Best/Worst Documentaries

[HD-man]

and they didn't even attempt to feather anything. That was honestly the weakest episode of DP by a long shot so that's an unfair comparison.

1stly (in reference to WWD), see the Martil/Naish quote.

2ndly (in reference to DP), yes, "Little Das' Hunt" was the weakest episode. However, it wasn't the only scientifically inaccurate episode: http://dml.cmnh.org/2003Dec/msg00267.html

Today's episode of "Thagomizers" seems relevant to this topic!

Many thanks for posting that. It sums up why I don't care for most dino docs & haven't for a while. The most obvious examples of bad dino docs (I.e. AA, COTD, JFC, MR) have already been mentioned, so here are some bad dino docs that haven't been mentioned AFAIK:
-All of Nigel Marven's dino docs (I.e. CBD, CBSM, PP): http://www.anorbitalgrouse.com/video/nigel/
-Animal Armageddon: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/AnimalArmageddon
-Dino Gangs: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/DinoGangs
-Dino Lab: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/DinoLab
-Giant Monsters: http://dml.cmnh.org/2003Mar/msg00091.html
-MONSTERQUEST: The Last Dinosaur: http://stephendsullivan.blogspot.com/2009/07/monsterquest-last-dinosaur.html
-Valley of the T-Rex: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/ValleyOfTheTRex

Quote Martill/Naish (See Walking with Dinosaurs: The Evidence - How Did They Know That?):

Why is the Ornitholestes in Walking with Dinosaurs shown with quills?
Ornitholestes in Walking with Dinosaurs was provided with erectile quill-like structures, something like stiff feathers. The presence of these structures reflects recent discoveries made about the life appearance of such small theropods. The close affinity that coelurosaurs have with birds, and the possibility that they might have been 'warm blooded', had previously led to the suggestion that they might have had a covering of feather-like structures, or perhaps even true feathers. Spectacular discoveries made in Early Cretaceous rocks of China appear to confirm these ideas. Here, a variety of small coelurosaurs are preserved with feathers or feather-like structures adorning their bodies. Consequently, the Ornitholestes in Walking with Dinosaurs was given feather-like quills.
By inference, the other small theropods in Walking with Dinosaurs should also have been reconstructed with quills. However, many scientists still say that further work is needed before we can be sure that these structures really were feather-like and not, for example, internal skin fibres of some kind.

[goodlife18]

You say that as if I'm singling you out when I'm clearly not. As indicated by my previous posts, I'm just doing the same as most everyone else here (I.e. Answering questions, correcting misleading/wrong things, offering constructive criticism). That's how it works in both internet forums & scientific discussions (good ones, anyway) & that's how we learn. If you don't like being corrected or getting answers that contradict your preconceived notions (Ie. Learning), then you don't have to participate in internet forums or scientific discussions, though I'm sorry if you feel that way. I'm also sorry if you thought I was being caustic, but I wasn't AFAICT. Blunt, maybe, but never sarcastic or bitter. I thought I made that clear when I said "No offense".

Sir, I think you have already proven your point  and you have already said more than enough.  But now what you are doing is that you are getting combative and feel a need to justify yourself. I am not referring to the discussion on scientific theories etc, but your need to answer me when I said that you were being blunt.  Like I said, you could have just read through and just ignored what I said. Also, participation doesn't mean you need to address every user and every sentence. You can just read a post and not comment on anything and instead post something else related to the main topic at hand or address other users. . I know a forum is a place where you correct or answer others but at the very least be mindful of your tone and choice of words. And you are right, I don't have to participate, I'll be leaving soon. Anyway let's not drag this further.  Fullstop.   Adieu.

[Fembrogon]

I think that WWD and related programs are the best, although they would have been better with feathered dinosaurs. (I mean other species, not on the utahraptor although that would be nice).
The worst documentary of all for me would be "When Dinosaurs Ruled..." It airs on the Science Channel regularly, generally in the morning hours. The CGI is #1 on the list of the worst and the narration doesn't sound the greatest.  Luckily, there are some not as well known dinosaurs there, such as ones from their Australia and Antarctica episode.   

I can't bring myself to call "When Dinosaurs Ruled..." one of the worst; it holds too much nostalgia for me. I saw it on Assignment Discovery back in the late 90's, and I never got tired of it (especially the South America episode). It's pretty dated now, but I like that Science Channel runs it again. I wouldn't mind seeing more old documentaries be re-broadcast.

Speaking of old documentaries, I finally watched "Dinosaur!" today. While I had seen clips of Phil Tippet's animation in other media, it was delightful to see it complete in its original context. The information presented almost seems quaint now, but it did a nice job covering a lot of things, I think.
Good grief, did Bakker and Currie look young. 

[JurassicGeek09]

I like the Nigel Marven docs. Not always accurate, but they're good fun.

