Walking with Cavemen
Encyclopedia
Walking with Cavemen is a four-part television
documentary
series about human evolution
produced by the BBC
in the United Kingdom
. It was originally released in April 2003. It was subsequently presented in the United States
as a two-part series by the Discovery Channel
and its affiliates. The documentary was produced largely by the same team who produced the award-winning documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs
(1999), Walking with Beasts
(2001) and Walking with Monsters
(2005), though the original series' director, Tim Haines
, was not involved. There was an accompanying book of the same title.
. For Walking with Cavemen, a slightly different approach was taken. While most of the animal
s depicted were still computer generated or animatronic, the human ancestors were portrayed by actor
s wearing makeup and prosthetics, giving them a more realistic look and permitting the actors to give the creatures a human quality.
Like its predecessors, Walking with Cavemen is made in the style of a wildlife documentary, featuring a voice-over narrator (Robert Winston
in the British release, Alec Baldwin
in the North American release) who describes the recreations of the prehistoric past as if they were real. As with the predecessors, this approach necessitated the presentation of speculation as if it were fact, and some of the statements made about the behaviour of the creatures are more open to question than the documentary may indicate.
Each species segment takes the form of a short drama
featuring a group of the particular hominid in question going about their daily lives (the search for food
, protecting territory
, and caring for the sick and injured). The intent is to get the human viewer to feel for the creatures being examined, almost to imagine being one of them (a trait that the documentary links to the modern human brain).
, and focus on their evolved bipedality (walking on just rear feet - our leg
s). More specifically, the story follows the famous Lucy
and her relatives, as they first develop a leadership conflict following the death of the alpha male due to a crocodile
attack, and then are attacked by a rival troupe. The attack ends with death of Lucy herself, and her eldest daughter caring for Lucy's now-orphaned baby (her sibling), as a sign of the developing humanity in these "apemen".
, Homo habilis
and Homo rudolfensis
co-exist. H. habilis is depicted as an intelligent omnivore
that is more adaptable than the herbivorous P. boisei. The two species are contrasted, with H. habilis being "a jack of all trades", while P. boisei are "a master of one" - i.e. they are specialized herbivores while H. habilis are generalized omnivores. Consequently, though P. boisei are able to eat termites, tall grasses and hard acacia
pods in difficult times, they will not be able to survive in the future, when at the beginning of the next Ice Age the climate will change, and these plants will be gone for good. H. habilis, on the contrary, have become smart by eating fresh carrion and bone marrow among other things, and evolving a basic social behavior, which is more firm than that of P. boisei, will continue to survive, until it evolves into Homo ergaster
, seen in the next episode, who has developed these traits to a greater extent.
The episode also briefly shows the H. rudolfensis, remarking that although they are taller, they are very similar to the H. habilis.
is depicted as the first creature to master the art of tracking
. This was made possible because their diet has grown increasingly more carnivorous, and the nutrients in meat made them even smarter than H. habilis of the previous episode. They also begin to form into tribal societies
, with genuine bonds between their men and women, though violence is still occurring.
The episode later shows H. ergaster spreading into Asia
, becoming Homo erectus
and encountering the enormous herbivorous ape Gigantopithecus
, "the original King Kong".
However, for the next million years, H. ergaster is still very much an animal, following its instinct
, but then, they are shown harnessing fire
and beginning to break-away from their direct dependence on their environment. (This ties neatly into the next and final episode, which is centered on human mind and imagination.)
is living in Great Britain
. H. Heidelbergensis is depicted as intelligent and sensitive but lacking in the ability to comprehend an afterlife
, or anything that isn't in the "here and now".
Next, the episode shows a life of a clan Homo neanderthalensis, how they lived and hunted, including the mighty mammoth
during the latest Ice age
. They are intelligent but still lack the imagination
of modern humans.
Finally, we see modern Homo sapiens (represented by Bushmen
) in Africa, who had to become imaginative and inventive to survive the long drought, and finally glimpse the cave painters
of Europe, who had "evolved" the idea of the afterlife and the supernatural, and who are now ready to start the human history as it is now known (and drive the Neanderthals to extinction).
