So I wasn’t really expecting to be writing a review right now. It’s Monday night (though this is probably posted Tuesday morning) and I’m hanging out with my fellow writers. We’re all chilling on Zoom typing quietly which, given the fact I don’t find that very weird anymore, is probably WHY it’s weird. But anyway, we’re supporting each other, and I’m supposed to be working on a short story for next quarter’s newsletter, or finishing a listicle for #WyrdAndWonder, or any of a hundred different writing projects I’ve been meaning to get done, but I’m not doing any of those things right now, because all I can think about is a little T-rex pouncing on baby turtles, or an even tinier pterosaur base jumping over the open ocean and hoping for the best.
All productivity is gone, as I can’t really think of anything else besides these delightful creatures which Apple Tv+ has managed to dig up out of the dirt, and bring to life in a way I feel has heretofore never happened in my memory.
I’m something of a dinosaur fan here on this blog, and will get pretty excited about even the dumbest depictions (I actually watched and enjoyed Velocipastor) of prehistoric life just to feel a little bit of that passion, awe and wonder (and a little fear) I felt as a kid.
But there’s no need to force it with Prehistoric Planet. Every image looks amazing, and each fact seemed more interesting and startling than the last.
I’m no paleontologist certainly, but I do enjoy reading about pre-history from time to time and I feel like I’m building up a bit of a knowledge-base about what the really ancient (obviously a technical term) world was supposedly like. But I’ll be the first to admit that it can sometimes be as difficult to dig into as actual rock.
I can understand Ceratopsians and Ceratopsids having a similar name, but what’s Ceratosaurus’ excuse? It sounds way too similar to be SO different.
Anyway, at least so far in the first episode (“Coasts”) we’re not dealing with this level of granularity which I believe would have made the show completely unwatchable. However, I wish we had a little more grounding. The opening is of a group of swimming T. Rexes — which was itself a strange image though maybe it shouldn’t have been — so I can assume we’re in the Cretaceous?
Where in time we were was essentially not explained at all, even though prehistoric geography was sprinkled in here and there. We go from recognizable continent names like North America, to lesser known names like Zealandia.
Also, the map of the Cretaceous is completely different than the map we know now. I think an opening shot of the umm . . . PREHISTORIC PLANET!! would have really helped to get us situated.
Anyway, these are probably nitpicks, and I think for a general audience, which is clearly who Apple is shooting for, I think the show is going to be more than incredible, which pretty much makes me really happy no matter what.
Anyway, those are my initial reactions to Prehistoric Planet: Episode 1 – Coasts. I’m really looking forward to the rest of this series. I don’t think I’ll cover each episode as it comes out as I just don’t have the bandwidth right now, but I wanted to gush a bit about this before it breezed on by. I’ll probably do a follow up at the end when I’ve finished watching but just know my general impression is that it’s awesome, and I’m sooo looking forward to episode 2 which is supposed to be about North African dinosaurs. I’m hoping that means we’ll see some of our friends from The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt including Paralititan, and Spinosaurus!
Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Looking forward to talking about this one!
alligators and aneurysms! 