6 random things from my pre-blog life...

alright so it seems to be meme season here on the innerweb right now, so make sure you get your shots!
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i got tagged by not one, not two, but three people!!! you have etrilobite, raptor lewis, and the crazy harper to thank for this post... though i was going to be getting around to these stories eventually while back here in drumheller.

so the meme goes something like this:

Tag Rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they were tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

however as i'm finding blogging time scarce enough at moment while visiting here back at home, i'm going to not pass it on. as contacting people is time consuming.

i did a similar 8 random things about myself meme a while back, but i couldn't think of any new random things about me (due to the small brain and all). instead since i'm home, and am surrounded by things and memories that predate my starting this blog, and my downfall at the tyrrell, i figured why not 6 things from before this blog.

so here's a few things you probably didn't know about me or my past.

1. my first friend

despite my having some troubles making friends in the post tyrrell era of my life, i did used to have a few (many of my human ones you've met in other posts)...

back when i was first discovered and hatched i was quite the popular little hatchling! not only was i the cutest, shiniest, and newest vivus-dinosaur on the block, but also the first vivus-t-rex to show up in the new millennium.

despite all the artificial attention my being the newest hatchling in town brought, i managed to see through the hordes of admires and attach to one who stuck with me beyond this cute phase... whether i was the master judge of character in a time i don't even remember i can't say. my legal guardian craig assured me that's how it worked though... point is i met my best and most important childhood friend in the first few weeks of my life.

that was this affectionate guy in the photo, zendin the troodon.

we used to be inseparable! we hung out almost everyday back in those days!

craig used to say it was good i adapted a brother as sensible as zendin (i now think he met as opposed to any of the other coelurosaurs, who of course were part of the pack of the primordial feather...).

man almost all my early adventures involved zendin somehow. we got into everything from trouble to out of trouble... as friends do.

we were quite the funny pair. me with a tiny brain always hanging with the rather capable large brained zendin! i used to wish i'd grow up to be as smart as him someday... which sadly i never have... back than whenever i didn't know something or need help figuring out stuff, zendin was the guy i'd goto for help, and he ALWAYS knew the right answer...

i still remember the day zendin went away. up until i was fired from the tyrrell, that was the saddest day of my life. partially because it just happened out no where. the day before his 4th hatching day we were planning big things, and than the day of his H-day he just disappeared. i was devastated. on so many levels too. probably the worst part was not knowing why...

craig at the time wouldn't tell me, and only told me that when i turned 4 i'd find out. the thing was he looked sadder than me. i assumed that meant the worst that zendin was dead...

now i know what happened. as they do with all vivus-coelurosaurs, the pack of the primordial feather came to take zendin into their ranks that day... i think craig was so sad because not only because i was now without my constant friend and companion, but he knew the future in store for zendin, and that i too would share it someday myself (though when the time came i pulled a fast one on him and the pack!)

i never did hear from zendin again... nor do i expect too now. everyone around here is asking ME if i've heard from him. which isn't a good sign, as of course i haven't, and drumheller is my last link to him...

so that's one random thing that makes me sad.

on to one that is less sad.

2. dinner doesn't always have to be food...

zendin wasn't my only childhood friend. he also wasn't the only one of my friends to be an unusual match with me (as in my being stupid compared to his being a genius). it was me and my friend norman that most people around drumheller would point out as the original odd couple.

me and zendin never stuck out as we were both meat eating theropods. seeing theropods together was an everyday sight in drumheller, and the average person won't take a second glance. only the expert would know that a t-rex and troodon are a little strange mix...

however norman, well most people couldn't help but gawk when the two of us were chilling together... the reason being, well you see norman was a...

ceratopsian. a centrosaur to be precise... that was also his last name as a quick aside. a centrosaur. norman a centrosaur. which made him unique on his own, as the majority of us living dinosaurs have the middle name "the" (making guessing our names easy on the middle section). not norman. his discoverer had a sense of humour, and on account of centrosaurs being extremely common in dinosaur provincial park, gave him the middle name of "a"... but i digress.

of course why me being friends with norman was SO unusual is that, well, ceratopsians are us tyrannosaurids' favourite food (well okay apart from albertosaurs and asian tyrannosaurids. albertosaurs on account of being specialized to hunt duckbills, and the asians not have any proper ceratopsians to hunt). which is true, i LOVE eating ceratopsians. however, i met norman before i knew this.

he was too young to know this too, and much to the horror of "the herd" we both started playing together as hatchlings. (all the vivus-ceratopsians of drumheller hangout together in a huge mix match herd... unlike the mesozoic when they'd have separated into their own kinds. as there isn't enough of any one kind [except maybe centrosaur] to do this in the present they make do with each other).

those were the best times ever. you couldn't have asked for a better friend to play t-rexes and triceratops with!

me and norman's friendship wasn't as simple as mine with zendin. there was an awful lot of tension on account of our coming from different sides of the food chain. especially once i started occasionally eating ceratopsian when i got older.

at the same time we were able to see thorugh each others niche's (as in me the monster butcher, or norman the delicious steak on legs) to the good dinosaur inside . when we got older we used to have really deep meaningful discussions about our place in the world, and the expectations put on us different dinosaurs.

in fact it was these talks with norman (plus zendin adding his big brain's worth to the issues) that really started my being aware of the tyrannosaur sterotype. the three of us also banded together against dinosaur oppression in the modern human world.

speaking of the three of us, those were some of the happiest days of my life. when it WAS the three of us. me, zendin, and norman. the world seemed a happier and safer place.

of course zendin disappeared, and my childhood ended then as a result. norman stuck around drumheller longer, and we remained good friends despite the lack of our troodon trickster.

yet things were never the same. we were both getting older. i was having to eat more and more meat due to my growing metabolism (though it soon leveled as i stopped growing!). norman on the other hand was getting lots of bullying from his own kind for hanging with a carnivore.

than about a month before i started this blog, and i was going to be fired, the museum decided to send a local dinosaur to calgary to act as an ambassador/advertisement there (as a lot of the tyrrell's visitors end up passing through calgary at sometime).

i'm planning on looking up norman a centrosaur when i head back into calgary after my trip here in drumheller. it has been too long...

3. speaking of not speaking too...

i wasn't sociable with all the dinosaurs in town, for a number of reasons (as you'll see).

however at the same time there was one type of dinosaur that i have never, ever spoken to. not one word. i don't even know if they can speak (though i assume they can)...

those would be my close relatives the ornithomimids...

i'm not sure why i didn't ever speak to one. there were a few around town. it's not like they were scary or anything, and we'd have plenty to talk about as not only are we both coelurosaurs and ancestors of birds, but we even speak the same language coelurosaurian (in theory... again i've never heard one speak).

at any rate even though i tried a few times to pluck up the courage to go try and talk to some (sometimes on a bet made by zendin troodon) i never carried through with it (like in this photo zendin snapped of my failed attempt to approach these struthiomimuses).

