Animal Armageddon: Difference between revisions
Content added Content deleted
(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Series.AnimalArmageddon 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Series.AnimalArmageddon, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
m (removed Category:Turn of the Millennium/Live Action TV; added Category:Live-Action TV of the 2000s using HotCat) |
||
(9 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{work}} |
{{work}} |
||
'''''Animal Armageddon''''' is a 2009 [[Speculative Documentary]] series that aired on ''[[Animal Planet]]''. Each episode (there are eight in total) focuses on a different extinction event in Earth's history (although there are two episodes about the end of the Cretaceous, because, you know, [[ |
'''''Animal Armageddon''''' is a 2009 [[Speculative Documentary]] series that aired on ''[[Animal Planet]]''. Each episode (there are eight in total) focuses on a different extinction event in Earth's history (although there are two episodes about the end of the Cretaceous, because, you know, [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs|dinosaurs]]). The basic plot is that several creatures are shown before the extinction occurs, and that only a few of those shown will survive the extinction event. It also features cutaway scenes of paleontologists talking about the extinctions and apocalyptic quotes from [[The Bible]] and other sources. |
||
{{tropelist}} |
|||
---- |
|||
=== This series provides examples of: === |
|||
* [[Always a Bigger Fish]]: After killing a juvenile [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|hadrosaur]], two ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Troodon]]'' are driven from their kill by a ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex|Tyrannosaurus]]''. |
* [[Always a Bigger Fish]]: After killing a juvenile [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|hadrosaur]], two ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Troodon]]'' are driven from their kill by a ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex|Tyrannosaurus]]''. |
||
* [[Anachronism Stew]]: It's played straight, but only true paleobuffs will notice it. |
* [[Anachronism Stew]]: It's played straight, but only true paleobuffs will notice it. |
||
** More noticeable in "The Great Dying", which somehow put the crocodile-like ''[[ |
** More noticeable in "The Great Dying", which somehow put the crocodile-like ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Proterosuchus]]'' and the mammal ancestor ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Thrinaxodon]]'' in the Permian, while they are known only from the later Triassic. |
||
** What's ''[[ |
** What's ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Primitive Dinosaurs|Staurikosaurus]]'' doing at the very end of the Triassic? |
||
** ''[[ |
** ''[[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|Gigantopithecus]]'' 74,000 years ago. It went extinct a good 300,000 years ago. |
||
* [[Ape Shall Never Kill Ape]]: Subverted. Hey, ''any'' species will commit cannibalism in the face of extinction. |
* [[Ape Shall Never Kill Ape]]: Subverted. Hey, ''any'' species will commit cannibalism in the face of extinction. |
||
* [[Apocalypse How]]: The basic premise of the series. Generally, it's a [[Apocalypse How/Class 4|Class 4]] event. A future [[Apocalypse How/Class 1|Class 1]] or [[Apocalypse How/Class 2|Class 2]] are implied, with regards to humanity. |
* [[Apocalypse How]]: The basic premise of the series. Generally, it's a [[Apocalypse How/Class 4|Class 4]] event. A future [[Apocalypse How/Class 1|Class 1]] or [[Apocalypse How/Class 2|Class 2]] are implied, with regards to humanity. |
||
** [[Apocalypse Wow]] |
** [[Apocalypse Wow]] |
||
* [[Badass]]: There's always at least one in each episode, with [[ |
* [[Badass]]: There's always at least one in each episode, with [[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|straight-shelled nautiloids]] in the Ordovician, ''[[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|Dunkleosteus]]'' in the Devonian, [[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|gorgonopsians]] in the Permian, [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|tyrannosaurs]] and [[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|mosasaurs]] in the Cretaceous, [[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|cave lions]] in the Ice Age and [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|humans]] in the modern world. {{spoiler|And they're typically the ones that go extinct first.}} |
||
* [[Big Creepy |
* [[Big Creepy-Crawlies]]: [[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|Sea scorpions]] in the first episode and the giant (1-foot-long) cockroaches in the last episode. |
||
* [[Camera Abuse]]: When the [[ |
