History RuleOfCool / WalkingWith

** '''New Blood''': There is no proof of cannibalism in cynodonts.
*** Another possible example of RuleOfCool is the pack of ''[[StockDinosaurs Coelophysis]]'' being capable of ripping off the [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Postosuchus]]'s tough skin with their weak jaws.
** '''Time Of The Titans''': We're unsure about Stegosaurs using their plates to frighten predators, but it's cooler showing them this way; the same thing about the symbiotic behaviour in the tiny pterosaur called ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Anurognathus]]''.
*** Also note that this episode (placed in Late Jurassic North America) is the most StockDinosaurs-filled of the six of WWD: we can see the largest/most striking animals of each subgroup, but not their smaller relatives just because aren't spectacular enough (with the notable exception of the little carnivorous ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Ornitholestes]]'' and an unnamed small bipedal herbivore similar to ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Othnielia]]''). We can see ''Allosaurus'' but not the smaller, horned ''[[StockDinosaurs Ceratosaurus]]'' (very common in old films but very rare in modern TV); ''Diplodocus'' and ''Brachiosaurus'' but not ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Camarasaurus]]'' [[hottip:* :''Camarasaurus'' was the most common sauropod of that habitat and was huge like its relatives, but since it didn't bear any record in length, height or weight, it was probably judged as "not cool enough"]]; the iconic ''Stegosaurus'' shows up while ''Iguanodon'''s relative ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Camptosaurus]]'' is absent being not so impressive-looking (never mind ''Camptosaurus'' was one of the most common herbivores in its habitat and was probably the main prey of ''Allosaurus'').
*** The "Ballad of Big Al" (also placed in the same habitat) had the possibility to add more non-stock animals as well, but producers decided instead to add only one dino, a stock one (and how!): ''Apatosaurus'' aka Brontosaurus.
** '''Cruel Sea''': ''Liopleurodon'' was not ''that'' big (50 tons and 50 ft seem more reasonable measures than 150 tons and 80 ft), nor was the largest carnivorous animal ever lived. The narrator tries to [[HandWaved handwave]] it mentioning that it was an unusually large specimen, not to mention extremely old, over one-hundred years in age.

*** The large Mid-Jurassic carnivore ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Eustreptospondylus]]'' shown surviving in [[AnachronismStew Late Jurassic]] islets (the stock ''[[StockDinosaurs Compsognathus]]'' and ''[[StockDinosaurs Archaeopteryx]]'' did inhabit these islands at that epoch, but they were probably not spectacular enough).
*** The plesiosaur ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Cryptocleidus]]'' weighed much less than eight tons in RealLife (perhaps its much larger relative ''[[StockDinosaurs Elasmosaurus]]'' did weigh so).
*** Finally, primitive cartilaginous fish (generally called "[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife sharks]]" in paleontology, but not related with modern sharks) ''shown with appearence and behaviour of actual modern-day sharks'', with the one in the show resembling a bit like "[[EverythingIsEvenWorseWithSharks horned Great Whites]]".
** '''Giant Of The Skies''': ''Ornithocheirus'' wasn't the largest pterosaur ever, and like ''Liopleurodon'' it wasn't ''that'' big anyway as shown in the program (best estimates say a wingspan of 20 ft, while other pterosaurs reached 50 ft). We can also add the ZergRush -like full bird attack against the old gigantic pterosaur.
*** And then, among Early Cretaceous dromeosaurids, the 18ft long ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Utahraptor]]'' was preferred to the much smaller ''[[StockDinosaurs Deinonychus]]'', despite the former is far less-known scientifically than the latter. It's interesting though, that WWD Utahraptors are portrayed with the same body-shape and head-shape of ''Deinonychus'': thus ''Deinonychus'' ''is'' represented in the show in an indirect way (much like the JurassicPark "velociraptors"), but this time is justified, since we don't know how ''Utahraptor'''s head looked since its skull has never been discovered except for the very end of its snout).

*** The ''Iguanodon'' relative ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Muttaburrasaurus]]'' with air sacs for making loud sounds: this one is a classic (but not demonstrated) theory regarding some iguanodontians and hadrosaurs like ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Edmontosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Saurolophus]]'' because of the shape of their skull.
** '''Death Of A Dinasty''': [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Dromaeosaurs]] living alongside ''T. rex''. It may be considered an example of RuleOfCool since dromaeosaurid remains coming from that period are very scanty, while those of the better-known but less dramatic relative ''[[StockDinosaurs Troodon]]'' are much more complete (however Prehistoric Park averted it showing the latter in the small predator role).

**** However in the companion book, a ''Tyrannosaurus'' does bring down a wounded ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Torosaurus]]'' (in the series, it survives and the ''rex'' is shown eating a ''Triceratops'').

** '''New Dawn''': Carnivorous [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife giant ants]]....just that. We don't know if they were really that voracious or ''even'' if they were carnivorous at all.
*** Other example is the whale-ancestor ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Ambulocetus]]'' portrayed just like modern Nile Crocodiles are in most documentaries, feeding only upon land mammals, while in RealLife it probably ate mostly fish (just like Nile crocodiles).
** '''Whale Killer''': ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Basilosaurus]]'' throwing a shark in the air just like orcas do with seals. And 60 tons seem too much for this very long but slender cetacean (perhaps 20 tons is a more reasonable measure).
** '''Land Of Giants''': Among the several ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Hyaenodon]]'' species of different size (from a small dog to a large cow), the largest of them all was chosen. And the boar-related [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife entelodonts]] having huge mouths and capable to open them as much as hippos are... while most drawings show them with smallish, pig-like mouths instead. Finally "[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife bear-dogs]]" (only distant relatives of modern canids) [[AllAnimalsAreDogs acting just like actual dogs]].

** '''Next Of Kin''': ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Deinotherium]]'' entering in "musth" and chasing all the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Australopithecus]]'' they meet just like modern elephants; however, deinotheres ''weren't'' elephants at all, just distant relatives (as much as we are related to baboons) and we have no proof about such a behaviour. Again, like hyenodonts, only the largest species of ''Deinotherium'' show up (the smaller one weren't bigger than modern elephants).
** '''Sabre Tooth''': ''[[StockDinosaursNonDinosaurs Smilodon]]'' roaring just like lions (only felids pertaining to the modern genus ''[[PantheraAwesome Panthera]]'' can roar thanks to their specialized larynxes), and showing the same let's-kill-all-the-cubs behaviour typical of modern lions. But the most awesome example is the giant sloth ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Megatherium]]'' stealing a carcass to Smilodons [[spoiler: and killing one of them in the process]].

