Chased by Dinosaurs

Chased by dinosaurs is a two part series ,in which as I understood the creators of Walking with Dinosaurs decided to make in order to focus in some dinosaur species, who did not had scene time in the Original series. Personally I think this was a great idea and even greater was to have as presenter Nigel Marven ,who with his energy and love of his work was the ideal person for the job. My only complain is the fact that the series ended so quickly, I mean I like they did not made it in to a cash cow ,but with so many weird species in the archosaurs family, I feel a bit cheated. Nevertheless this safari-style like the Walking with Dinosaurs was perfect and works to the show advantage the fact that is more of a focus on a specific dinosaurs rather than a tour of their kingdom though time. In the end, I loved it and recommend it for you ,Happy Dino-hours.

After three ground-breaking programmes that utterly redefined television documentary making, along came this mess of a show. Clearly the objective was to build upon the populist daring of the likes of the late Steve Irwin. Only one problem though: Irwin had charisma, this guy has none. And I mean none. Even the mosquitoes steal some scenes.

But, I hear you saying, haven't the dinosaurs got even better? Sadly no. If anything they're actually reduced to a walk on role in long shot or "chasing" the host. I estimate 70% of screen time has Nigel mumbling something either uninteresting or unfunny or warning us about what could happen when the dinosaurs do turn up. Trying to "scare" us in other words. He doesn't need to try. This show IS scary, but for the wrong reasons. It's contrived and boring and an embarrassment to all involved. Don't even bother trying YOUTUBE. Save your money and download limit.

I have nothing but absolute praise for this documentary! There are so many things to love about this documentary! First, the CGI is - as always in the Walking with Trilogy - absolutely perfect. The animals look like they are actually in the landscapes that are being filmed. You won't find any documentaries from other producers that look better. Also, Nigel Marven's acting is really good and convincing. Even though the creatures will mostly be added in later, he still acts as if there were real creatures he's interacting with him. Also, the storytelling is really good. For example, Nigel tells us that Therizinosaurus was probably a carnivore, like most theropods. It's over the course of the show that he finds out Therizinosaurus is actually one of the strangest herbivorous dinosaurs ever.

I saw this a while back, and it was pretty cool. Its been a while, so I don't quite remember everything. But I do remember that it was done terrific. Nigel was great, and the CG and live-action blended seamlessly. It's a definite for anyone who loves all of the Discover Channels Dino-Documentaries. It combined elements of Walking With Dinosaurs and When Dinosaurs Roamed America, with elements of Nigels own Wild Animal Docs. Its really interesting, the dinos look amazing, and its even a bit funny. The one draw back is the length of time. Being a dinosaur lover, I would like for a really epic doc, and even though Chased is entertaining, and it's not too short, I would just like to see longer docs, or maybe more of these. Anyway, if you get the chance, check it out.

I applaud the producers' efforts in this production. I'm a fan of the whole "walking with..." series in general -- I own nearly all of them on DVD! Yes, I did buy this because it was a spin-off and was therefore skeptical at first. After all, sequels are rarely good and certainly not the same standard as the other productions in the series. Like all those who have reviewed this on Amazon I was quite surprised...

Unlike the earlier productions, this show features Nigel Marvin. Basically he goes back in time and visits...well the animals of his or the producers' choosing....in other words, the more interesting animals! In the first show, we get Argentinasaurus and Giganotasaurus, not to mention Sarcosuchus. The second features Tarbosaurus and Therizinsaurus, and the third part presents a series of seven "sea monsters" of prehistory. All this of course is hardly in keeping with WWD or WWB, both of which uses detailed narratives and delves deeper into each subject. Instead of a prehistoric wildlife show, we get a prehistoric safari!

At first, this might sound contrived and unrealistic, but you come to realize that the idea was to truly recreate the "walking with dinosaurs" experience. A lot of us are fascinated by prehistoric life and the real way to appreciate the sheer scale and magnificence of these animals is to walk with them, literally! This was the appeal of Jurassic Park, both the idea and the film; but movies naturally sacrifice detail or accuracy for drama and action. For example, we actually get to see the correct 3ft Velociraptor and the Protoceratops in this! Chased by Dinosaurs is about as accurate as the series (accuracy typical of BBC documentaries), yet presents man and dinosaur interacting on screen. What's more, the CGI and SFX are of very good standard, comparable to all other such productions.

My interest in this series was the cast...heh...Nigel was a great actor ;-) but I really meant the animals! Argentinasaurus and Giganotasaurus were the two giant dinosaurs discovered not long ago, still holding the titles of biggest plant-eater and meat-eater respectively. I didn't really know about Therizinsaurus, but I assumed it was not unlike Deinocheirus (terrible hand) which has long been the anomaly of paleontology. Sarcosuchus was the "supercroc", the brief appearance of which was one of the best parts of the show. Others like Megalodon, Dunkleosteus, Leedsichthys and Archelon are other highlights, the greats and bigs, familiar to casual readers and followers of paleontology, not to mention shark and turtle lovers....

One can imagine Hollywood producing big budget movies featuring prehistoric animals in the future, utilizing either the time-travel or living fossil story lines -- a number of them already exist. However, my preference for this subject has always been with the scientific documentaries. Fortunately, as the technology becomes cheaper and available we will no longer have to rely on movies for realistic recreations of the prehistoric world….