Prehistoric Park
| Prehistoric Park | |
|---|---|
|
Prehistoric Park title card | |
| Genre | Science fiction / Docu-fiction |
| Starring | Nigel Marven |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Impossible Pictures |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
ITV (2006) Animal Planet (2006–present) National Geographic Channel (2012–present) |
| Original run | 22 July 2006 – 26 August 2006 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
Primeval Chased by Dinosaurs Sea Monsters Walking with Dinosaurs Walking with Beasts Walking with Monsters |
Prehistoric Park is a six-episode Docu-fiction television mini-series that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. The program was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created Walking with Dinosaurs. Each episode is an hour long including commercial breaks. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on Watch.
The program is narrated by David Jason and presented by Nigel Marven. The fictional component is the theme that Nigel goes back to various geological time periods through a space-time portal, and brings back live specimens of extinct animals back to the present day, where they are exhibited in a wildlife park named Prehistoric Park, which is a big area between high steep mountains and ocean, with varied environments.
Story
The story, which is told in the style of a documentary, focuses on naturalist Nigel Marven leading missions to find and collect extinct animals from the distant past by use of a time machine. The animals are then placed in the confines of Prehistoric Park, a private wildlife park that is situated in a dry, mountainous region of an unspecified part of the world. Marven's core motivation in the series is to defy extinction and to give select extinct species a second chance at life.
Characters
- Nigel Marven (playing himself).
- Bob (Rod Arthur) - the long-suffering head keeper at the park. In charge of feeding, cleaning and controlling the animals in the park.
- Suzanne (Suzanne McNabb) - the head veterinarian. Responsible for treating animals when they're sick or injured.
- Saba Douglas-Hamilton (playing herself) - a big cat specialist, whom Nigel invites back to catch Smilodon in episode 4.
- Bill - a crew member who travels back with Nigel. Introduced in episode 5.
- Jim - an associate of Nigel who travels with him through time. Also introduced in episode 5.
- Ben (Morgan Williams)- One of Nigel's crew. Four Mei long attacked him for meat in his backpack. Introduced in episode 3.
There are various other staff members, but none of their names have been given. One of the more prominent is Suzanne's blonde assistant, who appears in all episodes except episode 1.
Episodes
Series 1 (2006)
Episode 1: T-Rex Returns
Episode 2: A Mammoth Undertaking
Episode 3: Dinobirds
Episode 4: Saving the Sabre-Tooth
Episode 5: The Bug House
Episode 6: Supercroc
Locations within the park
When the animals are brought back to the park, they are placed into an nearby enclosure. The enclosures are named after the extinct animals that they are housing.
- Mammoth Mount: This enclosure houses the park's woolly mammoth Martha.
- T-Rex Hill: T-Rex Hill is home to the park's pair of Tyrannosaurus rex, Terence and Matilda.
- Big Cat Climb: This two part enclosure features a pair of breeding sabre-tooth cats.
- Triceratops Creek: Theo is the resident triceratops at Triceratops Creek.
- Deinosuchus Dip: This is a huge lake, where the park's deinosuchus is kept.
- Ornithomimus Pond: This paddock features a herd of ornithomimus.
- The Bug House: This state of the art enclosure keeps its Carboniferous period creatures safe. Its oxygen levels inside are double what they are today, and this keeps the Arthropleura, Meganeura and Pulmonoscorpius happy.
Animals
The extinct animals that are brought to Prehistoric Park throughout the series are as follows:
- A male Triceratops named Theo. In the opening credits though, a small group of Triceratops is seen grazing with the Parasaurolophus and Titanosaurus, indicating that more were brought back to the park to join Theo.
- A herd of around thirteen to twenty Ornithomimus, which go on to have twelve chicks.
- Two young Tyrannosaurus rex, who are siblings. One is a male named Terrence, and the other is a female named Matilda.
- A female Woolly Mammoth named Martha.
- A male Elasmotherium. (Woolly Rhinoceros).
- A small group of Microraptors.
- A herd of nine titanosaurs.
- A Phorusrhacid. (Terror Bird).
- Two Sabre-toothed Cats, one male and one female. The Cats later go on to have two cubs.
- A Meganeura (Giant Dragonfly).
- A Pulmonoscorpius (Giant Scorpion).
