Dinosaur Revolution
Encyclopedia
Dinosaur Revolution is a four-part American
nature documentary
produced by Creative Differences, although it was believed to be a Pixar
project when it was first revealed to the public due to a press release saying so. The first two episodes aired on Discovery Channel
on September 4, 2011. The final two episodes were scheduled to air September 11, 2011 on Discovery Channel. However, out of respect for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a last-minute schedule change replaced them with September 11-related programing. These two episodes were rescheduled to air on the channel Science on September 13, 2011.
. Originally titled Reign of the Dinosaurs, the series was intended not as a documentary, but as a six-hour series of fictional narratives based loosely on the comic book Age of Reptiles
by Ricardo Delgado, and employing no narration. Each episode was to be instead followed by one of a companion series, called Science of Reign of the Dinosaurs, which would feature scientists explaining the basis for the preceding story, and pointing out which parts were speculative or imaginary. Due to cuts and changes in marketing strategy by the network and production company, the series was eventually renamed Dinosaur Revolution, and divided into a more traditional format inter-cut with "talking heads," or brief explanations from scientists. The series was also cut from the planned six hours to four. Of the four finished episodes, the first was originally planned to feature the Triassic
Chinle Formation
of the southwestern United States, and to include Coelophysis
, Placerias
and Postosuchus
in the storyline. However, during production the sequence was changed to the older Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina
, and the featured animals changed to Eoraptor
, Ischigualastia
and Saurosuchus
. For this reason, the Ischigualastia model remained anatomically based on Placerias. Scenes featuring Cryolophosaurus
and Glacialisaurus
were shot in Tenerife
. The second episode, titled "The Watering Hole," was originally intended to highlight the Jurassic
Morrison Formation
of western North America
, which has been featured in numerous dinosaur documentaries. At the suggestion of science consultant Tom Holtz
, the setting was changed to the contemporary Lourinhã Formation
of Portugal
, and like the first episode, some species were swapped for equivalents in the new location. This resulted in televised appearances of dinosaurs such as Draconyx
. Similarly, the Cretaceous Mongolia sequence (which took place during the third episode) was set in the Wulansuhai Formation rather than the near-contemporary, and more familiar, Djadochta Formation
. Therefore, it featured the first film appearances of the species Velociraptor osmolskae
and Protoceratops hellenikorhinus
in place of the more well-known V. mongoliensis and P. andrewsi. Some of the events of "The Watering Hole" were based on Holtz's own research, such as the scenes featuring an Allosaurus
whose lower jaw was wounded by the tail of a sauropod
. Not all animals featured in the finished program were based on specific species from the fossil record. Some, like the aquatic crocodyliform
in the Utahraptor
sequence and the carnivorous notosuchia
n in the Anhanguera
sequence (both aired during the third episode), were left intentionally unnamed.
Notable artists
involved in the production include David Krentz (who had previously worked on John Carter of Mars
and Disney
's Dinosaur
), Ricardo Delgado (famous for his comic book Age of Reptiles), Tom de Rosier (who had worked on Lilo & Stitch
and Mulan
), Mishi McCaig (who had worked on Iron Man
), Pete Von Sholly (who had worked on The Mask
and Darkman
), and Iain McCaig
(one of the artists involved in the production of the Star Wars
film series). Previous efforts which the creators cited as inspiration include Looney Tunes
, Avatar, Up
, and WALL-E
.
The modeling, texturing, and painting of the various creatures featured in the episodes was done by Creative Differences in ZBrush
, while animation and rendering were done in Maya by various other companies that had been employed by Creative Differences. These included Mokko in Montreal
, Kinkajou in the U.K.
, Sauce FX, and Hawaii Animation Studios. Hawaii Animation Studios also used a program known as Bakery Relight for rendering.
Plans have been made to incorporate the best footage from the series into a feature-length film
directed by Werner Herzog
. The film, if approved by Discovery Channel, would be released before the film adaptation of BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs.
