Chased by Dinosaurs
| Chased By Dinosaurs | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Nigel Marven |
| Composer(s) | Ben Bartlett |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production company(s) |
BBC Natural History Unit Impossible Pictures |
| Distributor | BBC Worldwide |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC |
| Original release | 30 December 2002 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Other shows in the Walking with... series |
Chased by Dinosaurs was a BBC program featuring Nigel Marven as a time traveller who encounters dinosaurs in the wild. The two-part series, a sequel to Walking with Dinosaurs, was broadcast over Christmas 2002 and featured Nigel and his "team of fellow explorers" encountering prehistoric life over a large range of time, and seeing creatures not featured in the original series. A three part sequel, Sea Monsters, was later broadcast in 2003 and the similar series Prehistoric Park was produced by ITV in 2006. The series title wasn't used on screen, as it is the title for the Region 1 DVD (which also includes Sea Monsters).
Episodes
| No. | Title | Time | Place | Hazards | Filming location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Land of Giants" | 97 mya (Middle Cretaceous) | Argentina | Giganotosaurus, Sarcosuchus | Tenerife, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands |
|
Nigel Marven travels back in time with his film crew. He travels to a nearby lake, where the Argentinosaurus (35 m) nest every year. There Nigel sees a juvenile Argentinosaurus (10 m), where he is attacked by a Sarcosuchus (13 m). The next morning Nigel is driving the jeep 20 miles away from the camp. Later he finds the herd stalked by Giganotosaurus pack. The hunt continues for the rest of the day and into the night, when filming is no longer possible and Nigel must leave. The next morning, Nigel finds the herd at the nesting site beside the lake. While the females are laying their eggs Nigel comments on what a magical ending this is for his dinosaur safari. Suddenly a Sarcosuchus lunges at him out of the water. Nigel just escapes, but his camera is consumed. Animals: Argentinosaurus · Sarcosuchus hartti · Pteranodon · Giganotosaurus · Ornithocheirus · Macrogryphosaurus | |||||
| 2 | "The Giant Claw" | 75 mya (Late Cretaceous) | Nemegt Desert, Mongolia | Tarbosaurus, Velociraptor | Fraser Island, Australia |
 Lake McKenzie on Fraser Island, Australia, served as the main filming location of Chased by Dinosaurs: The Giant Claw. Nigel searches the early Mongolia deserts and forests for Therizinosaurus (10 m, +5 t), who has massive and very long claws. Nigel's tent is immediately trampled by a Saurolophus (10 m), but he still goes off for his adventure. On his journey, Nigel dashes across a nesting ground of Protoceratops (3 m), and deflects them from attacking him by using a red flag. He enters a forest ruled by Velociraptors (2 m), and finds a pack of them bringing down a large male Protoceratops. In the night, Nigel catches a scorpion and explains that they have been on the planet long before the dinosaurs, and are still alive today. He also finds a group of Mononykus (1 m) and discovers they have feathers. The next morning he finds that the Mononykus have eaten his scorpion, and heads out of the denser parts of the forest. There he finds the nesting site of a Therizinosaurus, along with the embryo of one, but also finds herbivore dung around the area. Nigel cannot understand why it is scattered around the nest of Therizinosaurus which he thinks must be a predator. He continues his journey, and a group of Mononykus run past him, but he finds out that they are actually running away from a Tarbosaurus (9,5 m, 4 t) that is nearby. He narrowly escapes the predator and decided to head to a freshwater lake to see if there are any sings of Therizinosaurus there. He finds an entire skeleton of one, and reassembles one of the arms. He speculates that Therizinosaurus used the claws for disemboweling prey, but he gets even more confused as he also finds herbivore teeth amongst the bones. Before Nigel can continue searching, he finds a pack of Velociraptors hunting him. He escapes them by driving them off with a fog horn, and hears some noises by the lake. He then finds a Tarbosaurus arriving at the lake to drink, but is then confronted by a real live Therizinosaurus. The two dinosaurs fight and the latter wins by slashing the former with its huge claws. A herd of Therizinosaurus appears and begins browsing on the surrounding vegetation, making Nigel realize that the Therizinosaurus were actually plant-eaters all along. He continues observing it using his camera, and at the end, the Therizinosaurus licks Nigel's camera, which makes him fall. Animals: Saurolophus · Protoceratops · Velociraptor · Azhdarcho · Mononykus · Tarbosaurus · Therizinosaurus | |||||
DVD release
The two specials weren't released until 2004 when they were released as part of the Big Dinosaur Box Set which also included the previously released Walking with Dinosaurs and The Ballad of Big Al. The DVD has not been released individually. A Region 1 version was released later that year as a separate DVD and also included Sea Monsters.
See also
Chased by Dinosaurs is a spin-off of the following series of BBC documentaries:
- 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
Chased by Dinosaurs is one of the Walking With... series specials, that also include:
- The Ballad of Big Al (2001)
- Sea Monsters (2003)
- Prehistoric Park (2006)
The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:
- Prehistoric America (2003)
- Monsters We Met (2004)
