Customer Reviews

Jurassic Fight Club: Season One

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

One person gave "JFC" a single star, complaining about the accuracy of some of the material in the series. His qualification for doing so, he said, is his passion for dinosaurs, which I do not doubt. I would not presume to match knowledge with even a ten or 12-year-old dinosaur enthusiast...people who love dinosaurs tend to know a lot about them. It's like the one "fantasy" we can indulge, because it's seen as factual fantasy. If you're into World of Warcraft or Middle Earth or comic books, it can be looked down on as nerdy and useless, whereas knowing the name of every Triassic predator...well, you're still a nerd, but the knowledge itself seems less useless, because it's about the real world. Or, a recreation of the real world, more accurately.

And that was our one-starring critic's complaint, that the recreators of this series played fast and loose with these ultimate cold cases (even using the language of crime scene investigation sometimes, to very mixed effect). There is no doubt that the producers and animators have taken some spectacular guesses and have extrapolated far beyond what the often meager evidence would allow. But this is NOT the O.J. Simpson trial. It is, largely, a thin sciency-sounding excuse to put on some fantastic battle scenes. Very few young boys (and many girls) will be immune to the excitement of watching two monsters clash. It's Godzilla versus Mothra, except these fanatically enthusiastic paleontologists adding ringside color are legitimizing the whole thing with fossils and CAT scans and references to living animals.

And that's the series' undeniable strength. The enthusiasm, even passion, for learning that it could engender in some kids formerly only interested in completely imaginary monsters. Not that there's anything wrong with imaginary monsters--I happen to like several. But to harness that imagination in the service of educated speculation in pursuit of more facts about our planet's fascinating history seems an even more noble pursuit. This series has the capacity to ignite a passion for learning about dinosaurs.

My more substantive criticism of the "JFC" (I can't write that without thinking of Jersey Fried Chicken) shows is that the battle scenes are too slight to merit their build-up. Working with usually sparse and fragmentary evidence and making gigantic hypothetical leaps takes up about 75 percent of the show, with the actual battle taking up only a quarter or so. The easy fix here would be to make it a half-hour show, which would put the science speculation in proper balance with the battle scenes.

I also think the paleontologists could provide a lot more warning about the nature of the guesses they are making without damaging their enthusiasm or the excitement of the show. There's nothing wrong with saying, "We don't have enough information to know, but we think something a little like this might have happened." If anything, that might inspire a generation of budding paleontologists to work on creating techniques that would enable us to speculate with more and more plausibility.

I can't wait for this to come out on DVD! Right now, during the arid summer season, this is one of the best shows on TV. The build-up is fascinating, the experts (I love "Dinosaur George") are eloquent and knowledgeable. The "fight" scenes are exciting to watch but, to me, the background info is what makes them exciting. It's isn't just conjecture, but studying the fossils, the behavior of living animals, etc. Then they put everything they learned on the scene in the finale. I'm on the edge of my seat by the time the end fight is played out.

I haven't watched every single episode that aired on the History Channel but I have seen more than half of them. I take issue with the series in some areas for instance the Nanotyrannus vs T-rex episode. My understanding is that the -Nanotyrannus is a juvinile T-rex or a legitimate genus- issue is still very much unsettled. There are plenty of other examples but I'll leave it at that. Yes, I'm a dinosaur nut and have been for long time so the technical errors tend to upset me. The science is well presented but then liberties are taken with it to produce an "exciting" battle. Tooth marks don't always equal a struggle and Mr. Blasing takes great liberties with the behavior of the animals in the series. Some of the ideas are plausible but that does not make them the only way this animal behaved. I'll give Mr. Blasing points for enthusiasm but as has been said in other reviews he becomes annoying. I understand the appeal it has because of the battles, the danger this series has is that the real science gets pushed aside for the good storyline. I hope that if more episodes are made they stress the importance of the science, Mr. Blasing tones it down some and presents the fight as a possibility of what may have happened and not get caught up in telling a fantastic story.

