History YMMV / WalkingWithDinosaurs

*** ''Ornithocheirus'' (or rather ''Tropeognathus'') having a 12-meter wingspan was legitimately taken seriously by some workers back in the '90s, based on the preliminary description of a very large, partial specimen found in the Romualdo Formation of Brazil, which is what WWD also cited, and it has been cited in other paleontological media from the time (like 1999's ''Series/WhenDinosaursRuled'), but once the specimen got a proper description in 2013, its wingspan was downsized to a more likely 8.2-8.7 meters.

*** ''Ornithocheirus'' (or rather ''Tropeognathus'') having a 12-meter wingspan was legitimately taken seriously by some workers back in the '90s, based on the preliminary description of a very large, partial specimen found in the Romualdo Formation of Brazil, which is what WWD also cited, and it has been cited in other paleontological media from the time (like 1999's ''When Dinosaurs Ruled''), but once the specimen got a proper description in 2013, its wingspan was downsized to a more likely 8.2-8.7 meters.

** The series features quite a few controversial (and since debunked) ideas that were based on rather obscure and fragmentary evidence and certain theories that have largely been forgotten since 1999, and the 2000 tie-in book ''Walking with Dinosaurs the Evidence'' [[AllThereInTheManual explains some of it]]:

** Though not addressed in the book, there have actually been fossils from the Chinle Formation (the setting for “New Blood”) that have been attributed to cynodonts, though most of those are only isolated teeth, and one particular find, teeth and two ischia found in the ''Placerias'' Quarry, have specifically been likened to a ''Thrinaxodon''-like cynodont by in a 1994 paper, though later studies deemed most of these fossils undiagnostic and potentially not even representing synapsids.

*** The gigantic ''Liopleurodon'' was based on a very large vertebra (25 cm wide) and isolated teeth and jaw fragments from Oxford Clat, which David Martill (a major scientific consultant in the series and the main one for “Cruel Sea”) attributed to pliosaurs reaching 17-20 meters in length, giving it the nickname “Megapleurodon”, [[ScienceMarchesOn though improved understanding of pliosaurid anatomy has since debunked those estimates]] (the 25-meter giant in the episode is a hypothetical max-sized individual).
*** ''Ornithocheirus'' (or rather ''Tropeognathus'') having a 12-meter wingspan was legitimately taken seriously by workers back in the '90s, based on the preliminary description of a very large, partial specimen found in the Romualdo Formation of Brazil, which is what WWD also cited, and it has been cited in other paleontological media from the time (like ''When Dinosaurs Ruled''), but once the specimen got a proper description in 2013, its wingspan was downsized to more likely 8.2-8.7 meters.
*** The reason they put ''Utahraptor'' in Europe in “Giant of the Skies” was due to a theory at the time that Europe and North America shared the same dinosaur taxa during the Early Cretaceous, as the European ''Iguanodon'', ''Polacanthus'', and ''Hypsilophodon'' were also allegedly recorded from North America, but the American material has since been reclassified as distinct genera (''Dakotadon'', ''Hoplitosaurus'') or deemed ''nomen dubia'' due to the paucity of their remains.

* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Skim-feeding, marine ''Quetzalcoatlus'' was an actual theory at the time the show was made. It had no real supporting evidence, however, and it was actually a counter-thesis to an older theory that ''Quetzalcoatlus'' was an inland, vulture-like carrion eater (mostly because ''any'' large pterosaur back in the day was by default considered either a vulture-like scavenger or a fish-eater). Both ideas got a severe spanking in the years after the show.

* CatharsisFactor: Scowler getting mauled to near-death by Gorgon and abandoned by his herd after reaching his nastiest by leaving Patchi to die.

** The making-of special has a bit where one of the paleontological advisors visits [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Palace_Park Crystal Palace Park]] and the narrator cites the resident statues as classic examples of people previously working hard to try and reconstruct dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals but making many crucial errors due to a lack of data at the time, and how these statues are “a solid reminder of the mistakes of the past”. Some 20 years later and a whole lot of ScienceMarchesOn, and that summary aptly describes the ''Walking with''… series itself in comparison to later and more up-to-date documentaries like ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet''.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Many viewers found themselves supportinh Gorgon instead of Patchi and especially Scowler thanks to him being both a character with no dialogue (thus not annoying like the main characters) and a badass tyrannosaur.

** A huge marine reptile drags a tgheropod by a body of water underwater to eat? The "Cruel Sea" opening now reminds people of the ending to ''Film/JurassicWorld''.

* NeverLiveItDown: You can't talk about this series without bringing up how they turned ''Liopleurodon'' into [[AnimalsNotToScale a 25-meter leviathan]]. [[note]] A hypothetical max size based on controversial estimates saying the animal could reach 18-20 meters based on very fragmentary fossils and since disproven [[/note]]. Or how they showed ''Utahraptor'' [[MisplacedWildlife living in Europe]]. [[note]] Another speculation based on a since-disregarded theory that Europe and North America shared the same dinosaur genera during the Barremian. [[/note]]