** '''Mammoth Journey''': The [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Woolly Rhino]] attacking that poor Neanderthal [[RhinoRampage only few second after having perceived its presence, and without any apparent reason]]. RealLife modern rhinoceroses ''aren't'' normally that aggressive (while elephants ''can'' be such because of their "musth").
*** Subverted/inverted in Prehistoric Park; here the male mammoth does charge Nigel ''and'' the huge rhino ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Elasmotherium]]'' which flees immediately (despite ''Elasmotherium'' weighs 5 tons as much as a male mammoth and has probably more chances to win a fight against the latter, being faster and more agile).

** '''Cambrian Period''': ''Anomalocaris'' fighting each other without any apparent reason, and the tiny vertebrate-ancestor ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Haikhouichthys]]'' scavenging the flesh of the loser ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Anomalocaris]]'' just like modern hagfish and lampreys; [[hottip: *: Modern jawless vertebrates such as lampreys and hagfish are very specialized animals, while ''Hakhouichthys'', being a very early animal, was more likely a filter-feeder, see UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife.]] Also, the only true Cambrian invertebrate shown is, naturally, the first superpredator Anomalocaris (The others are [[AnachronismStew generic trilobites]].
** '''Silurian Period''': Armoured fish ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Cephalaspis]]'' portrayed as a tireless migrant despite it was a bad swimmer in RealLife (and depicted so [[{{CanonDiscontinuity}} just a moment before]] during the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Brontoscorpio]]'''s chase); not to mention that scorpion which moults ''onto land'' instead of into water (with a high risk to get dehydratated...). Also Brontoscorpio being shown instead of the more classic-but-smaller [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Palaeophonus]] to represent the passage from water to land among arthropods.
** '''Devonian Period''': Always-screeching protoamphibian ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Hynerpeton]]'' (shaped upon the iconic ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Ichthyostega]]'') that lays eggs with the same look of a frog's eggs; and primitive [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife cartilaginous fish]] which look like a [[EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks modern shark]] (as seen before in Cruel Sea).
** '''Carboniferous Period''': The most RuleOfCool-filled of all: ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Arthropleura]]'' rearing just like a cobra to frighten enemies, and the giant [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife anthracosaurian]] amphibian ''impaling'' the "giant millipede" after the fight. And giant spiders with ''black venom'' (RealLife spiders have colourless, water-looking poison) and apparently ''laughing sadistically upon its victims'' before destroying the nest of the tiny protoreptile ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Petrolacosaurus]]'' (with the narrator saying "ARTHROPODS ARE BACK!"). Also the [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Hyneria]] being used instead of the iconic [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Eusthenopteron]] to represent the transition from fish to amphbians because it's larger.
** '''Early Permian Period''': The rival female [[StockDinosaurs Dimetrodon]] chooses to lay her eggs ''just over another Dimetrodon nest'' despite all the endless room available... Interesting that Dimetrodonts are represented in a strong Komodo Dragon-like fashion in this show, despite being mammal relatives (and correctly shown with mammal-like skin instead of scaly, at last). Not to mention the Dimetrodont which [[CameraAbuse sprays dung over the camera]] and the babies which ''dive themselves in dung'' to repel the (alleged) cannibalistic adults...
** '''Late Permian Period''': The [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Gorgonopsid]] shown is the largest member of its family (most relatives were much smaller than the near-reptile ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Scutosaurus]]'' which appears as its prey); the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Diictodon]]''s playing a sort of Wack-a-mole with the gorgonopsid; the giant amphibian [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife labirhynthodont]] which produces a "cocoon" just like modern [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife lungfishes]] (there is no proof of this); and it seems there are ''too many'' Gorgonopsids that manage to survive around such a small lake almost empty of food...
** '''Early Triassic Period''': The herbivorous stem-mammal ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Lystrosaurus]]'' and the croc-like [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife chasmatosaurs]] behaving just like modern wildebeest and Nile crocodiles; anothe stem-mammal, the carnivorous [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife therocephalian]], with a venom so powerful that "it's several times more lethal that a black mamba's" (we don't know even if he was venomous at all).
*** But the scene that plays this trope the straightest has to be the final scene, during which a small ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Euparkeria]]'' fast-forwards its evolution right in front of a chasmatosaur, and doesn't simply turn into a ''[[StockDinosaurs Coelophysis]]'' or some other early dinosaur... it goes straight to ''[[StockDinosaurs Allosaurus]]'', then marches off into the Late Jurassic, kicking off the CrowningMusicOfAwesome. Poor Triassic and Early Jurassic, they just weren't awesome enough, it seems.

*** However it's worth noting that the stock sea reptile ''[[StockDinosaurs Elasmosaurus]]'' shows up accurately at last, with relatively stiff necks (and not snake- or swan-like as seen in almost every other portrait).
* Related to the ''Sea Monsters'' example above, the ''Land of Giants'' special also details Nigel Marven's efforts to track down the largest of all the dinosaurs and the biggest land predator ever: ''[[StockDinosaurs Argentinosaurus]]'' and ''[[StockDinosaurs Giganotosaurus]]'', respectively. We get to see a whole pack of ''Giganotosaurus'' bring down a small ''Argentinosaurus'', but if this wasn't cool enough for the viewers, they included a scene of Nigel's plane flying alongside a (still oversized) ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Ornithocheirus]]'', and as the icing on the cake, included the gigantic crocodilian ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Sarcosuchus]]''. Naturally, recent studies indicate ''Giganotosaurus'' wasn't the largest carnivorous dinosaur, and there may have been bigger dinosaurs than ''Argentinosaurus'', but at the time it was made, they were considered record-holders.
** The special was a two-parter, the other episode being ''The Giant Claw''. Not ''that'' TheGiantClaw, but it also centers around a freaky-looking animal, the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Therizinosaurus]]'', the famed [[ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]-EdwardScissorhands-[[XMen Wolverine]]-osaurus. It turns out it was actually a gentle herbivore, but not before slapping a ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Tarbosaurus]]'' (the Asian "twin" of ''T. rex'') right in the face with those (arguably fragile) claws. Actual (albeit naked) ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]''s are also included, though they are easily scared away by the film crew.

