If you enjoyed the 2002 BBC primetime programs, Walking with Dinosaurs and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, then you're going to LOVE this new 2022 Apple TV series, Prehistoric Planet, convincingly narrated by David Attenborough.
Let's be clear - Prehistoric Planet is a combination of state-of-the-art imaging technology and speculation. Since human beings were not around to actually witness and document the appearance and activities of dinosaurs, series like these need to utilize a certain amount of "discretionary imagination." And that's OK, because unless we someday discover a way to grow living dinosaurs from DNA (as in Jurassic Park), we'll simply have to rely on fossilized skeletons to help us form a reasonable picture of what dinosaurs must have looked like 66 million years ago. And as Attenborough explains, Prehistoric Planet leverages what Paleontologists have learned about dinosaurs thus far. Case in point, in the 1993 film, Jurassic Park, Velociraptors looked much different than the ones portrayed in this 2022 series. These Velociraptors have broad tails and feathers!
What I like about Prehistoric Planet is that we get to see these extinct creatures behaving like genuine animals, and not terrible monsters. These dinosaurs protect their young from predators, a behavior seen in higher life forms such as dolphins and elephants. And more so, we get to have a deeper understanding of why dinosaurs were able to flourish and thrive virtually unabated for millions of years. Perhaps we Homo Sapiens can learn a few things about adaptation and survival from our very distant cousins.
As usual no spoilers here, but I will reveal that "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau wanted the production to have the look and feel of a theatrical blockbuster, with an educational component woven throughout it.
