Walking with Monsters
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2008-07-11T21:04:35Z
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[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225090614 by [[Special:Contributions/82.17.140.55|82.17.140.55]] ([[User talk:82.17.140.55|talk]])
{{Disputed|Talk:Walking with Monsters|date=March 2008}}
{{Infobox Television
| show_name = Walking with Monsters
| image = [[Image:Walking with Monsters DVD cover.jpeg|220px|The cover of Walking with Monsters]]
| genre = Documentary
| runtime = 2 hr (including commercials)
| developer = Andrew Wilks
| producer = [[Chloe Leland]]
| executive_producer = Tim Haines
| narrated = Kenneth Branagh
| theme_music_composer = Ben Bartlett
| country = UK
| language = English
| network = Discovery Channel
| first_aired = November 5, 2005
| related = Walking with Dinosaurs, Walking with Beasts
| website = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490048/
}}
'''''Walking with Monsters''''' (also distributed as ''Before the Dinosaurs: Walking With Monsters'' or ''Walking with Monsters: Life before Dinosaurs'') is a three-part British [[documentary film]] series about life in the [[Paleozoic]], bringing to life extinct [[arthropod]]s, [[fish]], [[amphibian]]s, [[synapsid]]s, and [[reptile]]s. It is narrated by [[Kenneth Branagh]], and by [[Avery Brooks]] in the American version. Using state-of-the-art [[visual effects]], this prequel to [[Walking with Dinosaurs]] shows for example how a two-ton predatory fish came on land to hunt. The series draws on the knowledge of over 600 scientists and shows nearly 300 million years of Paleozoic history, from the [[Cambrian]] Period (530 million years ago) to the Early [[Triassic]] Period (248 million years ago). It was written and directed by [[Tim Haines]].
As with some of the other [[BBC]] specials, it was renamed in North America, where its title was ''Before the Dinosaurs: Walking With Monsters''. It has also aired as a two-hour special on the Canadian and American [[Discovery Channel]].
At the [[58th Primetime Emmy Awards|58<sup>th</sup> Primetime Emmy Awards]] in 2006 it won the Emmy Award in the category ''Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or More)''.
==Episode One==
The first episode begins with an illustration of the [[giant impact hypothesis]]: approximately 4.4 billion years ago when the [[Earth]] was formed, it is conjectured that a planet-like object referred to as [[Theia (planet)|Theia]] collided into the early Earth, dynamically reshaping the Earth and forming the [[moon]]. The episode then jumps ahead to the [[Cambrian Explosion]], showing the first diversification of life in the sea. Strange predators called ''[[Anomalocaris]]'' feed on [[Trilobite]]s, fight with each other, whereupon the wounded loser is attacked and nibbled on by a school of ''Haikouichthys''.
The ''[[Haikouichthys]]'' are said to evolve into ''[[Cephalaspis]]'', an armored jawless fish which is said to have the first good sense of touch. One ''Cephalaspis'' is chased by a ''[[Brontoscorpio]]'' — a giant scorpion — but due to her electric touch sensing ability, she dodges the attack and the ''Brontoscorpio'' gets eaten by a ''[[Pterygotus]]'', a 3 m long [[eurypterid]] hiding in the sea floor. ''[[Cameroceras]]'' also live in these waters. The film also shows a school of ''Cephalaspis'' swimming from the ocean to rivers where they spawn. A group of ''Brontoscorpio'' crawl on land and also arrive at the ''Cephalaspis'''s spawning pool. The ''Brontoscorpio'' feast, but there's too many ''Cephalaspis'' for them to eat at once. One ''Brontoscorpio'' [[moult]]s and misses the feast.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Haikouichthys.jpg|thumb|right|190px|''Haikouichthys'' as seen in Walking with Monsters]] -->
[[Image:Hyneria.jpg|thumb|right|190px|''Hyneria'' attacking the shark ''[[Stethacanthus]]'', as depicted in ''[[Walking With Monsters]]''.]]
