PREHISTORIC PLANET

[paintingdinos]

You aren't alone, Gwangi. I enjoyed the series and hope to see it continue, but there were a number of times where it felt like they just transposed unique, specific, or rare modern animal behaviors onto dinosaurs. Plus several goofy shots that (while I'm sure many enjoyed for their own reasons) personally gave me that same feeling I mentioned before of a Disney movie being sold as a documentary.

It was enjoyable. I would have enjoyed it more if they'd portrayed some things differently. Glad other people liked it for what it was and I have absolutely no interest in debating my feelings with others 

[Jose S.M.]

This series was everything I wanted.I agree that some behaviors were strange and kind of out place but I didn't thought that about the parental care at least in hadrosaurs. I don't think a little nuzzling or waiting for the calves is totally out of possiblity but we all have different ideas or standards about that and there's nothing wrong in not being entirely convinced by something. I for one wasn't convinced by the fire starter troodontid and the Atrociraptor using smoke to drive parasites away.

My favorite sequences were the Dreadnoughtus fight and the Carnotaurus dance. We were laughing and vibing when the male did its dance and so sad when it wasn't enough.

One big complaint we had in our house was Not Enough baby Zalmoxes!

[GojiraGuy1954]

I don't recall seeing it in forest. It was only North America , South America, Central, Europe and East Asia. The subcontinent was not connected to Asia at the time, it was an island.
Or do you mean in the sense they were planning to do it but stopped.

Yes, it was cut content

[GojiraGuy1954]

See? This is why I initially withheld my criticisms, because now I have 3 different people taking me to task over it. And frankly, I just don't have the time to get into it right now. I plan on doing a lengthy post about the show when I have the time and I'll address it more then. So to keep it short, no, I don't buy into cetacean-like parental care in marine reptiles. Or in mammalian-like parental care in dinosaurs. I think that it's likely that they birthed them and left them, or if they did care for them it was more of a utilitarian process. Like what we see in those reptiles that do practice parental care. Like what we see in many birds. Some sharks have a 2 year gestation period and don't practice any parental care whatsoever, so a long gestation period for a plesiosaur doesn't convince me that they were reptile-dolphins.

I don't get where you're getting the "utilitarian process" thing from but whatever. I don't care enough to start an argument over this

[Gwangi]

See? This is why I initially withheld my criticisms, because now I have 3 different people taking me to task over it. And frankly, I just don't have the time to get into it right now. I plan on doing a lengthy post about the show when I have the time and I'll address it more then. So to keep it short, no, I don't buy into cetacean-like parental care in marine reptiles. Or in mammalian-like parental care in dinosaurs. I think that it's likely that they birthed them and left them, or if they did care for them it was more of a utilitarian process. Like what we see in those reptiles that do practice parental care. Like what we see in many birds. Some sharks have a 2 year gestation period and don't practice any parental care whatsoever, so a long gestation period for a plesiosaur doesn't convince me that they were reptile-dolphins.

I don't get where you're getting the "utilitarian process" thing from but whatever. I don't care enough to start an argument over this

Utilitarian, designed to be useful or practical rather than attractive.

Crocodilians and birds are generally good parents. But they aren't exactly nurturing, they don't nuzzle, and cuddle their young and all that. Watch a chicken or duck family. The parents protect their young from danger and will respond to distress, but aside from that the babies are basically just following their parent. It's an instinctual process without the mammal-like emotion. I'm not saying those animals don't have emotion, but go ahead and watch a crocodilian or bird interact with its young vs. something like a dolphin or dog. Eagle parents will stand there and watch one of their offspring kill the other without giving a damn about it. I actually liked how they presented the T. rex as a parent because he wouldn't even let his offspring feed on his turtle. He's basically there as a body guard and not much else.

[paintingdinos]

I for one wasn't convinced by the fire starter troodontid and the Atrociraptor using smoke to drive parasites away.

Actually I will say something about this. They had such an obvious opportunity to depict a way, way, way more common and practical behavior here and they blew it on something so bizarrely improbable

Getting to see a large raptor dust bathing would have been amazing. I have wood ash in my chickens' run for this very reason, and what better source of wood ash than a natural fire.

Edit for what could have been:

[HD-man]

I have more thoughts, but I'm waiting until I finish re-watching all 5 episodes. That said, Ep3's Velociraptor segment is definitely my favorite individual segment of the series. This video does a good job summing up why:

I for one wasn't convinced by the fire starter troodontid and the Atrociraptor using smoke to drive parasites away.

Actually I will say something about this. They had such an obvious opportunity to depict a way, way, way more common and practical behavior here and they blew it on something so bizarrely improbable

Sorry guys, but I don't see how either of those behaviors are "bizarrely improbable", given their real-life basis in anatomically/ecologically similar species

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

I loved it. Fin.

[paintingdinos]

What is the basis for the using smoking branches on parasites thing?

