Best/Worst Documentaries

[Harry_the_Fox]

Brontozaurus! YES! That's the one! (we talked about it but I forgot the name- they kinda all blend together)

Gwangi! Really? That's interesting, which ones?
(I could identify some notable flaws in it- such as the presumptions about Pterosaur ground limitations compared to Flamingos (though the fact that birds can independently sprint with their hindlimbs without their wings affecting it is quite a fair point and quite true)

[Brontozaurus]

Here's a post by one of the aforementioned pterosaur experts about what was wrong with the doco.

The version Harry and I saw was the IMAX one, which I believe was cut down from the original special, probably eliminating the worst of the flaws.

In other news, I do believe that I have found the very worst dinosaur documentary of all time. Yes, even worse than Jurassic Fight Club combined with Clash of the Dinosaurs and Monsters Resurrected: Spinosaurus.

The History Channel's Ancient Aliens series did an episode on dinosaurs.
(I couldn't make it past two minutes before questioning the direction my life had taken up to that point)

Look, I know that AA is grade-A bullshit, but it's presenting all this crap as FACT (and interviewing creationist nutjobs and taking them 100% seriously). Much as things like Clash made wild extrapolations about the abilities of dinosaurs, at least they tried to have a basis for it. Here they're just accepting ALIENS DID IT as the conclusion and taking total crap, even debunked things like the Ica stones, as evidence for their wild ideas. Thus, it is the worst dinosaur documentary of all time.

[Gwangi]

Brontozaurus! YES! That's the one! (we talked about it but I forgot the name- they kinda all blend together)

Gwangi! Really? That's interesting, which ones?
(I could identify some notable flaws in it- such as the presumptions about Pterosaur ground limitations compared to Flamingos (though the fact that birds can independently sprint with their hindlimbs without their wings affecting it is quite a fair point and quite true)

Here a a review from pterosaur.net
http://pterosaur-net.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-despair-pterosaurs-and-david.html

[Harry_the_Fox]

Ah thanks guys- I actually forgot they tried to imply that other pterosaur turned itself into a sailboat too :/

And Brontozaurus- I see you're rolling out the big guns there! I think you may be the winner

(although allow me to raise an honorable mention- not a dinosaur doco, but bullshit paleontology all the same; "Them and Us: Neanderthal Predation" you won't believe how stupid this gets)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZbmywzGAVs

[Harry_the_Fox]

Hmm- I think I'm going to assume victory here
This documentary is officially so bad it chased everyone away!

[Metallisuchus]

Here's a post by one of the aforementioned pterosaur experts about what was wrong with the doco.

The version Harry and I saw was the IMAX one, which I believe was cut down from the original special, probably eliminating the worst of the flaws.

In other news, I do believe that I have found the very worst dinosaur documentary of all time. Yes, even worse than Jurassic Fight Club combined with Clash of the Dinosaurs and Monsters Resurrected: Spinosaurus.

The History Channel's Ancient Aliens series did an episode on dinosaurs.
(I couldn't make it past two minutes before questioning the direction my life had taken up to that point)

Look, I know that AA is grade-A bullshit, but it's presenting all this crap as FACT (and interviewing creationist nutjobs and taking them 100% seriously). Much as things like Clash made wild extrapolations about the abilities of dinosaurs, at least they tried to have a basis for it. Here they're just accepting ALIENS DID IT as the conclusion and taking total crap, even debunked things like the Ica stones, as evidence for their wild ideas. Thus, it is the worst dinosaur documentary of all time.

Yes, but at the very least, it's amusing, isn't it? Those AA guys will look to aliens for anything, just like children deep down want to believe that every strange noise outside their bedroom window is a ghost or monster.

[sepp]

Just saying. 

[Harry_the_Fox]

Damn- there needs to be a 'like' button on this forum- I'd have done that for those posts above !!!

[Metallisuchus]

Ah thanks guys- I actually forgot they tried to imply that other pterosaur turned itself into a sailboat too :/

And Brontozaurus- I see you're rolling out the big guns there! I think you may be the winner

(although allow me to raise an honorable mention- not a dinosaur doco, but bullshit paleontology all the same; "Them and Us: Neanderthal Predation" you won't believe how stupid this gets)

It almost seems that this guy doesn't consider us (homo sapiens) as primates.

[Takama]

OK, I have watched the Spinosaurus episode of Monsters resurected on Youtube. I gave it a chance, but man, that was the worst documentry i ever seen!.

also, i thinking of buying some new Docs on DVD, are these good or Crap?





seeing how Crappy documentrys can be, and how un paleo educated the audiance they are targeted at could be. Im afraid to take the Amazon reviews seriusly

[Brontozaurus]

Since the focus is on predatory dinosaurs, those two are probably about how they were all giant murderbeasts.

I want a doco entirely on herbivorous dinosaurs for once.

