''Prehistoric Park'' is a six-part

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

docu-fiction A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

television mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...

on 29 October 2006. The programme was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created ''

Walking with Dinosaurs ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. Envi ...

''. Each episode is an hour long including commercial breaks. Repeats of the show are broadcast in the UK on

Watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached ...

. The programme is narrated by

David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom '' Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector ...

and presented by

Nigel Marven Nigel Alan Marven (born 27 November 1960) is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries '' Chased by Dinosaurs'', its sequel, '' Sea Monsters ...

. The fictional component is the theme that Nigel goes back to various geological time periods through a space-

time portal Time portals are doorways in time, employed in various fiction genres, especially science fiction and fantasy, to transport characters to the past or future. They differ from time machines in being a permanent or semi-permanent fixture linki ...

, and brings live specimens of extinct animals back to the present day, where they are exhibited in a

wildlife park A safari park, sometimes known as a wildlife park, is a zoo-like commercial drive-in tourist attraction where visitors can drive their own vehicles or ride in vehicles provided by the facility to observe freely roaming animals. A safari park ...

named Prehistoric Park, which is a big area between high steep mountains and ocean, with varied environments, in what looks like

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

province in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

Story

The story, which is told in the style of a documentary, focuses on naturalist Nigel Marven leading missions to find and collect extinct animals from the distant past by use of a time machine. The animals are then placed in the confines of Prehistoric Park, a private wildlife park that is situated in a dry, mountainous region of an unspecified part of the world. Marven's core motivation in the series is to defy extinction and to give select extinct species a second chance at life.

Characters

as himself, the main presenter of the show. * Rod Arthur as Bob, the long-suffering head keeper at the park. In charge of feeding, cleaning and controlling the animals in the park. * Suzanne McNabb as herself, the head veterinarian. Responsible for treating animals when they are sick or injured. * Morgan Williams as Ben, one of Nigel's crew. Four ''

Mei long ''Mei'' (from Chinese 寐 mèi ''Sleepy'') is a genus of duck-sized troodontid dinosaur first unearthed by paleontologists from the Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China in 2004. ''Mei'' lived during the Early Cretaceous period. The binomial nam ...

'' attacked him for meat in his backpack. Introduced in episode 3. * Saba Douglas-Hamilton as herself, a big cat specialist, whom Nigel invites back to catch

Smilodon ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely rela ...

in episode 4.

Locations within the park

When the animals are brought back to the park, they are placed into a nearby enclosure. The enclosures are named after the extinct animals that they are housing. * Mammoth Mount: This enclosure houses the park's

woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus s ...

Martha. * T-Rex Hill: T-Rex Hill is home to the park's pair of ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'', Terence and Matilda. * Big Cat Climb: This two part enclosure features a pair of breeding

s. * Triceratops Creek: Theo is the resident ''

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivorous chasmosaurine ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 68 million years ago in what is now North America. It is one ...

'' at Triceratops Creek. * Deinosuchus Dip: This is a huge lake, where the park's ''

Deinosuchus ''Deinosuchus'' () is an extinct genus of alligatoroid crocodilian, related to modern alligators and caimans, that lived 82 to 73 million years ago (Ma), during the late Cretaceous period. The name translates as "terrible crocodile" and i ...

'' is kept. * Ornithomimus Pond: This paddock features a flock of '' Ornithomimus''. * The Bug House: This state-of-the-art enclosure keeps its Carboniferous period creatures safe. Its oxygen levels inside are double what they are today, maintaining a sustainable environment for the park's ''

Arthropleura ''Arthropleura'' () is a genus of extinct millipede arthropods that lived in what is now North America and Europe around 345 to 290 million years ago, from the Viséan stage of the lower Carboniferous Period to the Sakmarian stage of the lower ...

'', ''

Meganeura ''Meganeura'' is a genus of extinct insects from the Late Carboniferous (approximately 300 million years ago). They resembled and are related to the present-day dragonflies and damselflies, and were predatory, with their diet mainly consisting o ...

'' and ''

Pulmonoscorpius ''Pulmonoscorpius'' is an extinct genus of scorpion from the Mississippian (Early Carboniferous) of Scotland. It contains a single named species, ''Pulmonoscorpius kirktonensis''. It was one of the largest scorpions to have ever lived, with the ...

'' specimens.

Episodes

Filming locations

Home release

* The Region 1 DVD was released on 5 June 2007 by BCI Eclipse, under license from Fremantle Media. * The Region 2 DVD was released in Britain on 28 August 2006 by

Fremantle Media Fremantle (; formerly FremantleMedia) is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. Fremantle takes its name from Fremantle International, acquired by predecessor company All American Television in ...

. * The Region 4 DVD was released in Australia and surrounding islands on 6 October 2006. Charles Wooley narrated the series when broadcast on Australia's Nine Network, and the Region 4 DVD has the original narration by David Jason. * The Region 3 DVD was released in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

by Medialine Entertainment.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

''Prehistoric Park''
at itv.com/citv (including episode guide and images)
Animal Planet - ''Prehistoric Park''

''Impossible Pictures'' minisite

Nigel Marven's production photos
* {{Impossible Pictures 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings Animal Planet original programming ITV documentaries Documentary television series about dinosaurs British time travel television series English-language television shows 2000s British documentary television series