Walking with Cavemen is a special programme from a series of BBC documentaries that is made up of :
The following are Walking With... series specials: (this includes Walking with Cavemen)
The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series about human evolution
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in the United Kingdom
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...
. It was originally released in April 2003. It was subsequently presented in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a two-part series by the 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...
and its affiliates. The documentary was produced largely by the same team who produced the award-winning documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs
Walking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
(1999), Walking with Beasts
Walking with Beasts
Walking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary miniseries, produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. In North America it has been retitled Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, and the original Discovery Channel broadcast was narrated by Stockard Channing...
(2001) and Walking with Monsters
Walking with Monsters
Walking with Monsters is a three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles...
(2005), though the original series' director, Tim Haines
Tim Haines
Tim Haines is a screenwriter, producer and director who is best known for his work on the BBC popular science shows Walking with Dinosaurs, Walking with Beasts, and Walking with Monsters...
, was not involved. There was an accompanying book of the same title.
Overview
In the previous Walking with... documentaries, extinct animals were recreated with CGI and animatronicsAnimatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
. For Walking with Cavemen, a slightly different approach was taken. While most of the animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s depicted were still computer generated or animatronic, the human ancestors were portrayed by actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s wearing makeup and prosthetics, giving them a more realistic look and permitting the actors to give the creatures a human quality.
Like its predecessors, Walking with Cavemen is made in the style of a wildlife documentary, featuring a voice-over narrator (Robert Winston
Robert Winston
Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and politician.-Early life and education :...
in the British release, Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
in the North American release) who describes the recreations of the prehistoric past as if they were real. As with the predecessors, this approach necessitated the presentation of speculation as if it were fact, and some of the statements made about the behaviour of the creatures are more open to question than the documentary may indicate.
Each species segment takes the form of a short drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
featuring a group of the particular hominid in question going about their daily lives (the search for food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, protecting territory
Territory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
, and caring for the sick and injured). The intent is to get the human viewer to feel for the creatures being examined, almost to imagine being one of them (a trait that the documentary links to the modern human brain).
Episode One: "First Ancestors"
In the first episode, we see Australopithecus afarensisAustralopithecus afarensis
Australopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
, and focus on their evolved bipedality (walking on just rear feet - our leg
Human leg
The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,...
s). More specifically, the story follows the famous Lucy
Lucy (Australopithecus)
Lucy is the common name of AL 288-1, several hundred pieces of bone representing about 40% of the skeleton of an individual Australopithecus afarensis. The specimen was discovered in 1974 at Hadar in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia's Afar Depression. Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years...
and her relatives, as they first develop a leadership conflict following the death of the alpha male due to a crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
attack, and then are attacked by a rival troupe. The attack ends with death of Lucy herself, and her eldest daughter caring for Lucy's now-orphaned baby (her sibling), as a sign of the developing humanity in these "apemen".
- Time: 3.2 Million Years Ago
- Place: EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
- Australopithecus afarensisAustralopithecus afarensisAustralopithecus afarensis is an extinct hominid that lived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago. A. afarensis was slenderly built, like the younger Australopithecus africanus. It is thought that A...
- AncylotheriumAncylotheriumAncylotherium is an extinct genus of the family Chalicotheriidae, subfamily Schizotheriinae, endemic to Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Late Miocene-Pliocene , existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:...
- DeinotheriumDeinotheriumDeinotherium , also called the Hoe tusker, was a large prehistoric relative of modern-day elephants that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene. During that time it changed very little...
Episode Two: "Blood Brothers"
The second episode leaps forward to a time when Paranthropus boiseiParanthropus boisei
Paranthropus boisei was an early hominin and described as the largest of the Paranthropus species...