4. not everything was safe and friendly

well if ornithomimids proved difficult to approach, there was one type of dinosaur i found impossible!

this was in part due to a "slight" fear on my part (though you'll note i used "s to show the sarcasm in my saying that. i was TOTALLY scared of these guys!). unlike many of my fears this one had a very solid foundation, and when i say solid i mean solid, especially at the back end.

these dinosaurs were even slower and dumber than me. they basically had three modes. eat, sleep, and try to kill theropods. no matter which of these they were in they were always grumpy about it.

these were the tanklike armoured ankylosaurs. the tyrannosaur banes!

when i made that list of my fears a few years ago, i forgot these guys (on account of my brain size again), but they sure are on my list!

as you can see in the picture. when i saw one even across the street i'd run away. there was even this one time i ended up running in a circle when four of them happened to all wander down different ends of the same street... man did the locals laugh hard at me... like to see how they reacted if instead of us meat eaters, the tankosaurs were hardwired to take out people instead!?!

_

5. i stood my ground with some

when i said earlier i wasn't sociable with all the dinosaurs in drumheller i wasn't kidding. it was way over half of them who didn't like me. part of this was because i was a theropod, and most of the dinosaurs in town are plant eaters. so you can kind of see why i wasn't their favourite on that end. making it worse though...

it was also partially due to the competition we dinosaurs are put into by the human world. only those of us that attract attention, which is just a nice word for saying being popular enough for people to pay to see you, had an easy go of things. despite my not being well off like most of the other dinosaurs in drumheller (there was and still is, too many of us there), but because i was a tyrannosaur i was perceived as being one of the chosen ones who had an easy life...
_
which couldn't be further from the truth! as a dwarf tyrannosaur i had it nearly the worst off of us all. i was seen as a wasted chance. another tyrannosaur to bring in thousands of tourists who grew out his cute hatchling state, and got stuck at a small theropod. who wants to see them in the first place. that alone a tyrannosaur version. if not for craig being in town to back me up, i would have been in really rough shape (isn't funny how i was fired 3 weeks after he left town!).

despite my lack of true success, the fact i had a job at the museum (due to craig) brought out a lot of hate and resentment from my fellow dinosaurs. in particular the boneheads (i mean that in both a literal, and insulting sense), more commonly known as pachycephalosaurs, took it upon themselves to try and bother me on a daily basis. in particular the small stegoceras who hung out on the outskirts of town centre.

now i'm not the bravest tyrannosaur at the best of times, but i wasn't going to let a bunch of dinosaurs with brains smaller than mine (they're the smallest brained dinosaur family of us all) push me around. or at least that was the theory. sadly due to the battering ram that is their head i occasionally was bashed around a few times that i stood my ground (which is worse than being pushed).

zendin helped me come up with a few traps for them though. i'd dodge them at the last second, to see them run into something embarrassing (or as naught was it was painful!). sadly when zendin left so did these great tricks, and my encounters with the stegoceras typically ended in pain.

even a broken rib or two. oh well, i guess it is for the best. among us theropods such things are seen as badges of honor... though if you ask me it is dumb. there must be a far more enjoyable ways to be cool than scares and broken bones.

6. the true bully

of course i couldn't stand my ground all the time, and in fact i usually didn't. especially against one certain dinosaur. who you of course already know for his mean spirited nature, but i thought i'd show you a little of how it began...

that was of course my JERK! of a cousin, larry. who earned his title way back in these early days. he was just always so mean to me...

the thing is i'm not sure why, but it has something to do with my mom the huxley t-rex and her sister, larry's mom, black beauty (both now are fossil skeletons at the tyrrell). i'm not going to go into it too much this post (but a later one shortly), but there was something about my mom when she was alive in the cretaceous that makes larry feel inferior to me...
_

not that something 65 million years ago should matter. the point is here in the present, larry has always been a JERK! to me!!!

back when i worked at the museum he won't just contain his bullying to my life. he'd also extended it to my human coworkers. especially that last year at the museum, at badlands science camp. there were a few really bad incidents.

the worst had to be during the heat wave. larry decided to time his daily swim in the red deer river perfectly with our canoe trip. normally the kids were thrilled to have a visit from a dinosaur...

not that day. fortunately for us he didn't actually hurt or kill anyone (it'd be bad for his movie career). at the same time he terrified and capsized many of the kids canoes (which was GOOD for his movie career. as a dinosaurs star you want a rep as being scary... just not a real killer or no one wants to be in scenes with you...).

there are soooooo many more stories i could relate and tell. after all it was a whole chunk of my life without a blog. however i have things to blog about that are going on right now (and i have lots of pictures of these... unlike those days before i owned a still life rendering machine).

so that's 6 random things about my past.

movie review: jurassic fight club

(Production Notes: We're sorry for interupting the flow of Traum's Melbourne adventure. As you'll see this is a time sensitive post, and it will be moved after its relevance goes away.

To the people at the History Channel kind enough to send us this press kit, we're sorry for the last minute nature of post. Due to the delays of posting down here to New Zealand we only just recieved the press kit TODAY an mere hour before the episode aired on the East Coast of the US.)

with my not being allowed to use my "cell"phone during the museum quest it came as a surprise that the instant i turned my phone back on that i got a call immediately!


it was my special talent agent peter bond. "traumador!" peter said in amazement and frustration. "i've been trying to reach you for a month!!!"

"sorry about that peter," i started to trying and explain.

peter cut me off though. "traum it's very important i find out where you are!"

"the melbourne museum," i matter of fact stated.

"perfect don't leave there," he ordered.

that was a bit of a ridiculous request. i was going to have to leave at some point.

"no no no!" peter had lost his typical cool when i started to protest. "listen traumador, your blog is starting to take off baby. so people are noticing it. big people traum."

"the history channel noticed your reviews of dinosaur movies, and they want you to take an advanced look at their new show jurassic fight club," he informed me. wow that was so cool! i got real excited. "i know there big guy, but there's one problem. the show airs tonight! meaning i'm super expressing you the press kit they sent me. it'll cost a bit, but the exposure will be great."

"really you think my site will give them great exposure?" i asked astonished.

peter paused for a moment. "yeah... give them exposure. exactly," he finally said. i asked him how they could afford to super post the kit to me in australia in under a day? peter replied. "well, you see due to the... contract. yeah contract. we sadly have to pay for that. no worries though. with the authority you gave me to see over your funds i've taken care of the airfare."

i knew i might regret giving peter access to my bank account... i was almost broke. AGAIN!

at the same time if this was going to lead to my big break than it was worth it!


a few hours later a call came over the museum PA. the kit had shown up, and what a kit it was. look at it! have a cool pop up book like inside... plus the first episode of the new jurassic fight club.

sadly the kit arrived just after the show aired on TV, but here's what you're in for if you have to wait for a rerun...