* [[Camera Abuse]]: When the [[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|gorgonopsian]] kills a ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Lystrosaurus]]'', the camera is splattered with blood. |
||
* [[Crapsack World]]: Goes hand in hand with the extinction events. |
* [[Crapsack World]]: Goes hand in hand with the extinction events. |
||
* [[Documentary of Lies]]: Usually averted, but it's played straight in the episode about the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. It claims that the Triassic extinction (which, while bad, wasn't going to do much more than wipe out most of the larger animals) nearly wiped out all life on Earth and turned Earth into a new Mars. |
* [[Documentary of Lies]]: Usually averted, but it's played straight in the episode about the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. It claims that the Triassic extinction (which, while bad, wasn't going to do much more than wipe out most of the larger animals) nearly wiped out all life on Earth and turned Earth into a new Mars. |
||
* [[Downer Ending]]: A given, seeing that [[Apocalypse How]] is the main point of the series. |
* [[Downer Ending]]: A given, seeing that [[Apocalypse How]] is the main point of the series. |
||
* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: The survivors of the extinction. |
* [[Earn Your Happy Ending]]: The survivors of the extinction. |
||
* [[ |
* [[Everything's Better with Dinosaurs]]: Three of the episodes feature these great reptiles, with cameo appearances in the eighth episode. |
||
* [[ |
* [[Everything's Better with Monkeys]]: ''[[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|Gigantopithecus]]'' [[Anachronism Stew|226,000 years after they went extinct]]. |
||
* [[ |
* [[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks]]: They survived the Cretaceous extinction event. |
||
* [[ |
* [[Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods]]: [[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|Nautiloids and ammonites]]. |
||
* [[Family |
* [[Family-Unfriendly Death]]: Quite a number, but the ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Lystrosaurus]]'' and young [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|hadrosaur]] stand out. In the first case, a [[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|gorgonopsian]] bites down on its neck, [[Camera Abuse|spurting blood on the camera]]. However, the gorgonopsian's jaw structure means that he can only shear off one piece of meat, leaving an enormous pool of blood. What's left of the lystrosaur is scavenged by the protomammal ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Thrinaxodon]]''. As for the hadrosaur, it is attacked by two ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Troodon]]'' who fail to actually kill it. They are chased away by a ''[[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]'', who slits the hadrosaur's throat and eats its foot. |
||
* [[Feathered Fiend]]: A scantily feathered ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Velociraptor]]'' (with the model also used for ''[[ |
* [[Feathered Fiend]]: A scantily feathered ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Velociraptor]]'' (with the model also used for ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Birdlike Theropods|Dromaeosaurus]]'' and naked ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Troodon]]'' (with the model also used for ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Birdlike Theropods|Byronosaurus]]''). |
||
* [[Foregone Conclusion]] |
* [[Foregone Conclusion]] |
||
* [[Giant Flyer]]: The ever-popular ''[[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|Quetzalcoatlus]]''. |
* [[Giant Flyer]]: The ever-popular ''[[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|Quetzalcoatlus]]''. |
||
* [[Gorn]]: Mostly averted. This is a noticeably less gory documentary than ''[[ |
* [[Gorn]]: Mostly averted. This is a noticeably less gory documentary than ''[[Jurassic Fight Club]]'' and ''[[Monsters Resurrected]]''. However, it's played straight in "The Great Dying", when a [[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|gorgonopsian]] rather brutally kills and eats a ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Lystrosaurus]]''. |
||
* [[It Got Worse]]: Repeatedly at the end of the Permian and Cretaceous. |
* [[It Got Worse]]: Repeatedly at the end of the Permian and Cretaceous. |
||
* [[Grand Finale]]: {{spoiler|Mankind nearly goes extinct}} in the last episode. |
* [[Grand Finale]]: {{spoiler|Mankind nearly goes extinct}} in the last episode. |
||
* [[Mega Neko]]: The [[ |
* [[Mega Neko]]: The [[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|cave lion]]. The "Sumatran leopard" and the pumas may qualify. |
||
* [[Misplaced Wildlife]]: ''[[ |
