Animals that once existed

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Television series
German title Animals that once existed
Original title Lost Animals of the 20th Century
Country of production United Kingdom of
Japan
original language English
Year (s) 1995-1996
length 5 minutes
Episodes 68 in 1 season
Broadcasting
cycle		 weekly
genre Animal documentation
First broadcast 1995 on Channel 4
German-language
first broadcast		 1999 on Das Erste

The television series Animals that once existed is the German adaptation of the English-language television series Lost Animals of the 20th Century , which was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 1995 to 1996 .

action

This television series deals with animal species that have been or have been extinct since the beginning of the 20th century. These include many extinct mammal species , of which photos, films or museum specimens still exist. For some of these animals, however, we only know of written or oral reports, e.g. For example : the giant moth from Hawaii , the Andean robber kärpfing or Amanto from Lake Titicaca , the Caribbean monk seal , the Eskimo falcon and others. a.

background

The Canadian writer David Day created the basis for this series with his book The Doomsday of Animals (1981). Some of the extinct vertebrates were illustrated for the first time for this book . David Day put the focus of his book, in which 300 vertebrate species were presented, on species that have become extinct in the modern times. Only animals that had been extinct or extinct since 1680 were presented, which he wanted to demonstrate the influence of humans on biodiversity .

David Day also wrote the scripts for every episode of the TV series Animals that once existed . In doing so, he moved the period in which the living beings were extinct further into the present. Only animals that have disappeared from the spectrum of species in the recent historical past, the 20th century, are shown. A few animal species have also been recorded that, after a long time in which they were considered extinct, were spotted again in nature reserves or the last remains of unspoiled nature.

Building the episodes

The series is made up of about five-minute episodes, which some television programs have put together into a half-hour broadcast. This compilation was based on commonalities of the animal species discussed, e.g. B. the habitat or the cause of their extinction.

At the beginning of each individual episode, the shadow outlines of extinct animal species appear, followed by the film title Animals that once existed . Then the same introductory sentence can always be heard:

“ Hundreds of different types of animals disappeared in the 20th century. Here's a story of it ... "

Next you see yellowed, white leaves with animal drawings falling to the ground, then a black and white graphic of the animals (ink drawing on a yellowed leaf) is shown. In addition, the name of the species and the date of extinction are shown in large white letters.

Since there is little image material of the individual species, photo montages , black and white sketches, if available also original film recordings, photos, recordings by naturalists and exhibits of the animals in museums are shown. In addition, the discoverers are usually presented with a picture and the year of the first description . The appearance and peculiarities of the animal species are explained and the former habitat is shown, if it still exists. At the end of the episode, another copy is shown in a black and white graphic that comes to the fore. Then the yellowed sheet of paper mentioned at the beginning falls to the ground, on which many more lie and are blown away by the wind.

The final sentence of each episode reads:

“ … Animals that once existed. "

Production and broadcast

The Lost Animals series was originally produced for the British television station Channel 4 and the Japanese broadcaster NHK . Clark TV, London, and Walk Productions, Tokyo were responsible for the co-production .

The series was translated into 20 languages ​​and broadcast worldwide by various networks in many countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Turkey, USA, Australia, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Indonesia. In the US, the show was taken over by the Discovery Channel and later by Animal Planet .

The television series ran in Germany for the first time in 1999 on SWR and ARD and was then repeated several times on various regional public channels . The last broadcast was in Eins Festival .

Actress Greta Scacchi is the voice actress in the English-language original of the television series . They made the beginning in a series of documentaries about wildlife conservation , where prominent film actor this concern lent their voice, including Harrison Ford , which was thanked his commitment with the naming of several newly discovered species with his name.

Episodes (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Doomsday Book of Animals ( Memento of the original from May 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Reviews of David Day's book @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.daviddaybooks.com
  2. ↑ Works by David Day ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.daviddaybooks.com
  3. ↑ Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance (2001)