Jurassic Fight Club: Cannibal Dinosaur

General Summary

(remember this review is from a dinosaur point of view)

Score: 80%

Good Points:

interviews with actual palaeontologists

excellent graphics to illustrate facts

great build up to the AWESOME end battle!

Weak Points:

way TOO over sensationalized

only majungatholus was cast making cretaceous madagascar seem VERY empty!

Plot Summary

funny enough i don't have to say much. the whole show is a plot summary!

basically a fossil abelisaurid called majungatholus (which was actually renamed majungasaurus, but the show was made just as this change went into effect) was discovered in madagascar with bite marks on it indicating it had been eaten, and possibly attacked by another member of its own species.

the show goes through the fossil evidence of a possible confrontation (well in the show it is shown as a certain confrontation) between a male and female majungatholus ending in a huge mega show down between the two.

Dinosaur Celebrities and Stars

this is an easy show (well episode anyway) to do a cast list for. there are exactly three characters. all of whom are majungatholuses.

they include this rather orienimented male.

a very plain female, and (not pictured) her cute little baby.

it is great to see majungatholus (aka majungasaurus) get into a show of its own. abelisaurids in general seem to come up short in shows and movies due to their not being quite as large as us tyrannosaurids or their fellow southren hemiosphere giants the carcharodontosaurids. yet they were still impressive carnivores and theropods in their own right, just not the biggest.

which is probably how majungatholus caught the attention of the human producers. being the biggest predator on the newly isolated cretaceous madagascar it made an excellent centre piece for a show. especially for their well documented cannibalistic tendancies.

though it is worth mentioning that this ONLY casting majungatholus is one of the problems with this sample episode. madagascar had some really neat and unique dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures at this time. yet they don't show up at all! their not even mentioned.

the only hints at other animals even existing around majungatholus are small clips from other episodes we are shown through the course of this episode.

Dinosaur Portrayal

in some ways i know more about majungatholus by watching this show than i do any other dinosaurs in other modern documentaries (like walking with dinosaurs). the way they examine majungatholus' anatomy and fossils is very impressive and comprehensive for a show. very cool forensic style palaeontology.

do remember i said some ways though. the only behaviour we get is the boy/girl interactions of this abelisaur. they cover everything you could every want about majungatholus mating rituals and parenting, but nothing about in the life of. this is due to their being no other creatures shown. which i think was a wasted oppurtunity. many will walk away thinking abelisaurs just tried to kill each other...

Dinosaur Perception

despite the horrific premise of majungatholus fighting and killing each other (just like a bad old fashion dinosaur movie) it is done in a completely factual and mostly accurate manner.

we are given a detailed look at the science and evidence leading to this confrontation. with this tapestry it is very believable to see the end fight. i'm curious to see how we equally savage (though not as a deadly to each other) tyrannosaurs will be covered in the show.

my only grip with the perception this show gives, is that though the scientists interviewed and host "dinosaur" george blasing convey majungatholus as a real animal with real behaviour and motivations, the narrator goes WAY over the top on building up to the fight. everytime a fact is given in a reasonable manner the narrator restates it in over sensational rephrasing for no effect other than to waste time if i follow why properly. it made my grind my teeth a little while watching, and my sharp t-rex teeth aren't meant to do that owwwww!

Dinosaur/Human Relations

as this is a factual exploration of my ancestors (well okay abelisaur ancestors, as far as theropods go i'm barely related to them honestly) there are no human dinosaur interactions except for palaeontologists with fossils.

this was great because 99% of modern dinosaur human interactions is through you mammals finding and looking at our dead remains. it was awesome to see some of the science of palaeontology done on screen. though it would have been nice for some of the shots done in museum labs and collections to be slowed down, there was a lot of that fast CSI style editing going on at parts (i also laughed at how all the museums best specimens and casts were spread on the table for collections shots!).

Favourite Scene of the Movie

overall a great show, but one fact stated by "dinosaur" george really spoke to me.

"dinosaur brains are really simple, and go from on to off. their always living in the moment."

that so summarizes how my tiny brain works!!!

Score: 80%

More Episodes to come though!

again this was only a sample episode they gave me to review.

according to the package there's a lot more coming!

the next episode stars my cousin larry and his mate teresa tyrannosaur. as well as other pack of the primordial feather members nanotyrannus.

here is the nanotyrannus from this episode: t-rex hunter airing on august 5th

is it just me, or does this guy in this pic remind anybody of godzilla?

here is desdemona deinonychus posing for her episode gang killers airing august 12th

the tenontosaur from this same episode.

the next episode bloodiest battle airing august 19th allosaurs such as this one here go toe to two with their horned contemporary ceratosaur.

a stegosaur from maybe this episode or hunter becomes the hunted. i'm not sure. the promo disc only had the picture not the info.

this is followed on august 26th with deep sea killers where a megalodon shark takes on a brygophyseter whale.

on september 2nd ice aged monsters gives us a mega lion takes on a cave bear.

september 9th in hunter becomes hunted we get a second allosaur vs. ceratosaur match!

maybe this camarosaur is around to watch the fight... or he is from bloodiest battle. i'm not sure again an image with in details.

utahraptor takes on the tank like ankylosaur gastonia in raptors last stand on sept. 16th

on sept. 23rd largest killers will examine many of prehistories greatest predators...

than comes a program i've been waiting my whole life for! septemeber 30th river of death covers my home province!!! some albertosaurs goto pick a fight with a herd of pachyrhinosaurs!
i wonder if lillian is playing one of the albertosaurs? man not only a taste of home, but a hot babe on TV... as a t-rex i don't often get to look at girls on TV. well except my cousin's girl friend. not exactly someone you can oodle over...

another episode that could be about alberta (but will probably be in montana since their about the same in the cretaceous) a pack of dromaeosaurs try to catch an edmontosaur only to have a tyrannosaur (larry again) interupt their dinner in valley of fear on october 7th.

in the finale yet ANOTHER look at the extinction of dinosaurs. like we dinosaurs don't have this event rubbed in our faces enough at museums and such already! that's armageddon on oct. 14th.

a secret meeting... (the pack part 7)

Meanwhile elsewhere in the world...

(From Layla Oviraptor's personal notes about this meeting of the Pack of the Primordial Feather)

Like so much of the rest of town, the old factory had fallen out of use. It was monument to better times, but now was a sore reminder of what had been lost. Now it had no redeemable features, and most likely should have been put out of its misery. Most important the old factory was the least likely place anyone would ever want be. Which was preciously why I had selected it for the gathering...

I had made the mistake of walking to the summons with Desdemona the Deinonychus. Desdemona was very much a testament to her kind, the Dromaeosaurs (though they have recently taken to calling themselves "raptors" due to the attention it gives them from the humans) not that I particularly like her or her kind. Dromaesaurs are a proud creed, and for good reason. They are among the greatest hunters* to evolve, they posses great physical prowess, and can boast the closet ancestry to birds**. Yet despite all this they are sorely lacking in the realms of big picture thinking and diplomacy. An abysmal combination to be deficient in.

