Walking with...
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The Walking with... series (also known as the Trilogy of Life or Walking with Prehistoric Animals series) is a collection of shows that are produced by the BBC and are made by Impossible Pictures. The aim of the series and specials, along with books, is to recreate extinct animals and presents them as a wildlife documentary. All the shows (with the exception of Chased by Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters) focus on one individual of a certain species or that species as the main characters in each episode. Creatures were realized through computer graphics and animatronics and are directed by Tim Haines. The concept for the series was imagined by Tim Haines and Jasper James.
Shows
TV series
Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)
This series is focused on the rise, success, and the demise of the dinosaurs and other Mesozoic animals in the Mesozoic Era.
Walking with Beasts (2001)
This series is focused on the world after the dinosaurs, and the rise of the mammals and birds in the Cenozoic Era.
Walking with Monsters (2005)
The series was a prequel to Walking with Dinosaurs, and its focus is life before the dinosaurs in the Paleozoic Era.
TV specials
The Ballad Of Big Al (2001)
This special follows the life and death of Big Al, a famous Allosaurus skeleton found with various injuries.
Chased By Dinosaurs (2002)
This is the first time that an actor was featured in the Walking with series. Real-life zoologist Nigel Marven travelled through time in search for various dinosaurs.
Sea Monsters (2003)
Nigel Marven is featured a second time, this time he dives in the seven deadliest seas of all time, and encounters creatures such as Basilosaurus and Dunkleosteus.
Spin-offs
Prehistoric Planet (2002-2003)
A alternative release of the BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Beasts series. Unlike the original versions, it has two new narrators, and violent scenes and depictions of animals mating have been cut out. It was targeted more towards children and was shown only in America.
Walking with Cavemen (2003)
This series is focused on the evolution of the Australopithecus and Homo (human) genera. It is not always considered as part of the Walking with... series as it was not a Tim Haines production and as it is mainly live-action filmed as opposed to the CGI of the other series, despite with the Walking with... in the title. Surprisingly, in the UK version, a scientist goes back in time like in Chased by Dinosaurs, Sea Monsters, and another spin-off, Prehistoric Park and the idea of prehistoric animals evolving into humans (or related to humans) have also been the main idea of Walking with Monsters. Also, according to the book version of the show, it was meant to be part of the original series.
Prehistoric Park (2006-?)
For the last time (so far), Nigel Marven travels back in time, and brings creatures from the past back to the present day. He keeps them in a wildlife sanctuary, called Prehistoric Park. Although it is a spin-off of the Walking with Series, the dinosaurs differ from previous productions. For example, in Walking with Dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus had a robust head, while in this series, it had a longer head.
With the new independence of Impossible Pictures, the show and all its following Walking withs were shown on ITV1.
Artistic touches
Throughout the series, there is a recurring gag in which prehistoric animals sometimes breaking the fourth wall (interact with the camera, interact with the human host, camera crew, etc).
Walking with Monsters:
- A Brontoscorpio stings the camera and cracks the lens.
- Another Brontoscorpio bumps the camera with its claw as it crawls onto land.
- A Hynerpeton knocks the camera while it is swimming, so does a Hyneria.
- A Hynerpeton spits on the camera.
- A Hyneria splatters water on the camera while diving back into the water.
- A Mesothelae crawls on the camera, and so does an Arthropleura.
- A Mesothelae kicks dirt on the camera when it crawls over it.
- A Dimetrodon shakes intestines to avoid eating the feces inside, and most of it splats onto the camera.
- A Dimetrodon digs up some dirt, and it lands on the camera.
- A baby Dimetrodon splatters some dung on the camera when it jumps in a pile of it.
- A Gorgonops sniffs the camera.
- A Gorgonops splatters water on the camera when it jumps in some water.
- A Diictodon looks curiously at the camera.
- A Proterosuchus knocks the camera while it is swimming.
- A Lystrosaurus bumps and sniffs the camera.
Walking with Dinosaurs:
- A Liopleurodon flipper bumps the camera.
- A Tyrannosaurus roars, flecking the camera lens with saliva.
The Balled of Big Al:
- A young Allosaurus bumps the camera with its head.
Chased by Dinosaurs:
- A Therizinosaurus licks the camera, however it was Nigel's camera
- A herd of hadrosaurs acciendently disturb camp.
- A Giganotosaurus attacks a camp, leaving behind a tooth.
Walking with Beasts:
- A group of Formicium swarm over the camera when attacking the Gastornis chick
- A troop of Apidium hastily climb down the camera during the shark attack.
- A Basilosaurus fluke occasionally hits the camera.
- A Paraceratherium aggressively rushes and knocks down the camera.
- A troop of Australopithecus threw rocks, one rock splitting the camera lense.
- A Mammoth sprays mud on the camera.
Walking with Cavemen:
- A Homo ergaster stabs an antelope, causing blood splat at the screen.
- Several hominids attack, disturb by, or curious at the geep.