- An Arthropleura. (Giant Centipede).
- A Deinosuchus. (Giant Crocodile).
- A Troodon. Unlike the other animals, Nigel and the crew do not intentionally bring back the Troodon, it hides in the back of their truck as they return to the present, and it is later given its own pen.
- A group of Parasaurolophus. They are first seen in the episode "Supercroc", when Nigel brings back the Deinosuchus. While Nigel is not actually seen bringing any back to the park, a small group of Parasaurolophus can be seen in the opening credits alongside the Triceratops and Titanosaurus, indicating that a few made it back to the park.
As well as the extinct animals, there are also several modern-day animals that reside in the park. These include a herd of African Elephants, a Cheetah, a group of Nile Crocodiles and free-roaming Egrets and Ibis. Nigel also keeps a few smaller animals in and around his base, which include a Blue and Yellow Macaw, a Hermann's Tortoise, a Western Hog-nosed Snake and a Jackson's Chameleon.
Animals seen in the wild:
Episode 1: T-Rex Returns
- Ornithomimus
- Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Triceratops
- Nyctosaurus (unidentified)
Episode 2: A Mammoth Undertaking
- Ursus Spelaeus (Cave Bear)
- Woolly Mammoth
- Cro-Magnon (live-acted by Human)
- Cave Hyena (live-acted by Spotted Hyena)
- Gray Wolf (live-acted by Siberian husky)
- Elasmotherium (Woolly Rhinoceros)
Episode 3: Dinobirds
- Anhanguera (identified as Pterosaur)
- Incisivosaurus
- Mei Long (Mei (dinosaur))
- Microraptor
- Borealosaurus (identified as Titanosaur)
Episode 4: Saving the Sabre-Tooth
- Toxodon (massive Hippopotamus-like mammals)
- Smilodon (Sabre-toothed Cat)
- Phorusrhacos (Terror Bird)
- Six-banded Armadillo (live-acted)
- Red Brocket Deer (live-acted)
Episode 5: The Bug House
- Meganeura (identified as Giant Dragonfly)
- Arthropleura (Giant Centipede)
- Pulmonoscorpius (identified as Giant Scorpion)
- Crassigyrinus (Giant Swamp Amphibian)
Episode 6: Supercroc
- Parasaurolophus
- Albertosaurus
- Nyctosaurus
- Deinosuchus (Giant Crocodile)
- Troodon
Filming locations
| Episode | Where set | Where filmed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana, United States | The Andean national parks of Chile where there are plenty of Araucaria and Nothofagus trees |
| 2 | Siberia | The Yukon in Canada |
| 3 | China | Rotorua, New Zealand, in the Redwood, Ohakuri, and Tikitere forests |
| 4 | South America | Dry grassland near Brasilia in Brazil |
| 5 | Coal forest in Scotland | Swamp forest in southern Florida, but some of the vegetation was CGI |
| 6 | Texas, USA | The freshwater lakes of Fraser Island, Australia |
DVD
- The Region 1 DVD was released on 5 June 2007 by BCI Eclipse, under license from Fremantle Media.
- The Region 2 DVD was released in Britain on 28 August 2006 by Fremantle Media.
- The Region 4 DVD was released in Australia and surrounding islands on 6 October 2006. Charles Wooley narrated the series when broadcast on Australia's Nine Network, and the Region 4 DVD has the original narration by David Jason.
See also
ITV's Prehistoric Park was created by the makers of a series of BBC documentaries that also include:
- Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)
- Walking with Beasts (2001), depicting life after the dinosaurs
- Walking with Cavemen (2003)
- Walking with Monsters (2005), depicting life before the dinosaurs
The following are Walking With... series specials:
- The Ballad of Big Al (2000)
- Chased by Dinosaurs (2002)
- Sea Monsters (2003)
The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:
- "Prehistoric America" (2003)
- "Monsters We Met" (2004)
External links
- Prehistoric Park at itv.com/citv (including episode guide and images)
- Animal Planet - Prehistoric Park
- Impossible Pictures minisite
- A Prehistoric Park RPG at Jurassic Park Legacy
- Nigel Marven's production photos
- Prehistoric Park at the Internet Movie Database
- Prehistoric Park at TV.com
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||