*In Coelurosaur culture hunter is essentially a warrior, and a very honorable role/skill to posses.

** Often within the Pack of the Primordial Feather ones personal closeness to modern birds is a source of both prestitage and power.

If there was a Dromaeosaur who was worst for these missing qualities it was Desdemona.

"You have heard why the royals are summoning us?" she mockingly asked me. I choose to give no reply. "All this because they fail to be decisive on the issue."

"If they lacked decisiveness than they wouldn't have issued the summons in the first place," I grumpily responded.

Desdemona turned towards me to try and get me on her side. "You of all, must clearly see the weakness they have recently displayed. Especially with this problem," her tone revealing the cold anger Dromeasaurs were so good at fostering.

"That remains to be seen," I coldly retorted. I was seldom in the mood for Desdemona's games that alone today. Yet at the same time I was not eager to alienate the raptor matriarch either. So I quickly added. "I do agree with you though, something must be done about it soon," Though kept my plans for the issue to myself.

"Yes this is what I've been saying all along!" She eagerly jumped on this common ground, while clearly missing the point me and her were hardly seeing eye to eye on anything except the fact there was a problem. "If you'd only throw your support behind me for the leadership of the pack than things would be solved more quickly."

Here we were again. She was so predictable. If she got any of the rest of us matriarchs alone it was all talk of supporting a mutiny followed by glorious revolution under Dromeasaur rule. I'd heard it all before. Some from Desdemona herself directly, but most of it from what she'd told the other matriarchs. She never seemed to grasp that I was by far the best connected of anyone in the pack, and that I knew everything she was up to. It probably would have surprised her more that I was in most ways controlling the affairs of her pride, but that was not an issue today.

We were almost inside the factory so I decided to humour her. "How would you accomplish that then?" I asked in reference to her solving our issues faster.

"No more royals to begin with," she immediately stated. Desdemona's contempt for them was almost admirable in how much it seemed to give her life meaning. Sadly due to her typical Dromaeosaur hotheadedness she didn't remember she was talking to the royals' official lieutenant. "Instead we'd acknowledge those with real strength in the pack, and allow the strongest and most powerful to make our decisions."

I fought off laughing. She really was a fool sometimes. That was why the royals were the leading force of the pack. They were the strongest. Besides even if we eliminated them from the ruling structure Desdemona was fooling herself if she thought the "raptors" would be overpowering the Therizinosaurs in a free for all. Though the claw hands were currently push overs, with the royals to keep them in line, given the chance in anarchy I knew they would easily seize control of the pack.

"Let me guess your solution to this current problem would be to send in the talons?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"I have one of my elite scouts already in position ready to move, and I could have the rest of us there in under a week," she boosted of her plan that she clearly thought was brilliant and well thought out. Not that sending in some of our most elite hunters didn't have some merit, but it was missing the point.

We finally entered the empty interior of the factory, and there waiting for us as planned was the royal patriarch, Larry the Tyrannosaur.

Despite her short comings Desdemona caught on to my disregard for her, and turned to me earnestly before we were close to Larry. "You may think you're smarter and wiser than me Oviraptorid, but do not think me an idiot," Which was not a problem. I didn't need to think it. I already knew it. Than she made a good point, one I had to warmly nodded at to show that I still had some degree of respect for her. "We are treading on dangerous grounds here today, and if they make the wrong decision it could mean doom for us all. You mustn't just blindly follow them Layla. The Prides all look to you to help guide us where they may not."

I was taken aback by Desdemona's yielding to my authority. Had she been keeping up an act of being obstinate all the time to keep my attentions off her? Or had she simply just realized she was getting nowhere now, and that it was perhaps best to try and make some slight gains before the meeting.

We approached Larry. "Greetings matriarchs," he welcomed us. "I apologize for the lack of notice of this summons, but as I'm sure you know the situation requires shift action."

I nodded agreement. This however was not what Desdemona wanted to begin with. Dromaeosaurs are such rash and feral creatures, and do not posses that along understand formality or ritual within their kind.

"Yes shift action. Which you have failed to take!" She challenged Larry immediately. Which may sound brash, but would be perfectly acceptable among her own pride members.

Fortunately Larry was more than used to Desdemona and her kind. Having to tolerate their presence in his dealings with humans. "How is that exactly Crimson Talon?" he both patiently and politely acknowledged, though I could tell it angered him to have to put up with her belligerence immediately.

"Had you not been so sentimental and sympathetic there would be no problem," she coolly replied. I couldn't disagree with her on these points.

"It was far more delicate than you are accustomed to... Crimson Talon," he carefully addressed her by her formal title. Though through his pause he betrayed his annoyance at her challenge.

As a credit to her race, as I've said, Desdemona was only empowered by Larry's attempt at diplomacy. She sensed it was weakness, and like she would prey displaying such a thing she pounced. "You only claim it was delicate because your own flesh a blood was involved."

"You dare imply..." Larry began.

Desdemona interrupted. "I do! If it had been a member of my pride or Lilith's OR any other, you would have been as brutal and in-'delicate' as was necessary," She attacked.

Larry began to growl in protest, but impressively Desdemona was unphased and pressed on. Something I certainly would not have been brave enough to do. "You can not deny that when it has been time to indoctrinate members of the other prides you do not hesitate to take whatever means were necessary to secure them for the pack. Now not only did you fail with a member of your own pride, but also a second time with a direct relative! So you can see why I'm unimpressed with your double standard."

Surprising I found that I agreed with her again. I had had similar thoughts myself about how Larry had handled the two deserters. I bobbed my head in support.

Larry was a bit taken back by my siding with Desdemona. "You would suggest what?" he asked grimly.

Of course in typical "raptor" fashion. "Let me send the Crimson Talons after them."

"Ah yes and what. Hunt them down like what... a hadrosaur?" Larry mockingly finished the thought. "Every time you say it. 'Send in the Talons'. We aren't looking for food or assassinating a rival. These are our own kind, and we need them. You our front line hunter [warrior] should know how desperate we are for more troops. Especially royals."

"Yes so desperate that we allow them to roam outside our ranks openly mocking us, and announcing to our enemies how weak and divided we are," Desdemona rightly countered.

Larry finally lost his cool. He reared up in the air and bellowed at full volume. Desdemona bravely held her ground unyielding and unsubmissive to Larry's display of dominance.

"Enough!" Larry cried. "I shall not put up with any more of your insolence. I treat you as an equal and get nothing but disrespect. I remind you Dromaeosaur you are nothing more than a footsoldier! So be a good one and listen to orders."

Desdemona of course took offense to that, and immediately the two got into one of their typical posturing based "fights". Only they would think of these exchanges as intellectual or meaningful engagement. To the rest of us they were pity arguments. Hatchlings' squabbles were productive in comparison.