** '''Sabre Tooth''': [[StockDinosaurs Smilodon]] roaring just like lions (only felids pertaining to the modern genus ''[[PantheraAwesome Panthera]]'' can roar thanks to their specialized larynxes), and showing the same let's-kill-all-the-cubs behaviour typical of modern lions. But the most awesome example is the giant sloth ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Megatherium]]'' stealing a carcass to Smilodons [[spoiler: and killing one of them in the process]].

** '''Cambrian Period''': ''Anomalocaris'' fighting each other without any apparent reason, and the tiny vertebrate-ancestor ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Haikhouichthys]]'' scavenging the flesh of the loser ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoriicLife Anomalocaris]]'' just like modern hagfish and lampreys; [[hottip: *: Modern jawless vertebrates such as lampreys and hagfish are very specialized animals, while ''Hakhouichthys'', being a very early animal, was more likely a filter-feeder, see UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife.]] Also, the only true Cambrian invertebrate shown is, naturally, the first superpredator Anomalocaris (The others are [[AnachronismStew generic trilobites]].

** '''Silurian Period''': Armoured fish ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Cephalaspis]]'' portrayed as a tireless migrant despite it was a bad swimmer in RealLife (and depicted so [[{{Discontinuity}} just a moment before]] during the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Brontoscorpio]]'''s chase); not to mention that scorpion which moults ''onto land'' instead of into water (with a high risk to get dehydratated...). Also Brontoscorpio being shown instead of the more classic-but-smaller [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Palaeophonus]] to represent the passage from water to land among arthropods.

** '''New Blood''': We're not sure there were cynodonts of that size in Late Triassic (those seen in the episode have the body-form of the cat-sized ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Thrinaxodon]]'' but with the size of the prototypical ''[[StockDinosaurs Cynognathus]]''; both these cynodonts genera were Early Triassic, much more ancient than ''Coelophysis''), and there is any proof of cannibalistic behaviour in cynodonts.
*** Overlaps with ScienceMarchesOn: at the time the series was produced it was assumed that cynodonts of that size did live in Late Triassic in North America. This assumption was based on the discovery of [[http://chinleana.blogspot.com/2009/09/enigmatic-triassic-taxa.html two teeth]] from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinle_Formation Chinle Formation]][[hottip:* :though these teeth were assumed to belong to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traversodontidae traversodont]] cynodonts, much different from ''Thrinaxodon'' that WWD-cynodonts were based on]]. However, [[http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~irmisr/chinleteeth.pdf post-WWD study]] indicate that these teeth can't be confidently referred to Cynodontia (or any other known group of Triassic amniotes, for that matter).
*** Another possible example of RuleOfCool is the pack of ''[[StockDinosaurs Coelophysis]]'' capable to ripping of the tough, croc-like skin of ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Postosuchus]]'' with their weak jaws.

* Walking With Monsters is even more influenced by the show-only-the-coolest-ones rule than Dinosaurs and Beasts. For example, we have the huge ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Hyneria]]'' instead of the iconic ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Eusthenopteron]]'' to represent the transition from fish to amphibians only because the latter isn't large enough; the gigantic ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Brontoscorpio]]'' instead of the more classic but smaller scorpion ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Palaeophonus]]'' to represent the passage from water to land among Arthropods; and the only ''true'' Cambrian [[hottip: *: The "Cambrian" was the period in which the very first true animals started to appear on Earth.]] invertebrate that shows up is, naturally, the superpredator ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Anomalocaris]]'' (the others are [[AnachronismStew generic trilobites]]). Actually, this program may also be retitled "Walking With RuleOfCool", it's filled with it from the start of the end. Not counting the "Theia" hypotesis (about the Moon's birth) presented as a mere fact, we have:
** '''Cambrian Period''': ''Anomalocaris'' fighting each other without any apparent reason, and the tiny vertebrate-ancestor ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Haikhouichthys]]'' scavenging the flesh of the loser ''Anomalocaris'' just like modern hagfish and lampreys; [[hottip: *: Modern jawless vertebrates such as lampreys and hagfish are very specialized animals, while ''Hakhouichthys'', being a very early animal, was more likely a filter-feeder, see UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife.]]
** '''Silurian Period''': Armoured fish ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Cephalaspis]]'' portrayed as a tireless migrant despite it was a bad swimmer in RealLife (and depicted so [[{{Discontinuity}} just a moment before]] during the ''Brontoscorpio'''s chase); and ''Brontoscorpio''s presented as stupid killing machines with very bad sensorial skills (modern scorpions have extremely sophisticated senses); not to mention that scorpion which moults ''onto land'' instead of into water (with a high risk to get dehydratated...)

** '''Carboniferous Period''': The most RuleOfCool-filled of all: ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Arthropleura]]'' rearing just like a cobra to frighten enemies, and the giant [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife anthracosaurian]] amphibian ''impaling'' the "giant millipede" after the fight. And giant spiders with ''black venom'' (RealLife spiders have colourless, water-looking poison) and apparently ''laughing sadistically upon its victims'' before destroying the nest of the tiny protoreptile ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Petrolacosaurus]]'' (with the narrator saying "ARTHROPODS ARE BACK!")

*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton is discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' largest theropod: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the modern "biggest one", the sail-backed ''[[StockDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' (made famous by JurassicPark 3). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods which dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which once lead to the belief that they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.
* The most justified example of RuleOfCool in the series, however, may be Prehistoric Park: the purpose of the keepers was just to "resurrect" the coolest animals. One of the most remembered scene is, obviously, the two most iconic prehistoric giants (T. rex and Woolly Mammoth) ''fighting each other''. This time it makes sense, considering the context...
** A woolly mammoth that was recovered from near the time of its extinction, but was somehow coexisting with a [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife cave bear]] which was extinct way before mammoths; however this is lampshaded/handwaved by Nigel who says to the cameraman "I'm sorry, I believed cave bears were already extinct...this is an exciting discover!)
** The UberExample had to be, however, the ''Triceratops'' vs. ''Tyrannosaurus'' fight in the first episode... something that was dismissed as cliched and stupid in the making off of the original ''WalkingWithDinosaurs''!
*** We can see Prehistoric Park as a sort of "let's show whatever is not portrayed in the leading work": not only the missing stock dinosaurs in the original WWD (such as [[StockDinosaurs ornithomimids]]), but also much cliche-behaviour.

