien (to them) at once. In that respect, I just think it's a small step in the right direction, even if it does leave too much to be desired still. In short, I'm just trying to advocate some leeway and ask that we do not leap up in arms at every provocation. ;D (I know, *yawn* ;D)

I wasn't referring to palaeontologists as nerds, by the way; I was talking about enthusiasts like us. ;D

[Horridus]

Oh yeah, we are definitely nerds. ;D

Like I said, I think the fuzzy monster shown looks far more alien than a dromaeosaur with proper plumage would. That's because it'd basically look like a bird, and birds are everywhere today. Therefore, far from looking alien, it would look very familiar and a lot more 'plausible'.

And most importantly, we'd all be happy! ;D

[Himmapaan]

I agree; you know I do. Just that some people don't like their dinosaurs looking like 'mere' birds. It takes time, is all...

[dinoguy2]

If the pas is any guide to how these shows are made, they probably created the main CGI models first, then asked the paleos to give them their stamp of approval. If they say they're inaccurate, they may be able to change tiny things but nothing major. All they look for is some way to cherry-pick whatever the consultants say as meaning "good enough" so they can legally say they used consultants. "Consultants" on paleo shows are usually just a big put-on for the public to get people to take the show seriously as a science show and not a fantasy show.

I suspect this is even the case all the way down to stuff like Dinosaur Train. Everything on that kid's show is pretty d**n accurate, up to date, and has the 'feel' that dino nerds had a big say in making it. Everything *except* the main characters, which were obviously created first, before any real consulting happened. The main Pteranodon characters are the only ones with bat-wings, the troodonts only have feathers in spots that wouldn't have been visible in the initial concept art ("just put them under his hat or something!") etc...

[brontozaurus]

Australia does not have a confirmed time, but it has a confirmed network, Nine. Just an hour ago I saw a preview for their upcoming shows, and March of the Dinosaurs was among them. It sort of makes sense that Nine would be airing it, as they aired Primeval (well, the first series) and seem to have a relationship with ITV.

[DinoLord]

I"ll probably end up watching this one online. It looks pretty good though!

[Horridus]

Watching it right now (obviously will turn over when Doctor Who comes on). It's...mediocre. Not terrible, but a bit dull, and with some supremely daft bits (the crap-looking Troodons aside). For example, they had a showdown between a gaggle of pipsqueak Troodons and friggin' Gorgosaurus. As if...

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

An actual fight or a " you roar at me, I roar at you, we'll back down and wait " type thing ?

[Horridus]

Apr 23, 2011 18:41:48 GMT Blade-of-the-Moon said:

An actual fight or a " you roar at me, I roar at you, we'll back down and wait " type thing ?

It started out as that, but then one of the Troodon decided to give Gorgosaurus a little nip in the leg. It was promptly grabbed and flung against a tree.

Must say, I only watched half the show. Might watch the other half sometime to see if it gets any better. Doctor Who was definitely worth turning over for.

[Himmapaan]

And I had been hoping your opinion of it would improve (if only a little) once you saw it. ;D

I missed the first half hour, but will catch up later. It gets better later, if you didn't like the beginning. For me, the Edmontosaurus are the real stars (not just because I happen to favour hadrosaurs ;D). I was completely rooting for the little Edmontosaurus, Scar.

Of course it is imperfect, but I think it was better than mediocre (it might have been helped by the most serendipitous storm occurring here at the very same moment as the one in the programme ;D). I won't mention spoilers, but as Chris (K) mentioned, there were moments when it did very much feel like Delgado's The Journey, but less exaggerated and more convincing. If the Troodons failed for you, you might be swayed by the Edmontosaurus.

In any case, I still say it's a step in the right direction. And I am awaiting the backing of the two Chrises in this when they get to see it. *Tongue firmly planted in cheek* ;D

[neovenator08]

I watched a bit of it after Doctor Who then saw a bit more on ITV1 +1. It was rubbish, not reccomended at all. The animation was awful and fake looking, the dinosaurs were all grey and so was the background (so boring) and the Troodons were stupidly proportioned!

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Apr 23, 2011 18:44:35 GMT Horridus said:

Apr 23, 2011 18:41:48 GMT Blade-of-the-Moon said:

An actual fight or a " you roar at me, I roar at you, we'll back down and wait " type thing ?

It started out as that, but then one of the Troodon decided to give Gorgosaurus a little nip in the leg. It was promptly grabbed and flung against a tree.

Must say, I only watched half the show. Might watch the other half sometime to see if it gets any better. Doctor Who was definitely worth turning over for.

As long as it didn't survive being tossed I'd be good with it. Some animals even today don't have much sense..especially younger ones at first.. That Troodon may not have lived to learn but the others should .

[Horridus]

Apr 23, 2011 19:00:22 GMT Blade-of-the-Moon said:

As long as it didn't survive being tossed I'd be good with it.

It didn't.

[Horridus]

Apr 23, 2011 18:50:00 GMT Himmapaan said:

It gets better later, if you didn't like the beginning. For me, the Edmontosaurus are the real stars (not just because I happen to favour hadrosaurs ;D). I was completely rooting for the little Edmontosaurus, Scar.

I'll probably watch the second half at some point, then.

I must say though that the hadrosaurs weren't grabbing me. Sorry, sorry, I'm just one of those vulgar theropod fans...My attention was only really grabbed by the Gorgosaurus (which was...fairly well done, humanoid arms aside).

Aaarggh, I've double posted. Whoops. Not thinking straight. Mods, do knock the two posts together if you like.

[[][][]cordylus[][][]]

Tylosaurus also didn't have jaws designed to dismember prey; it more or less swallowed prey whole, so that tylo vs ceratopsian picture doesn't make much sense.

[Himmapaan]

There wasn't any dismembering from the Tylos as far as I remember. They just dragged the animals under.

[Horridus]

OK, so I just watched the second half. It did get better. I've gone over the wrong-o-Troodons enough, so I'll say that the humanoid arms on the tyrannosaurs did get really, really annoying in a distracting way. d**nit, they're the coolest dinosaurs in the show, at least get them right! (The Edmontosaurus were probably the best-researched - they didn't even have any nails on their hands, which is a very common mistake. But they're lame. We want accurate tyrannosaurs!) The floppy tails were weird too.

And boy, did I want that annoying little 'Scar' to get snapped up at the end. I can just imagine it.

Stephen Fry (for it is he): "Scar has grown up. He's proven himself a real survivor."

Scar: [Victory moo]

An Albertosaurus head appears from the top-left, grabs Scar, and lifts him out of frame. We hear a sickening crunch and see a torrent of blood.

Stephen Fry: "And now, he will provide a handsome meal for the next generation of Albertosaurus."

We see half of the limp body of Scar dropped into a nest of screaming Albertosaurus chicks

Stephen Fry: (suddenly maniacal) "THAT'S LIFE KIDS!"

One more thing: why was the ankylosaur not referred to as 'Edmontonia'? I mean, although they got the armour a bit wrong, it clearly WAS Edmontonia. Covering their backs I guess.