History Series / PlanetDinosaur

* BewareMyStingerTail: ''Stegosaurus''.

* EyeOpen: Used a few times.

* LostWorld: Aside from the first episode being called exactly that, not really.

* MeaningfulName: Nearly all the animals.

* MonsterMunch: ''Squatina''.

* NightmareFuelStationAttendant: ''Hatzegopteryx''.

* TimePassesMontage: The "everyone eats the ''Argentinosaurus''" scene in episode 5.

* TheWorfEffect: ''Sinornithosaurus'' pulls this on ''Microraptor'', ''Saurophaganax'' on ''Allosaurus'', and ''Gigantoraptor'' on ''Saurornithoides''.

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Not to be confused with the very similarly titled ''Series/DinosaurPlanet'', which is a Creator/DiscoveryChannel production, nor with ''Series/PlanetOfDinosaurs'', an Italian series made in TheNineties broadcast then also in english-speaking countries.

* KingOfTheDinosaurs: Subverted. ''T. rex'' itself is frequently mentioned but never actually shows up. It is, however, used as essentially a measuring stick for how tough all the other animals are, showing that its legendary reputation still precedes it.

** There is an interesting subversion of this trope in the last episode. Whereas in most documentaries Hell Creek has been the location commonly used to represent the K-Pg extinction due to the large number of stock dinosaurs that lived there during the final years of the Cretaceous (''TyrannosaurusRex'', ''Triceratops'', ''Edmontosaurus'', ''Ankylosaurus'', ''Pachycephalosaurus'', ''Troodon'', dromaeosaurids, ''Ornithomimus''/''Struthiomimus''), this series instead uses Hateg Island, which is home to many more obscure dinosaur genera.

* TyrannosaurusRex: Subverted. The king itself is frequently mentioned but never actually shows up. It is, however, used as essentially a measuring stick for how tough all the other animals are, showing that its legendary reputation still precedes it.

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Not to be confused with the very similarly titled ''Series/DinosaurPlanet'', which is a Creator/DiscoveryChannel production.

** ''Argentinosaurus'' is depicted with a diplodocid-like body, rather than a brachiosaur-like one.

* ConspicuousCG: Somewhat averted; the models of the animals themselves are usually alright (although they got lazy with some of the feathered dinosaurs by just putting feather texture directly on the bodies of the dinosaurs), but the movements and backgrounds don't look as good and it's definitely not helped by the fake JitterCam and {{Undercrank}}.

* StockSoundEffect: There are very few animal sounds for the program, and each giant theropod, small theropod and mid-sized herbivore seems to be using the same ones. For example, the herbivores tend to make pig screeches. [[FridgeLogic And this doesn't make much sense]], considering how important hearing was in identifying their fellow species.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: ''Gigantoraptor'', ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Sinornithosaurus'', ''Saurornithoides'', ''Epidexipteryx'', ''Majungasaurus'', ''Rugops'', ''Sinraptor'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Centrosaurus'', ''Chasmosaurus'', ''Ouranosaurus'', ''Jeholosaurus'', ''Rahonavis'', ''Saurophaganax''[[note]]Unless it turns out it's just a large ''Allosaurus''[[/note]], ''Camptosaurus'', ''Skorpiovenator'', ''Mapusaurus'', ''Bradycneme'', ''Alectrosaurus'', "Zunityrannus" (an undescribed tyrannosauroid), ''Nothronychus'', the sawfish ''Onchopristis'', the gliding lizard ''Xianglong'', the gigantic pterosaur ''Hatzegopteryx'' (the chaoyangopterid pterosaurs being even more of an example), the angelshark ''Squatina'', and the plesiosaur ''Kimmerosaurus''. Note that a few of these may already be on their way to becoming StockDinosaurs, having appeared in recent media a handful of times.

* StockDinosaurs: ''Allosaurus'', ''Stegosaurus'', ''Spinosaurus'', ''Argentinosaurus'', ''Edmontosaurus'', ''Microraptor'', and ''Troodon''.

* MadeOfIron: In "New Giants", it's mentioned that ''Argeninosaurus'' can survive having huge chunks of flesh ripped off and eaten by ''Mapusaurus''.

** ''[[SeaMonster Spinosaurus]]'' meets a rather grisly end in episode one, when a ''Carcharodontosaurus'' breaks off the tip of one of its neural spines and it slowly bleeds out.

* ConspicuousCGI: Somewhat averted; the models of the animals themselves are usually alright (although they got lazy with some of the feathered dinosaurs by just putting feather texture directly on the bodies of the dinosaurs), but the movements and backgrounds don't look as good and it's definitely not helped by the fake JitterCam and {{Undercrank}}.

* EverythingsEvenWorseWithSharks: Subverted. ''Squatina'' only serves as prey for ''Kimmerosaurus'', and fellow cartilaginous fish ''Onchpristis'' is the main prey of ''Spinosaurus''.