**** However in the companion book, a ''Tyrannosaurus'' does bring down a wounded ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Torosaurus]]'' (in the series, it survives and in what some might label a MissedMomentOfAwesome, the ''rex'' is shown eating a ''Triceratops'').

*** Also note that this episode (placed in Late Jurassic North America) is the most StockDinosaurs-filled of the six of WWD: we can see the largest/most striking animals of each subgroup, but not their smaller relatives just because aren't spectacular enough (with the notable exception of the little carnivorous ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Ornitholestes]]'' and an unnamed small bipedal herbivore similar to ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Hypsilophodon]]''). We can see ''Allosaurus'' but not the smaller, horned ''[[StockDinosaurs Ceratosaurus]]'' (very common in old films but very rare in modern TV); ''Diplodocus'' and ''Brachiosaurus'' but not ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Camarasaurus]]'' [[hottip:* :''Camarasaurus'' was the most common sauropod of that habitat and was huge like its relatives, but since it didn't bear any record in length, height or weight, it was probably judged as "not cool enough"]]; the iconic ''Stegosaurus'' shows up while Iguanodon's relative ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Camptosaurus]]'' is absent being not so impressive-looking (never mind ''Camptosaurus'' was one of the most common herbivores in its habitat and was probably the main prey of ''Allosaurus'').

*** And then, amond Early Cretaceous dromeosaurids, the 18ft long ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Utahraptor]]'' was preferred to the much smaller ''[[StockDinosaurs Deinonychus]]'', despite the former is far less-known scientifically than the latter. It's interesting though, that WWD Utahraptors are portrayed with the same body-shape and head-shape of Deinonychus: thus Deinonychus ''is'' represented in the show in an indirect way (much like the JurassicPark "velociraptors"), but this time is justified, since we don't know how Utahraptor's head looked since its skull has never been discovered except for the very end of its snout).

*** The Iguanodon relative ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Muttaburrasaurus]]'' with air sacs for making loud sounds: this one is a classic (but not demonstrated) theory regarding some iguanodontians like ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Edmontosaurus]]'' and ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Saurolophus]]'' because of the shape of their skull.
** '''Death Of A Dinasty''': [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Dromeosaurs]] living alongside ''T. rex''. It may be considered an example of RuleOfCool since dromeosaurid remains coming from that period are very scanty, while those of the better-known but less dramatic relative ''[[StockDinosaurs Troodon]]'' are much more complete (however Prehistoric Park averted it showing the latter in the small predator role).

** '''Cambrian Period''': ''Anomalocaris'' fighting each other without any apparent reason, and the tiny vertebrate-ancestor ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Haikhouichthys]]'' scavenging the flesh of the loser ''Anomalocaris'' just like modern hagfish and lampreys; [[hottip: *: Modern jawless vertebrates such as lampreys and hagfish are very specialized animals, while ''Haykhouichthys'', being a very early animal, was more probably a filter-feeder, see UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife.]]
** '''Silurian Period''': Armoured fish ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Cephalaspis]]'' portrayed as a tireless migrant despite it was a bad swimmer in RealLife (and depicted so [[{{Discontinuity}} just a moment before]] during the Brontoscorpio's chase); and ''Brontoscorpio''s presented as stupid killing machines with very bad sensorial skills (modern scorpions have extremely sophisticated senses); not to mention that scorpion which moults ''onto land'' instead of into water (with a high risk to get dehydratated...)

** '''Late Permian Period''': The [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Gorgonopsid]] shown is the largest member of its family (most relatives were much smaller than the near-reptile ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Scutosaurus]]'' which appears as its prey); the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Diictodon]]''s playing a sort of Wack-a-mole with the gorgonopsid; the giant amphibian [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife labirhynthodont]] which produces a "cocoon" just like modern [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife lungfishes]] (there is any proof of this); and it seems there are ''too many'' Gorgonopsids that manage to survive around such a small lake almost empty of food...

** The special was a two-parter, the other episode being ''The Giant Claw''. Not ''that'' TheGiantClaw, but it also centers around a freaky-looking animal, the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Therizinosaurus]]'', the famed [[ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]-EdwardScissorhands-[[XMen Wolverine]]-osaurus. It turns out it was actually a gentle herbivore, but not before slapping a ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Tarbosaurus]]'' (the Asian "twin" of ''T. rex'') right in the face with those (arguably fragile) claws. Actual ''[[StockDinosaurs Velociraptor]]''s are also included, though they are easily scared away by the film crew.
*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the modern "biggest one", the sail-backed ''[[StockDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' (made famous by JurassicPark 3). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods which dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

*** We can see Prehistoric Park as a sort of "let's show whatever is not portrayed in the leading work": not only the missing stock dinosaurs in the original WWD (such as [[StockDinosaurs ornithomimids), but also much cliche-behaviour.

** '''Late Permian Period''': The [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Gorgonopsid]] shown is the largest member of its family (most relatives were much smaller than the near-reptile ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Scutosaurus]]'' which appears as its prey); the ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Diictodon]]'' playing a sort of Wack-a-mole with the gorgonopsid; the giant amphibian [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife labirhynthodont]] which produces a "cocoon" just like modern [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife lungfishes]] (there is any proof of this); and it seems there are ''too many'' Gorgonopsids that manage to survive around such a small lake almost empty of food...

*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the modern "biggest one", the sail-backed ''[[StockDinosaurs Spinosaurus]]'' (made famous by JurassicPark 3). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods which dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

** '''Cambrian Period''': ''Anomalocaris'' fighting each other without any apparent reason, and the tiny vertebrate-ancestor ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Haikhouichthys]]'' scavenging the flesh of the loser ''Anomalocaris'' just like modern hagfish and lampreys [[hottip: *: Modern jawless vertebrates such as lampreys and hagfish are very specialized animals, while ''Haykhouichthys'', being a very early animal, was more probably a filter-feeder in RealLife: see UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife]];

*** The large Mid-Jurassic carnivore ''[[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLife Eustreptospondylus]]'' shown surviving in [[AnachronismStew Late Jurassic]] islets (the stock ''[[StockDinosaurs Compsognathus'' and ''[[StockDinosaurs Archaeopteryx]]'' did inhabit these islands at that epoch, but they were probably not spectacular enough).