Then the show moves on to the Devonian, when ''Cephalaspis'' has evolved into ''[[Hynerpeton]]'' (though it must first pass through the lobe-finned fish stage), [[amphibian]]-like [[tetrapod]]s. Though they can go on land, ''Hynerpeton'' have to keep wet, and must return to the water, where [[shark]]s like ''[[Stethacanthus]]'' and a two ton killer [[fish]], ''Hyneria'', can hunt them down. Later a ''Stethacanthus'' is eaten by a ''[[Hyneria]]''. One male ''Hynerpeton'' finds a mate, but just after spawning, he and his mate are ambushed by a ''Hyneria''. They escape to land, but the narrator explains ''Hyneria'' has strong [[fin]]s that can propel herself out of the water. The episode ends with the male ''Hynerpeton'' gets eaten by the ''Hyneria'', which has crawled onto land. And right at the end the narrator says that amphibians leave the waters and their eggs change. They have a hard shell which protects the young inside. The First Reptiles Evolved. The spider is about to attack them.
:530 Million Years Ago — [[Cambrian]] — the [[Chengjiang biota]], [[China]]:
* ''[[Anomalocaris]]''
*Unidentified [[trilobite]]
* ''[[Haikouichthys]]''
* [[jellyfish]] (live acted)
:418 Million Years Ago — [[Silurian]] — [[South Wales]], [[United Kingdom|UK]]:
* ''[[Cephalaspis]]''
* ''[[Brontoscorpio]]''
* ''[[Cameroceras]]'' (identified as [[orthocone]], revealed in encyclopedia)
* ''[[Pterygotus]]''
* [[sea urchin]] (live-acted)
* [[sponge]] (live-acted)
:Filming Location: [[Devil's Postpile|Devil's Postpile National Monument]], [[California]], [[USA]]
:360 Million Years Ago — [[Devonian]] — [[Pennsylvania]], USA:
* ''[[Hynerpeton]]''
* ''[[Hyneria]]''
* ''[[Stethacanthus]]'' (identified as [[shark]], revealed in encyclopedia)
* [[scorpion]] (live acted)
==Episode Two==
The second episode shows the swampy [[coal forest]]s of the [[Carboniferous]]. It explains that because of a much higher oxygen content in the atmosphere, giant land [[arthropod]]s evolved, such as a [[Mesothelae]] (a member of the primitive [[spider]] suborder), ''[[Meganeura]]'', a [[dragonfly]] and ''[[Arthropleura]]'',a huge millipede relative. A Mesothelae hunts down a ''[[Petrolacosaurus]]'', the descendant of ''[[Hynerpeton]]'' from the first episode. she comes back from her hunting expedition only to find her [[burrow]] has [[flood]]ed. Not only that, the ''Petrolacosaurus'' she caught is stolen by a ''Meganeura''. On the Mesothelae's search for a new burrow, she was chased by an ''Arthropleura'', which is later killed in a fight with a ''[[Proterogyrinus]]'', a huge, seven-foot [[amphibian]]. The Mesothelae finally chases a ''Petrolacosaurus'' out of its own burrow and moves in. [[Thunder]], [[rain]] and a [[forest fire]] pours in, devastating the life around. At last, only some animals survive...including ''Petrolacosaurus'', who finds the dead body of the Mesothelae (the animal was hit by lightning) and begins to feed upon the spider's carcass.
[[Image:Mesothelae.jpg|thumb|right|Mesothelae chasing a small reptile, ''Petrolacosaurus'' eating a fly]]
[[Image:Edaphosaurus.jpg|thumb|220px|right|''Edaphosaurus'' confronting a smaller ''[[Seymouria]]''.]]
The episode then moves on to the early [[Permian]], where the swamp-loving trees of the Carboniferous have been replaced with more advanced [[conifer]]s that are better adapted to survive in a changing climate. ''Petrolacosaurus'' has evolved into ''[[Edaphosaurus]]'', a [[pelycosaur]] (this is impossible, as ''Petrolacosaurus'' was a diapsid reptile, related to modern lizards, snakes, crocodiles, and birds, whereas ''Edaphosaurus'' was a synapsid reptile, related to modern mammals). They live in herds and have outgrown their arthropod contemporaries in size so they are no longer a threat to them. A female ''Dimetrodon'', another pelycosaur, hunts down a baby ''Edaphosaurus'' after dispersing a herd of them. She is getting ready to lay [[egg (biology)|egg]]s. She abandons her kill when the scent of blood attracts male ''Dimetrodon''. She forms a nest on a hill and while she lays her eggs, she is watched by a ''[[Seymouria]]''. Some time after laying her eggs, another female ''Dimetrodon'' tries to take over her nest. They fight for an entire day, and the original female manages to win. But she is weakened and has her right eye bitten out. The ''Seymouria'' takes the chance to steal some eggs in the mother's weakened state. Luckily, a male ''Dimetrodon'' eats the ''Seymouria'' and the eggs are unharmed. But when the eggs hatch, the mother-young bond is severed. This episode ends with the female ''Dimetrodon'' joining other adult ''Dimetrodon'' to cannibalize some of the young ''Dimetrodon'' while they race to the trees and hide in dung to escape. At the end the narrator says that the reptiles evolve to tighten their grip on land, evolving into "new reptiles."