[Takama]

I have not seen any more Documentarys lately.

But I did watch a few on Netflix a year or two ago about non dinosaurs.

The first was Titanoboa. Which i thought was very good, and very intriguing. The animation was not the best, but i think that the fact they took the whole thing seriously helps.

Then i watched Supercroc which i think may have been the inspiration to Titanoboa because it seems so similar to that documentary only it came out earlier and has even crappier CGI

And then thers Dinosaur 13, which is a lot diffrent, but very engrossing and i did learn a bit more about the history of Sue the T.Rex

[Viergacht]

I liked that one hosted by Walter Cronkite, with the kind of wonky puppet dinos. If I recall correctly, the info was good for the time although there was a lot of speculative stuff presented as fact. The funniest bit was at the end, in which a Dinosauroid version of Cronkite presented a news item of how humans, panicking at climate changes caused by pollution, caused their own extinction via nuclear war. Migratory birds survived safely, however, and eventually evolved into new species including the Dinosauroid! 

[Flaffy]

Planet Dinosaur was a good BBC documentary.
And who can forget the classic Walking With Dinosaurs?

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

The best has to be Dinosaur Revolution because episodes 2 and 4 tell the stories of an individual dinosaur based on scientific evidence. I also love the animations and the detailing.

The worst is Jurassic Fight Club for so many reasons.

[Neosodon]

No documentary comes close to WWD BBC. It's the only movie that really made dinosaurs feel like real animals rather than monsters from a cheesy action movie. Dinosaur revolution wasn't as in depth WWD and was geared more toward general audiences or younger kids that just wanted to see some quick fast paced action and drama. I enjoyed watching it but I wouldn't really call it the best.

[Flaffy]

Dinosaur Revolutions left a bad taste in my mouth, not as bad as some other 'documentaries' have, but the childish script and the unrealistic actions of the creatures portrayed most of the time is off putting to me.
It was no where near the best documentary in my book.

[Brontozaurus]

I feel like if Dinosaur Revolution had been allowed to be what it was originally envisioned as (basically a TV version of the Age of Reptiles comic), we wouldn't be so harsh on it. Because even with the documentary trappings forced on it, it's clearly meant to be just a series of stories about dinosaurs.

Man, now I'm just thinking about all the stories the DR team said got axed by executive meddling and it's making me sad.

[Flaffy]

Walking With Dinosaurs 3D anyone?

[CityRaptor]

Another example of executive meddling. David Krentz is really unlucky when it comes to that.

[Neosodon]

Not to be confused with Planet Dinosaur, Dinosaur Planet would be my second favorite. They did a total of 4 videos telling the life story of different dinosaurs. Alpha's Egg was my favorite.
https://youtu.be/Lsn2-GoSdeM

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

Not to be confused with Planet Dinosaur, Dinosaur Planet would be my second favorite. They did a total of 4 videos telling the life story of different dinosaurs. Alpha's Egg was my favorite.
https://youtu.be/Lsn2-GoSdeM

I like Dragonfly the most even though he is a villain. He is just very cool looking and very smart(although not smart enough to grab onto the injured leg of a 2 ton Saltasaurus.

[CrypticPrism]

My best: Prehistoric Park. I just watched it through and wow. The color schemes are much better than WWD, it had an amazing concept, and good lord, I can't get enough of Nigel Marvin and his adventures. Next: Dinosaur Planet: obscure dinosaurs, relative accuracy for the time, it's great!

Worst: JFC. It's quite possibly the most horrendous thing related to dinosaurs I've ever seen. That describes it all. Next: Monsters ressurected Mesozoic episodes: the Cenozoic episodes were awesome, but the Mesozoic just kinda......failed. When a (then) 7 year old me saw it, I just cringed the whole time.

[Cloud the Dinosaur King]

My best: Prehistoric Park. I just watched it through and wow. The color schemes are much better than WWD, it had an amazing concept, and good lord, I can't get enough of Nigel Marvin and his adventures. Next: Dinosaur Planet: obscure dinosaurs, relative accuracy for the time, it's great!

Worst: JFC. It's quite possibly the most horrendous thing related to dinosaurs I've ever seen. That describes it all. Next: Monsters ressurected Mesozoic episodes: the Cenozoic episodes were awesome, but the Mesozoic just kinda......failed. When a (then) 7 year old me saw it, I just cringed the whole time.

I saw Monster's Resurrected when I was 7 as well and I felt the same way. I especially cringed at the part where the Elasmosaurus gets its head bitten off. Boy we do have a lot in common! We are the same age and we both have a hobby for dinosaurs.

[CrypticPrism]

Yup, it's insane.

[Neosodon]

I've never heard of a dinosaur documentary called JFC. Is it an abbreviation for something?

[CrypticPrism]

Jurassic Fight Club.


Uuugh. It makes me want to vomit just seeing the title.