Latest news with #WalkingWithDinosaurs
West Australian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Walking With Dinosaurs returns to ABC 25 years after the groundbreaking original series hit screens
Twenty-five years after the original series first stomped across screens, Walking With Dinosaurs is making its way back to TV, using new technology to bring to life the stories of the ancient creatures that roamed the earth many millions of years ago. This time around, as well as bringing dinosaurs to life digitally, the series follows the work of several palaeontology teams working in the field, including expert Dr Nazir Ibrahim, who travels with his colleagues to the Sahara Desert in episode two. That episode is dedicated to fleshing out — literally and metaphorically — the story of a male spinosaurus, the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever to walk the earth. For Dr Ibrahim, seeing his research come to life on screen was the realisation of a vision that had been in his head for years. 'For me, when I'm in a place like the Sahara, for example, I look out at this incredible, vast landscape . . . and I don't see a dry desert,' he says. 'In my mind, I try to travel back in time, and I see this amazing landscape from the Cretaceous period. 'I see a vast river and crocodile-like hunters patrolling the waterways, and spinosaurus sails sticking out of the water, and other (creatures) in the sky, so I think this is a really amazing opportunity to share this incredible vision that I have in my head with people on an actual screen.' Dr Ibrahim says he's thrilled about the prospect viewers will get to see his creatures 'fleshed out and resurrected.' And it's not just his spinosaurus that gets a look-in — from the Sahara Desert to the badlands of Utah; the forests of Canada to the hills of Portugal, the series follows dinosaurs across 84 million years of their reign. Other stories include 'a youthful triceratops battling a ravenous T-rex in North America', and 'a lonely giant lusotitan risking it all for love in Portugal'. Their stories are brought to life using cutting edge CGI techniques provided by VFX house Lola Post Production. Filming the series, and bringing the work of those palaeontology teams to life, was a huge undertaking for the series' showrunner Kirsty Wilson, who was acutely aware of the special place the original series had in viewers' hearts. Her challenge was to create an updated version of that beloved property to the screen, while keeping all the aspects people loved the first time around. 'It was kind of terrifying, but also, you know, a great privilege to be handed a show like this,' Wilson says. 'The original series was really kind of innovative, and freshened up the form. We didn't want to just stick to the kind of thing they did, and regurgitate what had been done before. We wanted to innovate as well.' This is the reason Wilson and her team decided to show the work of so-called 'dinosaur hunters' in the field — 'so that (viewers) can literally see the evidence coming out of the ground,' she explains. 'And the other great benefit of doing that, is that we get to show the incredible work of palaeontologists like Nizar and what they're doing — it's not just the backroom stuff,' she says. 'Plus people love seeing palaeontologists up close — it's that real kind of 12-year-old kid thing that's in all of us.' Each episode is dedicated to a different individual dinosaur, and it's the hope of the producers that through the series we'll come to 'love them, fear them, and root for these prehistoric legends'. 'The work of people like Nizar is to kind of show that these animals are, you know, real animals,' Wilson says. 'That they were real animals that once roamed the earth, not dragons, or myths, or monsters.' When she was imagining how the show might take shape, Wilson says she wanted viewers to see these creatures as 'individuals'. 'They're always shown as these generic groups, so it's what a T-rex species would have done, or what triceratops the species would have been like,' Wilson says. 'But we had an amazing opportunity, because we were digging up the actual body of an individual, to create that actual individual's story, and add this new twist and turn of the wheel.'