The only moderately similar thing I'm familiar with is birds using old cigarette butts in nests, which obviously is very different from what was depicted.

[Brocc21]

I for one wasn't convinced by the fire starter troodontid and the Atrociraptor using smoke to drive parasites away.

The fire starting is actually a behavior exhibited by some raptors today. You can find photos of it taken in Australia. The usage of smoke to kill parasites is a little more out their however.

[Jose S.M.]

The fire starting is actually a behavior exhibited by some raptors today. You can find photos of it taken in Australia. The usage of smoke to kill parasites is a little more out their however.

That's interesting and new to me! Thanks for point that out.

Actually I will say something about this. They had such an obvious opportunity to depict a way, way, way more common and practical behavior here and they blew it on something so bizarrely improbable

Getting to see a large raptor dust bathing would have been amazing. I have wood ash in my chickens' run for this very reason, and what better source of wood ash than a natural fire.

Yeah dust bathing would have been better for me too.

I loved it. Fin.

Even with my little nitpicks I feel the same! Don't get me wrong I'm absolutey happy with the series!

[Carnoking]

Speaking on specific sequences, I'm curious to know what everyone's standout moments of the series were now that it's done.

Like I said, I'll definitely have to rewatch it but the Dreadnoughtus duel, Carnotaurus courtship, Olorotitan nursery, Velociraptor hunt, Sneaky Male sequence, and Oasis scene are my favorites at the moment.

[Brocc21]

It feels wrong for me to criticize the show, just for how much I enjoyed it. However now that the dusts settled and the beer goggles can be taken off I have one major criticism. The writing and pacing. There were times where the pacing felt very rushed, and other times where some segments felt a little pointless given the restricted run time. Some of them felt a little out of place as well, with most of the episodes just abruptly ending without much of a climax. And at times I think the show failed to properly explain itself, like how it completely glossed over Hatzeg island. And the little uncovered minisodes after every episode were nice and all, they were only 5 minutes long and could only focus on one segment.

Overall it wasn't bad but it felt very questionable at times.

[Faelrin]

Well I finally finished PP tonight. Didn't get the chance to yesterday but I suppose it delayed the inevitable. I am sad it is over now, but truly what an amazing series this was.

As far as Forests go it is my new favorite. Not just because of Carnotaurus in it mind you.

Spoiler

And speaking of Carnotaurus, goodness yes I loved every moment of it but felt bad for the guy at the end. But that arm flapping thing was so darn funny and I will not get tired of seeing that part in the future. A shame the integument on the model is technically outdated now, but for the time it was created with the knowledge at hand, it still looks wonderful and easily the best Carnotaurus put to screen yet. The male cleaning the ground to perform also reminded me of bird of paradise behavior.

I'm glad the Triceratops scene ended well for the baby in the cave. This series has been hard on my heart with all the baby deaths even though I get it is a regular part of nature. I really enjoyed the way it was filmed too.

The Qianzhousaurus and Corythoraptor scene looked wonderful too. Reminded me of a tiger hunting a buncb of big blue chickens. The thing the Corythoraptor did with their necks when fleeing reminded me of emu behavior, in other words rather goofy. I was also reminded and disappointed we still don't have a figure of this recently described genus yet.

I think the Hateg Island scene was a good way to end it but I wish we saw Balaur, and I also wish we saw the Hatzegopteryx go after bigger game then a baby Zalmoxes, since it was the dominant predator of the ecosystem. Edit: Forgot to mention when the Hatzegopteryx was walking on the beach my cat went up the tv and tapped at it, lol.

I really liked that we got Atrociraptor in this (edit: forgot to mention the coloration reminded me of the BotM regular Pyroraptor), and also Therizinosaurus in this episode, including adorable young ones, which I never imagine I'd see depicted before. Man Dominion has some tough competition (or none at all as far as accuracy goes for some). For anyone curious the two series shares (with 4 of the below also new to Dominion):

-Atrociraptor (Dominion's is in name only)
-Carnotaurus
-Dreadnoughtus
-Mosasaurus
-Quetzalcoatlus
-Therizinosaurus
-Triceratops
-Tyrannosaurus
-Velociraptor (in name only for JW, technically based upon Deinonychus)

I'm also disappointed we didn't get to see T. rex take down anything. Surprised really.

[close]

Edit 2: Okay I kind of rushed the above to watch the second episode of the new Star Wars Obi Wan show with my dad earlier, but this documentary is easily up there with WWD for me. Yes there were some goofy moments here and there, some environment blending could have been better, etc but honestly those are all minor gripes for me. Generally it hit the right marks for me for the most part. I really enjoyed the diversity of fauna on display, although I would have liked to see some more reptile diversity that was around at the time, such as what was in Hell Creek or otherwise.

