Sea Monsters
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This article is about the BBC television program. For the legendary creatures, see Sea monster.
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Sea Monsters was a BBC television program which used computer-generated imagery to show past life in Earth's seas. It was made by Impossible Pictures, the creators of Walking With Dinosaurs and Walking With Beasts.
In this series, British wildlife presenter Nigel Marven is shown travelling to seven past seas in Earth's history and scuba diving there, in order of dangerousness with the most dangerous last. He travels in a white sail/motor boat roughly 30 m (100 ft) long named The Ancient Mariner. His time-travelling device is not mentioned or shown. He uses a scuba set with a fullface mask so he can talk underwater to produce the commentary. He performs some dives using a strong shark cage, which is spherical to make it harder for large sea creatures to bite it.
[edit] The Seventh Most Dangerous Sea
- Name: The Ordovician
- Time: 450 million years ago
- Location: Fresno
- Hazards: Sea scorpions, Cameroceras.
- Special Equipment Used: Chain mail suit, video camera
In the Ordovician, the day is only 21 hours long and there is more carbon dioxide then in the twenty-first century, forcing Nigel to don a medical-looking backpack filled with air tanks with a special oxygen mixture.
To attract a sea scorpion, Nigel finds the corpse of a dead armored fish washed up o the beach. Because there is no land life, there are no coastal scavengers to eat what the sea spits out.
Before long, Nigel wades into shallow water and the fish attracts a large Megalograptus. The scorpion devours the fish, before attacking Nigel's foot, badly cutting it.
Later on, Nigel attempts to go after a Cameroceras , by removing the eye of a dead trilobite and replacing it with a small video camera. He then uses the inflatible raft to venture out into the deeper waters, where he throws the trilobite/video camera combo overboard. A Cameroceras is quickly attracted to it, and Nigel and the cameraman plunge overboard to film the seclusive orthocone. On the dive, Nigel wears a chain mail suit, so that any maurading sea socrpions do not attack him.
The orthocone is more agile in the sea than Nigel, and Nigel attempts to dazzle it's simple light-sensitive eyes with a flashlight. Disgruntled, the orthocone swims away, and Nigel grabs onto it's shell. When the orthocone starts to dive down into the deeper depths, Nigel swims away to the surface.
When Nigel pilots the boat back to shore, he finds a surprise- there are huge amounts of Megalograptus mating in the shallow waters. Nigel manages to make his way safely through the Megalograptus, but a few clamber onto the inflatable boat and puncture it.
List of animals featured (in movie and in book):
- Cameroceras (identified as orthocone, revealed in book and encyclopedia)
- Megalograptus (identified as sea scorpion, revealed in DVD fact files, book and encyclopedia)
- A dead Isotelus (identified as trilobite)
- A dead Astraspis (identified as armoured fish)
[edit] The Sixth Most Dangerous Sea
- Name: The Triassic
- Time: 230 million years ago
- Location: Switzerland.
- Hazards: Cymbospondylus.
- Special Equipment Used: Bangstick
As Nigel walks along the tropical coastlines of Triassic Switzerland, he explains that the reptiles are taking over the surface of the earth from the skies (e.g. Peteinosaurus), to the land (e.g. Coelophysis). But of course, he is here to see the earliest sea reptiles.
From the deck of the Ancient Mariner, Nigel and crew watch as a Nothosaurus comes up for air. When he sees one, Nigel dives into the seas, pursuing the elusive sea reptile.
Before long, Nigel finds a pair of nothosaurs. The nothosaurs circle him, and Nigel has his prod ready to put off any nothosaur that comes too close. One of the nothosaurs prepares to move in closer, and Nigel prods him with the electric prod. The nothosaurs move off, and Nigel discovers another bizarre sea reptile- a Tanystropheus'.
Nigel follows the Tanystropheus, and attempts to get a closer look at it by grabbing onto it's tail, impeding it's movement. However, the Tanystropheus loses it's tail, similar to the modern day leopard gecko. Nigel cannot hold onto the tail, beause it is thrashing around (intended as a predator deterrant) and lets it go, but the tail is then eaten by a Cymbospondylus.