Books
Related books issued by the BBC and DK include:
- Walking with Dinosaurs: A Natural History by Tim Haines
- Walking with Dinosaurs 3-D Dinosaurs by Stephen Cole
- Walking with Dinosaurs: The Evidence by David Martill and Darren Naish
- Walking with Dinosaurs Sticker Book by Stephen Cole
- Walking with Dinosaurs: Fascinating Facts by Mike Benton
- Walking with Dinosaurs Photo Journal by Stephen Cole
- Walking with Beasts: A Prehistoric Safari by Tim Haines
- Walking with Beasts Photo Journal by Stephen Cole
- Allosaurus! The Life and Death of Big Al by Stephen Cole
- The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life by Tim Haines and Paul Chambers
- Sea Monsters by Nigel Marven and Jasper James
- Prehistoric Park by Kristin Bienert
- Prehistoric Park, Creatures and Beasts by Brandon Snider
Controversy
Despite the Walking with series being such a successful documentary series, it had also made controversy around the series' paleontological inaccuracies. Even the book also has some errors.
- Cephalaspis was not the ancestor of gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) as they appear in the fossil record before Cephalaspis. Furthermore, even though Cephalaspis was found only during the early Devonian, it is shown being pursued by the Late Silurian Brontoscorpio.
- Pterygotus was neither 3 meters long (being actually 2.3 meters), nor the largest arthropod, either its cousin Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, or the giant myriapod, Arthropleura, was
- Diictodon, Gorgonops and Rhinesuchus are only known from South Africa, yet in episode 3 they are portrayed living with Scutosaurus, which have only been found in Siberia, However, since the continents were all connected at the time it is conceivable that Gorgonops could have lived in Russia too, but there is no evidence for this.
- In the series, Petrolacosaurus is incorrectly identified as an ancestral synapsid, when in fact, it was an early diapsid and could therefore not have been the ancestor of any synapsids (e.g. Edaphosaurus). The most basal synapsid, Archaeothyris, would have been a more suitable candidate (although the book states it is an early diapsid.
- In the Discovery Channel version, the narrator says the following about Euparkeria: "Giants such as Tyrannosaurus and Brontosaurus can trace their family tree back to this little insect eater." The name Brontosaurus is invalid; the valid name is Apatosaurus. (In the BBC version Diplodocus is said, which is correct.)
- Euparkeria is not the ancestor of the dinosaurs, being basal to crocodile-bird split.
- Mesothelae had originally been referred to as Megarachne (which, at the time, was thought to be a giant spider) and removing the scene would have been impossible.
- Prehistoric Park, Chased by Dinosaurs and Walking with Dinosaurs portrayed Troodon, Velociraptor, Dromaeosaurus, Utahraptor, young Tyrannosaurus, adult Ornithomimus and Mei as being scaled and featherless, whereas the majority of scientists now agree that all of these dinosaurs had feathers, based on fossil evidence. However, this may have been due to lack of evidence of feathers at the time or because of technical difficulties. Though the book Prehistoric Park, Creatures and Beasts clearly states that Troodon and Mei Long has light feathers, which may have been mis-calculation.
- Throughout the series, they portray some of the theropods with their hands bend backwards. However, it's nearly imppossible for the animal in real life.
- Velociraptor did not live in heavily forested areas. All of the sites where Velociraptor fossils were found suggest that the animal lived in sandy, arid environments with many sand dunes[1] (with one specimen apparently being smothered to death by a sand dune[2]).
- Ornitholestes didn't have a nasal crest. However, this discovery was made after the program had been made.
- Ornithocheirus was not the largest known pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus or Hatzegopteryx was.
- Giganotosaurus was depicted on the show as the largest carnivorous dinosaur, though current size estimates favor Spinosaurus. However, this discovery was made after the program had been made.
- Argentinosaurus is said to have been the biggest dinosaur. That record may actually belong to poorly known forms such as Bruhathkayosaurus or Amphicoelias fragilimus.
- Allosaurus was not the biggest Jurassic carnivore; that record belongs either to Torvosaurus , Epanterias or Saurophaganax (although Epanterias is argued to be a big specimen of Allosaurus; and the Allosaurus featured in the show fits in the size range of Epanterias.).
- Tylosaurus is depicted as a "sixty foot giant" in Chased by Sea Monsters, but no mosasaur has been found over 49 feet in length (surprisingly the book states 49 feet).
- Liopleurodon was overestimated to be 25 metres (82 feet) long and 150 tons. These lengths were based on what was at first believed to be tooth marks from a juvenile Liopleurodon. It was more likely to have grown to 12 metres (39 feet) long. In Walking with Dinosaurs: The Next Chapter, they fixed this with a more reasonable 40 feet long.
- Cymbospondylus was not the largest ichthyosaur, the whale-like Shonisaurus was.
- The Neanderthal was not the last survivor of the genus Homo, besides humans: the highly debated Homo floresiensis was.
- Some paleanthropologists believe the African H. heidelbergensis is merely an archaic form of modern humans.
- Some paleanthropologists do not recognize H. ergaster and H. erectus as separate species. Even if they were separate, some believe H. erectus did survive and evolved into the highly controversial Homo floresiensis.
- Ornithomimus and Incisivosaurus were more likely omnivores rather than true herbivores.
- Mei was not 7ft long.
- Microraptor wasn't the ancestor of birds, just a close relative.
- It's unlikely that Tyrannosaurus could run at 40mph.
- If Microraptor glided with its hind legs sticking to the sides, its legs would dislocate. More likely, it glided with its legs down.
References
- ^ Jerzykiewicz, Tomasz (1991). "Late Mesozoic stratigraphy and vertebrates of the Gobi Basin". Cretaceous Research. 12 (4): 345–377. doi:10.1016/0195-6671(91)90015-5.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Osmólska, Halszka (1997). "Barun Goyot Formation". Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. p.41. ISBN 0-12-226810-1.
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