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Groundbreaking doco reimagined for a new audience
Twenty-five years after the original series first stomped across screens, Walking With Dinosaurs is making its way back to TV, using new technology to bring to life the stories of the ancient creatures that roamed the earth many millions of years ago. This time around, as well as bringing dinosaurs to life digitally, the series follows the work of several palaeontology teams working in the field, including expert Dr Nazir Ibrahim, who travels with his colleagues to the Sahara Desert in episode two. That episode is dedicated to fleshing out — literally and metaphorically — the story of a male spinosaurus, the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever to walk the earth. For Dr Ibrahim, seeing his research come to life on screen was the realisation of a vision that had been in his head for years. Dr Nizar Ibrahim holds a spinosaurus tooth in the Sahara Desert. His dig is featured in episode two of Walking With Dinosaurs. Credit: Stephen Cooter / BBC / Stephen Cooter 'For me, when I'm in a place like the Sahara, for example, I look out at this incredible, vast landscape . . . and I don't see a dry desert,' he says. 'In my mind, I try to travel back in time, and I see this amazing landscape from the Cretaceous period. 'I see a vast river and crocodile-like hunters patrolling the waterways, and spinosaurus sails sticking out of the water, and other (creatures) in the sky, so I think this is a really amazing opportunity to share this incredible vision that I have in my head with people on an actual screen.' Dr Ibrahim says he's thrilled about the prospect viewers will get to see his creatures 'fleshed out and resurrected.' And it's not just his spinosaurus that gets a look-in — from the Sahara Desert to the badlands of Utah; the forests of Canada to the hills of Portugal, the series follows dinosaurs across 84 million years of their reign. Other stories include 'a youthful triceratops battling a ravenous T-rex in North America', and 'a lonely giant lusotitan risking it all for love in Portugal'. Their stories are brought to life using cutting edge CGI techniques provided by VFX house Lola Post Production. Two young gastonia butt heads as part of a ritual to make friends. Credit: BBC / Lola Post Production Filming the series, and bringing the work of those palaeontology teams to life, was a huge undertaking for the series' showrunner Kirsty Wilson, who was acutely aware of the special place the original series had in viewers' hearts. Her challenge was to create an updated version of that beloved property to the screen, while keeping all the aspects people loved the first time around. 'It was kind of terrifying, but also, you know, a great privilege to be handed a show like this,' Wilson says. 'The original series was really kind of innovative, and freshened up the form. We didn't want to just stick to the kind of thing they did, and regurgitate what had been done before. We wanted to innovate as well.' This is the reason Wilson and her team decided to show the work of so-called 'dinosaur hunters' in the field — 'so that (viewers) can literally see the evidence coming out of the ground,' she explains. Walking With Dinosaurs showrunner Kirsty Wilson spent more than three years working on the series. Credit: Supplied 'And the other great benefit of doing that, is that we get to show the incredible work of palaeontologists like Nizar and what they're doing — it's not just the backroom stuff,' she says. 'Plus people love seeing palaeontologists up close — it's that real kind of 12-year-old kid thing that's in all of us.' Each episode is dedicated to a different individual dinosaur, and it's the hope of the producers that through the series we'll come to 'love them, fear them, and root for these prehistoric legends'. 'The work of people like Nizar is to kind of show that these animals are, you know, real animals,' Wilson says. 'That they were real animals that once roamed the earth, not dragons, or myths, or monsters.' When she was imagining how the show might take shape, Wilson says she wanted viewers to see these creatures as 'individuals'. 'They're always shown as these generic groups, so it's what a T-rex species would have done, or what triceratops the species would have been like,' Wilson says. 'But we had an amazing opportunity, because we were digging up the actual body of an individual, to create that actual individual's story, and add this new twist and turn of the wheel.'