The Cymbospondylus begins to circle Nigel, and he explains that it's slow movement is designed to decieve prey, and it can move very quickly when it is needed to. After he pokes it with the prod, the Cymbospondylus swims away, and Nigel returns to the relative safety of the Mariner.
List of animals featured (in movie and in book):
- Nothosaurus (identified as nothosaur, revealed in encyclopedia)
- Tanystropheus
- Cymbospondylus
- Coelurosaurus (identified as dinosaur, revaled in book and on website)
- Peteinosaurus (identified as pterosaur)
- Prestosuchus (in book)
- Neuticosaurus (in book)
- Mastodonsaurus (in book)
- Thrinaxodon (in book)
[edit] The Fifth Most Dangerous Sea
- Name: The Devonian
- Time: 360 million years ago
- Location: Ohio
- Hazards: Dunkleosteus, Stethacanthus.
- Special Equipment Used: Shark cage (round)
On a preliminary dive, another crew member of the Mariner (Mike) films a huge Dunkleosteus, swimminng around the shallow reefs near the Ancient Mariner. The crew springs into action, and Nigel goes fishing for placoderms.Nigel places a bet with one of the other crew members that the Dunkleosteus will be able to slice through the placoderm wrapped in the chain mail suit he used in the Ordovician. When the round shark cage is fully asssembled, Nigel descends into it. The smell of the dead placoderm begins to attract an "ironing-board shark" (Stethacanthus), and some smaller placoderms. Eventually, the monstrous Dunkleosteus is sighted, and the enraged fish repeteadly bashes the cage with it's thick head, slightly denting it.
Eventually, Nigel throws the fish out of the cage, and the Dunkleosteus slices through the chainmail and the fish. Spying a baby Dunkleosteus, the adult turns cannibal and kills the baby. It then regurgitates the indigestible parts of it's meal (e.g the armour plating)
As Nigel departs for the surface, he explains that the placoderms as a whole have a grim future ahead of them. In another twenty million years, the entire Class of Placodermi will disappear.
List of animals featured (in movie and in book):
- Dunkleosteus
- Bothriolepis (identified as placoderm, revealed in book)
- Stethacanthus (identified as ironing-board shark, revealed in book and encyclopedia)
- Onychodus (in book)
- Cheirolepis (in book)
- Cladoselache (in book)
- Graptolite (in book)
[edit] The Fourth Most Dangerous Sea
- Name: The Eocene
- Time: 36 million years ago
- Location: Giza
- Hazards: Basilosaurus
- Special Equipment Used: Undersea recording device
While walking in the mangrove swamps of Giza, Nigel comes across some mysterious footprints and a mound of fresh dung. Following the footprints, Nigel comes across an Arsinotherium migrating overland. Nigel takes a calculated risk and offers the huge fruit-eater an apple, but apparrently this upsets the Arsinotherium and it charges at Nigel. Only by making a break into the thicker forests does Nigel escape from the mammal. Nigel watches from the forest as the Arsinotherium plunges into the water, and follows it. In the water, Nigel watches as a trio of Dorudon pass by, but there is no sign of the Basilosaurus.
The Ancient Mariner sails offshore, where the crew try a tactic to attract whales that has been used with mixed success- record a Basilosaurus call and play it back via a huge speaker that is lowered from the boat. After playing it for a while, an enraged Basilosaurus rams into the boat before diving agian. Wasting no time, Nigel suits up and dives. However, the whale could attack from any direction, so Nigel stays close to the hull of the Mariner, using the boat like a shield to ward off the Basilosaurus. The Basilosaurus is evidently distressed by the calls, and attacks and disables the speaker (which is explained as a territorial response).
As the Ancient Mariner sails off forward through time, Nigel explains that the tropical Eocene is a world on the brink of great climatic change. As the Oligocene dawns, Basilosaurus, Arsinotherium, and Dorudon will all vanish, victims of the climatic shifts that ended the Eocene.