* [[Misplaced Wildlife]]: ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Lystrosaurus]]'' in Kansas. It's never been found in the Americas. |
||
** ''[[ |
** ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Primitive Dinosaurs|Staurikosaurus]]'' in North America. It never made it outside South America. |
||
** ''[[ |
** ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Eudimorphodon'' and ''Megazostrodon]]'', on a related note. ''Eudimorphodon'' only lived in Europe and ''Megazostrodon'' only lived in South Africa. |
||
** ''[[ |
** ''[[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|Elasmotherium]]'' in the jungles of Sumatra. It lived on the tundra of Asia and Europe. |
||
** [[ |
** [[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|Giant leopards]] are not known from Sumatra. |
||
* [[Outrun the Fireball]]: Episodes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, with implied [[Outrun the Fireball |
* [[Outrun the Fireball]]: Episodes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, with implied [[Outrun the Fireball]]s in episodes 2 (or is it Outswim the Fireball?) and 8. |
||
* [[Panthera Awesome]]: The [[ |
* [[Panthera Awesome]]: The [[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|cave lions]], pumas and "Sumatran leopard". |
||
* [[Prehistoric Monster]]: Not the worst case, but not a realistic portrayal either. |
* [[Prehistoric Monster]]: Not the worst case, but not a realistic portrayal either. |
||
* [[Ptero |
* [[Ptero-Soarer]]: ''Almost'' avoided with their ''[[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|Quetzalcoatlus]]''. They flap their wing membranes a bit too fast. ''So close!'' |
||
** Their ''[[ |
** Their ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Eudimorphodon]]'' nearly made the cut, too. In one scene, however, it's shown to be bipedal. ''Damn!!'' |
||
* [[Raptor Attack]]: A half-arsed ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Velociraptor]]'' with the wrong skull shape and a pair of naked ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Troodon]]'' that take down a subadult [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|hadrosaur]]. |
* [[Raptor Attack]]: A half-arsed ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Velociraptor]]'' with the wrong skull shape and a pair of naked ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Troodon]]'' that take down a subadult [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|hadrosaur]]. |
||
** Cameos by ''[[ |
** Cameos by ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Birdlike Theropods|Dromaeosaurus]]'' and ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Birdlike Theropods|Byronosaurus]]'' aren't any better. |
||
* [[Rocks Fall Everyone Dies]]: The extinctions all qualify, with the most literal examples ever at the end of the Cretaceous {{spoiler|and the hypothetical future}}. |
* [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies]]: The extinctions all qualify, with the most literal examples ever at the end of the Cretaceous {{spoiler|and the hypothetical future}}. |
||
* [[Rodents of Unusual Size]]: In "The Next Extinction", after humanity hides underground to survive an asteroid strike, in cities, rats grow to the size of dogs. |
* [[Rodents of Unusual Size]]: In "The Next Extinction", after humanity hides underground to survive an asteroid strike, in cities, rats grow to the size of dogs. |
||
* [[Sea Monster]]: [[ |
* [[Sea Monster]]: [[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|Straight nautiloids, eurypterids, ''Dunkleosteus]]'' and [[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|mosasaurs]]. |
||
* [[Seldom |
* [[Seldom-Seen Species]]: A healthy variety. ''Astraspis'', straight-shelled nautiloids, eurypterids, ''Tiktaalik'', ''Materpiscis'', ''Bothriolepis'', ''Purgatorius'', gorgonopsians, ''Thrinaxodon'', ''Proterosuchus'', ''Eudimorphodon'', ''Rutiodon'', ''Desmatosuchus'', ''Staurikosaurus'', ''Megazostrodon'', and ''Stegodon''. |
||
* [[Shown Their Work]]: All of the talking heads. Hey, they even got Mathew Wedel (and unlike in ''[[Clash of the Dinosaurs |
* [[Shown Their Work]]: All of the talking heads. Hey, they even got Mathew Wedel (and unlike in ''[[Clash of the Dinosaurs|another show]]'', he wasn't [[Quote Mine|quote mined]]!). |
||
* [[Small Taxonomy Pools]]: Gorgeously averted. ''Astraspis''? ''Materpiscis''? ''Proterosuchus''? ''Desmatosuchus''? ''Purgatorius''? ''Stegodon''? What shows have ''these''? |
* [[Small Taxonomy Pools]]: Gorgeously averted. ''Astraspis''? ''Materpiscis''? ''Proterosuchus''? ''Desmatosuchus''? ''Purgatorius''? ''Stegodon''? What shows have ''these''? |
||
* [[Somewhere a Palaeontologist Is Crying]]: Their tears might prevent them from getting a clear view at those awful [[Computer Generated Images|CGI critters]]. To list some problems besides their hideousness: |
