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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cf07813d_a1b1_4fbc_ba71_c2181238ad7d.jpeg]]
2
3In the wake of the dinosaur documentary craze of 2011, the Creator/{{BBC}} has released their contribution to the phenomenon, a TV show titled ''Planet Dinosaur''. Following in the footsteps of the BBC's very own ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', this docu-show is also broadcast as a six-episode MiniSeries, but unlike its famous predecessor, it doesn't merely tell six half hour-long stories, but a whopping ''24'', putting onto the screen 50 (that's ''fifty''!) different types of {{prehistoric monster}}s, from dinosaurs to [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles pterosaurs and marine reptiles]]. The lack of {{talking heads}} means the narration, provided by Creator/JohnHurt, plays a crucial role in bringing the prehistoric stories to life.
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5Scientific accuracy based on the very latest palaeontological finds and spectacular visual effects have been a priority in creating the series. The entire imagery is {{CGI}}, including the environments, and the animals show painstakingly crafted details on their bodies. At various times during the show, the stories take a break for the narration to [[ShownTheirWork explain the scientific evidence behind each scene]].
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7Not to be confused with the very similarly titled ''Series/DinosaurPlanet'', which is a Creator/DiscoveryChannel production, nor with ''Series/PlanetOfDinosaurs'', an Italian series made in TheNineties, also broadcast in English-speaking countries.
8----
9!!The work provides examples of the following tropes:
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11* AdaptationalWimp: Downplayed. The ''Hatzegopteryx'' shown in the program is much lankier and weaker than the one in real life, but it's still formidable and deadly all the same.
12* AlasPoorVillain: For a given definition of "villain", we get two noteworthy examples from the first and last episodes:
13** ''{{S|eaMonster}}pinosaurus'' meets a rather grisly end in episode one, when a ''Carcharodontosaurus'' breaks off the tip of one of its neural spines and it slowly bleeds out.
14** After the K/Pg Extinction event, ''[[GiantFlyer Hatzegopteryx]]'' goes from a feared and mighty predator to a desperate, starving scrounger.
15* AlwaysABiggerFish: ''Sinraptor'' pulls this on one of the ''Epidexipteryx'', ''Gigantoraptor'' on ''Saurornithoides'', ''Sinornithosaurus'' on ''Microraptor'', ''Pliosaurus'' on ''Kimmerosaurus'' and ''Saurophaganax'' on ''Allosaurus''.
16* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: ''Spinosaurus'', ''Ouranosaurus'', ''Sinornithosaurus'' and ''Hatzegopteryx'' in particular.
17* AnachronismStew:
18** ''Ouranosaurus'' and ''Sarcosuchus'' in the first and fifth episodes. ''Microraptor'' in the second episode. Though [[WordOfGod one of the creators]] partially justified ''Ouranosaurus'' based on some trackways that apparently belonged to a similar dinosaur.
19** Also, ''Xianglong'' is on late Cretaceous Romania and New Mexico in episode 6, being severely displaced in time and space. It is likely, however, that the model was simply reused for small nondescript lizards.
20** ''Sinraptor'' was younger than ''Epidexipteryx'' (although only by a few million years).
21* AnimalJingoism:
22** ''Carcharodontosaurus'' and ''Spinosaurus'', both ultra-large carnivores that shared the same habitat, though only one of them is a "true" hunting predator, the other an overgrown fish-eater. Another docu, ''Series/MonstersResurrected'', toyed with the idea of pitting them against each other, but [[OneHitKill their scenario]] just [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology made dino-fans cry]].
23** The third episode details the predator-prey relationship between tyrannosauroids and ceratopsians.
24* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Averted with the cannibalistic ''Majungasaurus''. To a lesser extent, the ''Daspletosaurus'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus'' are not remotely shy about fighting each other with vicious gusto, and Hurt mentions that the "Zunityrannus" will eat one of their own "whether they've killed it or not".
25* ArtisticLicensePaleontology:
26** As accurate as the dromaeosaurids are, their primary feathers inexplicably attach to the third finger instead of the second as they did in RealLife.
27** Although most of the theropods in the show [[ShownTheirWork don't have pronated hands]] most of the time, the ''Spinosaurus'' and ''Epidexipteryx'' do in many shots.
