Original French Title: Et La Terre Fut
Setting: 5,000,000,000 BC to 700,000 BC
The very first episode in the Il Était Une Fois... franchise. It explains life before man, as well as early humans. By the end of the episode, Pierre, Jumbo, their respective wives, and Maestro are all Homo Erectus.
Tropes:
- Animal Jingoism: Allosaurus attacks Stegosaurus, Elasmosaurus eats a Pteranodon and fights with Tylosaurus over it, and Tyrannosaurus rex chases after Edmontosaurus and later attacks Triceratops.
- Aquatic Hadrosaurs: The Edmontosaurus escapes from the Tyrannosaurus by leaping into a lake where the predator can't follow.
- Aquatic Sauropods: The Brontosaurus, Diplodocus, and Brachiosaurus are depicted living in swampy environments.
- Artistic License – Paleontology: In an example of
Science Marches On, the dinosaurs are all portrayed in their 1970's, pre-Dinosaur Renaissance forms. For example, the Tyrannosaurus rex and Allosaurus are shown in an upright-spined pose (they don't drag their tails though), and the sauropods are shown inhabiting swampy marshlands, with Brachiosaurus actually using his nostrils as a snorkel. - Ascended to Carnivorism: Edmontosaurus is shown eating Triceratops eggs.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: All the early humans.
- Beary Funny: Two Homo erectus kids watch a bear catching a fish and eating it before walking away. They then try to imitate the bear's actions, only for one of the kids to fall into the creek. Thankfully, said kid is rescued by the other.
- By the Hair: How two Homo erectus marry their respective wives.
- Compressed Adaptation: The Comic-Book Adaptation combines this episode with "Neanderthal Man" and "Cro-Magnon Man."
- Dinosaurs Are Dragons: Well, not quite dinosaurs. The narration compares Elasmosaurus to the Loch Ness Monster, Pteranodon to a dragon, and Tylosaurus to a sea serpent.
- Family-Unfriendly Violence: An Allosaurus attacking a Stegosaurus, an Elasmosaurus attacking a Pteranodon and then fighting with a Tylosaurus for it, and a Tyrannosaurus rex attacking a Triceratops allow the Lemony Narrator to comment that "life wasn't easy in those days."
- Frazetta Man: Both Homo habilis and Homo erectus seem to be portrayed as a cross between apes and humans.
- Hiroshima as a Unit of Measure: Not only is Stegosaurus brain described as "walnut-sized," but the Brontosaurus brain is apparently "no bigger than an apple."
- National Geographic Nudity: The early humans all wear no clothes whatsoever.
- Raptor Attack: Archaeopteryx incorrectly has four fingers on its wings, with the feathers attached at its wrist.
- Scavengers Are Scum: Two of the Homo habilis are depicted as stealing a half-eaten deer from a lion and fighting with a pair of hyenas for the carcass. They then try to brusquely send off Pierre and Jumbo, the latter who is not fazed.
- Shown Their Work: Brontosaurus is correctly depicted with a similar head shape as Diplodocus, as opposed to the boxy Camarasaurus-like one it was depicted with in most portrayals at the time.
- Stock Ness Monster: Of Elasmosaurus, the narrator asks, "Could he be the Loch Ness Monster?"
- Temper-Ceratops: Justified. A Triceratops charges at an Edmontosaurus for eating its eggs. It then gets attacked by a Tyrannosaurus, prompting a second Triceratops (possibly the first one's mate) to charge at the predator.
- Terrifying Tyrannosaur: Tyrannosaurus is described by the narrator as "a walking terror, a real monster, the most ferocious of these giants". It demonstrates itself by attacking both an Edmontosaurus and a Triceratops.
- Too Dumb to Live: That unfortunate Homo erectus who eats a poisonous berry, despite Maestro's warnings that he shouldn't eat it, and promptly keels over.
- Tough Armored Dinosaur: Subverted. The Stegosaurus, described as a "big softy" by the narrator, doesn't really put up a fight when getting attacked by the Allosaurus, leading to it getting killed by the predator.