:Filming Location: [[Jonathan Dickinson State Park]], Florida, USA, and some painted or computer-generated backgrounds. A model of a fallen rotted-out [[Lepidodendron]] or [[Sigillaria]] trunk is sometimes used as a [[Theatrical properties|prop]].
:300 Million Years Ago — [[Carboniferous]] — [[Kansas]], USA (in a [[coal#Origin of coal|coal forest]]):
* ''[[Petrolacosaurus]]''
* ''[[Mesothelae]]'' <ref> Originally identified as ''[[Megarachne]]'', which was thought to be a giant spider, and was depicted as such; but in the story renamed as ''[[Mesothelae]]'' (which is a suborder of spiders, not a [[genus]] or [[species]]) when the fossil ''[[Megarachne]]'' was reexamined and found to be a [[eurypterid]].</ref>
* ''[[Arthropleura]]''
* ''[[Meganeura]]''
* ''[[Proterogyrinus]]'' (identified as [[amphibian]], revealed on web and in encyclopedia)
:Filming Location: [[Inyo Mountains|Inyo National Forest]], California, USA
:280 Million Years Ago — Early [[Permian]] — [[Bromacker Quarry]], [[Thuringia]], [[Germany]]:
* ''[[Dimetrodon]]''
* ''[[Edaphosaurus]]''
* ''[[Seymouria]]'' (identified as amphibian, revealed on web and in encyclopedia)
*[[dragonfly]] (live acted)
==Episode Three==
[[Image:Gorgonopsid.jpg|thumb|left|190px|''[[Gorgonops]]'' as seen in Walking with Monsters]]
The third episode is set in the Late [[Permian]], on the supercontinent [[Pangaea]], which was covered by a vast and inhospitable [[desert]]. In this arid climate, early [[therapsid]]s, which are described as more "[[mammal]]-like" than [[reptile]], are shown fighting to survive. The programme starts with an old ''[[Scutosaurus]]'', an ancestor of [[turtle]]s, being killed by a female ''[[Gorgonops]]''. She then joins other members of her kind at a small [[waterhole]] but scares them off at first. Other inhabitants include ''Diictodon'', a small burrowing dicynodont (a type of [[mammal-like reptile|mammal like "reptile"]]). In the pool itself is a large amphibian ''Rhinesuchus'', which is caught by the female ''Gorgonops'' in desperation, as she latches onto his jaw but escapes and returns to the waterhole after being wounded by the strength of the ''Gorgonops''. A herd of ''Scutosaurus'' arrive and eventually drink the waterhole dry. The female ''Gorgonops'' tries to nab some ''Diictodon'' but is unsuccessful. She returns to the waterhole and un-earth a baby ''Rhinesuchus'' wrapped in a "cocoon" which it utilized to live through the [[drought]]. Because it is in a [[torpor|torpid]] state, it is helpless and is eaten by the ''Gorgonops''. The ''Gorgonops'' is eventually killed by a sandstorm which is a foreshadowing of the oncoming [[Permian-Triassic extinction event]]. The scene ends with a description of the evolution of the [[tuber]]-eating ''Diictodon'' into the later and much larger ''[[Lystrosaurus]]''.
''[[Lystrosaurus]]'' live in the early [[Triassic]]. The world's number of ''Lystrosaurus'' is high, and the animals must migrate constantly to find plants to eat. As the ''Lystrosaurus'' herd cross a [[ravine]], several ''[[Euchambersia]]'' attack. The program claims they may have powerful [[poison]] in its bite, helping to eventually kill the bitten ''Lystrosaurus''. As the ''Lystrosaurus'' cross a [[lake]], they are attacked and eaten by several starving ''[[Proterosuchus]]'', [[crocodile]]-like reptiles. Meanwhile, [[dragonflies]] are the prey of choice of a small reptile called ''[[Euparkeria]]'' that can run and hop on its hind legs due to evolved hip structure. ''Euparkeria'' will, according to the film, evolve into [[dinosaur]]s, which will dominate the Earth, leaving the mammals trapped under the shadows of dinosaurs for the next many million years.
