The Dinosaur Box

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 b...

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...

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, pointl...

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 f...

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,...

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 Prim...

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 pred...

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, w...

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 wor...

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 e...

Remember Terra Nova? That show that seemed to combine Jurassic Park, Avatar, Lost and Stargate into an epic sci-fi family drama? Remember when we all thought it was going to be good? In our very first two-parter episode, Tom and guest host, Woody Laui, look back at one of the biggest let-downs in paleo TV...and the brief period when it looked like it wouldn't be. Join us as we enjoy Stephen L...

It's back to the halcyon year of 2007 as Tom and Darby revisit Primeval Series 1 in all its nostalgic British sci-fi glory. Widely considered to be one of the best of the show, this is the series that did prehistoric wildlife in the modern world right the first time — Jurassic World: Dominion should have taken notes — helped in no small part by great characters, imaginative writing and a heal...

We like Prehistoric Park, but there are reasons why it was cancelled after one series (and no, it wasn't because of Primeval). Join Tom and guest host, Alex Croney, as we both celebrate a beloved 2000s mockumentary series with seemingly everything going for it — a charismatic host, a premise ripe with potential, and of course, dinosaurs — and try to answer why it came to an unceremonious end...

Really? That company for soppy holiday TV movies made a dinosaur show too? Based on a series of best-selling books, Dinotopia had the task of taking an IP renowned for its breathtaking artwork and unique fantasy worldbuilding (less so for its story) and adapting it into three 90-minute TV episodes, with all the constraints that entailed in 2002. What followed was a magnificently "meh" mi...

In our pilot episode of The Dinosaur Box, Tom and Darby kick things off with a beloved paleo drama that ripped the boundaries of space and time to shreds. Taking a concept that could so easily not have worked, Primeval instead became the show that forced Doctor Who to share the late-2000s British sci-fi landscape with its colourful cast of characters, imaginative twists on its already imaginative...