Dinosaur Documentaries Across Time: Late 2000s
Arguably the 'Dark Age' of paleo-documentaries. While public interest in dinosaurs wains, the scientific accuracy depicted in the documentaries somewhat stagnates, as it instead gives way to pop-media tropes and cliches to seek public appeal. While many of the documentaries produced in this era range from subpar and mediocre to bad and hideously inaccurate, there are definitely some highlights to be had here and there.
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- CreatorKreg LauterbachGeorge BlasingStarsErik ThompsonGeorge BlasingThomas HoltzJurassic Fight Club depicts how prehistoric beasts hunted their prey, dissecting these battles and uncovering a predatory world far more calculated and complex than originally thought.
- StarsJ.V. MartinThomas HoltzLawrence WitmerLong-extinct giant beasts and the strange world they once inhabited areresurrected through fossil evidence and other scientific data in this Discovery Channel program that reveals how these creatures once lived and flourished.
- StarsRod ArthurSuzanne McNabbNigel MarvenNigel Marven travels back in time to rescue exotic creatures on the brink of extinction. CGI is used to create animals no longer seen on earth, from woolly mammoths, and T Rex, to dinosaur-eating crocodiles.
- DirectorMarc FafardStarsDonald SutherlandRodolfo CoriaIf it weren't for a series of cataclysmic events, a comet impact being first on the list, our planet could well still be the domain of dinosaurs. Following Pr Rodolfo Coria, a world-reknown Argentinian paleontologist, we visit sites of major discoveries he has contributed to in Patagonia and travel back in time to see these amazing beasts come to life in 3D. Patagonia has given us the largest living animal to ever walk the Earth: the titanesque plant-eating Argentinosaur, and its nemesis, the Giganotosaur, a bipedal carnivore that could easily challenge the famous T-Rex.
- DirectorDavid ClarkBayley SilleckStarsMichael DouglasSterling NesbittAlan H. TurnerThis program presents some of the more recent ideas about dinosaurs that are gaining acceptance while following paleontologists searching for fossils over the decades in the Gobi Desert and New Mexico.
- StarsRobert LeighMarcos AkiatenChip BolcikJourney back to the wild Ice Age, and witness how some of the most lethal prehistoric predators lived and why they disappeared forever from the Earth.
- StarsBray PoorNeil StukeRobert BakkerThis graphics intensive mega-series takes you on a backwards timeline to see what stood, lived, fought and died in your backyard hundreds, thousands, even millions of years ago.
- DirectorFranco di ChieraStarsCraig SechlerStephen WroeGavin PrideauxA team of scientific detectives from around the world attempt to crack one of science's most enduring mysteries - what killed Australia's megafauna?
- DirectorDouglas CohenLouis TarantinoStarsJames LurieDavid ArchibaldRobert BakkerSome scientists challenge the meteor impact theory as the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. This program lays out the evidence and considers alternative explanations. The program also points out that many of the plant animal families that are in danger now survived the KT extinction suggesting the beginning of a new mass extinction. But even if we avoid a mass extinction changing climatic cycles will give humans trouble in 10,000 years when a new ice age cause glaciers to expand all over the Earth. Or, for North Americans, the Yellowstone super volcano is overdue to eruption.
- StarsJason HildebrandtRichard CoyleRobert BakkerDinosaurs were the ultimate prehistoric survival machines, ruling the earth for 120 Million years. Until now we've seen them as skeletons and robotic models. Dino Body takes a new look at dinosaurs -- from the inside out. Combining cinematic photo-real 3D graphics and leading-edge anatomy and paleontology, we peel back their skin, their muscles, even their brains to reveal the unique inner workings of the greatest beasts that ever lived. Hidden inside dino bodies are the anatomical secrets to surviving prehistoric Planet Earth for millions of years.
- StarsPeter WardMichael CarrollCraig ChesnerThis documentary series explores the causes behind six major extinction events in Earth's history. It also speculates on the next such event.
- DirectorJenny KuboStarsJack HornerPaul SerenoGregory EricksonAs dinosaurs grew into the behemoths of the Cretaceous period they evolved many extraordinary but apparently useless features including spikes, sails horns, crests and the tiny "arms" of tyrannosaurs. The program reviews these unusual features and discusses theories of why they exist.
- DirectorJenny KuboStarsSalvatore VecchioMatthew CarranoJames M. ClarkA fossil mother lode in the Gobi Desert is providing a window into a critical period of the Jurassic period when dinosaurs gained the huge size but where few fossils have been found.
- DirectorSean MacLeod PhillipsStarsLiev SchreiberJennifer AguilarMichael AshcraftBrings to life some of the most bizarre, ferocious and fascinating creatures to ever inhabit the ocean. Combines animation with recreations in a prehistoric adventure. A journey to the bottom of the ancient oceans dramatizes awe-inspiring creatures.
- StarsTesshô GendaKen CarpenterZhe-Xi LuoDinosaurs and Mammals compete for their right as the dominant creature.
- DirectorDan LevittStarsJack HornerHarry PrichettScientists discuss the possibility of reverse-engineering the DNA of modern birds to recreate dinosaur species, instead of cloning fragments of dinosaur DNA extracted from amber and other ancient fossils.
- DirectorDave MonkKathy MonkStarsMike HendersonScott WilliamsRobert BakkerThis is the story of a mystery dinosaur called jane, who has baffled the greatest minds in paleontology from the moment she was unearthed.Centered around the discovery of a tyrannosaur specimen called "Jane", and the subsequent debate on whether she is a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex or a member of the controversial genus Nanotyrannus. The documentary takes a neutral, nuanced approach to the discussion of Jane's identity, features many prominent paleontologists, and explores various aspects of her life through CGI segments created by ACCAD.
Verdict: Recommended, particularly for those interested in the 'Nanotyrannus vs. Juvenile T.rex' debate. - DirectorJenny KuboStarsSalvatore VecchioAdam BrittonErin FitzgeraldPaul Sereno visited the Sahara Desert looking for dinosaur fossils. But the Sahara was not always desert. Instead Paul found not one, but several species of gigantic crocodiles from the time of dinosaurs. As he studies their fossils he comes to realize that many of them were dinosaurs' worst nightmares.
- DirectorDan LevittStarsJack HornerMark GoodwinHans LarssonNational Geographic reviews Jack Horner's research into juvenile dinosaurs. His evidence suggests that juvenile dinosaurs looked sufficiently different from adults that they have sometimes been mistaken for a separate species. The program examines specific changes that occurred as dinosaurs aged and speculates on why the changes were necessary.
- StarsKevin DeonStephen M. KajiuraThe world is full of fascinating animals which come in a multitude of species. But how did these species evolve? What features do they have that makes them different? This series investigates different anatomical features which animals have evolved over millions of years.
- DirectorLisette MarcotteStarsAdrian BurhopFumie EzakiHans LarrsonScientists working at the "Dino Lab" bring ancient dinosaurs back to life to conduct experiments on them.
- DirectorBertrand MorinStarsAbdul AyoolaAdrian BurhopEric Davis
- DirectorJoseph Aloysius BeckerStarsPeter DodsonMatt Lamanna