** '''New Blood''': We're not sure there were cynodonts of that size in Late Triassic (those seen in the episode have the body-form of the cat-sized ''Thrinaxodon'' but with the size of the prototypal ''Cynognathus''; both these cynodonts genera were Early Triassic, much more ancient than ''Coelophysis''), and there is any proof of cannibalistic behaviour in cynodonts.

*** Another possible example of RuleOfCool is the pack of ''Coelophysis'' capable to ripping of the tough, croc-like skin of ''Postosuchus'' with their weak jaws.
** '''Time Of The Titans''': We're unsure about Stegosaurs using their plates to frighten predators, but it's cooler showing them this way; the same thing about the symbiotic behaviour in the tiny pterosaur called ''Anurognathus''.
*** Also note that this episode (placed in Late Jurassic North America) is the most StockDinosaurs-filled of the six of WWD: we can see the largest/most striking animals of each subgroup, but not their smaller relatives just because aren't spectacular enough (with the notable exception of the little carnivorous ''Ornitholestes'' and a small bipedal herbivore). We can see ''Allosaurus'' but not the smaller, horned ''Ceratosaurus''; ''Diplodocus'' and ''Brachiosaurus'' but not ''Camarasaurus'' [[hottip:* :''Camarasaurus'' was the most common sauropod of that habitat and was huge like its relatives, but since it didn't bear any record in length, height or weight, it was probably judged as "not cool enough"]]; the iconic ''Stegosaurus'' shows up while Iguanodon's relative ''Camptosaurus'' is absent being not so impressive-looking (never mind ''Camptosaurus'' was one of the most common herbivores in its habitat and was probably the main prey of ''Allosaurus'').

*** The large Mid-Jurassic carnivore ''Eustreptospondylus'' shown surviving in [[AnachronismStew Late Jurassic]] islets (the stock ''Compsognathus'' and ''Archaeopteryx'' did inhabit these islands at that epoch, but they were probably not spectacular enough).
*** The plesiosaur ''Cryptocleidus'' weighed much less than eight tons in RealLife (perhaps its much larger relative ''Elasmosaurus'' did weigh so).
*** Finally, primitive cartilaginous fish (generally called "sharks" in paleontology, but not related with modern sharks) ''shown with appearence and behaviour of actual modern-day sharks'', with the one in the show resembling a bit like "[[EverythingIsEvenWorseWithSharks horned Great Whites]]".

*** And then, amond Early Cretaceous dromeosaurids, the 18ft long ''Utahraptor'' was preferred to the much smaller ''Deinonychus'', despite the former is far less-known scientifically than the latter. It's interesting though, that WWD Utahraptors are portrayed with the same body-shape and head-shape of Deinonychus: thus Deinonychus ''is'' represented in the show in an indirect way (much like the JurassicPark "velociraptors"), but this time is justified, since we don't know how Utahraptor's head looked since its skull has never been discovered).

*** ''Muttaburrasaurus'' with air sacs for making loud sounds: this one is a classic (but not demonstrated) theory regarding some iguanodontians like ''Edmontosaurus'' and ''Saurolophus'' because of the shape of their skull.
** '''Death Of A Dinasty''': Dromeosaurs living alongside ''T. rex''. It may be considered an example of RuleOfCool since dromeosaurid remains coming from that period are very scanty, while those of the better-known but less dramatic relative ''Troodon'' are much more complete (however Prehistoric Park averted it showing the latter in the small predator role).

**** However in the companion book, a ''Tyrannosaurus'' does bring down a wounded ''Torosaurus'' (in the series, it survives and in what some might label a MissedMomentOfAwesome, the ''rex'' is shown eating a ''Triceratops'').

** '''New Dawn''': Carnivorous giant ants....just that. We don't know if they were really that voracious or ''even'' if they were carnivorous at all.
*** Other example is the whale-ancestor ''Ambulocetus'' portrayed just like modern Nile Crocodiles are in most documentaries, feeding itself only with land mammals, while in RealLife it probably ate mostly fish (just like Nile crocodiles).
** '''Whale Killer''': ''Basilosaurus'' throwing a shark in the air just like orcas do with seals. And 60 tons seem too much for this very long but slender cetacean (perhaps 20 tons is a more reasonable measure).
** '''Land Of Giants''': Among the several ''Hyaenodon'' species of different size (from a small dog to a large cow), the largest of them all was chosen. And entelodonts having huge mouths and capable to open them as much as hippos are... while most drawings show them with smallish, pig-like mouths instead. Finally "bear-dogs" (only distant relatives of modern canids) [[AllAnimalsAreDogs acting just like actual dogs]].
** '''Next Of Kin''': ''Deinotherium'' entering in "musth" and chasing all the ''Australopithecus'' they meet just like modern elephants; however, deinotheres ''weren't'' elephants at all, just distant relatives (as much as we are related to baboons) and we have no proof about such a behaviour. Again, like hyenodonts, only the largest species of ''Deinotherium'' show up (the smaller one weren't bigger than modern elephants).
** '''Sabre Tooth''': Smilodon roaring just like lions (only felids pertaining to the modern genus ''[[PantheraAwesome Panthera]]'' can roar thanks to their specialized larynxes), and showing the same let's-kill-all-the-cubs behaviour typical of modern lions. But the most awesome example is the giant sloth ''Megatherium'' stealing a carcass to Smilodons [[spoiler: and killing one of them in the process]].

