RE: When Dinosaurs Disappointed

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@geol.umd.edu>]

> From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu]On Behalf Of
> Larry Dunn

> Was it just me or was WHEN DINOSAURS RULED in fact a
> piece of doggie doo?

But Larry, what do you REALLY feel...? :-)

My thoughts about the Africa episode: If you liked PaleoWorld episodes about
North Africa and Madagascar, you'll like this program, since it's just those
PaleoWorld episodes recombined...

Oh, and before anyone asks:

No, "Kirky" has not been formally named nor described yet: the paper is in
press, and probably won't be out for about a year.

Cute little guy, though.

> Is it physically impossible for American television to
> make a dinosaur documentary that is not a piece of
> garbage?  I enjoyed THE ULTIMATE GUIDE episode on _T.
> rex_, so it must have been BBC.

Canadian, actually: CineNova Production.

I would have liked Ultimate Guide to _T. rex_ if my footage wasn't cut out
in the last editing bit, and my words redubbed by the narrator.  Oh, yeah,
and they MISPELLED MY NAME IN THE CLOSING CREDITS!!!!!!!!...  "Tim?"
"TIM!?!"

Grrr....

But I'm not bitter.

> Speaking of which, there's always WALKING WITH
> DINOSAURS.  An English CGI artist who worked on that
> says it'll be like NATURE set in the Mesozoic.
> Hussah!  He also says that marine reptiles and
> pterosaurs get some coverage too.

Well, I had been dreading seeing Walking with Dinos come out, because the
special effects are inferior to The Phantom Menace.  However, seeing even
the new animation for When Dinosaurs Ruled, I am once again pleased at the
Walking results.

Not to say there aren't a few anatomical problems, and things I would have
done differently, but I think most people on this list will enjoy it a LOT
more.  And what errors exist in Walking pale before some of the groaners on
When Dinos Ruled.

Two more episodes tonight: how many more times can they use the same
tyrannosaur and sauropod footage?

Later, everybody.

                Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                Vertebrate Paleontologist
Department of Geology           Director, Earth, Life & Time Program
University of Maryland          College Park Scholars
                College Park, MD  20742
http://www.geol.umd.edu/pages/faculty/HOLTZ/holtz.html
http://www.inform.umd.edu/SCHOLAR/programs/elt.html
Phone:  301-405-4084    Email:  tholtz@geol.umd.edu
Fax (Geol):  301-314-9661       Fax (CPS-ELT): 301-405-0796