#FIRSTLOOK: BBC’S “WALKING WITH DINOSAURS” NEW SIX-EPISODE SERIES

More than 25 years after it first stomped across our TV screens, the iconic Walking with Dinosaurs is being reimagined in BBC’s latest landmark series. Premiering Tuesday, August 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on BBC Earth in Canada, Walking with Dinosaurs (6×60’ HD) will take viewers on a unique journey back through time, revealing the extraordinary life stories of these long-lost giants. Each episode in the six-part series will bring to life the dramatic story of an individual dinosaur whose remains are being unearthed by world-leading dinosaur experts, including Alberta-based paleontologists Emily Bamforth and Mark Powers. From the mountainous forests in Alberta to the red rock canyons of Utah, audiences will meet a range of dinosaur species in an array of prehistoric landscapes. Walking with Dinosaurs premieres Tuesday, August 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on BBC Earth in Canada. BBC Earth is also available via Prime Video Channels, and viewers can stream Walking with Dinosaurs beginning August 27, with new episodes uploaded weekly.

Thanks to cutting-edge science, experts can work out how these prehistoric creatures lived, hunted, fought and died more accurately than ever before. As the dinosaurs’ bones emerge from the ground, Walking with Dinosaurs brings these prehistoric stories to life with state-of-the-art visual effects – making each episode a gripping dinosaur drama based on the very latest evidence.

The Canadian Palaeontologists digging the Pipestone Creek bonebed discover from 100 to 300 bones per year, but it had been almost two decades since a skull was found. Shortly after filming for the Walking With Dinosaurs episode was completed, palaeontologists discovered a massive Pachyrhinosaurus skull in Northern Alberta near Grande Prairie. The biggest skull discovered in Pipestone Creek to date, it was nicknamed “Big Sam” after a member of the BBC Studios team.

Walking with Dinosaurs was commissioned for BBC One and BBC iPlayer by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. Bill Gardner is Editorial Consultant for PBS. Diana El-Osta is the Executive in Charge for PBS. It is a BBC Studios Science Unit Production co-produced with ZDF and France Télévisions for BBC and PBS. The Executive Producers are Andrew Cohen and Helen Thomas; the Showrunner is Kirsty Wilson; the Producer/Directors are Stephen Cooter; Tom Hewitson and Owen Gower; and the Line Producers are Max Brunold and Libby Hand. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney. BBC Studios is handling global sales, in addition to negotiating the co-production deals with PBS, ZDF, and France Télévisions.

Episode Descriptions:

Episode 1 – The Orphan (August 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)

In Laramidia, a lush, subtropical landscape 66 million years ago, we meet Clover, an orphaned baby Triceratops. Alone and vulnerable without a herd for protection, she’s stalked by the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex.

Today, palaeontologists in Montana are uncovering her fossils, allowing us to imagine Clover’s life and the dangers she faced. Through stunning VFX we recreate her dangerous encounters and bring her fight for survival vividly to life.

Episode 2 – The River Dragon (September 2 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)
North Africa, 100 million years ago. A Spinosaurus father must embark on a dangerous voyage to feed his babies. To reach the destination, he must lead his young family across one of the deadliest environments in earth’s history: a land crawling with ferocious predators. At the end of their journey, an extraordinary feast awaits – if he can run the gauntlet without his babies becoming someone else’s meal.

Episode 3 – The Band of Brothers (September 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)

Utah, 130 million years ago. A band of armoured dinosaurs battle to reach adulthood, pursued by some of the most formidable predators that have ever lived: utahraptors. It’s a deadly game of cat and mouse that pits heavy armour against vicious claws and lethal cunning; a life-and-death struggle that builds to a final showdown amongst the flames of a burning forest.

Episode 4 – The Pack (September 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)

Seventy-one million years ago lived a teenage Albertosaurus – a faster, nimbler relative of T. rex. She had to earn her place in a deadly, ferocious pack or risk starvation.

Today, palaeontologists in western Canada are unearthing her remains, allowing us to imagine her story. Based on real-world evidence, stunning VFX recreate her encounters, from hunting pterosaurs to fighting the dominant matriarch and battling for survival in the brutal late Cretaceous world.

Episode 5 – The Journey North (September 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)

Based on an unprecedented discovery in Alberta, Canada, this episode tells the epic tale of a Pachyrhinosaurus herd, one of the largest dinosaur groups that ever lived, through the eyes of its young member Albie.

Episode 6 – Island of Giants (September 30 at 9 p.m. ET/PT)

The tale of one of the largest dinosaurs ever to walk the earth, a colossal, long-necked Lusotitan. Living 150 million years ago on an island known as the Iberian Mesta, now in Portugal, this 25-metre-long titan dwarfs every other dinosaur in the region. Yet its intimidating size is only part of the story. The ultimate goal of the male of the species is to win over a female and secure his legacy. It’s a quest that sees him embark on an epic journey as he risks his life for love.

For more information on Walking with Dinosaurs, visit bbcearth.ca and follow @BBCEarthCanada on X and @BBCEarth on Facebook.

BBC First is a Blue Ant Media specialty channel giving Canadians access to a huge lineup of BBC’s original, award-winning, and uniquely British programming from drama to comedy, action and adventure, to mysterious thrillers. In Canada, BBC First is owned and operated by Blue Ant Media in partnership with BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Visit BBCFirst.ca. Follow us on Facebook: BBCFirstCanada.

#BOXOFFICE: “THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG” NARROWLY HOLDS-OFF “ANCHORMAN 2”

In its second week out, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues to perform phenomenally at the Box Office with $31.4 million from 3,928 theatres for Warner Bros. In just two weeks, the second in the Peter Jackson-helmed Trilogy has grossed over $128 million.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues in its debut certainly is no slouch only getting bested narrowly with $26.8 million from 3,507 theatres for Paramount Pictures. Critics loved the Sequel to the 2004 Box Office Hit, which also opened with a similar $28 million in its debut. Critics gave it positive Reviews, coming-in at 75% on the Tomatometer and an on-par B CinemaScore.

Oscar Contender American Hustle expands in its second week to third spot with $19.1 million  from 2,507 theatres. .  The ’70s-set Dramedy from David O. Russell (The Fighter) comes with astoundingly good Reviews (94% on the Tomatometer), although Audiences were a little less enthused with a B+ Cinemascore.  This ties with former Champ Frozen in third spot, now in its sixth week as it has its eyes set on that $200-mark domestically.

Saving Mr. Banks expands in fifth spot with $10 million, coming also with very strong Reviews, sitting at 81% on the Tomatometer. Audiences gave it a fair A CinemaScore.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire finds itself in sixth with $9.5 million, now in its fifth week of release,  just surpassing the $370-million mark in North America for Lionsgate Films/eOne Films.

Walking With Dinosaurs opens in eighth spot with $7.3 million from 3,231 theatres for eOne Films/20th Century Fox.  Critics panned the Family Flick voiced by Justin Long and John Leguizamo, getting 21% on the Tomatometer, while Audiences enjoyed it much more with a B+ CinemaScore.

Thor: The Dark World pulls-in $1.2 million for Disney/Marvel in its sixth week of release, just surpassing the $200-million mark in North America.