Prehistoric Park

Prehistoric Park is a six-episode docu-fiction 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. Each episode is an hour long including commercial breaks. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on Watch.

The program is narrated by David Jason and presented by Nigel Marven. The fictional component is the theme that Nigel goes back to various geological time periods through a space-time portal, and brings back live specimens of extinct animals back to the present day, where they are exhibited in a wildlife park named Prehistoric Park, which is a big area between high steep mountains and ocean, with varied environments.

Story

The story, which is told in the style of a documentary, focuses on naturalist Nigel Marven leading missions to find and collect extinct animals from the distant past by use of a time machine. The animals are then placed in the confines of Prehistoric Park, a private wildlife park that is situated in a dry, mountainous region of an unspecified part of the world. Marven's core motivation in the series is to defy extinction and to give select extinct species a second chance at life.

Characters

• Nigel Marven (playing himself).
• Bob (Rod Arthur) - the long-suffering head keeper at the park. In charge of feeding, cleaning and controlling the animals in the park.
• Suzanne (Suzanne McNabb) - the head veterinarian. Responsible for treating animals when they're sick or injured.
• Saba Douglas-Hamilton (playing herself) - a big cat specialist, whom Nigel invites back to catch Smilodon in episode 4.
• Bill - a crew member who travels back with Nigel. Introduced in episode 5.
• Jim - an associate of Nigel who travels with him through time. Also introduced in episode 5.
• Ben (Morgan Williams)- One of Nigel's crew. Four Mei long attacked him for meat in his backpack. Introduced in episode 3.

There are various other staff members, but none of their names have been given. One of the more prominent is Suzanne's blonde assistant, who appears in all episodes except episode 1.

Episodes

Series 1 (2006)

• Episode 1: T-Rex Returns
• Episode 2: A Mammoth Undertaking
• Episode 3: Dinobirds
• Episode 4: Saving the Sabre-Tooth
• Episode 5: The Bug House
• Episode 6: Supercroc

Locations within the park

When the animals are brought back to the park, they are placed into a nearby enclosure. The enclosures are named after the extinct animals that they are housing.

• Mammoth Mount: This enclosure houses the park's woolly mammoth Martha.
• T. rex Hill: T. rex Hill is home to the park's pair of Tyrannosaurus rex, Terence and Matilda.
• Big Cat Climb: This two part enclosure features a pair of breeding sabre-tooth cats.
• Triceratops Creek: Theo is the resident Triceratops at Triceratops Creek.
• Deinosuchus Dip: This is a huge lake, where the park's Deinosuchus is kept.
• Ornithomimus Pond: This paddock features a herd of Ornithomimus.
• The Bug House: This state of the art enclosure keeps its Carboniferous period creatures safe. Its oxygen levels inside are double what they are today, and this keeps the Arthropleura, Meganeura and Pulmonoscorpius happy.

Animals

Animals seen in the wild:

Asterisk indicates animals brought to the park.

Episode 1: T-Rex Returns

• Ornithomimus*
• Tyrannosaurus rex*
• Triceratops*
• Nyctosaurus

Episode 2: A Mammoth Undertaking

• Ursus spelaeus
• Mammuthus primigenius*
• Homo Sapiens Sapiens
• Hyena
• Wolf
• Elasmotherium*

Episode 3: Dinobirds

• Pterosaur
• Incisivosaurus
• Mei long
• Microraptor*
• Titanosaur*

Episode 4: Saving the Sabre-Tooth

• Toxodon
• Smilodon*
• Phorusrhacos*

Episode 5: The Bug House

• Meganeura*
• Arthropleura*
• Pulmonoscorpius*
• Crassigyrinus

Episode 6: Supercroc

• Parasaurolophus
• Albertosaurus
• Deinosuchus*
• Troodon*
• Nyctosaurus

Filming locations

DVD

• The Region 1 DVD was released on 5 June 2007 by BCI Eclipse, under license from Fremantle Media.
• The Region 2 DVD was released in Britain on 28 August 2006 by Fremantle Media.
• The Region 4 DVD was released in Australia and surrounding islands on 6 October 2006. Charles Wooley narrated the series when broadcast on Australia's Nine Network, and the Region 4 DVD has the original narration by David Jason.

See also

• Paleoworld
• Dinosaur Planet (TV series)
• When Dinosaurs Roamed America

ITV's Prehistoric Park was created by the makers of a series of BBC documentaries that also include:

• Walking with Dinosaurs (1999)
• Walking with Beasts (2001), depicting life after the dinosaurs
• Walking with Cavemen (2003)
• Walking with Monsters (2005), depicting life before the dinosaurs

The following are Walking With... series specials:

• The Ballad of Big Al (2000)
• Chased by Dinosaurs (2002)
• Sea Monsters (2003)

The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:

• "Prehistoric America" (2003)
• "Monsters We Met" (2004)

External links

• Prehistoric Park at itv.com/citv (including episode guide and images)
• Animal Planet - Prehistoric Park
• Impossible Pictures minisite
• Nigel Marven's production photos
• Prehistoric Park at the Internet Movie Database
• Prehistoric Park at TV.com