** '''Mammoth Journey''': the Woolly Rhino attacking that Neanderthal only few second after having perceived its presence (and without any apparent reason). RealLife modern rhinoceroses ''aren't'' normally that aggressive (while elephants ''can'' be such because of their "musth").
*** Subverted/inverted in Prehistoric Park; here the male mammoth does charge Nigel ''and'' the huge rhino ''Elasmotherium'' which flees immediately (despite ''Elasmotherium'' weighs 5 tons as much as a male mammoth and has probably more chances to win a fight against the latter, being faster and more agile).
* Walking With Monsters is even more influenced by the show-only-the-coolest-ones rule than Dinosaurs and Beasts. For example, we have the huge ''Hyneria'' instead of the iconic ''Eusthenopteron'' to represent the transition from fish to amphibians only because the latter isn't large enough; the gigantic ''Brontoscorpio'' instead of the more classic but smaller scorpion ''Palaeophonus'' to represent the passage from water to land among Arthropods; and the only ''true'' Cambrian [[hottip: *: The "Cambrian" was the period in which the very first true animals started to appear on Earth.]] invertebrate that shows up is, naturally, the superpredator ''Anomalocaris'' (the others are [[AnachronismStew generic trilobites]]). Actually, this program may also be retitled "Walking With RuleOfCool", it's filled with it from the start of the end. Not counting the "Theia" hypotesis (about the Moon's birth) presented as a mere fact, we have:
** '''Cambrian Period''': ''Anomalocaris'' fighting each other without any apparent reason, and the primitive vertebrate ''Haikhouichthys'' scavenging the flesh of the loser ''Anomalocaris'' just like modern hagfish and lampreys [[hottip: *: Modern jawless vertebrates such as lampreys and hagfish are very specialized animals, while ''Haykhouichthys'', being a very early animal, was more probably a filter-feeder in RealLife]];
** '''Silurian Period''': Armoured fish ''Cephalaspis'' portrayed as a tireless migrant despite it was a bad swimmer in RealLife (and depicted so [[{{Discontinuity}} just a moment before]] during the Brontoscorpio's chase); and ''Brontoscorpio''s presented as stupid killing machines with very bad sensorial skills (modern scorpions have extremely sophisticated senses); not to mention that scorpion which moults ''onto land'' instead of into water (with a high risk to get dehydratated...)
** '''Devonian Period''': Always-screeching protoamphibian ''Hynerpeton'' that lays eggs with the same look of a frog's eggs; and primitive cartilaginous fish which look like a modern shark (as seen before in Cruel Sea).
** '''Carboniferous Period''': The most RuleOfCool-filled of all: ''Arthropleura'' rearing just like a cobra to frighten enemies, and the giant amphibian ''impaling'' the "giant millipede" after the fight. And giant spiders with ''black venom'' (RealLife spiders have colourless, water-looking poison) and apparently ''laughing sadistically upon its victims'' before destroying the nest of the tiny protoreptile ''Petrolacosaurus'' (with the narrator saying "ARTHROPODS ARE BACK!")
** '''Early Permian Period''': The rival female Dimetrodon chooses to lay her eggs ''just over another Dimetrodon nest'' despite all the endless room available... Interesting that Dimetrodonts are represented in a strong Komodo Dragon-like fashion in this show, despite being mammal relatives (and correctly shown with mammal-like skin instead of scaly, at last). Not to mention the Dimetrodont which [[CameraAbuse sprays dung over the camera]] and the babies which ''dive themselves in dung'' to repel the (alleged) cannibalistic adults...
** '''Late Permian Period''': the gorgonopsid shown is the largest member of its family (most relatives were much smaller than ''Scutosaurus''); Diictodonts playing a sort of Wack-a-mole with the gorgonopsid; The giant amphibian labirhynthodont which produces a "cocoon" just like modern lungfishes (there is any proof of this); and it seems there are ''too many'' Gorgonopsids that manage to survive around such a small lake almost empty of food...
** '''Early Triassic Period''': Pig-like ''Lystrosaurus'' and croc-like chasmatosaurs behaving just like modern wildebeest and Nile crocodiles; the mammal-like carnivore with a venom so powerful that "it's several times more lethal that a black mamba's" (we don't know even if he was venomous at all).
*** But the scene that plays this trope the straightest has to be the final scene, during which a small ''Euparkeria'' fast-forwards its evolution right in front of a chasmatosaurus, and doesn't simply turn into a ''Coelophysis'' or some other early dinosaur... it goes straight to ''Allosaurus'', then marches off into the Late Jurassic, kicking off the CrowningMusicOfAwesome. Poor Triassic and Early Jurassic, they just weren't awesome enough, it seems.

*** However it's worth noting that the stock sea reptile ''Elasmosaurus'' shows up accurately at last, with relatively stiff necks (and not snake- or swan-like as seen in almost every other portrait).
* Related to the ''Sea Monsters'' example above, the ''Land of Giants'' special also details Nigel Marven's efforts to track down the largest of all the dinosaurs and the biggest land predator ever: ''Argentinosaurus'' and ''Giganotosaurus'', respectively. We get to see a whole pack of ''Giganotosaurus'' bring down a small ''Argentinosaurus'', but if this wasn't cool enough for the viewers, they included a scene of Nigel's plane flying alongside a (still oversized) ''Ornithocheirus'', and as the icing on the cake, included the gigantic crocodilian ''Sarcosuchus''. Naturally, recent studies indicate ''Giganotosaurus'' wasn't the largest carnivorous dinosaur, and there may have been bigger dinosaurs than ''Argentinosaurus'', but at the time it was made, they were considered record-holders.
** The special was a two-parter, the other episode being ''The Giant Claw''. Not ''that'' TheGiantClaw, but it also centers around a freaky-looking animal, the ''Therizinosaurus'', the famed [[ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]-EdwardScissorhands-[[XMen Wolverine]]-osaurus. It turns out it was actually a gentle herbivore, but not before slapping a ''Tarbosaurus'' (the Asian "twin" of ''T. rex'') right in the face with those (arguably fragile) claws. ''Velociraptor''s are also included, though they are easily scared away by the film crew.
*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the sail-backed ''Spinosaurus''. But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods which dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

** A woolly mammoth that was recovered from near the time of its extinction, but was somehow coexisting with a cave bear which was extinct way before mammoths; however this is lampshaded/handwaved by Nigel who says to the cameraman "I'm sorry, I believed cave bears were already extinct...this is an exciting discover!)

*** We can see Prehistoric Park as a sort of "let's show whatever is not portrayed in the leading work": not only the missing stock dinosaurs in the original WWD (such as ornithomimids), but also much cliche-behaviour.

** A herd of ''Diplodocus'' mowing down a group of small predatory ''Coelurus'' with their spiky necks.

** While in the series, the ''Quetzalcoatlus'' just catches a fish, eats it, and then flies away, in the book, the poor thing is mangled and pulled into the lake by a bunch of ''Deinosuchus''.
** And perhaps the most violent scene of all: [[spoiler:the ''Ankylosaurus'' (who is a mother this time) isn't satisfied with "just" breaking the leg and messing up the internal organs of the ''T. rex''... it brings her down to the ground, and continues to bash the ''T. rex'''s head with its clubbed-tail into a bloody mess... in front of their kids. The ''Tyrannosaurus'' chicks later drink the blood of their mother.]]