* FootFirstIntroduction: The intimidating kind. Some predators tend to make an entry by dramatically stomping in front of the camera.

* PrehistoricMonster: Being a SpiritualSuccessor of ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'', it comes to no surprise that ''Planet Dinosaur'' takes similar pains to [[AvertedTrope avert]] this trope. It is a little DarkerAndEdgier, however, and contains some scenes that are quite violent. Furthermore, since the environments were created entirely with CGI, they got the chance to look more...ominous: many of them being choked with dark cloudy skies and erupting volcanoes. There are also parts where they play it straight by reffering to carnivores as "killers" on several occasions. Played straight with the ''Hatzegopteryx''. Every scene with them involves a ScareChord and PsychoStrings, their hunting scene plays out like something out of a horror movie and the narrator even refers to them as "monsters".

* TheGreatFlood: Such a flood washes away a herd of ''Centrosaurus''.
* TheWorfEffect: ''Sinornithosaurus'' pulls this on ''Microraptor'', ''Saurophaganax'' on ''Allosaurus'', and ''Gigantoraptor'' on ''Saurornithoides''.

In the wake of the [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur]] documentary craze of 2011, the Creator/{{BBC}} has released their contribution to the phenomenon, a TV show titled ''Planet Dinosaur''. Following in the footsteps of the BBC's very own ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', this docu-show is also broadcast as a six-episode MiniSeries, but unlike its famous predecessor, it doesn't merely tell six half hour-long stories, but a whopping ''24'', putting onto the screen 50 (that's ''fifty''!) different types of {{prehistoric monster}}s, from dinosaurs to [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles pterosaurs and marine reptiles]]. The lack of {{talking heads}} means the narration, provided by Creator/JohnHurt, plays a crucial role in bringing the prehistoric stories to life.

** Dinosaurs and birds are regarded as two separate, distinct groups by the schematics at the end of the last episode, and the narrator doesn't even mention that not all dinosaurs are gone, in spite of the fact that a [[WalkingWithDinosaurs certain other BBC documentary]] made more than ten years ago points this out. (Particularly strange because ''Planet Dinosaur'' does get this right at the end of the ''second'' episode.)

** Taken to [[UpToEleven extreme levels]]: every minute or so, the story stops for the narrator to meticulously explain what evidence supports the scene we have just watched. Well, most of the time, that is. Some stuff is presented as pure (but generally educated) speculation. This is probably in response to criticism of the original ''WalkingWithDinosaurs''.

* SpeculativeDocumentary: Following in the footsteps of ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', this documentary naturally has some fun with this trope. The creators tend to be a bit more cautious with their speculations than the aforementioned series, however.

** The color scheme used on the ''Ouranosaurus'' is identical to the one used in ''DinosaursTheMostCompleteUpToDateEncyclopedia''.

** An aquatic crocodilian attacks one of the ''Centrosaurus'' when they are swimming. It's presumably meant as a RedHerring, as Hurt pauses during this segment after delivering the enigmatic line "there's an even more deadly killer at work here".

In the wake of the [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur]] documentary craze of 2011, the Creator/{{BBC}} has released their contribution to the phenomenon, a TV show titled '''''Planet Dinosaur'''''. Following in the footsteps of the BBC's very own ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', this docu-show is also broadcast as a six-episode MiniSeries, but unlike its famous predecessor, it doesn't merely tell six half hour-long stories, but a whopping ''24'', putting onto the screen 50 (that's ''fifty''!) different types of {{prehistoric monster}}s, from dinosaurs to [[UsefulNotes/PrehistoricLifeNonDinosaurianReptiles pterosaurs and marine reptiles]]. The lack of {{talking heads}} means the narration, provided by Creator/JohnHurt, plays a crucial role in bringing the prehistoric stories to life.

* {{Badass}}:
** Subverted at first with the ''Spinosaurus''. The narration makes it out to be the most fearsome predator of all time, and the music score plays along too. Then it walks past the scared herbivores and goes fishing. Later, however, as the river recedes, [[spoiler:it manages to beat up a giant ''Carcharodontosaurus'']]. Then again, the fish it eats are bigger than great white sharks, so it was indeed a badass all along.
** Other candidates include ''[[ImAHumanitarian Majungasaurus]]'', ''[[HornAttack Chasmosaurus]]'', ''[[GiantEqualsInvincible Argentinosaurus]]'', ''[[BewareMyStingerTail Stegosaurus]]'', ''[[PapaWolf Gigantoraptor]]'', ''[[GiantFlyer Hatzegopteryx]]'' and ''[[SeaMonster Pliosaurus]]''.

* PrehistoricMonster: Being a SpiritualSuccessor of ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', it comes to no surprise that ''Planet Dinosaur'' takes similar pains to [[AvertedTrope avert]] this trope. It is a little DarkerAndEdgier, however, and contains some scenes that are quite violent. Furthermore, since the environments were created entirely with CGI, they got the chance to look more...ominous: many of them being choked with dark cloudy skies and erupting volcanoes. There are also parts where they play it straight by reffering to carnivores as "killers" on several occasions. Played straight with the ''Hatzegopteryx''. Every scene with them involves a ScareChord and PsychoStrings, their hunting scene plays out like something out of a horror movie and the narrator even refers to them as "monsters".