Of all the two pack members I had to be alone with. If these two were as important or influential as either of them thought themselves the Pack would have been out to destroy the others rival, and forget our true purpose and our REAL enemies.

I stood ideally by, incredibly annoyed at the situation, and not paying any attention.

They got into a pathetic argument which was more important the the Pack's efforts to retain popularity within human culture. It was a stupid argument. Larry was clearly the most successful of the two. He had just come to this summons off his tour promoting his most recent film Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Desdemona though an arguably successful breakout star with Jurassic Pack (along side Larry) had only achieved moderate stardom, mostly within that franchise, and was no where near as big a celebrity as Larry.

It was equally stupid as I standing right there on the sideline, had been a star in a Dinosaur Planet beside Desdemona's Mongolian pride members the Velciraptors. In fact the entire pack had in modern times been doing their part in movies and documentaries to keep Coelurosaurs in the humans' eyes. Bickering over who was most important was not just silly, but dangerous. It lost sight of the fact that the Gondwana Pack was very much interested in displacing us from this popularity.

The next tangent made me laugh even more. Desdemona took a pot shot at Larry's pride being so far removed from the avian lineage. She boasted of her feathers in comparison to his. I laughed, and very loudly but neither of them were paying any attention. Though she could claim direct ancestry to the lineage, Desdemona was in no condition to brag about her feathers. She, and Larry for that matter, had shaved them off! Due to humans having fixed stereotypes about us we were forced to shave our feathers to appear in their silly movies.

So though the two of them kept themselves in this lowly condition for the betterment of the pack, they looked ridiculous. As if that weren't funny enough Desdemona in her baldness trying to shame Larry, who is equally bald to her! By her logic I was the only credible one in the room, still maintaining my proud feather coat.

Finally from behind me came the loud footsteps of the last attendee of the meeting. The grand matriarch of the Pack. Teresa the Tyrannosaur.

I immediately bowed to her, as Larry had wanted Desdemona to do to him. "Matriarch," I formally greeted her.

"Rise Layla," Teresa warmly responded before glaring at the two squabbling fools. Her anger at their pathetic display showed at once as her lips curled to reveal her teeth.

For the first time today someone other than me showed some rationality, as Teresa held back to listen to the argument. Though they were both idiots, Larry was at least not making completely selfish claims, but his uncontrolled hatred of Desdemona was undermining my opinion of him. That coupled with the fact he was Teresa's mate made it clear who she was siding with.

Surprising them both Teresa rushed in between them, and barred in on Desdemona. "That will be enough Crimson Talon!!!" She shouted in a most commanding voice.

Desdemona instantly changed her posturing and tact now that the Grand Royal Matriarch was here. Dromaeosaur social dynamics are fast paced and chaotic enough at the best of times withing their own pride, so this change in the situation was well within her comfort zone.

She wisely bowed in submission to Teresa. "I apologize your majesty," Desdemona said in insincere humbleness. She hated Teresa almost more than her mate, though for far different reasons.

"I have only invited you to this summons out of courtesy Crimson Talon," Tersea warned the raptor. "If all goes according to the plan you and your hunters will only be needed as a last resort."

"And just what is the first resort may I ask?" Desdemona treacherously inquired.

Tersea's eyes narrowed in on the Deinonychus. "Though it is no direct concern of yours Desdemona, because I am a fair Matriarch I shall share it with you."

Teresa than turned to me. "I have heard that you have something in mind Layla."

Teresa despite her flaws was an excellent leader for the pack. She could not have missed how her mate's actions drove the runt and the absconder from the pack. Realizing that this did not reflect well upon the royal pride especially with the other matriarch's, she was clearly seeking one of us to alleviate concerns.

I had been doing some discrete brainstorming and planning with other key members of the Pack for a solution. Teresa clearly had gotten wind of this, and now sought my advice.

I had many good ideas, some were my own, but others from especially Razi Saurornithoides of the Troodonitid pride and Delano Compsognathus of the Compsognathid pride. The most amusing part was the Desdemona with her non-stop insistence on sending in the Talons had given me a brilliant thread to string all the ideas into one plan of attack.

"It is simple," I stated with confidence. "We sabotage both Traumador and Lillian's efforts at incorporating into the human world."

None of them were convinced by my introduction. Not that they were supposed to be. Desdemona was working up to ask her usual annoying question of how, so I beat her to the chase.

"Lillian is currently in an easy situation to play some of our old 'friends' off each other to destroy her last chance at stardom," I could just anticipate the fun of wrecking her with two stones.

"As for Traumador, he is trying to be human, and that makes him both a harder and yet easier target get at than any other trouble maker we've ever had," I quickly double thought what I was about to suggest. If I got this right I would reinforce myself as the royal's key lieutenant among the pride matriarchs. If I was wrong I would damage my position possibly beyond repair.

(A page is missing here from Layla's notes)...

My compromising plan met with agreement from all three. Even Desdemona was enthusiastic as I had opted to send a troop, all be it a small scout one, in after him. The fact one of her Crimson Talons was in this troop pleased her. Larry was very happy I had sought his advice on his cousin's weaknesses, and was obviously looking forward to results. Teresa though encouraged by my idea had one reservation.

"Who is to lead this operation?" She asked almost suspiciously. I hadn't thought of that. However she had come to a conclusion I was never going to consider. "Perhaps you?"

I thought she was accussing me of ambition I did not posses. Never once had I planned to go into the field. I preferred to work in the background.

Than I realized it was not worry of my over ambition, but rather she wished for me to lead. I couldn't have that. This was a worse outcome than if they'd rejected my plan. I was not capable, skilled, or most important enthused to lead our hunters into this plan.

Key moments went by. I was either going to have to agree or admit cowardess, which would undo all the gains I'd made so far. Than the perfect solution occurred to me. One that would forever endure me to the royals. "Dismalious should be the troops captain."

Desdemona shot me the most evil glare. I should have expected it. That would have been her least likely choice. Yet I wasn't trying to win her favour. The royals both seemed to sit upon that option for a time, and than what seemed days later finally both bobbed in approval.

"Yes," Larry said with great statisfaction. "Dismalious would make the perfect instrument to use against my cousin."

Teresa said nothing, and rather move towards her mate in a show of affection. This was high praise for my plan for the royals never showed sentimentality in front of non pride members unless they were extraordinarily happy.

"Yes my dear," she said nozzling her patriarch. "Your runt of a cousin shall be given the punishment he so rightfully deserves, and yet be brought into our pride at last.

Teresa turned to me again. "How long till you can have the troop in place, and enacting your plan?"