*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the sail-backed ''Spinosaurus'' (even though ''Therizinosaurus'' was probably shorter than the latter). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods which dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

** The UberExample had to be, however, the ''Triceratops'' vs. ''Tyrannosaurus'' fight in the first episode... something that was dismissed as cliched and stupid in the making off of the original ''WalkingwithDinosaurs''!

** '''Carboniferous Period''': The most RuleOfCool-filled of all: ''Arthropleura'' rearing just like a cobra to frighten enemies'', and the giant amphibian ''impaling'' the "giant millipede" after the fight. And giant spiders with ''black venom'' (RealLife spiders have colourless, water-looking poison) and apparently ''laughing sadistically upon its victims'' before destroying the nest of the tiny protoreptile ''Petrolacosaurus'' (with the narrator saying "ARTHROPODS ARE BACK!")

*** ''Muttaburrasaurus'' with air sacs for making loud sounds: this one is a classic (but not demonstrated) theory regarding some hadrosaurs like ''Edmontosaurus'' and ''Saurolophus'' because of the shape of their skull, but it's unlikely that the non-hadrosaurian ''Muttaburrasaurus'' had such a thing.

*** Also note that this episode (placed in Late Jurassic North America) is the most StockDinosaurs-filled of the six of WWD: we can see the largest/most striking animals of each subgroup, but not their smaller relatives just because aren't spectacular enough (with the notable exception of the little carnivorous ''Ornitholestes'' and a small bipedal herbivore). We can see ''Allosaurus'' but not the smaller ''Ceratosaurus''; ''Diplodocus'' and ''Brachiosaurus'' but not ''Camarasaurus'' [[hottip:* :''Camarasaurus'' was the most common sauropod of that habitat and was huge like its relatives, but since it didn't bear any record in length, height or weight, it was probably judged as "not cool enough"]]; the iconic ''Stegosaurus'' shows up while Iguanodon's relative ''Camptosaurus'' is absent being not so impressive-looking (never mind ''Camptosaurus'' was one of the most common herbivores in its habitat and was probably the main prey of ''Allosaurus'').

*** Real ''Cryptocleidus'' weighs much less than eight tons (perhaps the much larger relative ''Elasmosaurus'' did weigh so).

*** And then, the 18ft long ''Utahraptor'' preferred to the much smaller ''Deinonychus'', despite the former is far less-known scientifically than the latter. It's interesting though, that WWD Utahraptors are portrayed with the same body-shape and head-shape of Deinonychus: thus Deinonychus ''is'' represented in the show in an indirect way (much like the JurassicPark "velociraptors"), but this time is justified, since we don't know how Utahraptor's head looked since its skull has never been discovered).

** '''Death Of A Dinasty''': Dromeosaurs living alongside ''T. rex''. It may be considered an example of RuleOfCool since dromeosaurid remains coming from that period are very scanty, while those of the better-known but less dramatic ''Troodon'' are much more complete (however Prehistoric Park averted it showing the latter in the small predator role).

** '''Next Of Kin''': ''Deinotherium'' entering in "musth" and chasing all the ''Australopithecus'' they meet; however, deinotheres ''weren't'' elephants at all, just distant relatives (as much as we are related to baboons) and we have no proof about such a behaviour. Again, like hyenodonts, only the largest species of ''Deinotherium'' show up (the smaller one weren't bigger than modern elephants).
** '''Sabre Tooth''': Smilodon roaring just like lions (only felids pertaining to the modern genus ''[[PantheraAwesome Panthera]]'' can roar thanks to their specialized larynxes), and showing the same let's-kill-all-the-cubs behaviour typical of modern lions. But the most awesome example is ''Megatherium'' stealing a carcass to Smilodons [[spoiler: and killing one of them in the process]].

* Walking With Monsters is even more influenced by the show-only-the-coolest-ones rule than Dinosaurs and Beasts. For example, we have the huge ''Hyneria'' instead of the iconic ''Eusthenopteron'' to represent the transition from fish to amphibians only because the latter isn't large enough; the gigantic ''Brontoscorpio'' instead of the more classic ''Palaeophonus'' to represent the passage from water to land among Arthropods; and the only ''true'' Cambrian invertebrate that shows up is, naturally, the superpredator ''Anomalocaris'' (the others are [[AnachronismStew generic trilobites]]). Actually, this program may also be retitled "Walking With RuleOfCool", it's filled with it from the start of the end. Not counting the "Theia" hypotesis presented as a mere fact, we have:

** '''Silurian Period''': ''Cephalaspis'' portrayed as a tireless migrant despite it was a bad swimmer in RealLife (and depicted so [[{{Discontinuity}} just a moment before]] during the Brontoscorpio's chase); and ''Brontoscorpio''s presented as stupid killing machines with very bad sensorial skills (modern scorpions have extremely sophisticated senses); not to mention that scorpion which moults ''onto land'' instead of into water (with a high risk to get dehydratated...)
** '''Devonian Period''': Always-screeching ''Hynerpeton'' that lays eggs with the same look of a frog's eggs; and primitive cartilaginous fish which look like a modern shark (as seen before in Cruel Sea).
** '''Carboniferous Period''': The most RuleOfCool-filled of all: ''Arthropleura rearing just like a cobra to frighten enemies'', and the giant amphibian ''impaling'' the "giant millipede" after the fight. And giant spiders with ''black venom'' (RealLife spiders have colourless, water-looking poison) and apparently ''laughing sadistically upon its victims'' before destroying ''Petrolacosaurus'' nest (with the narrator saying "ARTHROPODS ARE BACK!")

** '''Late Permian Period''': the gorgonopsid shown is the largest member of its family (most relatives were much smaller than ''Scutosaurus''); Diictodonts playing a sort of Wack-a-mole with the gorgonopsid; The giant labirhynthodont which produces a "cocoon" just like modern lungfishes (there is any proof of this); and it seems there are ''too many'' Gorgonopsid that manage to survive around such a small lake almost empty of food...
** '''Early Triassic Period''': ''Lystrosaurus'' and chasmatosaurs behaving just like modern wildebeest and Nile crocodiles; the mammal-like carnivore with a venom so powerful that "it's several times more lethal that a black mamba's" (we don't know even if he was venomous at all).