28** The "venomous ''Sinornithosaurus''" idea is brought up, even though this study was debunked online as soon as it was published and later officially debunked in a rebuttal paper (the accompanying book gets this right). [[note]]There's still no existing evidence ''against'' a venomous ''Sinornithosaurus'', but the theory is admittedly unlikely, given that birds and crocodilians don't have venom of any sort.[[/note]]
29** In another note, the ''Sinornithosaurus'' is shown having an advantage over ''Microraptor'' on the ground due to its lack of leg-wing feathers that enabled it to run more easily. Except that wasn't the case: as a microraptorid itself, ''Sinornithosaurus'' would have also possessed leg-wing feathers, so ''both'' would have been equally disadvantaged on the ground.
30** They still can't get the number of claws on archosaur forelimbs right. The maximum number should be three, on the inner digits, while the rest don't have actual claws.
31** Ornithopods chewing like some mammals do, by moving their lower jaws from side to side. This would have been impossible.
32** ''Onchopristis'' was probably an entirely freshwater species, not one that occasionally swam upriver from the seas.
33** Dinosaurs and birds are regarded as two separate, distinct groups by the schematics at the end of the last episode, and the narrator doesn't even mention that not all dinosaurs are gone, in spite of the fact that a [[Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs certain other BBC documentary]] made more than ten years ago points this out. (Particularly strange because ''Planet Dinosaur'' does get this right at the end of the ''second'' episode.)
34** The oviraptorids are shown digging with their forelimbs, even though using their feet would be more likely (especially given that they had large wing feathers attached to their hands).
35** ''Rugops'' is claimed to be an obligate scavenger, but studies on energy efficiency show that only large soaring animals can be obligate scavengers. At the same time, however, this may actually be [[ShownTheirWork based on an unpublished study]] showing that ''Rugops'' was at least ''well built'' for scavenging, rather than just wild speculation.
36** All pterosaurs lack [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Pterosaur_wing_BW2.jpg pteroid bones]].
37** The titanosaurs are depicted with diplodocid-like bodies, which was disputed years ago.
38* AudibleSharpness: When the ''Nothronychus'' claws are first shown.
39* AuthorVocabularyCalendar: The word "killer" is used as many times as possible. Even if an animal isn't a killer, it's described as "no killer".
40* BigEater: Sauropods, the biggest prehistoric feeding-machines of all. At their best, according to the narration, a growing ''Argentinosaurus'' packed 40 kilos ''a day''.
41* BigGuyLittleGuy: ''Stegosaurus'' and ''Camptosaurus''. Of course, "little" is relative.
42* BiggerIsBetter:
43** A regular-sized oviraptorid is easy to frighten off. But no one messes with ''[[MeaningfulName Gigantoraptor]]''.
44** ''Saurophaganax'' frightens away ''Allosaurus'' from its kill purely because it's bigger.
45%%* BewareMyStingerTail: ''Stegosaurus''.
46* ButtMonkey: If an ornithopod shows up, expect at least one member of its species to get killed, even by other herbivores.
47* CameraAbuse: The BBC paleo-shows love this. This one has blood squirting and mud splattering on the lens.
48* CripplingOverspecialization: Why ''Spinosaurus'' dies out.
49* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:The ''Gigantoraptor'' dies because his own paternal instincts worked against him; he's buried alive by a sandstorm because he couldn't willingly leave his eggs unprotected]].
50* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:The first and last episode. And within the latter, the story of ''Gigantoraptor'' in particular.]]
51* EatsBabies: Pterosaurs, ''Skorpiovenator'', the generic oviraptorid, and ''Troodon''. ''Sarcosuchus'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus'' try, but don't succeed.
52* [[spoiler:EverybodyLives: The ''Paralititan'' montage.]]
53%%* EyeOpen: Used a few times.
54* EyeScream: The ''Hatzegopteryx'' eating the eye of a (dead) ''Magyarosaurus''.
55* FeatheredFiend: The generic oviraptorid (likely ''Nemegtomaia'', though the companion book identifies it as ''Oviraptor''), ''Gigantoraptor'', ''Microraptor'', ''Troodon'', ''Sinornithosaurus'' and ''Nothronychus''. Some of these are perhaps among the most accurate reconstructions ever to be put on TV screens. Other feathered dinosaurs include ''Epidexipteryx'', ''Rahonavis'', ''Saurornithoides'' and ''Bradycneme'', though none of these are portrayed as being particularly fiendish.
56* FeetFirstIntroduction: The intimidating kind. Some predators tend to make an entry by dramatically stomping in front of the camera.
57* GiantFlyer: ''Hatzegopteryx'', although this program showcases just how terrifyingly good it was at being a "Giant Strider" on ground (and in RealLife it was even worse). Lampshaded ''a lot'' by the narrator:
58-->''"This is the largest flying vertebrate ever known. A pterosaur with a ten meter wingspan. It's as tall as a giraffe, standing over five-and-a-half meters. Discovered in 2002, its skull alone is three meters long."''