, Homo habilis
Homo habilis
Homo habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately at the beginning of the Pleistocene period. The discovery and description of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis Homo...
and Homo rudolfensis
Homo rudolfensis
Homo rudolfensis is a fossil human species discovered by Bernard Ngeneo, a member of a team led by anthropologist Richard Leakey and zoologist Meave Leakey in 1972, at Koobi Fora on the east side of Lake Rudolf in Kenya. The scientific name Pithecanthropus rudolfensis was proposed in 1978 by V. P...
co-exist. H. habilis is depicted as an intelligent omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
that is more adaptable than the herbivorous P. boisei. The two species are contrasted, with H. habilis being "a jack of all trades", while P. boisei are "a master of one" - i.e. they are specialized herbivores while H. habilis are generalized omnivores. Consequently, though P. boisei are able to eat termites, tall grasses and hard acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
pods in difficult times, they will not be able to survive in the future, when at the beginning of the next Ice Age the climate will change, and these plants will be gone for good. H. habilis, on the contrary, have become smart by eating fresh carrion and bone marrow among other things, and evolving a basic social behavior, which is more firm than that of P. boisei, will continue to survive, until it evolves into Homo ergaster
Homo ergaster
Homo ergaster is an extinct chronospecies of Homo that lived in eastern and southern Africa during the early Pleistocene, about 2.5–1.7 million years ago.There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
, seen in the next episode, who has developed these traits to a greater extent.
The episode also briefly shows the H. rudolfensis, remarking that although they are taller, they are very similar to the H. habilis.
- Time: 2 Million Years Ago
- Place: East AfricaEast AfricaEast Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
- Paranthropus boiseiParanthropus boiseiParanthropus boisei was an early hominin and described as the largest of the Paranthropus species...
- Homo habilisHomo habilisHomo habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately at the beginning of the Pleistocene period. The discovery and description of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis Homo...
- DinofelisDinofelisDinofelis is a genus of sabre-toothed cats belonging to the tribe Metailurini. They were widespread in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America at least 5 million to about 1.2 million years ago...
- DeinotheriumDeinotheriumDeinotherium , also called the Hoe tusker, was a large prehistoric relative of modern-day elephants that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene. During that time it changed very little...
- AncylotheriumAncylotheriumAncylotherium is an extinct genus of the family Chalicotheriidae, subfamily Schizotheriinae, endemic to Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Late Miocene-Pliocene , existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:...
- Homo rudolfensisHomo rudolfensisHomo rudolfensis is a fossil human species discovered by Bernard Ngeneo, a member of a team led by anthropologist Richard Leakey and zoologist Meave Leakey in 1972, at Koobi Fora on the east side of Lake Rudolf in Kenya. The scientific name Pithecanthropus rudolfensis was proposed in 1978 by V. P...
Episode Three: "Savage Family"
In the third episode, Homo ergasterHomo ergaster
Homo ergaster is an extinct chronospecies of Homo that lived in eastern and southern Africa during the early Pleistocene, about 2.5–1.7 million years ago.There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
is depicted as the first creature to master the art of tracking
Tracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
. This was made possible because their diet has grown increasingly more carnivorous, and the nutrients in meat made them even smarter than H. habilis of the previous episode. They also begin to form into tribal societies
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
, with genuine bonds between their men and women, though violence is still occurring.
The episode later shows H. ergaster spreading into Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, becoming Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
and encountering the enormous herbivorous ape Gigantopithecus
Gigantopithecus
Gigantopithecus is an extinct genus of ape that existed from roughly one million years to as recently as three hundred thousand years ago, in what is now China, India, and Vietnam, placing Gigantopithecus in the same time frame and geographical location as several hominin species...
, "the original King Kong".
However, for the next million years, H. ergaster is still very much an animal, following its instinct
Instinct
Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular behavior.The simplest example of an instinctive behavior is a fixed action pattern, in which a very short to medium length sequence of actions, without variation, are carried out in response to a...
, but then, they are shown harnessing fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
and beginning to break-away from their direct dependence on their environment. (This ties neatly into the next and final episode, which is centered on human mind and imagination.)
- Time: 1.5 Million Years Ago - 500 000 Years Ago
- Place: KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
- ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- Homo ergasterHomo ergasterHomo ergaster is an extinct chronospecies of Homo that lived in eastern and southern Africa during the early Pleistocene, about 2.5–1.7 million years ago.There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
- Homo erectusHomo erectusHomo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
- GigantopithecusGigantopithecusGigantopithecus is an extinct genus of ape that existed from roughly one million years to as recently as three hundred thousand years ago, in what is now China, India, and Vietnam, placing Gigantopithecus in the same time frame and geographical location as several hominin species...