* [[Somewhere a Palaeontologist Is Crying]]: Their tears might prevent them from getting a clear view at those awful [[Computer Generated Images|CGI critters]]. To list some problems besides their hideousness: |
||
Line 53: | Line 52: | ||
** Elephant-legged [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|ceratopsians and sauropods]], as well as incorrect hand posture on the carnivorous dinosaurs. |
** Elephant-legged [[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|ceratopsians and sauropods]], as well as incorrect hand posture on the carnivorous dinosaurs. |
||
** Sauropods with their nostrils on the top of their head. A widespread image, but science shows it's wrong. |
** Sauropods with their nostrils on the top of their head. A widespread image, but science shows it's wrong. |
||
** And "''Phobosuchus''" should be called ''[[ |
** And "''Phobosuchus''" should be called ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Deinosuchus]]'', and it went extinct noticeably before the end of the Cretaceous. |
||
** Not to mention ''a 20-ton [[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|mosasaur]]?!?'' |
** Not to mention ''a 20-ton [[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|mosasaur]]?!?'' |
||
** ''And a '''20,000-ton [[ |
** ''And a '''20,000-ton [[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|Dunkleosteus]]??!!??''''' |
||
* [[Speculative Documentary]] |
* [[Speculative Documentary]] |
||
* [[Stock Dinosaurs]]: Not that many, compared to the rest of the cast. Among the great stock dinosaurs, there's ''Triceratops'', ''Tyrannosaurus'', ''Velociraptor,'' and the woolly mammoth. Among the semi-stock dinosaurs, there's hadrosaurs. Among the rare stock dinosaurs, there's mosasaurs. |
* [[Stock Dinosaurs]]: Not that many, compared to the rest of the cast. Among the great stock dinosaurs, there's ''Triceratops'', ''Tyrannosaurus'', ''Velociraptor,'' and the woolly mammoth. Among the semi-stock dinosaurs, there's hadrosaurs. Among the rare stock dinosaurs, there's mosasaurs. |
||
* [[Stock Sound Effect]]: One roar is used for the ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Triceratops'', ''Velociraptor]]'', ''[[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|Quetzalcoatlus]]'', ''[[ |
* [[Stock Sound Effect]]: One roar is used for the ''[[Stock Dinosaurs True Dinosaurs|Triceratops'', ''Velociraptor]]'', ''[[Stock Dinosaurs Non Dinosaurs|Quetzalcoatlus]]'', ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Dicynodon]]'', and ''[[Prehistoric Life/Mammals|Elasmotherium]]''. |
||
* [[Rule of Cool]]: Several less cool and more plausible theories are abandoned in favor of cooler, less likely ones. This is especially noticeable in the Ordovician episode. |
* [[Rule of Cool]]: Several less cool and more plausible theories are abandoned in favor of cooler, less likely ones. This is especially noticeable in the Ordovician episode. |
||
* [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]: And its Asian relative ''[[ |
* [[Tyrannosaurus Rex]]: And its Asian relative ''[[Prehistoric Life/Dinosaurs/Large Theropods|Tarbosaurus]]''. |
||
* [[The Hunter Becomes the Hunted]]: Before the Ordovician extinction, the [[ |
* [[The Hunter Becomes the Hunted]]: Before the Ordovician extinction, the [[Prehistoric Life/Other Extinct Creatures|eurypterids]] are easy prey for the straight nautiloids. During the extinction, the latter becomes smaller, turning the tables. |
||
** In the grip of the Great Dying, the wolf-like [[ |
** In the grip of the Great Dying, the wolf-like [[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|gorgonopsians]], the top predators before the extinction, are easy prey for the aquatic ''[[Prehistoric Life/Non Dinosaurian Reptiles|Proterosuchus]]''. |
||
* [[The Magic Goes Away]] |
* [[The Magic Goes Away]] |
||
{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 2000s]] |
||
[[Category:Dinosaur Media]] |
[[Category:Dinosaur Media]] |
||
[[Category:Edutainment Show]] |
[[Category:Edutainment Show]] |
||
Line 72: | Line 71: | ||
[[Category:Animal Planet]] |
[[Category:Animal Planet]] |
||
[[Category:Animal Armageddon]] |
[[Category:Animal Armageddon]] |
||
[[Category:Series]] |
[[Category:TV Series]] |
Latest revision as of 17:15, 1 November 2019
Animal Armageddon is a 2009 Speculative Documentary series that aired on Animal Planet. Each episode (there are eight in total) focuses on a different extinction event in Earth's history (although there are two episodes about the end of the Cretaceous, because, you know, dinosaurs). The basic plot is that several creatures are shown before the extinction occurs, and that only a few of those shown will survive the extinction event. It also features cutaway scenes of paleontologists talking about the extinctions and apocalyptic quotes from The Bible and other sources.
