Paleoworld

{{For|the paleontology journal|Palaeoworld}}

{{Multiple issues|

{{unreliable sources|date=January 2012}}

{{more citations needed|date=August 2010}}

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{{Infobox television

| genre = Documentary

| runtime = 25 minutes

| num_episodes = 49

| num_seasons = 4

| related = When Dinosaurs Roamed America, Beyond T-rex, Valley of the T. rex and The Ultimate Guide: T-rex

| narrated = Ben Gazzara (season 1)
Nick Schatzki (seasons 2 and 3)
Ted Maynard (season 4)
Susan Rae (Europe)

| company = New Dominion Pictures

| network = The Learning Channel (TLC)

| first_aired = {{start date|1994|9|28}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1999}}

}}

Paleoworld (Jurassica in Europe) is an American documentary television series that aired on The Learning Channel from 1994 to 1999. The series focused on paleontology and comprised 50 half-hour episodes spread over four seasons. It was the first multi-season television series dedicated to paleontology.{{cite web|title=Documentaries on Prehistoric Life|website=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/list/ls059575825/}} Clips from the series were frequently used within other paleontology programs aired by the Discovery Channel and other channels owned by the Discovery Network.

Reception

Season 1 (1994) featured a smooth style and was narrated by Ben Gazzara. This series had many musical scenes, and some considered the show calm and relaxing; it also used much more paleoart than later series. Season 2 (1995) and Season 3 (1996) lost the musical element (as well as changing the narrator to Nick Schatzki), which resulted in a more conventional-style nature documentary. Even so, Seasons 2 and 3 were still perceived as maintaining the quality standard. For Season 4 (1997), the series changed narrators again (this time to Ted Maynard), and viewers felt that the show suffered a drop in quality, shifting from being musical and calm, to full-on and repetitive. Consequently, Season 4 was cancelled mid-season, and the series was ended.

Spin-offs

In July 1997, a kid-friendly version of the show called Bonehead Detectives of the Paleoworld, hosted by Rebecca Budig and Danny Tamberelli, aired as a part of Discovery Channel's "Discovery Kids" slot on Sunday mornings. It lasted for only one season (July 1997 to May 1998), and it consisted of just 18 episodes.{{cite web|title=Bonehead Detectives of the Paleoworld|website=Kinorium|url=https://en.kinorium.com/7892673/episodes/}}

In August 1999, TLC aired the 6-episode mini-series When Dinosaurs Ruled, hosted by Jeff Goldblum. This was a Paleoworld spin-off which combined clips from older Paleoworld episodes along with segments describing new discoveries.{{cite web|title=When Dinosaurs Ruled - Episode List|website=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416303/episodes?ref_=tt_eps_sm}}

Release

Currently, the entire series is not available for purchase. Many DVDs and VHS tapes have been made with episodes from the series; however, most of them have been discontinued and are no longer available to purchase. Three DVDs of Paleoworld with five episodes on each were released in Australia in 2002, and a five-disc set with only 15 episodes from the series was released in the US and Canada. The three-disc set was re-released in 2010.

List of episodes

=Season 1 (1994-1995)=

{{Main|Paleoworld (Season 1)}}

=Season 2 (1995-1996)=

{{Main|Paleoworld (Season 2)}}

=Season 3 (1996-1997)=

{{Main|Paleoworld (Season 3)}}

=Season 4 (1997-1999)=

{{Main|Paleoworld (Season 4)}}

References