** A herd of ''Diplodocus'' mowing down a group of ''Coelurus'' with their spiky necks.

*** Also note that this episode (placed in Late Jurassic North America) is the most StockDinosaurs-filled of the six of WWD: we can see the largest/most striking animals of each subgroup, but not their smaller relatives just because aren't spectacular enough (with the notable exception of ''Ornitholestes'' and a small ornithopod). We can see ''Allosaurus'' but not the smaller ''Ceratosaurus''; ''Diplodocus'' and ''Brachiosaurus'' but not ''Camarasaurus'' [[hottip:* :''Camarasaurus'' was the most common sauropod of that habitat and was huge like its relatives, but since it didn't bear any record in length, height or weight, it was probably judged as "not cool enough"]]; the iconic ''Stegosaurus'' shows up while Iguanodon's relative ''Camptosaurus'' is absent being not so impressive-looking (never mind ''Camptosaurus'' was one of the most common herbivores in its habitat and was probably the main prey of ''Allosaurus'').

** '''Time Of The Titans''': We're unsure about Stegosaurs using their plates to frighten predators, but it's cooler showing them this way; the same thing about the symbiotic behaviour in ''Anurognathus''.

** '''Late Permian Period''': the gorgonopsid shown is the largest member of its family (most relatives were much smaller than ''Scutosaurus''); the giant labirhynthodont which produces a "cocoon" just like modern lungfishes (there is any proof of this); and it seems there are ''too many'' Gorgonopsid that manage to survive around such a small lake almost empty of food...

*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the sail-backed ''Spinosaurus'' (even though ''Therizinosaurus'' was probably shorter than the latter). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods with dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

* Related to the ''Sea Monsters'' example above, the ''Land of Giants'' special also details Nigel Marven's efforts to track down the largest of all the dinosaurs and the biggest land predator ever: ''Argentinosaurus'' and ''Giganotosaurus'', respectively. We get to see a whole pack of ''Giganotosaurus'' bring down a small ''Argentinosaurus'', but if this wasn't cool enough for the viewers, they included a scene of Nigel's plane flying alongside a (still oversized) ''Ornithocheirus'', and as the icing on the cake, included the gigantic crocodilian ''Sarcosuchus''. Naturally, recent studies indicate ''Giganotosaurus'' wasn't the largest carnivorous dinosaur, and there may have been bigger dinosaurs than ''Argentinosaurus'', but at the time it was made, they were considered record-holders.
** The special was a two-parter, the other episode being ''The Giant Claw''. Not ''that'' TheGiantClaw, but it also centers around a freaky-looking animal, the ''Therizinosaurus'', the famed [[ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]-EdwardScissorhands-[[XMen Wolverine]]-osaurus. It turns out it was actually a gentle herbivore, but not before slapping a ''Tarbosaurus'' (The Asian "twin" of ''T. rex'') right in the face with those (arguably fragile) claws. ''Velociraptor''s are also included, though they are easily scared away by the film crew.
*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the sail-backed ''Spinosaurus'' (even though ''Therizinosaurus'' was probably shorter than the latter). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods with dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

** The special was a two-parter, the other episode being ''The Giant Claw''. Not ''that'' TheGiantClaw, but it also centers around a freaky-looking animal, the ''Therizinosaurus'', the famed [[ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]]-EdwardScissorhands-[[XMen Wolverine]]-osaurus. It turns out it was actually a gentle herbivore, but not before slapping a ''Tarbosaurus'' (Asian ''T. rex'') right in the face with those (arguably fragile) claws. ''Velociraptor''s are also included, though they are easily scared away by the film crew.

*** Overlaps with ScienceMarchesOn: at the time the series was produced it was assumed that cynodonts of that size did live in Late Triassic in North America. This assumption was based on the discovery of [[http://chinleana.blogspot.com/2009/09/enigmatic-triassic-taxa.html two teeth]] from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinle_Formation Chinle Formation]][[hottip:* :though these teeth were assumed to belong to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traversodontidae traversodont]] cynodonts, much different from ''Thrinaxodon'' that WWD-cynodonts were based on]]. However, [[http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~irmisr/chinleteeth.pdf post-WWD study]] indicate that these teeth can't be confidently referred to Cynodontia (or any other known group of Triassic amniotes, for that matter).

*** Talking about the "largest theropod" argument: if a complete ''Therizinosaurus'' skeleton will be discovered in the future it could become the ''real'' record-holder: thanks to its bulky body, it was perhaps ''heavier'' than the sail-backed ''Spinosaurus'' (even though ''Therizinosaurus'' was probably shorter than the latter). But don't forget the equally impressive giant ornithomimid ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinocheirus]]'': if its forelimbs were proportionate to the body, it might result as long as ''Spinosaurus'' and perhaps even taller than it. Let's see the awesome concurrence: both ''Deinocheirus'' and ''Therizinosaurus'' were large herbivorous (at least omnivorous in the case of ''Deinocheirus'') theropods with dispute the record of the "longest forelimbs" among bipedal dinos; both are rather mysterious, since they are mainly known just from their forelimbs which made once thinking they were predators even more powerful than ''T. rex''; and both lived in the same habitat, were described in the same country (Mongolia) and entered the dinosaur list in the same period (the 1970's)! It will be awesome to see a ''Therizinosaurus'' vs ''Deinocheirus'' fight; or, alternatively, ''Deinocheirus'' vs ''Tarbosaurus''.

** A herd of ''Diplodocus'' mowing down a group of ''Couelurus'' with their spiky necks.

** '''Carboniferous Period''': The most RuleOfCool-filled of all: ''Arthropleura rearing just like a cobra to frighten enemies'', and the giant amphibian ''impaling'' the "giant millipede" after the fight. And giant spiders with ''black venom'' (RealLife spiders have colourless, water-looking poison) and apparently ''laughing sadically upon its victims'' before destroying ''Petrolacosaurus'' nest (with the narrator saying "ARTHROPODS ARE BACK!")

* The books also detail many events of from the series much differently, much more violently, and with a bigger emphasis on RuleOfCool. They also include new scenes. Examples:

*** It's interesting, though, that T. rex and Ceratopsians ''do not battle'' this time (don't worry, they'll fight each other in ''Prehistoric Park''...)

*** We can see Prehistoric Park as a sort of "let's show whatever is not portrayed in the leading work": not only the missing stock dinosaurs in the original WWD (such as ornithomimids), but also much cliche-behaviour.