[[Image:Euparkeria.jpg|thumb|right|150px|''Euparkeria'' as depicted in ''Walking With Monsters''.]]
:250 ''Million'' Years Ago — Late [[Permian]] — [[Siberia]], [[Pangaea]]:
:Filming Locations: [[La Palma]], [[Gran Canaria]] and [[Fuerteventura]] in the [[Canary Islands]]
* ''[[Gorgonops]]'' (identified as [[gorgonopsid]], revealed in encyclopedia)
* ''[[Diictodon]]''
* ''[[Scutosaurus]]''
* ''[[Rhinesuchus]]'' (identified as giant amphibian and [[labyrinthodont]],revealed in encyclopedia)
:248 ''Million'' Years ago — Early [[Triassic]] — [[Antarctica]], Pangaea:
:Filming Locations: [[La Palma]], [[Gran Canaria]] and [[Fuerteventura]] in the [[Canary Islands]]
* ''[[Lystrosaurus]]''
* ''[[Euparkeria]]''
* ''[[Euchambersia]]'' (identified as [[therocephalia]]n, portrayed as the [[cynodont]] from [[Walking with Dinosaurs]])
* ''[[Proterosuchus]]'' (identified as [[Chasmatosauria|chasmatosaur]], revealed in encyclopedia)
*[[dragonfly]] (live-acted)
==Artistic Touches==
As in the entire ''Walking with'' line of films, the animals sometimes interact with the camera:
* A ''Brontoscorpio'' stings the camera and breaks it.
* Another ''Brontoscorpio'' bumps the camera with its claw as it crawls onto land.
* A ''Hynerpeton'' knocks the camera while he is swimming, so does a ''Hyneria''.
* A ''Hynerpeton'' breathes on the camera.
* A ''Hyneria'' splatters water on the camera while diving back into the water.
* A ''Mesothelae'' crawls on the camera, and so does an ''Arthropleura''.
* A ''Mesothelae'' kicks dirt on the camera when she crawls over it.
* A ''Dimetrodon'' shakes intestines to avoid eating the [[feces]] inside, and most of the feces and blood splats onto the camera.
* A ''Dimetrodon'' digs up some dirt, and it lands on the camera.
* A baby ''Dimetrodon'' splatters some dung on the camera when it jumps in a pile of it.
* A ''Gorgonops'' sniffs the camera.
* A ''Gorgonops'' splatters water on the camera when it jumps in some water.
* A ''Diictodon'' looks curiously at the camera.
* A ''Proterosuchus'' knocks the camera while it is swimming.
* A ''Lystrosaurus'' bumps and sniffs the camera.
==Body Part Close-Ups==
Occasionally, the camera gets a close-up of certain body parts of animals. Here are the list of body part close-ups:
* ''[[Anomalocaris]]''' [[eye]]s
* ''[[Haikouichthys]]''' [[vertebral column|backbone]]
* ''[[Cephalaspis]]''' sensory gland
* ''[[Cephalaspis]]''' [[brain]]
* ''[[Brontoscorpio]]''' [[lung]]s
* ''[[Hynerpeton]]'''s [[lung]]
* ''[[Hynerpeton]]'''s [[skin]]
* ''[[Petrolacosaurus]]''' [[skin]]
* ''[[Petrolacosaurus]]''' [[heart]]
* ''[[Edaphosaurus]]''' sail
* ''[[Dimetrodon]]'''s [[tooth|teeth]]
* ''[[Diictodon]]'''s [[ear]] bone
* ''[[Scutosaurus]]''' [[stomach]]
* ''[[Euparkeria]]'''s [[hip bone]]s
==Palaeontological inaccuracies==
''See more info on [[Walking with...#Palaeontological inaccuracies]]''
{{Unreferenced|date=May 2008}}
Because the series takes an artistic license with regards to its views on evolution, there are a number of inaccuracies especially related to ancestor-descendant relationships. According to the [[cladistics]] viewpoint which is favored by modern evolutionary biologists, one can never scientifically claim that a particular fossil form must be directly ancestral to another life form (fossil or not), at most it can be claimed what fossil forms are likely basal to what other life forms.<ref>[http://people.hofstra.edu/J_B_Bennington/137notes/cladistics.html Phylogenetics and Cladistics]</ref><ref>[http://home.planet.nl/~gkorthof/kortho49.htm Review of ''In Search of Deep Time'' by Henry Gee]</ref> Not only does the series repeatedly suggest this anyway, many of the claimed 'direct ancestors' are not even considered basal:
* ''Cephalaspis'' was not the ancestor of [[gnathostome]]s (jawed vertebrates) or tetrapods as gnathostomes appear in the fossil record well before ''Cephalaspis''. Furthermore, even though ''Cephalaspis'' was found only during the early Devonian, it is shown being pursued by the Late Silurian ''[[Brontoscorpio]]''.