, Iguanodon
, Agilisaurus
and Prenocephale
. The latter model was re-used as a pachycephalosaur
in the final episode (centered on the Hell Creek Formation
). A segment featuring an unknown pterosaur
(which was suggested by biology professor Michael Habib) was also planned but could not be prepared in time for the Discovery Channel airing. Artist Pete Von Sholly, who was involved in the production, expressed regret over the way the production was handled and cuts were made. In Von Sholly's opinion, some of the best sequences were left unproduced; cuts were made not based on the quality of the story, he claimed, but on how far along in the production process the segments were. However, director David Krentz has stated that sequences were cut based on story quality.
Additionally, some relevant scientific discoveries were published too late into production to have been incorporated into the program. For example, the mosasaur
in the first episode lacked a tail fluke, the discovery of which came immediately after the CGI model was completed, according to Krentz. (Note that this CGI model is referred to as the genus Mosasaurus
by the web site for the program, while director David Krentz has stated it was a Tylosaurus
.)
.
criticized the show, citing low-quality animation and a lack of scientific content. He described it as "more of a dinosaur tribute than a scientific documentary". Holtz commented on the review and generally agreed with Switek's criticisms of the program. Linda Stasi, a TV critic for the New York Post
, criticized the show for being too "cutesy," although she did note that the program teaches viewers "a huge amount of interesting stuff". Ross Langager of PopMatters
expressed concerns similar to those of Switek and Stasi, criticizing the show for its lack of both scientific content and seriousness. Brian Lowry of Variety
had a more positive outlook on the show: while he was critical of the show's lack of "revolutionary" content, he still determined that it was "a creditable stab at offering viewers a taste of life on a prehistoric planet." The opinions of New York Daily News reviewer David Hinckley were very similar to those of Lowry. While Hinckley did have his criticisms, he still noted the show for being "lively".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
produced by Creative Differences, although it was believed to be a Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
project when it was first revealed to the public due to a press release saying so. The first two episodes aired on Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
on September 4, 2011. The final two episodes were scheduled to air September 11, 2011 on Discovery Channel. However, out of respect for the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a last-minute schedule change replaced them with September 11-related programing. These two episodes were rescheduled to air on the channel Science on September 13, 2011.
Production and episodes
Production of the series began in spring of 2009 and took three years in total. The series was built around several short and long-form stories taking place in a number of distinct environments spanning the Mesozoic eraMesozoic
The Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
. Originally titled Reign of the Dinosaurs, the series was intended not as a documentary, but as a six-hour series of fictional narratives based loosely on the comic book Age of Reptiles
Age of Reptiles (comics)
Age of Reptiles is a comic published by Dark Horse Comics, created by Ricardo Delgado, a film and comic book artist that has worked on such films as The Incredibles, Men in Black and Apollo 13....
by Ricardo Delgado, and employing no narration. Each episode was to be instead followed by one of a companion series, called Science of Reign of the Dinosaurs, which would feature scientists explaining the basis for the preceding story, and pointing out which parts were speculative or imaginary. Due to cuts and changes in marketing strategy by the network and production company, the series was eventually renamed Dinosaur Revolution, and divided into a more traditional format inter-cut with "talking heads," or brief explanations from scientists. The series was also cut from the planned six hours to four. Of the four finished episodes, the first was originally planned to feature the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
Chinle Formation
Chinle Formation
The Chinle is a geologic formation that is spread across the U.S. states of northern Arizona, Nevada, Utah, western New Mexico, and western Colorado. The Chinle is controversially considered to be synonymous to the Dockum Group in eastern Colorado, eastern New Mexico, southwestern Kansas, the...
of the southwestern United States, and to include Coelophysis
Coelophysis
Coelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
, Placerias
Placerias
Placerias was a dicynodont that lived during the late Carnian age of the Triassic Period...
and Postosuchus
Postosuchus
Postosuchus, meaning "crocodile from Post ", was a basal archosaur that lived in what is now North America during the middle through to the late Triassic period...
in the storyline. However, during production the sequence was changed to the older Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, and the featured animals changed to Eoraptor
Eoraptor
Eoraptor was one of the world's earliest dinosaurs. It was a two-legged saurischian, close to the ancestry of theropods and sauropodomorphs. It lived ca. 231.4 million years ago, in what is now the northwestern region of Argentina...
