Walking With Dinosaurs viewers blast BBC for 'ruining' reboot with big change after 26 years of waiting - boycotting series and fuming 'what have they done?!'
The Primetime Emmy and BAFTA-winning series hit the small screen with an asteroid-like impact.
It showcased the natural prehistoric world as we had never seen it before - one of the most credible and accurate depictions of dinosaur life ever produced.
So, when the BBC announced that it would be rebooting the beloved series, an understandable ripple of excitement spread throughout fans across the UK.
The first instalment of the eagerly awaited six-parter aired on BBC One last night, and followed the story of a young triceratops, Clover, who must learn to outwit a deadly T-Rex in order to survive.
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The inquisitive little reptile navigates a verdant prehistoric Montana, coming face to face with both friend and foe along the way.
Mimicking its source material, the 2025 Walking with Dinosaurs follows an anthological story format, exploring a different story of a different dinosaur each episode.
Taking over from Kenneth Branagh, the celebrated narrator of the original series, Bertie Carvel (best known for playing Tony Blair on The Crown) is the voice of 2025's Walking with Dinosaurs, recounting the events of Clover's story as we see them on screen.
However, an unwelcome series of interruptions to the story have caused unease amongst fans.
The narratives explored in the show are not only those of dinosaurs, but also the human palaeontologists who discover their bones, millions of years in the future.
This contrast to the original show has been upsetting for viewers, who feel that the inclusion of humans in the franchise subtracts from its fantastical appeal.
As well as this, they complained that the shots of archaeological exhumations are disjointed with the dinosaur visuals, and the show isn't woven together effectively.
'The paleontological scenes aren't implemented well', wrote a viewer on X, 'They're largely used to explain simple things…and interrupt the story every time a scene happens. I don't enjoy this format at all.'
'Disappointed with the new Walking with Dinosaurs. It's not WWD for me. The BBC are just using the name to get views.'
'The constant switching between the past and future ruins this for me. The original Walking with Dinosaurs never did this and was part of the reason why it was so successful…We want dinosaurs, not people.'
However, others take a more positive outlook on the excavation site scenes, suggesting that the mistake made by producers was the use of the Walking With Dinosaurs name that sets an inimitable expectation of the series.
'The scenes on the modern digsites add quite a bit! Although I do feel like its doing its own thing? Maybe naming it Walking With Dinosaurs wasn't the best move'
The 1999 series boasted 15 million viewers on its first episode and holds the record of the most expensive documentary series ever made, costing a staggering £37,654 per minute to produce.
'A whole new generation of viewers is about to fall in love with Walking With Dinosaurs,' announced the BBC's head of commission.
'The original series was one of the most exciting factual shows of all time, and this reinvention builds on that amazing legacy.'
Episodes to come are set to include tales of the deadly Spinosaurus, in the rivers of Morocco and the gargantuan Lusotitan living on a Portugese island, but will fans be able to see past the series' shocking new structure?
Walking With Dinosaurs airs on Sundays at 6:25pm on BBC One, and all episodes are now available to stream on iPlayer.
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