At first I was really excited about this TV series, it looked very intense and up-to-date. However after watching a few episodes, I realized that Jurassic fight club isn't all it's cracked up to be.
First of all, there is nothing but cgi in it and alot of repeated footage, so it doesn't rely on it's visuals too much. Second is some of the facts are wrong and not based upon any real evidence. Third, is it can be boring at times, where not much is going on except the narrator explaing what has just been happening for the last fifty minutes.
Now, some of the positive things about jurassic fight club:
The cgi is (although not always) quite good and at times very detailed. Many of the facts are correct and there are alot of theories that make sense, most of which I've never even heard of. The fight scenes at the end are pretty brutal and vicious more often than not, and many of them are very violent.
In conclusion, if you don't mind watching scientists talk about dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures for an hour and then making them fight in recreated battle scenarios, you will most likely enjoy this TV show. And I am hoping for a second season

There's about 10 minutes of really essential stuff in each episode, some good CGI and informed opinion. The rest is hyperbolic filler. More science and less tinsel would have made this a great deal more watchable.

I instantly pre-ordered this DVD set. I get the episodes on iTunes now, but this is such an incredible show, I feel I must have it on DVD as well. I am friends with some of the paleontologists featured in Jurassic Fight Club and they have gathered the most respected and credible minds in the field of Paleontology for this phenomenal series. The animation is outstanding and the communication regarding the findings from various dig sites is well done and spoken in a way that the average viewer will easily comprehend. This is an absolute must if you are at all interested in dinosaurs or prehistoric life. I hope this show airs for years. I plan to purchase the episodes as long as they are available down the road.

I purchased this for my 4 year old son, right now he is going thru the dinosaur stage - loves anything dinosaur. He loves these DVDs - watches them over and over and he has learned so many dinoasur names and terminology. I got my money's worth with this buy!

Jurassic Fight Club is one of the best dinosaur specials I've ever watched. I've been a dinosaur nerd since I first saw Jurassic Park, (which I would also recommend all three of the movies and the books to anyone who loves dinosaurs.) This program is jam packed with information, it's amazing how much I learned while also enjoying special effects and simulated prehistoric battles. If you love dinosaurs like me or are just looking for entertainment, you've found it. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves prehistoric life and loves to learn.

It's really refreshing to see a show about dinosaurs that isn't aimed at children since I'm an adult now but I still find dinosaurs interesting. The premise of Jurassic Fight Club is that a bunch of paleontologists look at dinosaur bones to reconstruct possible fights between two dinosaurs. I think they do this pretty well. Unlike a certain other show (cough, Animal Faceoff, cough) JFC is much more mature and does a better job of actually basing their recreation on evidence. Now, some parts of the scenario are purely based on imagination, but this is to be expected since all they have to go on are fossils. After all, the audience is meant to understand that the combat scenario presented isn't set in stone, but is merely a creative interpretation of evidence left in fossils such as bite marks or shed teeth. I think they did a good job of presenting a healthy dose of facts along with speculation based on living animal relatives. My only complaint concerning this series is that the whole thing is a little bit gimmicky. I mean, just the title is gimmicky. Also, MUST they use crime scene investigator lingo constantly? I kept chuckling whenever they'd use the word "crime" to describe the killing of one dinosaur by another, especially since these animals had no concept of crime or a justice system and this word just sounds ludicrous when applied to them. Other than that, the series is both entertaining and informative, and I would recommend it to those who like dinosaurs.

I hope that the viewer has the patience to stay with the series through the first half to the second half; it is worth it. In the first half, "Dinosaur George" Blasing is annoying as a paleontologist-wannabee constantly intruding on what would otherwise be above average entertainment; a larger-than-life drama king trumpeting fiction as if it were all scientific fact like some snake-oil salesman hawking his product as a cure for everything under the sun. I am most concerned that younger viewers would not be able to seperate his gyrating quest for ratings from legitimate scientific findings. Fortunately, the series evolves to where "Dinosaur George" is merely annoying. In the second half of the season, he tones it down, avoiding profering the various scenarios as proven blow-by-blow confrontations. The special effects evolved as well. What started as slightly above average became truly impressive footage that was often noteworthy and occasionally breath-taking.