, Ischigualastia
Ischigualastia
Ischigualastia was a dicynodont that lived during the Carnian age of the Late Triassic Period. From the Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina, it was a member of the family Kannemeyeridae....
and Saurosuchus
Saurosuchus
Saurosuchus is an extinct genus of rauisuchian archosaur in the family Prestosuchidae. With a length of around 7 m , it was the largest rauisuchian, except perhaps for the less well known Fasolasuchus. Like other rauisuchians, Saurosuchus walked on four fully erect limbs...
. For this reason, the Ischigualastia model remained anatomically based on Placerias. Scenes featuring Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus was a large theropod dinosaur, with a crest on its head that looked like a Spanish comb. Due to the resemblance of this feature to Elvis Presley's pompadour haircut from the 1950s, this dinosaur was at one point informally known as "Elvisaurus".Cryolophosaurus was excavated from...
and Glacialisaurus
Glacialisaurus
Glacialisaurus is a genus of massospondylid sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. It is known from the holotype FMNH PR1823, a partial hind limb and from the referred material FMNH PR1822, a left...
were shot in Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
. The second episode, titled "The Watering Hole," was originally intended to highlight the Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
Morrison Formation
Morrison Formation
The Morrison Formation is a distinctive sequence of Late Jurassic sedimentary rock that is found in the western United States, which has been the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America. It is composed of mudstone, sandstone, siltstone and limestone and is light grey, greenish...
of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, which has been featured in numerous dinosaur documentaries. At the suggestion of science consultant Tom Holtz
Thomas R. Holtz Jr.
Thomas Richard Holtz, Jr., Ph.D. is a vertebrate palaeontologist and senior lecturer at the University of Maryland's Department of Geology. He has published extensively on the phylogeny, morphology, ecomorphology, and locomotion of terrestrial predators, especially on tyrannosaurids and other...
, the setting was changed to the contemporary Lourinhã Formation
Lourinhã Formation
The Lourinhã Formation is a geological formation in West Portugal, named for the municipality of Lourinhã, from which a wide array of fossils comes...
of Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, and like the first episode, some species were swapped for equivalents in the new location. This resulted in televised appearances of dinosaurs such as Draconyx
Draconyx
Draconyx is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Jurassic. It was an ornithopod which lived in what is now Portugal. It was found in Lourinhã, in 1991, and described by Octávio Mateus and Miguel Telles Antunes in 2001.-Etymology:...
. Similarly, the Cretaceous Mongolia sequence (which took place during the third episode) was set in the Wulansuhai Formation rather than the near-contemporary, and more familiar, Djadochta Formation
Djadochta Formation
The Djadochta Formation is situated in central Asia and dates from the Late Cretaceous Period. Laid down in the early Campanian, possibly starting in the latest Santonian, it is dated somewhat uncertainly at about 84-75 mya...
. Therefore, it featured the first film appearances of the species Velociraptor osmolskae
Velociraptor
Velociraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid theropod dinosaur that existed approximately 75 to 71 million years ago during the later part of the Cretaceous Period. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the past. The type species is V. mongoliensis; fossils...
and Protoceratops hellenikorhinus
Protoceratops
Protoceratops is a genus of sheep-sized herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur, from the Upper Cretaceous Period of what is now Mongolia. It was a member of the Protoceratopsidae, a group of early horned dinosaurs...
in place of the more well-known V. mongoliensis and P. andrewsi. Some of the events of "The Watering Hole" were based on Holtz's own research, such as the scenes featuring an Allosaurus
Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
whose lower jaw was wounded by the tail of a sauropod
Sauropoda
Sauropoda , or the sauropods , are an infraorder of saurischian dinosaurs. They had long necks, long tails, small heads , and thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land...