59-->''"Able to fly from island to island, this is their kingdom."''
60* GoombaStomp: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpaZkVqQAFA "Attacking a creature 10 times your own weight carries risks."]] ''Mapusaurus'', meet ''Argentinosaurus'' feet.
61* {{Gorn}}: Can't go without it. One marine plesiosaur gets chopped up pretty badly. The dinos inflict all kinds of wounds on each other too, one ''Mapusaurus'' gets gruesomely squashed by an ''Argentinosaurus'', and there is a huge focus on blood splattering.
62* TheGreatFlood: Such a flood washes away a herd of ''Centrosaurus''.
63* TheHunterBecomesTheHunted: ''Microraptor'' is chasing ''Xianglong'', until a nearby ''Sinornithosaurus'' sets its sight on ''it''.
64* JitterCam: A virtual variant. Sadly, it's quite irritating for the eyes.
65%%* LostWorld: Aside from the first episode being called exactly that, not really.
66* MadeOfIron: In "New Giants", it's mentioned that ''Argeninosaurus'' can survive having huge chunks of flesh ripped off and eaten by ''Mapusaurus'' and make a full recovery.
67* MamaBear[=/=]PapaWolf:
68** The ''Saurornithoides'' pulls this on an oviraptorid, but [[spoiler:is then eaten by the much larger ''Gigantoraptor'']]. The ''Jeholosaurus'' also tries to defend its young, but is overwhelmed by three ''Sinornithosaurus''.
69** Played straight by the ''Paralititan''. The ''Edmontosaurus'' is also successful[[spoiler:, but the juvenile it saves still succumbs to its injuries]]. Also played straight by the ''Gigantoraptor'', [[spoiler: ironically enough]].
70%%* MeaningfulName: Nearly all the animals.
71* MisplacedWildlife: ''Rugops'' is from the Echkar, not the Kem Kem (which is not to say it didn't live with the other animals featured alongside it, as ''Spinosaurus'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus'' are also known from the Echkar).
72%%* MonsterMunch: ''Squatina''.
73* MonstrousCannibalism: Exaggerated with the ''Majungasaurus''. Direct evidence of cannibalism has been found in the species, and inevitably comes up whenever ''Majungasaurus'' is brought up in media, but instead of showing the more realistic scenario of them scavenging carcasses of their fellows that have died, the mother ''Majungasaurus'' is shown ''actively hunting, attacking, and killing an adult male Majungasaurus her own size'' as prey to feed herself and her babies!
74* MoodWhiplash:
75** First [[spoiler:the ''Spinosaurus'' defeats the ''Carcharodontosaurus'' in an epic battle. The next scene discusses reasons why ''Spinosaurus'' might have gone extinct...]]
76** You may also count the final episode, ''The Great Survivors''. It deals with, as the title suggests, survival tactics, but then suddenly, [[spoiler:the ''Gigantoraptor'' who's been fighting hard for its nest gets suffocated and buried in a sandstorm, and then the remainder of the episode discusses the great extinction event.]]
77** In that same episode there is a double: ''Bradycneme'' is seemingly built up as a threat to the dwarf sauropods...then kills a lizard instead because it is too small. Then the real top predator of the island, ''Hatzegopteryx'', shows up......
78* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ''Gigantoraptor'', ''Sinraptor'' (at least, how Hurt pronounces it), and "Predator X"[[note]]Later named scientifically ''Pliosaurus funkei''[[/note]].
79* {{Narrator}}: Creator/JohnHurt
80* NeverSmileAtACrocodile:
81** The gigantic ''Sarcosuchus'' makes an appearance. To emphasize its size, there are regular-sized crocodilians strolling along in the foreground, and they are tiny.
82** The gigantic ''Deinosuchus'' attacks one of the ''Centrosaurus'' when they are swimming. It's presumably meant as a RedHerring, as Hurt pauses during this segment after delivering the enigmatic line "there's an even more deadly killer at work here".
83%%* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: ''Hatzegopteryx''.
84* NoisyNature: Averted during most of the hunting scenes. For instance, the ''Spinosaurus'', ''Carcharodontosaurus'', ''Sinornithosaurus'', ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Allosaurus'', and "Zunityrannus" make virtually no noise when stalking prey, save for the occasional breath. Played straight in other scenarios, however, as the dinosaurs will seemingly roar, moan, screech, grunt, bellow, hiss, and even snort at every opportunity.