Episode Four: "The Survivors"
The fourth episode talks about the mental evolution of the humanity, as opposed to the physical in previous ones. First we leap forward to a time when Homo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. H...
is living in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. H. Heidelbergensis is depicted as intelligent and sensitive but lacking in the ability to comprehend an afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
, or anything that isn't in the "here and now".
Next, the episode shows a life of a clan Homo neanderthalensis, how they lived and hunted, including the mighty mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
during the latest Ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. They are intelligent but still lack the imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
of modern humans.
Finally, we see modern Homo sapiens (represented by Bushmen
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
) in Africa, who had to become imaginative and inventive to survive the long drought, and finally glimpse the cave painters
Cave painting
Cave paintings are paintings on cave walls and ceilings, and the term is used especially for those dating to prehistoric times. The earliest European cave paintings date to the Aurignacian, some 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known...
of Europe, who had "evolved" the idea of the afterlife and the supernatural, and who are now ready to start the human history as it is now known (and drive the Neanderthals to extinction).
- Time: 400 000 Years Ago - 30 000 Years Ago
- Place: EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
- AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
- Homo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. H...
- NeanderthalNeanderthalThe Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
- MegalocerosMegalocerosThe deer of the genus Megaloceros - ; see also Lister - were found throughout Eurasia from the late Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, and were important herbivores during the Ice Ages. The largest species, M...
- MammothMammothA mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
- Homo sapiens
See also
- A Species OdysseyA Species OdysseyA Species Odyssey is a 90-minute french documentary film directed by Jacques Malaterre first broadcasted on January 7th 2003 on France 3.- Facts :* Title: L'Odyssée de l'espèce* Directed by: Jacques Malaterre...
a similar program on France 3France 3France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô.... - Before We Ruled the EarthBefore We Ruled The EarthBefore We Ruled the Earth is a two-part documentary television miniseries that premiered on February 9, 2003 on the Discovery Channel. The program featured early human history and the challenges human beings faced thousands of years ago...
a two-part documentary aired on Discovery ChannelDiscovery ChannelDiscovery 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... - PaleoworldPaleoworldPaleoworld was a documentary television series that was produced for The Learning Channel, and has had a total of 50 episodes. Some consider it to be the largest and most comprehensive paleontology series ever made. The series began in late September 1994 and, after 4 seasons, ended in 1997...
- Dinosaur Planet (TV series)
- When Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaWhen Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaWhen Dinosaurs Roamed America is a two-hour American television program that first aired on Discovery Channel in 2001. It was directed by Pierre de Lespinois and narrated by actor John Goodman...
Walking with Cavemen is a special programme from a series of BBC documentaries that is made up of :
- Walking with DinosaursWalking with DinosaursWalking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
(1999) - Walking with BeastsWalking with BeastsWalking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary miniseries, produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. In North America it has been retitled Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, and the original Discovery Channel broadcast was narrated by Stockard Channing...
(2001) - Walking with MonstersWalking with MonstersWalking with Monsters is a three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles...
(2005)
The following are Walking With... series specials: (this includes Walking with Cavemen)
- The Ballad of Big AlThe Ballad of Big AlThe Ballad of Big Al is a combination biography-sequel for Walking with Dinosaurs ...
(2000) - Chased By DinosaursChased by DinosaursChased by Dinosaurs is a BBC program featuring Nigel Marven as a time-traveller who encounters dinosaurs in the wild. The two-part series, a sequel to Walking with Dinosaurs, was broadcast over Christmas 2002 and featured Nigel and his "team of fellow explorers" encountering prehistoric life over a...
(2002) - Sea Monsters (2003)
The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:
- "Prehistoric America (film)Prehistoric America (film)Wild New World, also known as Prehistoric America, is a British documentary series about Ice Age America . Like several other BBC programmes, it contains both computer graphics and real life animals...
" (2003) - "Monsters We MetMonsters We MetMonsters We Met is a documentary produced by the BBC and later aired on Animal Planet in 2004 . The show used computer-generated imagery to recreate the life of the giant animals that lived during the last ice age and explains how early humans encountered them. It also features humans as the main...
" (2004) - Prehistoric ParkPrehistoric ParkPrehistoric Park is a six-episode mockumentary television mini-series that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. The program was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created Walking with Dinosaurs. In 2007, ITV cancelled Prehistoric Park, but introduced the...
(2006)