. Not all animals featured in the finished program were based on specific species from the fossil record. Some, like the aquatic crocodyliform
Crocodyliformes
Crocodyliformes is a clade of crurotarsan archosaurs, the group often traditionally referred to as "crocodilians."In 1988, Michael J. Benton and James M. Clark argued that all traditional names for well-known groups of animals should be restricted to their crown clades, that is, used only for...
in the Utahraptor
Utahraptor
Utahraptor is a genus of theropod dinosaurs, including the largest known members of the family Dromaeosauridae. Fossil specimens date to the upper Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous period...
sequence and the carnivorous notosuchia
Notosuchia
Notosuchia is a suborder of primarily Gondwanan mesoeucrocodylian crocodylomorphs that lived during the Cretaceous. Fossils have been found from South America, Africa, and Asia...
n in the Anhanguera
Anhanguera (pterosaur)
Anhanguera is a genus of pterodactyloid pterosaur known from the Lower-Cretaceous Santana Formation of Brazil, with referred specimens found in the Upper Chalk Formation and Cambridge Greensand of the UK...
sequence (both aired during the third episode), were left intentionally unnamed.
Notable artists
Paleoart
Paleoart is an informal term first coined by Mark Hallett for art that depicts subjects related to paleontology. These may be representations of fossil remains or depictions of the living creatures and their ecosystems....
involved in the production include David Krentz (who had previously worked on John Carter of Mars
John Carter (character)
John Carter is a fictional character, created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who appears in the Barsoom series of novels. Though actually a Virginian from Earth and a visitor to Mars, he is often referred to as "John Carter of Mars" in reference to the general setting in which his deeds are recorded, in...
and Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's Dinosaur
Dinosaur (film)
Dinosaur is a 2000 American computer-animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures on May 19, 2000, and is the 39th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
), Ricardo Delgado (famous for his comic book Age of Reptiles), Tom de Rosier (who had worked on Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
and Mulan
Mulan
Mulan is a 1998 American animated film directed by Tony Bancroft and Barry Cook, with story by Robert D. San Souci and screenplay by Rita Hsiao, Philip LaZebnik, Chris Sanders, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, and Raymond Singer. It was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney...
), Mishi McCaig (who had worked on Iron Man
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...
), Pete Von Sholly (who had worked on The Mask
The Mask
The Mask is a Dark Horse comic book series created by writer John Arcudi and artist Doug Mahnke, and based on a concept by publisher Mike Richardson. The series follows a magical mask which imbues the wearer with reality-bending powers and physical imperviousness, as well as bypassing the wearer's...
and Darkman
Darkman
Darkman is a 1990 superhero action film directed by Sam Raimi. It is based on a short story Raimi wrote that paid homage to Universal's horror films of the 1930s...
), and Iain McCaig
Iain McCaig
Iain McCaig is an illustrator and conceptual designer. He was involved in the Star Wars and Harry Potter film projects as well as John Carter of Mars.-Biography:...
(one of the artists involved in the production of the Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
film series). Previous efforts which the creators cited as inspiration include Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
, Avatar, Up
Up (2009 film)
Up is a 2009 American computer-animated comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar, distributed by Walt Disney Pictures and presented in Disney Digital 3-D. The film premiered on May 29, 2009 in North America and opened the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first animated and 3D film...
, and WALL-E
WALL-E
WALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL•E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...
.
The modeling, texturing, and painting of the various creatures featured in the episodes was done by Creative Differences in ZBrush
ZBrush
ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing and painting. It uses a proprietary "pixol" technology which stores lighting, color, material, and depth information for all objects on the screen...
, while animation and rendering were done in Maya by various other companies that had been employed by Creative Differences. These included Mokko in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Kinkajou in the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Sauce FX, and Hawaii Animation Studios. Hawaii Animation Studios also used a program known as Bakery Relight for rendering.
Plans have been made to incorporate the best footage from the series into a feature-length film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
directed by Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
. The film, if approved by Discovery Channel, would be released before the film adaptation of BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs.
Incomplete segments and errors
Stories which were cut or not completed during production were to have featured animals such as MegapnosaurusMegapnosaurus
Megapnosaurus was a dinosaur of the theropod family Coelophysidae, formerly called Syntarsus , living during the Early Jurassic. It was renamed by American entomologist Dr. Michael Ivie , Polish Australian Dr...