85* OffWithHisHead: This befalls a ''Kimmerosaurus'', courtesy of Predator X.
86* PaletteSwap: This series is a rather heavy offender in this category: ''Rugops'' and ''Skorpiovenator''; ''Saurornithoides'', ''Troodon'' and ''Bradycneme''; ''Sinornithosaurus'' and ''Rahonavis''; ''Jeholosaurus'' and the small ornithopods in ''The New Giants'' (likely ''Gasparinisaura''); all of the generic pterosaurs, with the exception of ''Hatzegopteryx''; ''Allosaurus'' and ''Saurophaganax''.
87* PerilousPrehistoricSeas: The episode ''Fight for Life'' has segments dedicated to life in the seas of the Jurassic period, revolving around the marine reptile ''Kimmerosaurus'', which hunted small sharks like ''Squatina'' but was preyed upon in turn by the much larger plesiosaur ''Pliosaurus'' [[note]]at the time, it was known provisionally as "Predator X"[[/note]]. The former can take refuge in shallow water, but must venture into the deeper ocean for feeding, where it is vulnerable for predation by ''Pliosaurus'', which uses its greater size and power along with its marginally higher speed to overwhelm its prey. The episode closes off with the narration noting that the odds were always in the predators' favor in the struggle for survival, and that ''Pliosaurus'' ""ruled the oceans for more than 100 million years."
88* PrehistoricMonster: Being a SpiritualSuccessor of ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', it comes to no surprise that ''Planet Dinosaur'' takes similar pains to {{avert|edTrope}} this trope. It is a little DarkerAndEdgier, however, and contains some scenes that are quite violent. Furthermore, since the environments were created entirely with CGI, they got the chance to look more...ominous: many of them being choked with dark cloudy skies and erupting volcanoes. There are also parts where they play it straight by referring to carnivores as "killers" on several occasions. Played straight with the ''Hatzegopteryx''. Every scene with them involves a ScareChord and PsychoStrings, their hunting scene plays out like something out of a horror movie and the narrator even refers to them as "monsters".
89* PyrrhicVictory: Near the end of "Lost World", a ''Spinosaurus'' challenges a ''Carcharodontosaurus'' for an ''Ouranosaurus'' carcass. The ''Spinosaurus'' wins the battle, but the wounds dealt by its opponent ultimately prove fatal.
90* RaptorAttack: Averted by the dromaeosaurids. (However, they do have one major blunder: their primary feathers attach to the ''third'' finger, not the second as they should.) The troodonts play this straight (i.e.: not feathered enough) though.
91** There's also the issue of ''Bradycneme'' being depicted as a troodontid (see the ScienceMarchesOn section), when it was recently reclassified as an alvarezsaurid. Though due to the fragmentary nature of its fossils, exactly what this animal was is still being debated. [[invoked]]
92* ReCut: The series was released as a drastic recut of the original in various countries. This version edited down the six episodes into three parts. In practice, almost an entire episode's worth of footage ended up getting deleted.
93* RuleOfCool:
94** The venomous ''Sinornithosaurus''.
95** ''Bradycneme'' simultaneously plays this straight & averts it. As noted under the ScienceMarchesOn entry, ''Bradycneme'' may simply be a harmless alvarezsaurid instead of a deinonychosaur. As far as Hateg deinonychosaurs go, it would be rather weak, and the contemporary ''Balaur'' (which may have had two killing claws per foot) could've been used instead. In any case it never proved a threat to the local herbivores.
96** Inverted with ''Hatzegopteryx''. While the terrestrial stalker lifestyle would be accurate for other azhdarchid pterosaurs (like its rival Quetzalcoatlus), Hatzegopteryx took it to the next level, developing a much shorter, thicker neck and robust build to take down the largest prey available, namely the ''adult'' dwarf sauropods. If you thought stabbing babies to death was scary, the RealLife version would be among the most fearsome predators ever.
97* ScareChord: Used with great effect to enhance the beak attacks of the genuinely terrifying ''Hatzegopteryx''.
98* ScienceMarchesOn: ''Hatzegopteryx'' is depicted as having the same lifestyle as all other azhdarchids, which at the time was by and large the going understanding of its life habits. It was later determined to have been a specialist predator of dwarf sauropods and other large prey.
99* SeaMonster:
100** ''Pliosaurus'' and ''Onchopristis'', although ''Onchopristis'', being a sawfish, is largely just a menace to small fish and is the favourite prey of the semi-aquatic ''Spinosaurus''. Also, it's more of a "River Monster" as it is a freshwater species. Amusingly enough, [[spoiler:''Spinosaurus'' died out because it failed to be a sea monster]].
