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South China Morning Post
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Study Buddy (Challenger): ‘Walking with Dinosaurs' returns with more science, fossils and stories
Content provided by British Council Read the following text, and answer questions 1–9 below: [1] In 1999, the BBC unleashed what it called 'one of [its] most beloved factual shows', Walking with Dinosaurs. Now, after a surprisingly long interlude, comes a six-part continuation and celebration of animals that were always much more than their typical film portrayals. The 2025 series with the same name is not afraid to show the cuddly side of the 'terrible lizards' – with a touch of unashamed anthropomorphism (giving an animal or object human characteristics) by naming the beasts and imagining their families' lives. [2] 'We wanted to tell stories of well-rounded creatures that didn't just bite things all day. They were parents, they faced challenges and weren't always the apex (top) kings of their environments,' said Thomas Scott, head of development at BBC Studios Science Unit. 'So we wanted stories where you rooted for them, feared them or loved them; where you felt a complete set of emotions. Just like when you watch documentaries about big cats in Africa, once you've seen their struggles, you want them to make that kill.' [3] Dr Nizar Ibrahim, senior lecturer in palaeontology at the University of Portsmouth, in England, said: 'One hopes the series will encourage a broader interest in fossils because they're an amazing window into 'deep time'. Many of the problems we are facing – [such as] change in climate and sea level, biodiversity loss, extinction and overfishing – you can only really understand if you have a deep-time perspective.' [4] 'In Walking with Dinosaurs,' he added, 'we see reconstructions of our planet tens of millions of years ago. And the only reason we know there was a mass extinction, for example, is because of palaeontology. We might be in the middle of one now, so the series is a gateway to this important deep-time view.' [5] The series uncovers the lives of six mighty dinosaurs. One is Sobek, a Spinosaurus that lived 100 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous period. At the time, Africa and South America had recently divorced, and the future Sahara desert was a forested river region. We find Sobek deeply, loudly asleep in a shady grove. [6] Sobek – 'dad looking after the kids', as Scott called him – is the supervisor of a nursery of 'babies'. He is responsible, like some modern bird species, for all parental duties. Size matters, and the intimidating Sobek shepherds his juvenile flock towards a watery hunting ground. But for the flock and Sobek – even at 11 metres long with a permanently upright, spiny 'sail' along his back – the journey is still perilous. [7] Contemporary natural history shows usually have an admirable conservationist (protecting the environment and wildlife) agenda. But what is the aim of a series dealing in long-departed flying reptiles, antique fish and terrestrial terrors brought back to life by special effects? 'We want people to watch the show as a piece of storytelling, but it's also an opportunity to understand [palaeontology's] scientific process,' Scott said. Source: South China Morning Post, May 25 Questions 1. Based on your understanding of paragraph 1, what might be different and unexpected about the Walking with Dinosaurs (2025) series compared to other nature shows? 2. In paragraph 1, an unusual choice the creators made was to … A. have dinosaurs interact with other prehistoric mammals. B. invent entirely new dinosaur species. C. give names and fictitious family lives to the dinosaurs. D. promote a specific theory about dinosaur evolution. 3. The phrase 'didn't just bite things all day' in paragraph 2 suggests that most depictions of dinosaurs often … A. show them as docile herbivores. B. focus predominantly on their predatory behaviour. C. present them as intelligent problem-solvers. D. highlight their complex social structures. 4. Based on your understanding of paragraph 2, what does the phrase 'you want them to make that kill' about big cats imply about how the creators want viewers to feel about the dinosaurs' struggles? 5. What is the value of studying fossils and deep time, according to Dr Nizar Ibrahim in paragraph 3? 6. Which of the following best describes the geological state of Africa and South America during Sobek's time, according to paragraph 5? A. They were a single supercontinent. B. They were beginning to merge. C. They had recently separated. D. none of the above 7. What parallel does paragraph 6 draw between Sobek and some modern bird species? 8. Find a word in paragraph 6 that indicates Sobek's large physical stature. 9. What is the goal of Walking with Dinosaurs (2025) according to paragraph 7? Dr Nizar Ibrahim, a senior lecturer in palaeontology, in the Sahara desert in Morocco. Photo: BBC Answers 1. The new show is not afraid to show the cuddly side of dinosaurs, which is different to their typical portrayal as ferocious creatures. It gives them names and imagines their families' lives. (accept all similar answers) 2. C 3. B 4. The show's creators want viewers to become invested in the dinosaurs and root for them through their struggles, even if those struggles are seen as struggles, even if those struggles are seen as disturbing, such as hunting. (accept all reasonable answers) 5. Studying fossils and understanding deep time is crucial for understanding and addressing current global issues, such as climate change, rising sea levels and biodiversity loss. 6. C 7. Some modern bird species also have a male responsible for all parental duties. 8. intimidating 9. to help viewers understand palaeontology's scientific process
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
New BBC show Walking with Dinosaurs has ‘character-led stories based on genuine evidence'
Make no bones about it: dinosaurs are a perennial big deal. As passionate palaeontologist Dr Nizar Ibrahim puts it: 'When museums are talking about bringing in exhibitions, they say the two themes that always work are mummies and dinosaurs!' And dinosaurs' outsize appeal extends to television. In 1999, the BBC unleashed what it calls 'one of [its] most beloved factual shows', Walking with Dinosaurs. Now, after a surprisingly long interlude, comes Walking with Dinosaurs: Legends Unearthed, a six-part continuation and a celebration of animals that were always much more than the sum of their movie counterparts. Play For this is a series that isn't afraid to show the cuddly side of the 'terrible lizards' – even, perhaps, with a touch of unashamed anthropomorphism, giving the beasts' names and imagined family lives.
Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Why Steven Spielberg got his roaring T-Rex all wrong
The puddle-shaking thud of an approaching tyrannosaurus rex in Jurassic Park is one of film's most famous moments. But viewers tuning into the BBC's Walking With Dinosaurs will be presented with an altogether different monster. The T-Rex we meet in the rebooted series is quiet and stealthy, creeping up to its prey on shock-absorbent feet and using its exceptional eyesight to pick out victims, even at night time. 3D printing from its brain cavity shows the T-Rex had a huge olfactory system capable of sniffing out even the most well-hidden victims, meaning that crouching out of sight behind a log would no longer cut it for animals trying to avoid becoming lunch. On the upside, the predator is far slower than its Steven Spielberg counterpart. In recent years, scientists have discovered that a T-Rex's heavy eight-tonne frame could only run around 16mph without breaking bones, meaning a fast human could out-sprint it. 'This really is as close as we can get to a real T-Rex,' said Dr Nizar Ibrahim, a palaeontologist and anatomist from the University of Portsmouth, who was an expert advisor on Walking With Dinosaurs. 'It's been done many, many times over, but it's still a very exciting dinosaur, it's Hollywood royalty, but this is the best, most accurate portrayal of T-Rex anywhere.' The groundbreaking series is returning to the BBC some 25 years after it was first shown, and while the original relied heavily on animatronics, today's updated offering is largely computer-generated effects. The dinosaurs are still built from the ground up, but digitally, with designers creating a skeleton, musculature, and finally skin in a process that took two-and-a-half years to complete. Other on-the-hoof hacks were also employed by the team to make the series feel as lifelike as possible. A bright blue exercise ball was dragged through ferns to simulate the toddling path of a baby triceratops, before using computer effects to replace the ball with the dinosaur. To create the footprints of the stalking Utahraptor in episode three, the team made plaster replicas of the soles of the animal's feet, based on a preserved trackway found in China. In episode two, to accurately represent a spinosaurus moving through water, the team commissioned a six-and-a-half-foot long head which was pushed through the depths by the director wearing a wetsuit. 'There were some really silly moments,' said Kirsty Wilson, the series showrunner. 'The production team stomping around, running or even swimming through rivers on location, head-to-toe in blue suits, pretending to be dinosaurs. 'We walk about to create movement in the environment, as if we were dinosaurs brushing past ferns or creating ripples in the water, and then the visual effects company can remove us from the shot later. 'I wasn't immune myself, running through the bushes in the rain pretending to be a baby Triceratops.' Rather than looking at a species, the new series follows the fates of six 'hero' dinosaurs, imagining what life might have been like for individuals based on their fossil remains. Each story starts when their bones are dug up by palaeontologists. The first episode follows an orphaned baby triceratops, dubbed 'Clover' by the dig team, who struggles to survive without parents or a herd. Jack Bootle, senior head of specialist factual commissioning at the BBC said: 'It's an exciting blend of science and storytelling. It first begins at a dig site. We tell a story about how that dinosaur might have lived. 'We may not have Hollywood budgets but we do have science upon our side. If you want to know how the creatures lived, this is the series for you, not Jurassic Park.' The series will also introduce viewers to a young pachyrhinosaurus, nicknamed Albie, forced to make a 400-mile migration to find food, as well as Sobek, the Spinosaurus, envisaged as a new father looking after his young. Just one skeleton of the sail-backed crocodile-snouted spinosaurus has ever been found in the Sahara desert. 'Most people are somewhat familiar with the dinosaurs we all grew up with. But in this spectacular Saharan adventure they are going to come face-to-face with a very different giant – longer than T-Rex – and a reminder that there is a lot we don't actually know about dinosaurs and that these creatures were a lot more diverse and adaptable than we previously gave them credit for,' Dr Ibrahim said. The final episode, Island of Giants, tells the tale of one of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the earth, a colossal, long-necked Lusotitan, known as Old Grande. It is narrated by Bertie Carvel, the actor best known for playing Miss Trunchball in the Matilda the Musical and Jonathan Strange in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Sir David Attenborough was originally asked to narrate the first series, but turned it down because it was not representing real, live creatures. Andrew Cohen, executive producer, said: 'It's always nerve wracking bringing a show this big back. 'We've thought about it for a very long time, about when the right moment was. And I think we've always been looking for a sweet spot, and there's now so much to say about dinosaurs that has transformed in the last 25 years.'