[Libraraptor]

I´m not so much into all those rather cheap productions mostly consisting of scene repeats, craving for sensation and blended high tech. Once they rebuilt a Spinosaurus claw from metal in order to show how powerful it could slice through flesh. Now that was silly! And all those "what if" scenarios such as "T.rex vs. Spinosaurus". I don´t avoid them when I accidently switched to the programs. But I still prefer more silent and factual. I grew up with Dinosaur! and  envied David Norman for being a palaeontologist. WWD is a classic, of course, and I´d really like the original crew making more sequels from the Mesozoic.

[Balaur]

I totally agree with you Libraraptor. Why do people think that the "reapating footage, sensation and high tech" is going to work? And documentaries like "Monsters Resurrrected, Jurassic Fight Club" and especially, especially "Clash of the Dinosaurs" all show dinosaurs as prehistoric monsters that did nothing but kill each other and eat each other. NOw most of the public thinks of them as monsters. I think the only documentaries that depict dinosaurs like real animals are Walking with Dinosaurs, Dinosaur Planet (to an extent), When Dinosaurs Roamed America, and Planet Dinosaur. We need more documentaries like those! Those where the good documentaries and my favourite. Now lets hope the 3D Walking with Dinosaurs film shows them as real animals. I has reason to believe that they will be. If not, then I'll be disappointed.

[Yutyrannus]

I totally agree with you Libraraptor. Why do people think that the "reapating footage, sensation and high tech" is going to work? And documentaries like "Monsters Resurrrected, Jurassic Fight Club" and especially, especially "Clash of the Dinosaurs" all show dinosaurs as prehistoric monsters that did nothing but kill each other and eat each other. NOw most of the public thinks of them as monsters. I think the only documentaries that depict dinosaurs like real animals are Walking with Dinosaurs, Dinosaur Planet (to an extent), When Dinosaurs Roamed America, and Planet Dinosaur. We need more documentaries like those! Those where the good documentaries and my favourite. Now lets hope the 3D Walking with Dinosaurs film shows them as real animals. I has reason to believe that they will be. If not, then I'll be disappointed.

You forgot Dinosaur Revolution, that's a really good one too .

[Balaur]

I totally agree with you Libraraptor. Why do people think that the "reapating footage, sensation and high tech" is going to work? And documentaries like "Monsters Resurrrected, Jurassic Fight Club" and especially, especially "Clash of the Dinosaurs" all show dinosaurs as prehistoric monsters that did nothing but kill each other and eat each other. NOw most of the public thinks of them as monsters. I think the only documentaries that depict dinosaurs like real animals are Walking with Dinosaurs, Dinosaur Planet (to an extent), When Dinosaurs Roamed America, and Planet Dinosaur. We need more documentaries like those! Those where the good documentaries and my favourite. Now lets hope the 3D Walking with Dinosaurs film shows them as real animals. I has reason to believe that they will be. If not, then I'll be disappointed.

You forgot Dinosaur Revolution, that's a really good one too .

Yeah, that was good too.

[Gwangi]

Australian members should appreciate this one. A bit dated but still better than most put out these days.

Prehistoric Australia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20VA4x-PSnI&feature=youtu.be

[tyrantqueen]

I just watched Speckles the Tarbosaurus on Youtube. I dunno if it counts as a documentary, but I'll talk about it anyway. Voice acting made my ears bleed. I haven't seen the Korean version but the English one was horrid. The film itself had potential, but it tried too hard to be like Land Before Time or The Lion King. It seemed as though the film makers couldn't make their minds up whether they wanted to make a nature documentary or a kid's film.  Certain parts of the film (like the narration and anthropomorphism) meshed badly with the realistic computer graphics.

Lots of the ideas seemed to be ripped from Dinosaur Revolution (in particular the episode "The Watering Hole") The part with the stampeding herbivores made me LOL. What animals are seriously that stupid? They just ran off the edge of the cliff. When the T.rex and the Tarbo were fighting, why didn't the tyrannosaurus just bite down hard and decapitate the tarbo? Too much violence maybe?

It just felt like a little kid's idea of what dinosaurs are like. Avoid at all costs :/

I agree with other posters that stop motion should make a comeback.

I really enjoyed this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ9RXDUYhzI&list=FLPZZKY0a-WI5PJwhBMGxE3g&index=4

The music is nice.

[Brontozaurus]

Australian members should appreciate this one. A bit dated but still better than most put out these days.

Prehistoric Australia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20VA4x-PSnI&feature=youtu.be

This doco was one of the earliest palaeo anythings I ever saw. The version I saw, way back when, was titled 'Once Upon Australia' and it doesn't ruin the weird, dark ending with credits.

[Takama]

I just found out about David Attenbourghs First life.   I plan on getting it on dvd.  Good idea or not?

[Nebuloid]

I just found out about David Attenbourghs First life.   I plan on getting it on dvd.  Good idea or not?

I watched it last week. It's a bit long and focuses alot on locations, but still nice to see sir David actually standing on all those sites.
And some great cgi of all the species as well !