** Postman ''Postosuchus''. [[note]] Originated from [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg2b87Z7XEhO0pIQklwqvCYHwBMm9gf7U this series of]] [[WebAnimation/YouTubePoop YTPs]] of ''Walking with Dinosaurs'', which depicted a ''Postosuchus'' posing as a delivery man. During the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2_Hng_1Kg&list=PLg2b87Z7XEhO0pIQklwqvCYHwBMm9gf7U&index=4 later]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z24dyjoLi4&list=PLg2b87Z7XEhO0pIQklwqvCYHwBMm9gf7U&index=6 YTPs]] of this series, the OC in question evolves into a [[BunnyEarsLawyer Bunny Ears]] UnstoppableMailman who time travels throughout the Mesozoic to make deliveries [[spoiler: and later saves the dinosaurs from extinction by allowing for them to join him in his time machine truck as temporal refugees]].[[/note]]

* SignatureScene:
** Patchi nearly allowing himself to be eaten was seen as the most jarring and nightmarish in an otherwise unremarkable film.
** Patchi leading the herd in fighting off Gorgon and his pack, particularly when he breaks the gorgosaur leader's arm with the hole in his frill and then knocks out his teeth with a headbutt.

* EvilIsCool: Not that any of the characters are actually ''evil'', but a lot of the predators which fill the role of villains are quite cool.
** The ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles Postosuchus]]'' in "New Blood". As the narration puts it, "[[TheDreaded the only thing she fears is another]] ''[[TheDreaded Postosuchus]]''."
** The ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Allosaurus]]'' in "Time of the Titans" certainly qualifies, considering it hunts some of the biggest creatures on the planet.
** The ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs Liopleurodon]]'' in "Cruel Sea". It's the biggest predator on the planet, and its EstablishingCharacterMoment is probably the coolest scene in the series.

* EvenBetterSequel: ''Beasts'' and ''Monsters'' got even more acclaim and has aged significantly better than ''Dinosaurs''.

** The ''Anatotitan'' (''Edmontosaurus'') also does little in “Death of a Dynasty” besides being MonsterMunch for the KingOfTheDinosaurs. Same for the ''Deinosuchus'' (one of the largest known crocodiles and confirmed dinosaur-eater), who is just a floating animatronic head that menacingly watches other animals drinking.

** The "Cruel Sea" opening reminds people of the ending to ''Film/JurassicWorld''.
** The "Prehistoric Planet" cut of "New Blood" features a trivia card for the cynodont that briefly describes it as "Triassic Cuddly?" due to its fur. More than a decade later, "Triassic Cuddle" would become a far more iconic phrase associated with cynodonts thanks to a [[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/a-triassic-cuddle-set-in-stone certain fossil]].

* MemeticBadass: ''Liopleurodon''.

* BetterOnDVD: For those who disliked the dialogue, at least. The Blu-ray release has the "Cretaceous Cut", which eliminates it completely.

** It's often claimed that the polar allosaur was based on the megaraptoran ''Australovenator'' before it was properly named and described. [[CriticalResearchFailure Except it wasn't]]. The latter was discovered in Queensland during the mid-2000s (after the series aired), while the former was based on an ankle bone from southern Victoria. And while said ankle bone is morphologically similar to the corresponding bone in ''Australovenator'', meaning the “polar allosaur” was likely a megaraptoran itself, it's not ''Australovenator'', due to being around 20-15 million years older. The confusion stems from the fact that upon its initial description, ''Australovenator'' was thought to be much closer in age to the "polar allosaur", so workers made the assumption that the two could be the same animal, and several BBC websites subsequently parroted the purported connection. Just for comparison, the age difference between them is comparable to the time gap between the last entelodonts and modern humans.

* GoodBadTranslation: The Italian and Spanish versions. For example, the Spanish changes ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Utahraptor]]'' to ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Velociraptor]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Diplodocus]]'' to ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeHadrosaurs Saurolophus]]'', ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles Postosuchus]]'' to a postosuchid,[[note]]If you want to get techincal, it should be "rauisuchid" or “poposaurid”[[/note]] and ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeMammals Megaloceras]]'' to ''[[UsefulNotes/StockDinosaursTrueDinosaurs Megalosaurus]]''!

** The making-off special has a bit where one of the paleontological advisors visits Crystal Palace Park and the narrator cites the resident statues as classic examples of people previously working hard to try and reconstruct dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals but making many crucial errors due to a lack of data at the time, and how these statues are “a solid reminder of the mistakes of the past”. Some 20 years later and a whole lot of ScienceMarchesOn, and that summary aptly describes the ''Walking with''… series itself in comparison to later and more up-to-date documentaries like ''Series/PrehistoricPlanet''.

* HilariousInHindsight: The "Cruel Sea" opening reminds people of the ending to ''Film/JurassicWorld''.

** While the producers were probably counting on general audiences not recognizing it, for quite a few viewers, seeing a coati show up in “Spirits of the Ice Forest” was quite off-putting, due to its distinct and recognizable appearance. They would have been better off using some kind of marsupial, like a possum or quoll, which are more akin to Gondwanan mammals from the Cretaceous anyway (many of them being fellow metatherians).

** ''Beasts,'' and ''Monsters'' are also well-liked and are better in many ways, but ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is the most iconic of series to the general public because, well, [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs it's the one with dinosaurs in it]]. This was acknowledged by the producers during development: they originally wanted to cover the era shown in ''Beasts'', but settled on ''Dinosaurs'' as they are incontestably more popular, and its success would help turn people's eyes to ''Beasts'' and the era of history it covered. This proved to be a benefit, as they underestimated the challenges of rendering fur in CGI.