CTV News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Grande Prairie area dinosaur featured in upcoming Walking with Dinosaurs television series
Emily Bamforth applies plaster to the pachyrhinosaurus lakusta skull to prepare it for its move in the Pipestone Creek bone bed about 40 km west of Grande Prairie, Alta. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Boily) After almost 25 years a show that brought dinosaurs to life on our television screens is returning, with a local dinosaur taking the spotlight. BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs will feature Wembley's own Pipestone Creek bonebed and its locally unique dinosaur, the pachyrhinosaurus. 'I really loved the original Walking with Dinosaurs, because it was the first time that they had brought dinosaurs to life in a way that presented them as animals,' said Emily Bamforth, Philip J. Currie Museum (PJCDM) curator. She said although dinosaurs were seen on the big screen in movies like Jurassic Park they were depicted as monsters. 'Walking with Dinosaurs was really like a nature documentary about dinosaurs, and no one had ever done that before, so it was hugely influential for me as a kid, and I think it was one of the milestones in terms of the things that influenced me, in terms of the wanting to go into paleontology.' Bamforth is now part of the series as she will help tell the more than 70-million-year-old story of the pachyrhinosaurus and the river of death. 'We tell a story about the bonebed and the herd of animals and the dying from a flood and then getting preserved, but to actually have that brought to life is kind of jaw-dropping,' said Bamforth. She hasn't yet seen the final episode, but an early draft left her with 'tingles' due to how real it felt. 'These aren't just dusty old bones sitting in the ground, these were animals living in this ecosystem,' she said. 'All of this happened right here in northern Alberta, this was our world back then.' A young pachyrhinosaurus named Albie will be featured in the fifth episode of the new series. 'Every year, his herd makes an epic journey north as the seasons change,' says a BBC press release. 'Along the way, he will encounter clashing bulls, tyrannosaur predators, and freak weather events.' According to the BBC, the visual effects teams built up the skeleton, musculature, and finally, the skin in a process that took about 2.5 years. Bamforth says the BBC initially contacted her in 2023 when the show was scouting for various sites worldwide to feature. 'All of the sites in the world, and all the big museums doing big research, they chose us as one of six sites in the world featured for this series, so it really is an incredible honour,' she said. Bamforth and the paleontologist team at PJCDM have been busy: Just last year they made the most significant find to date: a 1.6 metre-long, 461-kilogram skull. It made international headlines and now the museum is once again in the global spotlight thanks to the BBC. 'I think it's bigger than we sort of expected it to be,' said Bamforth, who said she's done over 11 media interviews in the past week from outlets in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. 'It is a very special site; it's like no other in the world, like no place I've ever worked has been like this.' The Pipestone Creek bonebed is one of the densest dinosaur bonebeds in North America. 'I think the community of Grande Prairie and the surrounding communities should be really proud of the fact that this is here and that we have the PJCDM that is helping tell that story, and now we have people from around the world that are interested in coming here,' said Bamforth. 'This is something that's ours, and we can really showcase the amazing paleontology that we have up here, which hasn't really been well appreciated in the past.' She hopes it will bring more international and local visitors to the site to discover what it offers. Walking with Dinosaurs premiered in the UK on May 25 and will premiere on PBS in Canada on June 16. By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News
Scotsman
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Who is the narrator of Walking with Dinosaurs? Explained
Walking with Dinosaurs will have a new narrator for its 2025 series 🐱🐉 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The narrator for Walking with Dinosaurs can be confirmed. The iconic BBC series is back two decades after it first wowed audiences. But who is on voice-over duty for the series? When it comes to narrators for documentaries on the BBC, your mind has probably already jumped to the most iconic example. David Attenborough has lent his dulcet tones to many famous shows over the years - but Walking with Dinosaurs is not one of them. The Beeb has revealed who will be providing the narration for the revival of the legendary documentary. And you might find yourself wondering where you recognise the voice from. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Walking with Dinosaurs start time has been confirmed - and you can find out more here. The show will have six episodes in total in 2025. But who is doing the voice over for the show? Here's all you need to know: Who is the Walking with Dinosaurs narrator? Lusotitan in Walking with Dinosaurs 2025 | BBC/PBS/ZDF/France Télévisions The voice for the 2025 revival of the iconic documentary will be provided by award-winning actor Bertie Carval. He said: 'I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this exciting new reimagining of Walking With Dinosaurs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The BBC is a world-leader in creating ground-breaking and innovative science programming which I've admired all my life, so I'm incredibly excited to be a part of the team bringing the stories of these prehistoric creatures to life.' Bertie is known for playing Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical on the West End. He has also played Jonathan Strange in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Simon Foster in Doctor Foster on TV. The original series of Walking with Dinosaurs was narrated by Kenneth Branagh. Have you got a story you want to share with our readers? You can now send it to us online via YourWorld at . It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
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?!'
66 million years after their departure from Earth, the world of Dinosaurs was revived on our screens in 1999, with the BBC 's iconic docuseries Walking With Dinosaurs. 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. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 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.