101* ShellShockSilence: A variation of this is used. There is no explosion or loud noises of any kind involved (unless you count one less-than-MightyRoar), but the bulk of the ''Carcharodontosaurus'' fight has no sound effects or narration, only music and low-frequency grumbles. It's a very effective scene until jerky animation kicks in.
102* ShootTheShaggyDog: ''[[MamaBear Gigantoraptor's]]'' story. It fights so hard to protect its nest...[[spoiler:only for both it and its eggs to die after being suffocated by a sandstorm]].
103** The ''Edmontosaurus'' herd attempts to save one of their young from a pack of ''Troodon'', but when they finally manage to drive the predators away, it’s only after the ''Troodons'' have already ''fatally wounded'' the juvenile.
104* ShoutOut:
105** ''Series/DinosaurRevolution'' wasn't the only one to do it: this show also replicated the famous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM Battle at Kruger]] video, this time with a lone ''Carcharodontosaurus'' fighting for a young ''Paralititan'' against a ''Sarcosuchus'' and of course the ''Paralititan'''s family.
106** The color scheme used on the ''Ouranosaurus'' is identical to the one used in ''Literature/DinosaursTheMostCompleteUpToDateEncyclopedia''.
107* ShownTheirWork:
108** Taken to extreme levels: every minute or so, the story stops for the narrator to meticulously explain what evidence supports the scene we have just watched. Well, most of the time, that is. Some stuff is presented as pure (but generally educated) speculation. This is probably in response to criticism of the original ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs''.
109** Many of the feathered theropods are (almost) properly feathered, and most don't have pronated hands.
110** While not particularly recent discoveries, this show gets the abelisaurid, sauropod and hadrosaur hands right when most other depictions do not.
111** The show uses ''Camptosaurus''' actual skull, while even recent works will use that of ''Theiophytalia'', which has been distinct since 2006.
112* SpeculativeDocumentary: Following in the footsteps of ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', this documentary naturally has some fun with this trope. The creators tend to be a bit more cautious with their speculations than the aforementioned series, however.
113* StockSoundEffect: There are very few animal sounds for the program, and each giant theropod, small theropod and mid-sized herbivore seems to be using the same ones. For example, the herbivores tend to make pig screeches. [[FridgeLogic And this doesn't make much sense]], considering how important hearing was in identifying their fellow species. Additionally, ''Hatzegopteryx's'' voice was clearly made from samples of vultures screeching.
114* ThreateningShark: Subverted. ''Squatina'' only serves as prey for ''Kimmerosaurus'', and fellow cartilaginous fish ''Onchopristis'' is the main prey of ''Spinosaurus''.
115%%* TimePassesMontage: The "everyone eats the ''Argentinosaurus''" scene in episode 5.
116* ToxicDinosaur: The second episode focuses on feathered dinosaurs in China, among them being ''Sinornithosaurus'', where narrator Creator/JohnHurt elaborates on how they used their venom to paralyze and finish off their prey, making them one of the more feared dinosaurs in their habitat. This is [[ScienceMarchesOn no longer believed to be true]].
117* {{Undercrank}}: Many fight scenes are filmed this way, but unfortunately, it backfires, and just makes the animation look like bad StopMotion.
118* UnderestimatingBadassery: Two large ''Alectrosaurus'' [[MuggingTheMonster lunge themselves at a]] ''[[MuggingTheMonster Gigantoraptor]]'', but it fights back and kicks one straight to the ground. It doesn't take long for both to run away. A group of American tyrannosaurs also attempt to kill a pair of ''Nothronychus'', but they drive them off quickly with their huge claws.
119* UseYourHead: The ''Carcharodontosaurus'' use it for head-butting each other.
120* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened to the Lizard?]]: The last we see of it, it jumps off a branch as the ''Sinornithosaurus'' attacks the ''Microraptor''. Did it fall to its death or did it glide away?
121%%* TheWorfEffect: ''Sinornithosaurus'' pulls this on ''Microraptor'', ''Saurophaganax'' on ''Allosaurus'', and ''Gigantoraptor'' on ''Saurornithoides''.
122* ZergRush: ''Daspletosaurus'' against a lone ''Chasmosaurus'' first, then against a whole herd of ''Centrosaurus''. Giant troodonts also attempt this maneuver, but even an ''Edmontosaurus'' calf is too tough to take down when adults are nearby.
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