, Iguanodon
Iguanodon
Iguanodon is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived roughly halfway between the first of the swift bipedal hypsilophodontids and the ornithopods' culmination in the duck-billed dinosaurs...
, Agilisaurus
Agilisaurus
Agilisaurus is a genus of ornithischian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of what is now eastern Asia. The name is derived from the Latin agilis meaning 'agile' and the Greek sauros meaning 'lizard', and refers to the agility suggested by its lightweight skeleton and long legs...
and Prenocephale
Prenocephale
Prenocephale was a small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous and was similar in many ways to its close relative, Homalocephale, which may simply represent Prenocephale juveniles. Adult Prenocephale probably weighed around and measured around long...
. The latter model was re-used as a pachycephalosaur
Pachycephalosauria
Pachycephalosauria is a clade of ornithischian dinosaurs. Well-known genera include Pachycephalosaurus, Stegoceras, Stygimoloch, and Dracorex. Most lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, in what is now North America and Asia. They were all bipedal, herbivorous/omnivorous animals with thick skulls...
in the final episode (centered on the Hell Creek Formation
Hell Creek Formation
The Hell Creek Formation is an intensely-studied division of Upper Cretaceous to lower Paleocene rocks in North America, named for exposures studied along Hell Creek, near Jordan, Montana...
). A segment featuring an unknown pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
(which was suggested by biology professor Michael Habib) was also planned but could not be prepared in time for the Discovery Channel airing. Artist Pete Von Sholly, who was involved in the production, expressed regret over the way the production was handled and cuts were made. In Von Sholly's opinion, some of the best sequences were left unproduced; cuts were made not based on the quality of the story, he claimed, but on how far along in the production process the segments were. However, director David Krentz has stated that sequences were cut based on story quality.
Additionally, some relevant scientific discoveries were published too late into production to have been incorporated into the program. For example, the mosasaur
Mosasaur
Mosasaurs are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764...
in the first episode lacked a tail fluke, the discovery of which came immediately after the CGI model was completed, according to Krentz. (Note that this CGI model is referred to as the genus Mosasaurus
Mosasaurus
Mosasaurus is a genus of mosasaur, carnivorous, aquatic lizards, somewhat resembling flippered crocodiles, with elongated heavy jaws. The genus existed during the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period , around 70-65 millions years ago in the area of modern Western Europe and North America...
by the web site for the program, while director David Krentz has stated it was a Tylosaurus
Tylosaurus
Tylosaurus was a mosasaur, a large, predatory marine lizard closely related to modern monitor lizards and to snakes.-Paleobiology:...
.)
Possibilities of an alternate version
At various points in time, Pete Von Sholly has suggested and even confirmed the release of a new version of Dinosaur Revolution. In a blog entry from September 9, 2011, he noted that a "proper version" would "see the light of day". On September 10, Von Sholly commented on a Dinosaur Revolution review, suggesting the possibility of a "creator's cut" version of Dinosaur Revolution which would correct problems which he alleged were caused by the network. Finally, on September 14, Von Sholly commented on another Dinosaur Revolution review, confirming the existence of a new version consisting of the best material from the show, without any narration, that would be released on Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
.
Critical reception
Dinosaur Revolution has generally received mixed reviews from critics. Brian Switek of SmithsonianSmithsonian (magazine)
Smithsonian is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970.-History:...
criticized the show, citing low-quality animation and a lack of scientific content. He described it as "more of a dinosaur tribute than a scientific documentary". Holtz commented on the review and generally agreed with Switek's criticisms of the program. Linda Stasi, a TV critic for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, criticized the show for being too "cutesy," although she did note that the program teaches viewers "a huge amount of interesting stuff". Ross Langager of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
expressed concerns similar to those of Switek and Stasi, criticizing the show for its lack of both scientific content and seriousness. Brian Lowry of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
had a more positive outlook on the show: while he was critical of the show's lack of "revolutionary" content, he still determined that it was "a creditable stab at offering viewers a taste of life on a prehistoric planet." The opinions of New York Daily News reviewer David Hinckley were very similar to those of Lowry. While Hinckley did have his criticisms, he still noted the show for being "lively".