Dinosaur Revolution: Difference between revisions
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Calling it a "documentary" may however be deceptive. [[Genre Busting|It combines elements of various genres]]: traditional wildlife documentaries, [[Body Language|silent movie-style "acting"]] and comic cartoon [[Slapstick]], and presents them in the form of [[Vignette Episode|vignettes]] or longer, cohesive stories, focusing on the characterization and the relationships between the animals. As always, whether this makes the show more entertaining or just plain dumb is up to the viewer to decide. However this isn't [[Dinosaur Planet|the first time]] that Discovery uses this borderline-[[Edutainment Show]] format for its dino-shows.
There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the production, due to the bold claims of its creators, which can be read [https://web.archive.org/web/20110906161725/http://press.discovery.com/us/dsc/programs/reign-dinosaurs/ here]. Basically, what the show set out to avoid was [[Somewhere a Paleontologist Is Crying|making paleontologists cry]], and to show off some [[Visual Effects of Awesome|breath-taking]] [[CGI]]. Another major subject of discussion is the "sparse narration" the press releases promised. Do note, the slightly controversial dino-anthropomorphism ''is'' justified due to the fact that originally, the show was to be broadcast with no [[Narrator]], but [[Executive Meddling]] changed that.
A [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op31dcC5FIM feature film version], re-cut to a format truer to the production's original intent, titled ''Dinotasia'', was released in UK theaters on May 4th, 2012. It received a brand new narration by [[Werner Herzog]].
''Dinosaur Revolution'' was [[Working Title|formerly titled]] ''Reign of the Dinosaurs''.
{{tropelist}}
* [[All Animals Are Dogs]]: Some people have observed that the ''Allosaurus'' cub acts suspiciously like a playful pup.
* [[All There in the Script]]: Many (if not all) of the characters have nicknames that were used during the production of the show, but are never mentioned in the final product. The exact genus and species (if any) of many of the animals featured also fall under this, and have only been revealed through [[Word of God]].
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** Subverted by the antagonistic ''Cryolophosaurus'', which gets a [[The Bad Guy Wins]] treatment at first{{spoiler|, but then shows up in the ''Glacialisaurus'' story where it encounters a swarm of mosquitoes...}}
* [[Kick Them While They Are Down]]: Averted in several cases, such as at the end of the ''T. rex'' duel, when the victor lets the loser go.
* [[Knuckle-Cracking]]: One ''T. rex'' apparently [[Took a Level
* [[Lethal Lava Land]]: Much of Earth's surface turns into this when the Permaian extinction occurs.
* [[Mama Bear]]: The mosasaur, ''Tyrannosaurus'', and ''Eoraptor''. {{spoiler|Subverted by the ''Cryolophosaurus'', which just stands there and allows her eggs to be destroyed.}} The ''Dinheirosaurus'', ''Cedarosaurus'', and ''Miragaia'' are probably either this or [[Papa Wolf]], as their genders are never specified.
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* [[Mighty Roar]]: By courtesy of none other than the king of roars<ref>At least in media, we have no way of knowing if the real animal did this</ref>, ''Tyrannosaurus rex''.
* [[Misplaced Wildlife]]: ''Ornitholestes'' in Portugal.
** Azhdarchid pterosaurs flying over the ocean.
* [[Mood Whiplash]]: One moment we see the young ''Tyrannosaurus'' playing, the next {{spoiler|they are killed by an adult ''Tyrannosaurus''}}.
** Also later in the same episode, much hilarity is happening around the old ''Ankylosaurus''. We first see the ''Troodon'' chasing a juvenile pachycephalosaur, which tries to seek shelter underneath the ''Ankylosaurus'', while the ''Ankylosaurus'' is seemingly oblivious to all this, even accidentally sitting on the male ''Troodon''. Later, the young ''T. rex'' playfully tries to attack the ''Ankylosaurus'', only to get knocked to the ground. Funny stuff. Then it chases the pair of ''Troodon'' into a cave. How cute. {{spoiler|Oh, shock, the meteorite hits and almost everyone outside is killed! The ''rex'' finds the twisted corpses of its parents. How tragic. But wait, the solemn moment can't last, there is a mammal to catch. And the clumsy juvenile trips and falls. How funny. And there the ''rex'' lies on the bottom of the cliff, with a broken skull, in a puddle of blood. How... what now?}}
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** The ''Castorocauda'' uses a skunk-like musk to defend itself.
** The ability of the ''Rahonavis'' to mimic sounds.
* [[Rule of Funny]]: As awkward as such moment are in a documentary, this show does have a sense of humor, as animation allows for much better timing than filming real animals would.