"I can have them in place by the end of the month," I assured her.

movie review: walking with dinosaurs

though almost nothing but disaster and tragedy has come in the wake of my cousin larry visiting me, one good thing has emerged from the whole affair...

larry being the biggest dinosaurian actor in hollywood (in modern times anyway), has the behind the scenes scoop on nearly every high profile dinosaur movie of the modern era. as larry loves talking about himself and his various exploits, during his recent dropping by i've gotten the low down and behind the scenes gossip on pretty much every film larry has ever been a part of!

perhaps the most dear to his heart were the BBC prehistoric series including such legendary documentaries as walking with: dinosaurs, beasts, and monsters. the chased by dinosaur series, sea monsters, and prehistoric park all with nigel marvin.

larry giving me stories about these shows coinsides quite nicely with my birthday present from craig all of them on DVD. so i shall impart on you an very insiders view into the production of these shows. starting at the very beginning...

Walking with Dinosaurs

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Summary of Review

(Remember this is all from a Dinosaur point of view)

Score: 120%

Good Points:

the LARGEST cast of dinosaurs EVER in one project!

unmatched accuracy and attention to scientific detail for its time

authentic casting

easily among the best dinosaur, and prehistory portrayals of all time!

Bad Points:

some out of date dinosaur behaviour included (but this was cutting edge in its time. so i'm cutting scales here as it were)

i wasn't in it!

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Plot Summary

not much of a specific plot in human terms of a movie due to NO humans appearing in the movie at all! instead near perfect portrayals of dinosaur existence before their various extinctions millions of years ago.

in dinosaur terms of plot though these 6 episodes have it all.

romance. nearly every episode has a storyline or plot thread related to love. these vary from the heart warming (the love affair of the diplodicus), to the comedic (the out of date loner tyrannosaur story), to the very tragic (the ornithocheirus' epic). to all you dinosaurs reading this walking with dinosaurs is a great date movie!

epic. the saga of especially the coelophysis comes to mind as they muscle their way into a none dinosaurian world.

comedy. the antics of the leaellynasaura had me laughing the whole time. their such cute little buggers.

horror. the last episode is full of scary menaces to us dinosaurs leading up to the final extinction 65 million years ago (i highly discourage hatchlings from being allowed to watch this episode). From egg eating mammals, to volcanic gas traps, to large crocodiles, to the asteroid impact. a very scary note to end the series on.

action. okay too many great action sequences to list. to the guys out there, this film has so many scenes of hunting, stalking, pouncing, and ambushing it'd make even the most scavengeristic theropod yearn for the hunt...

Production History

for these particular films to be fully appreciated their behind the scenes story must be known first. so for this review i diverge with this new category (due to a few of my later review aspects being kinda sparse).

like SO much in modern dinosaur culture this series owes a great deal to jurassic park. with the majority of us surviving dinosaurs being dependant on public interest in us (due to our only occupations being in museums, theme parks, and oh so few lucky of us as movie stars) jurassic park brought a whole new level of public interest back to dinsoaurs.

at the forefront of this wave of public interest, was the flagship dinosaur of the jurassic park franchise (at least in the 1990's), my cousin larry. now whatever differences me and larry have in real life (caused by his being a JERK and all!) i can't bad mouth his actions in the 1990's (partially cause i hadn't been discovered or hatched yet) as larry put a lot back into the dinosaur community with his stardom.

larry has always been a staunch believer and proponent for dinosaur rights and cultural identity. militantly so in fact. it isn't exactly a tightly held secret that larry hates humans, and sees them as taking from us a world that we rightful owed millions of years ago.

though his politics may be a bit controversial inside and outside the dinosaur community one thing is for sure, they compelled larry to seek the making of a remarkably unique series. emerging from jurassic park and jurassic park the lost world a tried, tested, and true hollywood star larry decided to push for a side project he'd envisioned while working in mainstream hollywood.

that of an accurate and factual version of dinosaur existence be told. one where humans weren't injected in as the heroes. one where our heritage and past could be explored in a truly dinosaurian way...

larry found no one interested in north america, but when word of his aspirations hit britain film makers the BBC pounced on the opportunity. backed by both larry and the BBC the beginnings of history were in the making.

it is interesting to see how these human co producers would effect production. on the one side larry's extreme pro dinosaurian views shine through, yet some of the human sensitivities and misconceptions disrupt larry's vision.

the most public of these are the jurassic episode and larry's own finale episode. the human producers saw the late jurassic period as the Utopian dinosaur era, and as of such the episode has a rather loving and optimistic approach in it's story telling. this differed from larry's viewpoint (and mine) that the late cretaceous was the pinnacle of dinosaur existence.

larry's wishes were mostly kept for the finale (in which he starred) to be of a tragic nature, and a moving and swaying testament to the end of the dinosaurs reign of the earth. however the british producers were so keen to catch the hype from jurassic park they insisted on incorrect tyrannosaur social behaviour like that from JP2 (mostly the t-rexs being loners when we were in fact packing animals). i'll talk about this later, but i mention it early so you follow my small brains logic throughout...

the series before it had even started had one star, but in order to bring the prehistoric past back to life larry and the BBC were going to have to assemble a massive cast... which launches us perfectly for a look at...

Dinosaur Celebrities and Stars

with a staggering 21 dinosaur species in the cast, and 16 other very extinct animal types in this series it was show casing nearly a quarter the surviving prehistoric animals who still dwell the earth today!

by this point in the late 90's dinosaurs were getting used to being in the public eye, and more and more obscure and less main stream species were making their way into films and movies. what made walking with dinosaurs so unique was the prehistoric none-dinosaur creatures it featured. suddenly opportunities for fame and exposure were opened up to these otherwise unnoticed minorities (a trend the british have pushed up into the present with shows like primeval).

i list all the various cast members by episode rather then importance just due to the sheer number.

first episode "new blood" set in the early days of the triassic. larry wanted to tell the story this seldomly talked about era of dinosaurian history (at least in pop culture). it presents the then current reptilian rulers of the earth in some of their glory, but they are also depicted as grossly out matched by the dinosaurian new comers (true they were out matched on a geologic timeframe, but larry's dinosaurian supremacy over plays this to seem like a single year of time)


Placerias among the last of the mammal like reptile get a big spot light in this episode representing the old guard rulers of the earth.


Coelophysis a commonly overlooked by hollywood, but very important early theropods who finally as of walking got the public attention they rightfully deserved! in real life they were played on screen by all the members of the only modern surviving pack of coelophysis left today. they work at several museums throughout the world, and this was a rare chance for them to all work together. this family reunion aspect and their being able to act out their culture and past these guys apparently had a lot of fun while filming, and it shows in the quality of this episode.


cynodont are the token mammal infusion into this episode. as mammals would become important later on in geologic time it's good to see their origins on screen. at the same time one can't help but smell the humans at the BBC insisting that the cynodont storyline be an important one in this first episode.