As far as favorite scenes go from each episode so far:

Spoiler

-Episode 1's Mosasaurus(?) cleaning, relaxation, and battle sequence
-Episode 2's Dreadnoughtus battle
-Episode 3's Velociraptor/indeterminate velociraptorine cliff-side hunt
-Episode 4's Olorotitan herd
-Episode 5's Carnotaurus dance

[close]

As far as my personal episode rankings go, I'd go with:

Spoiler

Episode 5
Episode 3
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 4

[close]

I suppose this is just based on which felt the most interesting to me, based on fauna/ecosystems presented, or stand out/memorable scenes. The weakest for me is Episode 4, not that it was a bad episode by any means, but it has some tough competition with the rest of the episodes.

While I do think the Planet Earth styled format works, I do however ultimately still prefer the WWD style of narrative when it comes to prehistoric documentaries (which worked great in the 2011 Dinosaur Revolution's episode 2 and episode 4, for example, and is still some of my favorite paleo media to watch as a result).

[HD-man]

What is the basis for the using smoking branches on parasites thing?

See "What Is Anting?": https://birdwatchworld.com/how-do-birds-clean-themselves-all-the-fascinating-facts/

[paintingdinos]

What is the basis for the using smoking branches on parasites thing?

See "What Is Anting?": https://birdwatchworld.com/how-do-birds-clean-themselves-all-the-fascinating-facts/

Would love to know what the primary sources for this actually say. They list things like "Burning Matches" and "Smoke", but every other semi-reliable looking source I can find doesn't specify anything other than this basic info. Not the species of bird, not the nature in which they acquired the smoke/cigarette/match, anything.

The ONLY source I can find to that effect for the burning match is this one that indicates a tame (which I'm assuming to mean captive) rook doing it. A captive corvid using something that may well have been given to it by a human person is extraordinarily different from a wild animal finding burning branches and shoving them under its wings. Never mind said bird being part of one of the most intelligent family of birds alive today.

The only one for smoke/cigarette butts I could find, again a rook, was just random anecdotal accounts from British commuters.  The only other info I can find is the aforementioned use of them in nesting material in urban areas, which are obviously no longer lit or producing smoke.

Plus there appears to be no clear scientific consensus as to why exactly birds perform "anting".

Either way, its my prerogative if I don't personally care for the choice. Just because something exists now, doesn't mean it makes perfect sense to just slap it onto an animal that lived millions of years ago. Fire hawks (EXTREMELY niche, rare modern behavior) and "anting" (poorly understood modern behavior with limited sourcing on certain aspects, specifically use of actual smoke or fire) could easily have been replaced with other things that were just as interesting and more broadly believable.

Either way, once again, done with this. Different strokes for different folks.

[HD-man]

Would love to know what the primary sources for this actually say. They list things like "Burning Matches" and "Smoke", but every other semi-reliable looking source I can find doesn't specify anything other than this basic info. Not the species of bird, not the nature in which they acquired the smoke/cigarette/match, anything.

Sorry for the delayed response. Just in case you or anyone else here is still interested, this paper was recommended in a TetZoo post & says a lot about smoke bathing: http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v069n03/p0195-p0262.pdf

I was also reminded of this video, in which "scientists think the puffin was using the stick to get rid of pesky ticks". Not exactly the same as anting, but very similar, especially to PhP's Atrociraptor (I.e. Both are feathered non-passerines using stick-like objects to get rid of parasites):

[Dynomikegojira]

Speaking on specific sequences, I'm curious to know what everyone's standout moments of the series were now that it's done.

Like I said, I'll definitely have to rewatch it but the Dreadnoughtus duel, Carnotaurus courtship, Olorotitan nursery, Velociraptor hunt, Sneaky Male sequence, and Oasis scene are my favorites at the moment.

The Velociraptor hunt and Nanqusaurus Hunt as well as the Alicone fight.

[Dynomikegojira]

It feels wrong for me to criticize the show, just for how much I enjoyed it. However now that the dusts settled and the beer goggles can be taken off I have one major criticism. The writing and pacing. There were times where the pacing felt very rushed, and other times where some segments felt a little pointless given the restricted run time. Some of them felt a little out of place as well, with most of the episodes just abruptly ending without much of a climax. And at times I think the show failed to properly explain itself, like how it completely glossed over Hatzeg island. And the little uncovered minisodes after every episode were nice and all, they were only 5 minutes long and could only focus on one segment.

Overall it wasn't bad but it felt very questionable at times.

Hey you shouldn't feel bad to point out problems I love the series and it definitely delivered but I do have some issues with some of the things they did and how some groups were either missing or underrepresented and I felt that the predatory scenes could have been done a little better but overall I loved it despite these issues.

[Darko2300]

I'll take an 'Anting' over air-filled sacs on sauropods any day. That whole thing just creeped me out a bit. I found sort of... perverse? Disturbing? I don't know, just not my cup of tea, I guess. (Besides, if they're going to battle each other, wouldn't all those areas of soft tissue be kind of a liability? They just remind me of... boils. *shudders*)