Walking with Dinosaurs

Did you know that during the Cretaceous period Tyrannosaurus Rex "chicks" remained under their mother's care for approximately two months? Or that a T. Rex female issued a mating call to attract a potential Mr. Right? Neither did I, and neither, I suspect, does anyone else. An otherwise visually impressive co-production from the BBC and Discovery Channel, ably narrated by Kenneth Branagh, the multi-million dollar 6-part series Walking with Dinosaurs employs cutting edge digital effects to take viewers on an eye-popping journey through the history of dinokind from the Late Triassic (220 million years ago) to the Late Cretaceous (a mere 65 million years ago). Adopting the tone of a general animal documentary, the pre-release episode we were sent, "Death of a Dynasty," offers tres cool scenes of dinosaur life: a T. Rex mother sparring with an Anklyosaurus, a didelphid marsupial intent on stealing eggs, a pair of Dromaeosaurs psychologically toying with a herd of Triceratops, without, unfortunately, ever mentioning the fact--not even when the comet plows into the Gulf of Mexico wiping out 65% of life on Earth--that this is almost entirely speculation. Featuring an additional 30 minutes (not included in the broadcast) on both the VHS and DVD versions, the DVD also includes a second disc with a 50 minute "making of" special (also available as a "free" mail-in offer to buyers of the VHS). Although the science is not quite cricket, in the hands of a good instructor this would make an excellent visual aid (not to mention a good jumping off point for a brief lecture about presenting "facts"), and, well, it's about dinosaurs, for Spielberg's sake. [Note: some rather graphic scenes of violence make this a poor choice for young Barney fans--suitable for 8 and up.] Recommended, with reservations. Aud: I, J, H, P. (R. Pitman)