Terra Nova: What went wrong? (2/2)

They say never work with children or dinosaurs…unless you’re making Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous because by God, this show’s still f*cking awesome! Join Tom, Darby and Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory convert, Ken Yu, as we return for Season 2 of this improbable Jurassic success story, featuring dinosaur chases with and without motorbikes, a cliched but still enjoyable anti-trophy hunting plot, a barely pubescent boy re-enacting The Revenant on Isla Nublar (minus sleeping inside an ankylosaurus), and the long-awaited return of our beloved Rexy. Hold on to your butts! Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

Did you know that Primeval had four original companion novels published for it? And that they are all technically (and somewhat regrettably) canon? Here, we kick things off with Shadow of the Jaguar – a book that takes us straight off the deep end by saying, “You know what Primeval really needed? A pulpy spy novel plot with kidnappings and masked assassins in Peru, Stephen skydiving in a wingsuit for no damn reason whatsoever, a complete bastardisation of an Incan deity with a futuristic bird, and hardly any creatures for most of the story.” And believe us, that’s barely half the batshittery in this book. Strap in for our first episode of The Primeval Book Club, listeners, this one’s a real doozy.Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

Now here’s one for the British 2000s kids. First broadcast in 2002, this CBBC adaptation of Stig of the Dump had some surprisingly big shoes to fill, being based on a classic children’s novel about a boy and his caveman friend beloved by generations since 1963. So naturally, the best approach was to stuff some poor actor in a hideous, nightmare fuel monkey suit, pad the runtime with boring, pointless crap and mean-spirited classism, cut the most thrilling chapter from the book entirely, and torture paleo fans with nods to dinosaurs that never appear in the show at all. What could possibly go wrong with that?Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

No, we didn’t cover this already. There is in fact another Dinotopia TV show out there, made as a follow-up to the 2002 miniseries, featuring the same sets, creature effects, and characters played by literally none of the same actors – and that’s before we get to the magic pendants, portals and time travelling toads. Join us as we take part in the great Series vs Miniseries debate, wonder if Cal from Titanic’s sister plays the best villain in all of paleo media, question why the obviously toxic pairing of Karl and Marion don’t seek some serious couples therapy, and stress test Darby’s limited tolerance for fantasy (a youth potion made from stegosaurus tail spikes oughta crack him).Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

Back for two more bites! After an already strong Series 1, Primeval Series 2 ups the ante to 11 with its creatures, characters, ambition and imagination, rightfully earning its reputation as, quite simply, one of the very best of the show. Join Tom, Darby and guest host, O’Reilly Carroll, in the first of this two-part review, as we revisit the best sci-fi HQ set ever built for British television, the (literal) alternate timelines Series 2 could have taken, a surprisingly complex debate of government censorship vs public transparency, and our volcanic rage at a character with a disturbing taste for recreating Fatal Attraction's bunny boiler scene with a freezer and our favourite Permian reptile.Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

Creatures, romance, futuristic mind control; the best is still to come on our Primeval Series 2 review. Join Tom, Darby and O’Reilly as we gush over new creatures and creature designs – from sabretooths to Silurian scorpions to the show’s VERY FIRST DINOSAUR – question the evolutionary pathway, biologically and creatively, of a certain aquatic primate, delve into the greatest series finale in Primeval history (and the laughably bad security measures that enabled it), and relive the unforgettable scene that melted every fan's heart with five simple words: “I can’t! I love you!”Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

In our longest episode of The Dinosaur Box so far (skip to the 58-minute mark if you’re just here for the creatures), Tom, Darby and guest host, Woody Laui, check out a paleo drama about a dysfunctional family living in a prehistoric world with a frustrating lack of creatures in it…Wait, didn’t we cover that show already? Join us as we find out how much La Brea really lifts from its spiritual predecessor, Terra Nova, encounter godawful CGI dire wolves and ground sloths, wonder who thought having magic psychic visions in a sci-fi series was a good idea, and try to answer the show’s most baffling question: …Why does Tom somehow still love this shit?  Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

Wh-What? A Jurassic World animated TV show that's actually...dare we say it...good? Who would have guessed it? Certainly not us or the Jurassic fandom at large. Yet here we have a show that despite being animated, despite being (ostensibly) for kids, despite having no business being as good as it is, somehow has a better story, characters and writing than all the JW movies put together (no, we are NOT making this up)! Join Tom, Darby and guest host, Ken Yu, as we enjoy the welcome breath of fresh air that is Camp Cretaceous, question the design choices for its mascot baby dinosaur, wonder why we can't help but love/pity rich douchebag, Kenji, and ask if this show does for Jurassic World what the Clone Wars TV show did for Star Wars.Note: This episode was recorded before the release of Jurassic World: Rebirth, hence why we refer to the Jurassic World movies as a trilogy.Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

From the creator of Samurai Jack comes a dark, twisted, beautifully animated drama with not a single word of dialogue to speak of – full of dinosaurs, mammoths, cavemen, and a surprising throughline of compassion amidst the gore-spattered creature battles ... and Darby can't stand it! Find out why as we debate on this darling of new age paleo media, overly nitpick the ecology of a cartoon world where tyrannosaurs rub shoulders with literal witches, and force Tom to relive an old childhood trauma involving a giant, murderous, hideously animated beast, courtesy of another giant, murderous, hideously animated beast.Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast

Hope you liked the Terra Nova pilot, because it only goes downhill from here. Join Tom and Woody for Round 2 of our Terra Nova two-parter, as we dissect how a show that should have been on par with the creativity, fun and creature action of Primeval instead ended up with barely any dinosaur screentime, a plot no one asked for about spies and colony intrigue or something, and a teen romance — not even the same one from the pilot — that couldn't be more wooden and unbelievable if the writers manufactured it that way (oh wait, they did). But hey, with any luck, we at least hopefully got a half decent podcast episode out of it 10+ years later.Find us on IG at: @dinosaurboxpodcast