2023-04-22 15:20:00
Avant Jurassic Worlda cult BBC documentary series brilliantly recreated the lost world of prehistoric reptiles: In the land of dinosaurs.
Jurassic Park lit the spark for a whole generation of children obsessed with paleontology, but other projects followed to keep the flame burning. So in 1999 a documentary series with crazy ambitions has emergedand the most nostalgic certainly remember it: In the Land of Dinosaurs.
Bringing together nearly 19 million Britons during its first broadcast and 200 million viewers worldwide at the end of 2000, the series became a real phenomenon. By marvelously associating documentary and fiction, it has established itself as a perfect hybrid, calibrated for success and capable of rivaling Steven Spielberg’s dinos.
Recreating the lost world: a technological feat
« It’s no longer a dream, you’re among the dinosaurs » proudly announces the series’ tagline. This is not an empty promise, as the means allocated by the BBC are completely insane. Composed of six 30-minute episodes, In the Land of Dinosaurs is still to this day most expensive documentary series of all time : 6.1 million pounds, or almost 10 million dollars. Fortunately, all this money has not been thrown away, given the care with which the creator Tim Haines wanted to recreate this lost world.
From the BBC’s green light to the broadcast of the first episode, three years have passed, during which Tim Haines and his troupe have been working tirelessly: a year and a half of research to identify filming locations containing prehistoric plants and trees, plus a year and a half spent perfecting the animation of the creatures, in a completely innovative exercise in style. Next to 80 animatronics have been createdwhile around a hundred experts were consulted for the project.
The series is thus a fascinating exploration of the age of dinosaurs, from their beginnings to their fall, with a delirious application to make the thing as realistic as possible. Without the CGI of dubious quality today (even if they remain admirable for the time), we believe without difficulty in a real animal documentary. Haines went so far as to incorporate interactions between dinosaurs and the camera or add real animals (like lizards or insects). But, more than a simple documentary, In the Land of Dinosaurs is a great tragedy, and that’s what made it unforgettable.
THE stars of a tragic odyssey
Aided by the mystery of the fossils, Haines was given free rein to develop his own story arcs, supported by paleontological research… and a healthy dose of guesswork. Imbued with a desire to make everything excessive, he deliberately took liberties with the dimensions of some prehistoric animals. The Liopleurodon, star of the underwater episode, and the Ornithocheirus, the peaceful giant of the air, thus take on gigantic (and totally exaggerated) proportions. However, the emphasis on the particularity of these strange giants only becomes even more magnificent.
The greatest strength of In the land of the dinosaurs is its tragic dimension, which is articulated throughout the various episodes, and which finds its explosive epilogue in the fall of the comet which put an end to the reign of the dinosaurs. Everyone knows the story, and Haines played it admirably, which is particularly clever after the resurgence of interest in saurians driven by Jurassic Park. Each time travel is therefore crossed by fatalism, and each minute of the program becomes even more precious: we know where it’s going, but we don’t want it to end.
This dimension is exacerbated by the superb composition work by Ben Bartlettawarded a BAFTA in 2000. His desire was then to create a musical atmosphere specific to each episode, and it is a brilliant success. The march of the immense Diplodocus is thus triumphant and epic, while the marine and aerial episodes are imbued with a tragic melancholy, evoking the cruelty of the oceans or the bittersweet beauty of a last voyage. For the last episode, the chosen theme is dark and gloomy. We are witnessing the end of an era, which has been waiting for us since the introduction of the series.
Real didactic entertainment
Jurassic Park had sown the seeds of a whole generation fed up with paleontology, In the Land of Dinosaurs hatched them. All in perfectly combining entertainment and pedagogy, without losing sight of a look of wonder at the creatures. We get caught up in the game without difficulty, especially since the series is rather well inspired in its choice of speciesalternating between hardcore stars like the Tyrannosaurus (but leaving aside the Velociraptor) and lesser known, but equally fascinating creatures.
Where the series differs from a classic documentary is in its propensity to rely on fiction. The plots seem fully believable, and they follow each other with the religiosity of a TV soap opera. The dinos becoming stars in full possession of their program, the series has plenty of time to develop its learning functionsublimated by a never intrusive and memorable voice-over (the unforgettable French voice of André Dussolier).
In line with Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece, who never forgot his didactic role, On the ground desacralizes the myth of the monstrous dinosaurat the same time ashe iconizes it a bit more as a wonder of nature. A path that Tim Haines, via his production company Impossible Pictures, created in 2002, will never stop taking. With In the Land of Lost Monsters (2001) et In the Land of the Giants (2005), he pushes this educational aspect, presenting eras unknown to the general public.
By teaming up with the brilliant zoologist Nigel Marven for the brilliant Prehistoric Parkhe offers himself a reassuring and enthusiastic voice, which continued the wonderful legacy left by In the Land of Dinosaurs.
At a time great epic odyssey and prestigious documentary, In the Land of Dinosaurs is thus the perfect fusion between two sometimes antagonistic worlds. It’s a UFO by the BBC’s investment, and if a few have tried to take over its legacy (Prehistoric Planet recently), it seems difficult to revisit such a cultural phenomenon anytime soon.
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