For dinosaur enthusiasts, a constant item of conjecture is what the next big dinosaurian pop culture event is going to be. There's been a bit of news lately concerning some high profile dinosaur projects in the media.
First, Steven Spielberg's Terra Nova project has been the subject of some speculation. The Hollywood Reporter writes that most of the writing staff has been sacked in an effort to reduce its enormous budget. But in a report in the New York Post, Fox maintains that the show is still on schedule, and will receive a two-hour preview in May. About the preview, the Post says:
The two-hour episode gives viewers a first look at the series, which revolves around a family living on Earth in the year 2149. With the planet on the brink of destruction, thanks to years of aggressive scientific experimentation and an exploding population, the family agrees to go back to prehistoric times in hopes of finding a way to save the Earth by attempting to correct mistakes made in the past.A crazy premise, but I'll be able to forgive some of that if the dinosaurs are done well.
Though its stage show winds down, the Walking With Dinosaurs brand isn't giving up quite yet. Deadline reports that Fox is rumored to be doubling its dinosaur pleasure, inking a distribution deal for a forthcoming WWD 3D documentary. This is quite a show of faith, and the production probably has March of the Penguins to thank for it. Hat tip to Michael May for alerting me to this on twitter.
The other big upcoming project, Discovery's Reign of the Dinosaurs, has been pretty quiet since Comic-Con, which is probably a good sign. For a brief post on the event and a few pictures, check out the Discovery blog. All in all, there is good reason to be stoked about dinosaurs in the media. While Terra Nova will surely be more devoted to story and spectacle than accuracy, I have high hopes for Reign of the Dinosaurs and the WWD 3D project to widen peoples' appreciation for the science of dinosaurs.
As far as dinos in the media goes, I was excited to see episodes of a show called "Dinosaur Dan" show up on Nickelodeon this weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhile the interaction between the CGI dinos and the live-action portions isn't quite smooth, I can tell that the dino portions are state-of-the art as far as the science is concerned. Dinos are often feathered/quilled. Ceratopsians are odd scuttling creatures halfway between a cow and an iguana.
Where was this show about a smart-ass, dino-obsessed kid when I was a smart-ass, dino-obsessed kid, having to put up with the original "Land of the Lost" just to see a T-Rex come to life?
I haven't seen Dinosaur Dan, but I know Dinosaur Train is a great dino TV show for kids: http://albertonykus.deviantart.com/journal/36227392/
ReplyDeleteWhy can't there be a dinosaur TV show that's just as great for older audiences? Here's hoping that Reign of the Dinosaurs will do that!
The Walking With Dinosaurs movie also sounds interesting.