Tropes used in Animal Armageddon include:
- Always a Bigger Fish: After killing a juvenile hadrosaur, two Troodon are driven from their kill by a Tyrannosaurus.
- Anachronism Stew: It's played straight, but only true paleobuffs will notice it.
- More noticeable in "The Great Dying", which somehow put the crocodile-like Proterosuchus and the mammal ancestor Thrinaxodon in the Permian, while they are known only from the later Triassic.
- What's Staurikosaurus doing at the very end of the Triassic?
- Gigantopithecus 74,000 years ago. It went extinct a good 300,000 years ago.
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Subverted. Hey, any species will commit cannibalism in the face of extinction.
- Apocalypse How: The basic premise of the series. Generally, it's a Class 4 event. A future Class 1 or Class 2 are implied, with regards to humanity.
- Badass: There's always at least one in each episode, with straight-shelled nautiloids in the Ordovician, Dunkleosteus in the Devonian, gorgonopsians in the Permian, tyrannosaurs and mosasaurs in the Cretaceous, cave lions in the Ice Age and humans in the modern world. And they're typically the ones that go extinct first.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Sea scorpions in the first episode and the giant (1-foot-long) cockroaches in the last episode.
- Camera Abuse: When the gorgonopsian kills a Lystrosaurus, the camera is splattered with blood.
- Crapsack World: Goes hand in hand with the extinction events.
- Documentary of Lies: Usually averted, but it's played straight in the episode about the Triassic-Jurassic extinction. It claims that the Triassic extinction (which, while bad, wasn't going to do much more than wipe out most of the larger animals) nearly wiped out all life on Earth and turned Earth into a new Mars.
- Downer Ending: A given, seeing that Apocalypse How is the main point of the series.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The survivors of the extinction.
- Everything's Better with Dinosaurs: Three of the episodes feature these great reptiles, with cameo appearances in the eighth episode.
- Everything's Better with Monkeys: Gigantopithecus 226,000 years after they went extinct.
- Everything's Even Worse with Sharks: They survived the Cretaceous extinction event.
- Everything's Squishier with Cephalopods: Nautiloids and ammonites.
- Family-Unfriendly Death: Quite a number, but the Lystrosaurus and young hadrosaur stand out. In the first case, a gorgonopsian bites down on its neck, spurting blood on the camera. However, the gorgonopsian's jaw structure means that he can only shear off one piece of meat, leaving an enormous pool of blood. What's left of the lystrosaur is scavenged by the protomammal Thrinaxodon. As for the hadrosaur, it is attacked by two Troodon who fail to actually kill it. They are chased away by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, who slits the hadrosaur's throat and eats its foot.
- Feathered Fiend: A scantily feathered Velociraptor (with the model also used for Dromaeosaurus and naked Troodon (with the model also used for Byronosaurus).
- Foregone Conclusion
- Giant Flyer: The ever-popular Quetzalcoatlus.
- Gorn: Mostly averted. This is a noticeably less gory documentary than Jurassic Fight Club and Monsters Resurrected. However, it's played straight in "The Great Dying", when a gorgonopsian rather brutally kills and eats a Lystrosaurus.