* ApeShallNeverKillApe: Averted with the cannibalistic ''Majungasaurus''. To a lesser extent, the ''Daspletosaurus'' and ''Carcharodontosaurus'' are not remotely shy about fighting each other with vicious gusto, and Hurt mentions that the ''Zunityrannus'' will eat one of their own "whether they've killed it or not".

** ''Rugops'' is claimed to be an obligate scavenger, but studies on energy efficiency show that only large soaring animals can be obligate scavengers. At the same time, however, this may actually be [[ShownTheirWork based on an unpublished study]] showing that ''Rugops'' was at least ''well built'' for scavenging, rather than just wild speculation. However, a 2006 Creator/DougalDixon book made a similar claim, so the producers aren't necessarily aware of the new study.

* NoisyNature: Averted during most of the hunting scenes. For instance, the ''Spinosaurus'', ''Carcharodontosaurus'', ''Sinornithosaurus'', ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Allosaurus'', and ''Zunityrannus'' make virtually no noise when stalking prey, save for the occasional breath. Played straight in other scenarios, however, as the dinosaurs will seemingly roar, moan, screech, grunt, bellow, hiss, and even snort at every opportunity.

** Other candidates include ''[[ImAHumanitarian Majungasaurus]]'', ''[[TheBigGuy Chasmosaurus]]'', ''[[BewareMyStingerTail Stegosaurus]]'', ''[[MamaBear Gigantoraptor]]'', ''[[GiantFlyer Hatzegopteryx]]'' and ''[[SeaMonster Pliosaurus]]''.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: ''Gigantoraptor'', ''Daspletosaurus'', ''Microraptor'', ''Sinornithosaurus'', ''Saurornithoides'', ''Epidexipteryx'', ''Majungasaurus'', ''Rugops'', ''Sinraptor'', ''Magyarosaurus'', ''Centrosaurus'', ''Chasmosaurus'', ''Ouranosaurus'', ''Jeholosaurus'', ''Rahonavis'', ''Saurophaganax''[[note]]Unless it turns out it's just a large ''Allosaurus''[[/note]], ''Camptosaurus'', ''Skorpiovenator'', ''Mapusaurus'', ''Bradycneme'', ''Alectrosaurus'', "Zunityrannus" (an undescribed tyrannosauroid), ''Nothronychus'', the sawfish ''Onchopristis'', the gliding lizard ''Xianglong'', the gigantic pterosaur ''Hatzegopteryx'' (the chaoyangopterid pterosaurs being even more of an example), the angelshark ''Squatina'', and the plesiosaur ''Kimmerosaurus''. Note that a few of these may already be on their way to becoming StockDinosaurs, having appeared in recent media a handful of times.

* StockDinosaurs: ''Allosaurus'', ''Stegosaurus'', ''Spinosaurus'', ''Argentinosaurus'', ''Edmontosaurus'', and ''Troodon''.

* PaletteSwap: This series is a rather heavy offender in this category: ''Rugops'' and ''Skorpiovenator''; ''Saurornithoides'', ''Troodon'' and ''Bradycneme''; ''Sinornithosaurus'' and ''Rahonavis''; ''Jeholosaurus'' and the small ornithopods in ''The New Giants'' (likely ''Gasparinisaura''); ''Allosaurus'' and ''Saurophaganax''. Additionally, all of the pterosaurs (except [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant Hatzegopteryx]]) have the same general appearance and body plan, again with color and size being the only major difference.

** ''Hatzegopteryx'' is depicted as having the same lifestyle as all other azhdarchids, when it was a specialist in killing the dwarf sauropod adults and other large prey.

* OffWithHisHead: This befalls a ''Kimmerosaurus''.
* PaletteSwap: This series is a rather heavy offender in this category: ''Rugops'' and ''Skorpiovenator''; ''Saurornithoides'', ''Troodon'' and ''Bradycneme''; ''Sinornithosaurus'' and ''Rahonavis''; ''Jeholosaurus'' and the small ornithopods in ''The New Giants'' (likely ''Gasparinisaura''); ''Allosaurus'' and ''Saurophaganax''.
* PrehistoricMonster: Being a SpiritualSuccessor of ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'', it comes to no surprise that ''Planet Dinosaur'' takes similar pains to [[AvertedTrope avert]] this trope. It is a little DarkerAndEdgier, however, and contains some scenes that are quite violent. Furthermore, since the environments were created entirely with CGI, they got the chance to look more...ominous: many of them being choked with dark cloudy skies and erupting volcanoes. There are also parts where they play it straight by reffering to carnivores as "killers" on several occasions.