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Prehistoric Park is a six-episode docufiction television series that first aired on the channel ITV. Narrated by David Jason, the program follows zoologist and adventurer Nigel Marven as he attempts to rescue extinct animals from the past and house them in a wildlife sanctuary, also named Prehistoric Park. The show was produced by Impossible Pictures, the same company that created the breakthrough miniseries Walking with Dinosaurs. It first aired in the UK on ITV on 22 July 2006, and in the USA on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. Along with its initial success, the show has gained many fans who continue to speculate about the possibility of an eventual second season. Neither ITV nor Impossible Pictures have officially announced a cancellation of the series.

Premise[]

The show follows naturalist Nigel Marven as he travels back to ancient time periods through use of a time portal device. His mission is to rescue prehistoric animals from the brink of extinction and give them a second chance in a unique wildlife preserve known as Prehistoric Park. Once they are settled into their new home, the creatures are cared for by Head Keeper Bob and Head Vet Suzanne, among others. Through the course of the series, Nigel and the staff balance the task of bringing the animals back to the park to that of dealing with problems in the park.

Characters[]

Prehistoric Park features several characters, both recurring ones and ones who are seen less often.

Major Characters[]

  • Nigel Marven - the host and presenter of the show, who brings back extinct animals to the park.
  • Bob (Rod Arthur) - the ever-suffering head keeper, who is left to deal with the everyday chores around the park.
  • Suzanne McNabb - the park's head veterinarian, who treats sick animals and also oversees breeding of the animals.

Minor Characters[]

  • Saba Douglas-Hamilton - a conservationist specializing in big cats who accompanies Nigel on his mission to rescue a Smilodon in Episode 4.
  • Ben (Morgan Williams) - a member of Nigel's crew, who joined him on his mission to Cretaceous China in Episode 3. He is attacked by a pack of Mei long but survives without sustaining major injuries.
  • Bill - a member of Nigel's crew, who joined him on his mission to the Carboniferous in Episode 5. Later, after settling in for the night, a giant scorpion crawled on top of him as he slept in his hammock, but Nigel got it off of him before it could sting him.
  • Jim - a member of Nigel's crew. He appears most prominently in the final two episodes.
  • Suzanne's blonde veterinary assistant - a member of the park's veterinary team. She appears in almost all of the episodes, but is never named. In fanfiction, she is often referred to as Sarah.

Episodes[]

Main Creature goals[]

While they were also rescued and brought to the present, Triceratops, Ornithomimus, Elasmotherium, the titanosaurs, and Troodon were all unexpected arrivals, especially the latter, since the Troodon was an unintentional arrival, having snuck into the back of Nigel's jeep without him knowing.

Creatures Shown in the Series[]

From the Past[]

+ Indicates that a species from the past is still alive today.

Returning[]

The following all return from the Walking with... trilogy:

New[]

The following make their debut via Prehistoric Park:

From the Present[]

(Main article: Modern Prehistoric Park Residents)

  • Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor)
    • Red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor constrictor)
  • African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana)
  • Jackson's chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii)
  • Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)
  • Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis)
  • Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna)
  • Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
  • Southern masked weaver (Ploceus velatus)
  • African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)
  • Red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata)
  • Western hog-nosed snake (Heterodon nasicus)
  • Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni)
  • Great blue heron (Ardea herodias)

As Fossils and Exhibits[]

As Images[]

Mentioned[]

  • Ostrich
  • Duck
  • Goose
  • Emu
  • Flamingo
  • Cow
  • Rhinoceros
  • Lion
  • Dugong
  • Manatee
  • Hippopotamus
  • Fox
  • Spider
  • Mosquito
  • Dragonfly

Home releases[]

Prehistoric Park was released on DVD in both a two-disc and a three-disc set, containing all six episodes plus some storyboards and the Building the Impossible special. The Region 1 DVD was released in the United States on June 5, 2007 by BCI Eclipse, under license from Fremantle Media. The Region 2 DVD was released in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2006 by Fremantle Media. The Region 3 DVD was released in Indonesia by Medialine Entertainment at an unknown date, and lastly, the Region 4 DVD was released in Australia and its surrounding islands on October 6, 2006.

On March 12, 2013, Prehistoric Park would be rereleased on DVD by BBC Home Entertainment. Later, on August 18, 2021, the series would be rereleased in an Australian-exclusive, two-disc Blu-ray bundle with the 2011 film, March of the Dinosaurs, by Via Vision Entertainment.

Region 1 DVD menu screen[]

Narrators[]

Prehistoric Park was originally narrated by English actor David Jason. However, in the United States and Australia, different narrators were hired to narrate the series. In the United States, American writer and producer Jim Forbes was casted as the narrator for the series while in Australia, the narrator is Scottish-Australian journalist and TV personality Charles Wooley. However, while Forbes's narration of the series was used in several releases of the Region 1 DVD, such as the three-disc Animal Planet set, the Region 4 DVD release still uses the original narration by Jason as opposed to using Wooley's narration.

Extra Media[]

Besides the TV series, Prehistoric Park also had several supplementary material.

Books[]

Prehistoric Park (book)[]

(Main article: Prehistoric Park (book))

Prehistoric Park is a tie-in, paper-back book based on the TV series itself. Written by Kristin Beiner and published by Meredith Books in 2006, it recounts all of Nigel's adventures and the day-to-day running of the park, as seen in the TV series, and includes a fold-out jumbo poster.

Prehistoric Park: Creatures and Beasts[]

(Main article: Prehistoric Park: Creatures and Beasts)

Prehistoric Park: Creatures and Beasts is a paper-back book written by Brandon T. Snider and published by Meredith Books in 2007.

Games[]

Race to the Rescue[]

(Main article: Prehistoric Park Race to the Rescue)

Prehistoric Park Race to the Rescue is a board game based on the TV series. Up to four players can play at a time, and the goal of the game is to be the first player to fill up their park with one of each of the available creatures in the game and make it back to the time portal first.

Prehistoric Cyberpets[]

(Main article: Prehistoric Cyberpets)

During Prehistoric Park's run on television, ITV's children's network, CITV, released three downloadable desktop pets on their Prehistoric Park page. Users can choose between Terrence the Tyrannosaurus, Oliver (or Ollie) the Ornithomimus, and Sabrina the Smilodon, and once downloaded, they can feed and interact with their cyberpets on their computer desktop.

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