Postosuchus this proto t-rex was a must for the pilot episode. a close ancestor of us dinosaurs postosuchus is viewed as distant family by us theropods even if he ate our primative ancestors. larry specifically wanted them included in the series. out of both respect for another archosaurian top predator, but for the more humbling role of being shown subcoming to dinosaur supermacy.


Peteinosaurus was more then thrilled at presenting flying reptiles in a NONE hollywood manner. typically pterosaurs are portrayed as nothing more then flying man killers, and the oppurtunity to set the record straight was a real treat for all the pterosaurs of the walking with dinosaurs series.


Plateosaurus were the giants of their time, but due to hollywood typically not doing dinosaur period pieces (and if they do they always get it wrong!) prosauropods are always over shadowed by true sauropods in movies. walking was just what the prosauropods needed to show the world what they had!


the second installment "time of the titans" is the only uplifting and happy episode. which makes for a refreshing watch. the other episodes tend to overly hint at or outright speak of the impending doom of the eras and environments their about. this episode is a power house of mega dinosaur appearances. never before in history has so many HUGE dinos been in one film...

Brachiosaurus having broke out into films with jurassic park the largest of dinosaurs makes a short appearance in time of the titans. however due to the attention the first brachiosaurus scene of jurassic park received in 93 (that interest peeking in a oscar nomination) the brachiosaurs bought into their own new popularity a bit too much. when JP2 entered production these sauropods made too high a salary demand, and were written out of the movie and gained something of a bad name for themselves in the movie making biz. their reputation was still damaged as of the late 90's, and the BBC not wanting to be too associated with them, but still needing them to appear in the episode about large american dinosaurs offered brachiosaurus this grand and quite complimentary appearance, but only for a minute. a jesture that eventually would lead to brachiosaurs being cast in JP3

Diplodocus being among the longest of sauropods is no stranger to film, but hadn't appeared in anything for decades till walking with dinosaurs. in time of the titans they are THE titan. the shots of the diplodocus herd on the move became instant classics, and are among the most iconic of this whole series.

Stegosaurus after enjoying their trimphant come back to movies in the post-jurassic park movie era with a prominent appearance in JP2 the stegosaurs were given a very short but high profile appearance in walking with dinosaurs. much like the brachiosaurs the stegosaurs are given very high notice part, but very little screen time. rumour has it that larry didn't get along so well with these martial artists of the jurassic while filming JP2, and thus manipulated the BBC to keep the stegosaur moments to a minimum.

Dryosaurus being a hypsilophodon were among dinosaurs that could almost never hope to appear in a movie. however being a numerous, but yet somewhat low key, member of mesozoic ecosystems walking with opened up a whole new oppurtunity for the whole hypsilophodontid family to appear. this would cummulate to episode 5 centering around some of Dryosaurus' relatives from down under.

Ornitholestes the small ancestor of tyrannosaurs and raptors, for their introduction to show biz, is given a key role as the nemisis of the baby diplodocus in the early parts of this episode. larry is known to get along very well with these primitive members of our ceolorasaur family, and insisted they be given a big part in the series.

Allosaurus is one of the few lucky dinosaurs to appear in two of these episodes. not only time of the titans, but also the aussie episode. allosaurs are of course NO stranger to the big screen, and as of such have a strong voice in hollywood. one that even matches larry's which was how they negotiated so much time on the series (this was also helped by their family's living so long throughout geologic time!).

Anurognathus the tiny sauropod cleaning pterosaurs were a requirement in this episode as per contractual demands by the sauropod stars. the sauropods required the BBC to provide the Anurognathuses to keep them comfortable. it was an interesting time where the actors offstage requirements could be included in the movie to enhance the film. it also wasn't hard for the participants in these scenes to perform as this was natural behaviour for all involved. the producers of the series were so impressed by the Anurognathus that they were cast again in a solo role (removed from sauropods making it a very unrealistic portrayal) in primeval this year.

the third installment "cruel sea" is among my most favourite mesezoic shows of ALL time! i've always had a soft spot for marine reptiles. dating back to my days living in the tyrrell museum. i used to feed the mariners on display every night before i'd goto bed. they were so majestic. former rulers of the blue. i always wanted to see them alive (rather than the tyrrell's being nothing more than bones). this episode is the first time in decades that marine reptiles have been done well...

Ammonite the shelled cephalopod (squid/octopus relatives) make a brief, but important cameo in this episode. sadly only one LIVING ammonite is seen on screen, and that's at a distance. larry informed me these guys are very hard to direct for filming (maybe explaining their brief but equally disappointing appearance in primeval). this made for not as great an appearance of ammonites as should have been warranted. ammonites were as common as fish during this period of time, and though the episode acknowledges their importance it sweeps them under the rug quickly.

Cryptoclidus though not the most spectacular of long necked plesiosaurs was a good representative of this family. despite popular depictions of plesiosaurs, most of them had medium lengthed necks like cryptos. these guys had immense fun filming with the underwater acrobatics and maneuvers of their heritage.

Eustreptospondylus the token dinosaur in the episode is the first high profile appearance of a megalosaur on screen. this is odd as megalosaurs are the longest known dinosaur by humans yet they've never appeared in film before walking with.

Hybodus the odd jurassic shark became a fan favourite with their anvil shaped fin. so popular and memorable they were asked to return in chased by dinosaurs sea monsters one of the few sea creatures to get a double appearance.

Liopleurodon the short necked pliosaur behemoth of nightmares made a very trimphant debut into showbiz with the intro scene of snatching a dinosaur off the beach (this was a very tricky scene to film as only one tiny bit of beach was deep enough for the liopo to duck behind the rock, and that barely permitted the room for it to grab the dino and lunge back into the water convincingly). among the largest predators of all geologic time was also asked to return for chased by dinos sea monsters.

Ophthalmosaurus the star of the episode is yet another first time appearance. this of the whole ichythosaur family. amazing to think that the fish lizards had never appeared in anything before, but it's true. probably the speed that they move at, even while going slow, proved prohibitive of old era filming technology. walking with remedied this fortuently.

Rhamphorhynchus were the only verteran actor prehistorians in this episodes cast, and served a real leadership role to the others on what to do.

the fourth epsiode marked the beginning of the creteaceous episodes (which made up half the series) "giant of the skies" is a tragic tale chronicling the demise of a single male Ornithocheirus. through the narrative of his finale journey we fly from one end of the prehistoric earth to the other, and get a very indepth view of dinosaurian life of the mid creteaceous.

Ornithocheirus among the largest of winged reptiles is the star of this episode. like so many of the other animals in the walking with series this was a first time appearance for these guys. on the behind the scenes side this was a surprise move made by larry who spurred pteranodon in favour of a less known pterosaur, which allowed the showing of the igaunadon era of time.

Iguanodon was the first really famous dinosaur in human culture ever, and played a big part in the really important early dinosaur fiction the lost world, but yet hadn't appeared in a film till this point (being brushed off in the 1925 film based on the book for newly discovered north american dinosaurs). however after appearing in walking they were immediately cast for the modern HBO remake of the lost world (in my opinion the best film adaptation of it by far!).