* [[Science Marches On]]: The discovery that mosasaurs likely had tail flukes was published just as the mosasaur models were finished up.
** ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20191102145450/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/04/04/yutyrannus-a-giant-tyrannosaur-with-feathers/ Yutyrannus]'' shows that large tyrannosauroids were feathered as well as smaller ones.
* [[Sea Monster]]: ''Tylosaurus'' and ''[[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks|Cretoxyrhina]]''.
* [[Seldom-Seen Species]]: A refreshing lot. There are ''Cryolophosaurus'', ''Sinraptor'', ''Eoraptor'', ''Torvosaurus'', ''Majungasaurus'', ''Rahonavis'', ''Miragaia'', ''Glacialisaurus'', ''Mamenchisaurus'', ''Rapetosaurus'', ''Lusotitan'', ''Shunosaurus'', ''Gigantoraptor'', ''Draconyx'', ''Cedarosaurus'', ''Guanlong'', freakin' ''Dinheirosaurus''... But the most interesting examples are the non-dinosaurian ''Saurosuchus'', ''Anhanguera'', ''Castorocauda'' (a water-going mammal relative), ''Volaticotherium'' (the Jurassic "flying squirrel"), ''Probelesodon'' (a non-mammalian cynodont), ''Zalambdalestes'' (a small placental mammal), ''Ischigualastia'' (a dicynodont), ''Inostrancevia'' (a gorgonopsid), ''Cretoxyrhina'' (a shark), and the (by modern standards) ungodly large frog ''Beelzebufo''. Many of these were discovered [[Real Life Writes the Plot|while the show was still in production]].
** Even among [[Stock Dinosaurs|Stock Dinosaur]] genera, the show tends to use [[Seldom-Seen Species]] (such as ''Allosaurus europaeus'', ''Velociraptor osmolskae'', and ''Protoceratops hellenikorhinus'' instead of the stock ''Allosaurus fragilis'', ''Velociraptor mongoliensis'', and ''Protoceratops andrewsi'').
* [[Sexy Discretion Shot]]: Not quite. We see a pair of ''Tyrannosaurus'' getting it on, and only after a few seconds does the camera cut to another scene.
* [[Shout-Out]]: As a ''Cryolophosaurus'' lunges at its opponent, for a brief moment they imitate Charles R. Knight's famous dinosaur painting, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140130101251/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Laelops-Charles_Knight-1896.jpg Leaping Laelaps]. Earlier, it uses a kangaroo kick, a homage to Gregory Paul's art.
** A segment fittingly titled "Pterosaur [[Looney Tunes]]" puts a tragic spin on the character of Beaky Buzzard's momma from the cartoon shorts, in the form of a strange ''Anhanguera'' mother who's [[Too Dumb to Live|too dumb to let her hatchlings live]].
*** Similarly, the character designs and relationships between the ''Rhamphorhynchus'', ''Ornitholestes'', and ''Allosaurus'' are [http://vonshollywood.blogspot.com/2011/08/cartoony-naaahhhhhhh.html based on] Tweety, Sylvester, and the bulldog.
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*** The mosquito in the amber that appears just before the ''Glacialisaurus'' scene is also an obvious homage to ''Jurassic Park''.
** The sequence where everyone beats up on the ''Torvosaurus'' was inspired by the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM Battle at Kruger] wildlife video.
*** Episode 3's opening battle also has elements of the Battle at Kruger, and actually has more in common with it rather than the Torvosaurus beat-up scene.
** The end of the second episode has a ''[[
** The cold opening of the third episode is similar to a scene in ''[[Raptor Red]]''.
** Several elements of the show were inspired by a French film about grizzly bears called ''The Bear'', which (as was originally planned for ''Dinosaur Revolution'') told a story about wildlife without using narration.
** The way one of the ''Cedarosaurus'' kicks away the ''Utahraptor'' is similar to to a scene portrayed in the accompanying artwork for the description of the sauropod ''[http://svpow.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/please-welcome-brontomerus-mcintoshi-2/ Brontomerus]''.
** A clip of the show on Discovery's website is called ''[[Jurassic Fight Club]]'' (keep in mind that JFC and DR aired on two different networks with two different owners).
* [[Shown Their Work]]: The theropod hands aren't pronated, most of the coelurosaurs are well feathered, and [[Noisy Nature]] is averted.
** Their ''Triceratops'' skin is even based on their personal examination of the skin shown on an unpublished ''Triceratops'' specimen.
** The ''Troodon'' are shown to be omnivores, and the males are responsible for brooding the nest.
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[[Category:Dinosaur Media]]
[[Category:American Series]]
[[Category:Dinosaur Revolution]]▼
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 2010s]]
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