User:Asertzman/sandbox

= Dinosaurs: Myths & Reality = Dinosaurs: Myths & Reality is a 1995 British television documentary, hosted by Fred Applegate and directed by Graham Holloway. The film was released on January 18, 1995 by the Cromwell production company for Castle Communications and broadcasted on Disney Channel. Dr. David Norman and Dr. Micheal Brett Surman are two paleontologists featured throughout the documentary. The film was later reissued with the title "Jurassic Giants: Dinosaurs and More".

Plot
Exhibits of dinosaurs from various films in the past are shown as the narrator Craig Charles asks how the dinosaurs died out. The documentary covers six common misconceptions about how dinosaurs thrived upon the planet.

Myth 1: Dinosaurs Died Out because Man Evolved
It is deliberated that knowledge about prehistoric times were limited during the 20th century which caused many filmmakers to explore the idea of man's meeting with dinosaurs. Dr. Micheal Brett Surman explains that many think that well-known dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus were around during the entirety of the age of the dinosaurs. This is proven to be untrue through the use of the fossil record, where different rock layers separate the types of fossils into the different time periods from which they prospered in. Dinosaur remains are also found worldwide, unlike mammal remains where certain species are found on distinct areas of the planet. The history of the Earth is reviewed, showing that about 285 million years ago, dinosaurs came to be in the Carboniferous era. Humans only came to be around 60 million years later. The time frame of the dinosaurs is separated into three major categories, the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. It is shown that very small mammal specimens coexisted with dinosaurs. Dr. David Norman from Cambridge University shows tooth remains from a mammal that lived in the South Wales area during the end of the Mesozoic era. The teeth shown were ideal for eating insects and made it easy to identify that the animal itself was extremely small. This made it easier for the animal to hide and take on Ecological niche s. The formation of fossils is discussed briefly, showing that intact bone remains will harden into stone after being buried under the sediment.

Myth 2: Dinosaurs were Stupid, Inefficient, and Unsuccessful
Dr. David Norman explains that fossils reveal the size of the brain cavity of many dinosaurs. The Diplodocus was measured to have a head size of two feet and a full body length of 150 feet. It is mentioned that although many perceive that brain size determines the intelligence of an organism, the dinosaurs exhibited much more intelligence than what is commonly displayed in films. It is shown that dinosaurs roamed the earth for 108 million years while humans have only been around for 200 thousand years. These lifeforms were able to successfully sustain their species for a very long period of time. There is also a common misconception that dinosaurs were cold blooded much like reptiles. Dr. David Norman mentions that in a study by Dr. Backer, physiological features show that these animals were very active and had musculature that could not move properly if the animal was cold blooded.

Myth 3: All Prehistoric Creatures were Dinosaurs
Dr. Micheal Brett Surman talks about how Pterodactylus are commonly thought to be dinosaurs due to their inclusion in many shows and movies. This is shown to be untrue as the four characteristics of a dinosaur are covered. The characteristics being that all dinosaurs lived on land, all dinosaurs were reptiles, dinosaurs only lived in the Mesozoic era, and that dinosaurs must walk upright on pillar legs.

Myth 4: Dinosaurs were Gigantic Creatures
Dr. David Norman discusses that many people think that all dinosaurs were extremely large in size, which may be true for some species but not all. A bigger size helped with defense from predators, but smaller dinosaurs also thrived by hiding in the thick vegetation. Dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops differed in size, but the triceratops had defense mechanisms built into it's skull.

Myth 5: Dinosaurs were Solitary
A discovery by Jack Horner (paleontologist) in 1978 is discussed where it was discovered that the placement of eggshell fossils and embryos of the Myosaurus revealed that there was a colonial nest site for the species. It is covered that many believe that dinosaurs left their eggs alone like reptiles, but in reality, the hatchlings stayed within their nests and waited for the adults to bring food much like birds.

Myth 6: All Our Links with Dinosaurs have Vanished
It is revealed that there are multiple theories made about how the dinosaurs came to be extinct. Many scientists believe that dinosaur extinction is due to the decline of resources to the species due to a meteorite's impact off of the coast of Yucatan. Others believe they may have been extinct due to climate change. It is stated that it is still unknown how dinosaur extinction occurred. There are still connections to these prehistoric species through the fossil record.

Response
A DVD of the documentary was given a four star review and was said to be "enjoyable and informative". The reviewer however stated that this documentary is more suited for grade school children. I

In a post about dinosaur documentaries in the 1990s a reviewer gave a negative review stating that the documentary lacked the amount of scientists it could have featured, includes misspellings of dinosaurs names, and shows excess footage of Dino-animation.