Utahraptor the giant dromaeosaur made famous due to it's discovery around the release of jurassic park actually hadn't been in anything up till this point. typically tyrannosaurs and dromaeosaurs don't get along, but larry and the utahs developed a real friendship while filming walking with. i figure this is because dromaeosaurs evolved from big lugs like utahs and got smaller and more annouying throughout geologic time. the bigger theropod the less annouying is the common contention of us tyrannosaurs!

Polacanthus despite being the first known ankylosaur a century and a half ago these guys had, you guessed it been in nothing... It was fitting that they got to walk along side other old timer igunadon in all their scenes.

Tapejara the debut of these huge crested pterosaurs was a real victory for the pterosaur community who'd been calling for more exposure in films than pteranodon or dimorphodon. larry sensitive to their request made sure this episode satisfied this demand.

Iberomesornis larry is proud of tyrannosaurs being a direct relative of birds (a status no other large theropod can claim. the carnosaurs and spinosaurs are distantly related to birds, but we t-rexs as the giant ceolorasaurs are directly linked) and wanted an appearance of an early bird species. due to the prehistoric geographic locations picked for walking with this episode was the first oppurtunity to show case such a primative speicies.

the close to home episode of the series "spirits of the ice forest" is set next door to new zealand in prehistoric austrilia which during this time was attached to us and antarcticia. this episode is about the extreme adaptability of us dinosaurs, and our overcoming extreme environments with extremeness! This episode is poplulated with the biazarre and novel survivors of geologic times past. Due to the sever nature of the polar environment a number of animals that had gone extinct elsewhere, but had adjusted to the colder climate, survived down under. as of such this episode features a very unique cast:

Koolasuchus the giant amphiban equivilant of a crocidile, surprisingly was not a new comer to film. in the old era movies at the earth's core and the people that time forgot both featured a koolasuchus. in this movie they were depictated as the water dwelling animals they were.

Leaellynasaura are the only hypsilophodon in history that will probably be the star of a dinosaur movie. Their funny and cute antics are very memorable, and lend well to exploring the strange south polar world of the cretaceous.

Muttaburrasaurus the rather large igunadontid are the true sterotypically aussies (their dinosaurian accents are even austrilian!) and give the episode that true down under flavour.

weta were once a wide spread species throughout the world, but now are extinct everywhere but new zealand! i'm going to have to find me one to see here in the present!

tuatara are a species of reptile that is inbetween lizards and snakes. in other words it is a common ancestor for most modern reptiles. virtually unchanged in 220 million years (but still a little different mind you!) these guys still again are around in isolated new zealand. again another something i have to find here!

finally the end of the series "death of a dynasty". the big end of cretaceous piece, and larry's most passionate performance ever (at least till prehistoric park). this episode captures my species past and heritage well. the only problems are the glaring mistakes of tyrannosaur behaviour, and it is a little different being that i'm an albertan t-rex not a montana one (same with larry for that matter).

Anatotitan the massive non decorated duckbill. very surprising that these guys or their ubber closely related relatives the albertan edmontosaur haven't been in films before. edmontosaurs are by far the most common dinosaur you find around drumheller. you'd think they'd come cheap for anything as a result!

Ankylosaurus the tankosaur, and t-rex nightmare (this episodes climax shows exactly why!) surprisingly had no roles previous to this. being one of the most iconic and popular of plant eating dinosaurs this is interesting. showing this popularity after this appearance the snap desecion was made to get these guys in JP3, even if it was a bumged up appearance it shows how these guys can easily sell themselves and dinosaurs in hollywood!

Deinosuchus the colossal crocidile makes a very short and unexciting debute with a very minor cameo. realizing their blunder some years later the BBC would rectify this by having the finale ep of prehistoric park centre around this large croc.

Didelphodon the token mammal of the episode. granted by this stage in geologic history mammals cropped up a lot, and the didelphodons were amongst the most common. you guessed it, and i'm getting tired of saying it, but i must. yet another new comer to hollywood...

Parksosaurus one can only think that the hypsilophodons had a very razor sharp agent. these otherwise completely ignored dinosaurian family (both in the popular eye and even scientifically almost) manage the most number of appearances at 3 out of 6 episodes. it helps that they were geologically successful, and present in a lot of prehistoric ecosystems, but man to get that conveyed ON SCREEN. i might have to get peter bond in touch with their agent, cause they sure got results!

Quetzalcoatlus a very brief but loving cameo for the largest flying animal of all time. quetzies are no stranger to the screen though getting the honour of killing the main character caveman in land that time forgot (mind you the quetzy there had to wear dentures for the role LOL).

Torosaurus beat out its close and much more popular relative triceratops for the role of lead ceratopsian. at the time touted as the largest skulled animal ever (now of course this title belongs to pentaceratops) it was hoped by the BBC this might gain some interest as torosaurs had never been on screen before. instead their rookie acting, and lack of majastey (compared to a triceratops anyways) left them sort of flat.

Tyrannosaurus nuff said

Dinilysia an early snake and mammal catcher makes an amuzing appearance as the target of tyrannoaur chick curiosity.

Dromaeosaurus the original raptor (in that it was found by humans first) finally get on screen, and earn themself stature and recognition towards (but not equaling) their cousins the velciraptors.

Triceratops the iconic and ultimate ceratopsian somehow yet again in the 90's is given an almost insulting role in a movie. in this case forced to play a mere carcasse right on the heels of JP1 where they were portrayed by a sick tranquilized individual (which is just a tad better than dead body in my opinion). the modern era just hasn't been kind to these guys. once they were acknowledged as the masters of the horned dinosaurs with epic roles such as 1 million years bc. it won't be up until last years (after massive protests and demands by the public) prehistoric park that triceratops finally got a modern appearance worthy of their stature of tyrannosaurs main prey item... er i mean rival.

Dinosaur Portrayal

walking with dinosaurs did nothing but good things for the public's understanding and appreciation for us saurians. not to mention their exposure to other prehistoric creatures never even hinted at before in popular culture.

even years later at the museum we were asked questions about our fossils and displays directly spurred by walking with.

perhaps where this series achieved the most was how it expanded on jurassic park's conveying dinosaurs as living breathing creatures. we saw everything from how some dinosaurs ate, to slept, to mated, and even how they died.

it showed that we didn't exist solely to inhabit isolated far away places simply to eat humans dumb enough to wander there. rather that we had been a very successful and thriving group of animals removed from humans, and totally undependant on them.

Impact on Dinosaur Perception

larry's goal of a series to inindate humanity with an accurate and realistic view of dinosaurian culture was truely realized.

not only did it succeed, but it was an international hit. spawning numerous sequels and spinoffs (which i have sitting in front of me waiting to be reviewed...).

Overall Score: 120%