* ''Diictodon'', ''Gorgonops'' and ''Rhinesuchus'' are only known from [[South Africa]], yet in episode 3 they are portrayed living with ''Scutosaurus'', which lived only in [[Siberia]].However, the Gorgonops is intended to be a generic gorgonopsid.
* In the series, ''Petrolacosaurus'' is incorrectly identified as an ancestral synaspid, when in fact, it was an early diapsid and could therefore not have been the ancestor of any synapsids (e.g. ''Edaphosaurus''). The most basal synapsid, ''[[Archaeothyris]]'', would have been a more suitable candidate.
* The makers of ''Walking with Monsters'' originally intended to portray ''[[Megarachne]]''. During production, ''Megarachne'' was reidentified as a freshwater eurypterid, and as such, the giant spider was renamed "''Mesothelae''," which is actually a [[suborder]] of spider.
==Criticism==
''See more info on [[Walking with...#Palaeontological Inaccuracies|Walking with... Inaccuracies]]''
Some viewers criticize ''Walking with Monsters'' to be an overly dramatic presentation of speculation as fact. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BNI9EU] (see editorial review)
In the "Trilogy of Life" documentary, included on the ''Walking With Monsters'' DVD, the producers of the "Walking With" trilogy state that their intention was not to write a scientific thesis but to bring prehistoric animals to life. The documentary also states that science is littered with mistakes (some scientists might even say that science only progresses by making mistakes) and that while scientists can make guesses as to how these prehistoric creatures might have looked or behaved while they were alive, there is no guarantee that these guesses are correct and in this case, we have no way of knowing for sure.
==Evolution According to the Program==
''[[Haikouichthys]]'' → ''[[Cephalaspis]]'' → ''[[Hynerpeton]]'' → ''[[Petrolacosaurus]]'' <ref>
The Hynerpeton does not evolve into a Petrolacosaurus in the adult stage, but with an egg. The Hynerpeton egg did not have a shell, and it evolves into Petrolacosaurus by evolving a shell and the Carboniferous part of the program starts with a Petrolacosaurus hatching from its egg. </ref> → [[pelycosaurs]] (''[[Dimetrodon]]'', ''[[Edaphosaurus]]'', etc} → [[therapsid]]s (''[[Gorgonops]]'', ''[[Diictodon]]'') → ''[[Lystrosaurus]]''
''[[Euparkeria]]'' → [[dinosaur]]s (''[[Allosaurus]]'', etc)
''[[Brontoscorpio]]'' → Modern scorpion
''[[Meganuera]]'' → Dragonfly
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
==See also==
* [[Walking with Dinosaurs]]
* [[Chased by Dinosaurs]]
* [[The Ballad of Big Al]]
* [[Walking with Beasts]]
* [[Sea Monsters]]
* [[Prehistoric Park]]
==References==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/galleries/wwmonsters/index.shtml BBC Walking with Monsters]
* [http://www.bbcproducts.com/default.asp?cpa=product&id=3590&ctl=81&cc=21239&tt= BBC Shop Before the Dinosaurs: Walking with Monsters DVD]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0490048/ "Walking with Monsters"] at the [[Internet Movie Database]]
* [http://discoverychannel.ca/on_tv/releases/walking_with_monsters/ Discovery channel press release]
{{Impossible Pictures}}
{{Walking with}}
[[Category:BBC television documentaries]]
[[Category:Prehistoric life in popular culture and entertainment]]
[[Category:Discovery Channel shows]]
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