Before the Dinosaurs / Rise of Man (DSC CHAN 11-05-2005)

[Mark CMG]

Before the Dinosaurs and The Rise of Man on tonight on Discovery Channel, tonight, 11-05-2005 (check local listings for showtimes).


Before the Dinosaurs
Welcome to Earth -- before the dinosaurs. The creatures may look strange, but they mark the beginning of life as we know it. Learn how some of the characteristics that helped them survive millions of years ago make humans what they are today.

The Rise of Man
From Homo Erectus, the first species to demonstrate signs of humanization, to Homo Sapien, follow the path of our direct ancestors as they migrate across the planet. Through socialization and technological advances, the Homo Sapien thrives.

 

[DMH]

Before the Dinosaurs is cool. It is an unfortunately poorly known time period to the general public. Too bad there is an update and expansion to those 3 Dragon articles that stat out the organisms.

 

[Desdichado]

Aaargh! I missed it; was watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with my oldest two to get geared up for the fourth movie to come in out in a couple of weeks.

Any rebroadcast of that Before the Dinosaurs? It's rough getting good information on that time period without having a lot of technical background.

 

[Tetsubo]

Before the Dinosaurs was quite entertaining. I'd recommend watching it.

I found Rise of Man rather dull. I changed the channel during the second hour. It just couldn't keep my attention. It could be because I have read extensively about the subject.

 

[demiurge1138]

Before the Dinosaurs was great, although I can't believe it got away with a TV G rating. Blood spatters and oozes, Dimetrodon shakes the feces from its prey's intestines... damn dark for a TV G. It's worth noting, too, that practically all the behavior they gave Dimetrodon exists in the real Komodo dragon, down to the young climbing trees to avoid cannibalistic adults.

Demiurge out.

 

[WayneLigon]

I liked both of them. Fascinating stuff.

 

[reveal]

Aaargh! I missed it; was watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban with my oldest two to get geared up for the fourth movie to come in out in a couple of weeks.

Any rebroadcast of that Before the Dinosaurs? It's rough getting good information on that time period without having a lot of technical background.

It's on today at 3pm CST.

 

[BLACKDIRGE]

I for one, was giddy with excitement when I heard about Before the Dinosaurs. Paleontology has always been a hobby of mine, and while I enjoyed Walking With Dinosaurs and When Dinosaurs Roamed America, I am quite pleased that The Discovery Channel is brave enough to produce shows that focus on more obscure ages in prehistory.

I have always found the Paleozoic era to be utterly fascinating, and to see the Cambrian and Silurian seas presented in such a vivid and life-like way was a real treat. In fact, I would prefer an entire show just on the Cambrian, Silurian, and Ordovician, but it was still fun to see the emergence af the tetrapods in the Devonian and Carboniferous and the gorgonopsids and therapsids doing their thing in the Permian.

I have really enjoyed this entire series from Walking with Dinosaurs to Before the Dinosaurs, and I think the they have done a bang up job extrapolating prehistoric animal behavior from modern day counterparts. Although there is no way to be certain with regards to the behavior of extinct species, I think its not a huge jump to expect that an animal like Dimetrodon would build a nest and guard it the way modern aligators do, or that a gorgonopsid would lie in wait for prey around a watering hole like lions do today.

Anyway, yeah, I loved it, and I hope the Discovery Channel will do more shows in the same vein.

Blackdirge

 

[Mark CMG]

It's on today at 2pm CST.

I've got NEXT Sunday at 2pm cst.

Future Airings:
Before the Dinosaurs, DSC Nov 13 02:00pm

 

[reveal]

I've got NEXT Sunday at 2pm cst.

You're right. I read Tivo's listings wrong.