Re: When Dinosaurs Ruled China

[Mike Taylor <mike@tecc.co.uk>]

> Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 00:54:20 -0700
> From: Dino Guy and Computer Gal <gbabcock@best.com>
> 
> A recent post mentioned that "When Dinosaurs Ruled China" was coming
> to television.  Is this a new program?  Is it a new addition to the
> "When Dinosaurs Ruled" series of videos or something completely
> different?  Will it be available on VHS?  I searched on this title,
> but didn't find out much about it.

Strangely enough, I saw this programme last night!  It was broadcast
in the UK on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, immediately following
_When Dinosaurs Roamed_ (which so far as I can tell is _When Dinosaurs
Roamed America_ with the word "America" hastily snipped out for the UK
market!)  A friend who has cable TV (still rare in the UK) taped them
for me.

Lots has already been written about _WDR(A)_, so I will pass over that
programme, except to say how great it was to see the _Nothronychus_ --
surely the first ever mass-market representation of a therizinosaur.
(Oh, and how did that dromaeosaur leap to its feet and hop away
immediately after being emphatically skewered by the _Zuniceratops_?)

_WDRC_, on the other hand, was rather disappointing, featuring some
interesting talking-head stuff but also some nonsense -- e.g. the
claim that the only other group to share the pinched-metatarsal
condition with the Tyrannosauria was "the raptors".  The most bizarre
thing about that was that the programme then immediately switched to a
talking head shot of our very own Dr. Holtz, who went on to explain
the tyrannosaurs were more closely related to "raptors" than to large
Jurassic theropods.  Rather misleading juxtaposition there!

The other scary thing about the China program was the animation.  I
don't know how old this program is (presumably not very, since it
discusses Alxasaurus) but in the post-_Jurassic Park_, post-_Walking
With Dinosaurs_, post-_When Dinosaurs Roamed (America)_ world, it's
really not acceptable to offer up jerky animation of badly restored
animals.  I particularly enjoyed the _Tarbosaurus_ animation,
featuring totally solid feet -- so that when it lifted its foot, the
toes stayed splayed out in footprint configuration.  Poor thing looked
arthritic.  And of course it was even more painful to watch than it
would otherwise have been, coming as it did hard on the heels of the
extremely fleet _Tyrannosaurus_ in _When Dinosaurs Roamed (America)_.

So.  If you happen to notice that _When Dinosaurs Ruled China_ in the
TV schedules, by all means watch it; but I wouldn't bother going out
of my way.  To be brutally honest, the most interesting part was
hearing Tom Holtz pronouncing "therizinosaur" with a long second "i",
as in "therizynosaur".  Oh well.  Another to add to my list of
mispronounciations.  (I shan't swiftly forget when I met Ray Stanford
and he mentioned Die-NON-i-kus, and it took me several seconds to
realise that he was talking about the animal I'd known for years as
Die-noe-NYE-kus.)

 _/|_    _______________________________________________________________
/o ) \/  Mike Taylor   <mike@miketaylor.org.uk>   www.miketaylor.org.uk
)_v__/\  "Good luck, everyone" -- Bob the Angry Flower after the WTC
         disaster.  See http://angryflower.com/septem.gif