- It Got Worse: Repeatedly at the end of the Permian and Cretaceous.
- Grand Finale: Mankind nearly goes extinct in the last episode.
- Mega Neko: The cave lion. The "Sumatran leopard" and the pumas may qualify.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Lystrosaurus in Kansas. It's never been found in the Americas.
- Staurikosaurus in North America. It never made it outside South America.
- Eudimorphodon and Megazostrodon, on a related note. Eudimorphodon only lived in Europe and Megazostrodon only lived in South Africa.
- Elasmotherium in the jungles of Sumatra. It lived on the tundra of Asia and Europe.
- Giant leopards are not known from Sumatra.
- Outrun the Fireball: Episodes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, with implied Outrun the Fireballs in episodes 2 (or is it Outswim the Fireball?) and 8.
- Panthera Awesome: The cave lions, pumas and "Sumatran leopard".
- Prehistoric Monster: Not the worst case, but not a realistic portrayal either.
- Ptero-Soarer: Almost avoided with their Quetzalcoatlus. They flap their wing membranes a bit too fast. So close!
- Their Eudimorphodon nearly made the cut, too. In one scene, however, it's shown to be bipedal. Damn!!
- Raptor Attack: A half-arsed Velociraptor with the wrong skull shape and a pair of naked Troodon that take down a subadult hadrosaur.
- Cameos by Dromaeosaurus and Byronosaurus aren't any better.
- Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies: The extinctions all qualify, with the most literal examples ever at the end of the Cretaceous and the hypothetical future.
- Rodents of Unusual Size: In "The Next Extinction", after humanity hides underground to survive an asteroid strike, in cities, rats grow to the size of dogs.
- Sea Monster: Straight nautiloids, eurypterids, Dunkleosteus and mosasaurs.
- Seldom-Seen Species: A healthy variety. Astraspis, straight-shelled nautiloids, eurypterids, Tiktaalik, Materpiscis, Bothriolepis, Purgatorius, gorgonopsians, Thrinaxodon, Proterosuchus, Eudimorphodon, Rutiodon, Desmatosuchus, Staurikosaurus, Megazostrodon, and Stegodon.
- Shown Their Work: All of the talking heads. Hey, they even got Mathew Wedel (and unlike in another show, he wasn't quote mined!).
- Small Taxonomy Pools: Gorgeously averted. Astraspis? Materpiscis? Proterosuchus? Desmatosuchus? Purgatorius? Stegodon? What shows have these?
- Somewhere a Palaeontologist Is Crying: Their tears might prevent them from getting a clear view at those awful CGI critters. To list some problems besides their hideousness:
- Naked raptors and troodonts. The raptors do have some feathers, but not nearly enough.
- Elephant-legged ceratopsians and sauropods, as well as incorrect hand posture on the carnivorous dinosaurs.
- Sauropods with their nostrils on the top of their head. A widespread image, but science shows it's wrong.
- And "Phobosuchus" should be called Deinosuchus, and it went extinct noticeably before the end of the Cretaceous.
- Not to mention a 20-ton mosasaur?!?
- And a 20,000-ton Dunkleosteus??!!??
- Speculative Documentary
- Stock Dinosaurs: Not that many, compared to the rest of the cast. Among the great stock dinosaurs, there's Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, and the woolly mammoth. Among the semi-stock dinosaurs, there's hadrosaurs. Among the rare stock dinosaurs, there's mosasaurs.
- Stock Sound Effect: One roar is used for the Triceratops, Velociraptor, Quetzalcoatlus, Dicynodon, and Elasmotherium.
- Rule of Cool: Several less cool and more plausible theories are abandoned in favor of cooler, less likely ones. This is especially noticeable in the Ordovician episode.
- Tyrannosaurus Rex: And its Asian relative Tarbosaurus.
- The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Before the Ordovician extinction, the eurypterids are easy prey for the straight nautiloids. During the extinction, the latter becomes smaller, turning the tables.
- In the grip of the Great Dying, the wolf-like gorgonopsians, the top predators before the extinction, are easy prey for the aquatic Proterosuchus.
- The Magic Goes Away