Dinosaur Planet is a four-part American nature documentary that aired on the Discovery Channel as a special-two night event on December 14 and 16, 2003. It is hosted by paleontologist Scott Sampson and narrated by actor Christian Slater. It was released on DVD as a two-disc pack on February 17, 2004, and was also released on VHS around the same time.
The format is similar to Discovery's earlier series When Dinosaurs Roamed America. Each episode tells a fictionalized account of a dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period. The animals are recreated with computer-generated imagery and composited into present-day filmed locations that approximate prehistoric Earth. Periodic interludes (three in each episode) feature Scott Sampson explaining the scientific findings behind the story, also similar to When Dinosaurs Roamed America, but has improved in quality.
Episodes
{ { Episode table |background=#A0D0A0 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes= { { Episode list | EpisodeNumber= 1 | Title=White Tip's Journey | DirectedBy=Pierre de Lespinois | WrittenBy =Mike Carroll (story), Michael Ormert and Georgann Kane (narration), Gary Parker (paleontologist segments) | OriginalAirDate = | ShortSummary= :
Setting: Gobi Desert, (Mongolia), 80-70 MYA
Filming Locations: Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, California
In the vast deserts of Prehistoric Mongolia during the Cretaceous time zone, a lone female Velociraptor, White Tip, is walking across the barren dunes. She once lived with other raptors in a group but another pack of raptors attacked her group and all her fellow pack members were massacred by the rival Velociraptor. Only White Tip escaped alive, and she must find a new group. She tries to hunt a small pachycephalosaurid dinosaur called Prenocephale, but fails, as she cannot efficiently hunt without other raptors to back her up. She then turns to hunt smaller prey such as a lizard.
During one of her hunts, White Tip hears the screams of an Oviraptor flock and heads to the location. When she gets there, the Oviraptor turn out to be in a mating ritual, where a young male tries to seduce the female with his brilliant plumage, but his tactics fail and the female leaves. Then an older male arrives and drives the young bachelor away. Enraged, the Oviraptor then takes his anger out on White Tip, who runs away.
A moment later, White Tip stumbles into a shallow valley of a Protoceratops nest, where she encounters a doe and a buck. She is chased away by the old male ceratopsian guarding his mate and clutch of eggs. Luckily, the bull chases her into the territory of another male Protoceratops, who challenges, and duels the intruder. The old bull is outclassed by the other bull Protoceratops in a head-butting match, and is driven off. The older Protoceratops limps away, bleeding while dazed and disoriented. White Tip finishes the bull off and begins her meal. While she eats, the smell of blood attracts a small pack of other Velociraptor, led by an alpha male, Broken Hand, who had injured one of his arms in an earlier battle. They follow the blood trail to White Tip's kill, and she reluctantly hands her kill over. At first, she makes to continue her lone journey, but stops: White Tip realizes the pack is strong, and tries to joins them. However, the other male in the pack, Blue Brow, shows curiosity first, and, taking it as a sign of an attempt to change authority, Broken Hand suddenly shows aggression towards Blue Brow, knocking White Tip out of the way. After a short argument, a fight ensues with Blue Brow winning, and Broken Hand flees, stunned and disgraced. Blue Brow is the new raptor alpha and allows White Tip to join the pack as his mate.
Later, the pack heads off to hunt for one thing most raptors love eating: nutritional dinosaur eggs. What they find is a Protoceratops herd of seven to eight individuals guarding two nests of eggs. The females lunge forward, snapping and biting to goad the Protoceratops long enough for Blue Brow and White Tip to go in and raid the nests. The Protoceratops focus on defending against the female Velociraptor whilst White Tip and Blue Brow go behind the group, steal several eggs and flee, with the other raptors retreating close behind soon after. However, the loot is divided: Blue Brow keeps his eggs, and White Tip has to give hers away.