List of animals featured (in movie and in book):
- Arsinoitherium
- Basilosaurus
- Dorudon
- Sarkastodon (in book)
- Embolotherium (in book)
- Gigantophis (in book)
- Paleomastodon (in book)
[edit] The Third Most Dangerous Sea
- Name: The Pliocene
- Time: 4 million years ago
- Location: Peru
- Hazards: Megalodon
- Special Equipment Used: Shark cage, "shark camera"
After several minutes of heated debate, the crew of the Mariner come to an agreement- Before diving in offshore waters with the adult Megalodon, Nigel will dive in the coastal waters, with the juveniles.
Before very long, Nigel finds a small whale (an Odobenocetops) foraging for clams in the mud, and it is being hunted by a juvenile Megalodon shark. Only by taking cover in the thick underwater foliage does Nigel manage to escape the huge shark.
On the next dive (with the adults), Nigel uses the round shark cage that he previously used in the Devonian era against Dunkleosteus. This time, Nigel hopes to fire a small video camera into the dorsal fin of the shark from the relative safety of the cage.
However, Nigel panicks, and never fires the camera. Later, he tries again, this time from the surface of the Mariner. The shark is drawn to the boat via liberal amounts of chum. Nigel manages to land a hit with the shark-camera.
In a few days, they find the camera floating in the sea, and when they load it into the onboard television, they watch the Megalodon in question attack a whale the same size as it.
When the crew of the Ancient Mariner head backwards in time, Nigel says that as the Ice Age begins, the whales that Megalodon preyed on migrated to colder waters, where Megalodon could not follow. Megalodon is doomed to extinction.
List of animals featured (in movie and in book):
- Megalodon
- Odobenocetops
- whale
- Thalassocnus (in book)
[edit] The Second Most Dangerous Sea
- Name: The Jurassic
- Time: 155 million years ago
- Location: England
- Hazards: Liopleurodon
- Special Equipment Used: Unknown
Set around England, which was then largely underwater. This is the second most dangerous sea. Hazards include Liopleuridon, the largest carnivorous animal of all time. Nigel spies a school of migrating Leedsicthys. One weaker one is lagging behind the school, and a Metriorhynchus and a Hybodus shark launch a joint attack. Using radar, Nigel discovers that a huge Liopleuridon heading toward the dying individual.
Nigel equips his and the cameraman's diving suit with a chemical system that will spray a cloud of deterrant at the huge pliosaur should they get too close. The crew use huge waterproof lights when they descend to the corpse of the Leedsicthys, because it is night. A pair of Liopleuridon are feasting on the carcass, and Nigel starts to move closer toward them. When one turns it's head towards him, Nigel panicks and ejects the chemical, which works on the huge predator.
List of animals featured (in movie and in book)
- Liopleurodon
- Metriorhynchus
- Leedsichthys
- Hybodus
- Ophthalmosaurus (in book)
- Cryptoclidus (in book)
- Eustreptospondylus (in book)
[edit] The Most Dangerous Sea of All Time
- Name: The Cretaceous
- Time: 75 million years ago
- Location: Kansas
- Hazards: Tylosaurus, Hainosaurus, Halisaurus, Xiphactinus, sharks such as Squalicorax. and warm-water ancestors of the giant squid.
- Special Equipment Used: ROV, radar
After viewing a colony of Hesperornis on the coastline, Nigel and another member of the Mariner pause for a second to view a huge underwater bloodbath. As far as Nigel (using a periscope) can figure out, a Hesperornis was killed, and the resulting carnage has attracted many sea animals, such as Squalicorax and Xiphactinus. Nigel explains that this sea is far to dangerous to go diving in- huge carnivores like Xiphactinus and Hainosaurus are far too dangerous. Instead, the crew of the Ancient Mariner have rigged an ROV to dive for them, while they watch from the safety of the boat. Sending it down, the crew finds a small pod of Elasmosaurus riding their wake like 21st century dolphins.
In the morning, Nigel discovers that they have hit a dead Archelon, which was mauled by some other sea monster before being hit by the boat. Having done the same thing with present-day leatherback turtles, Nigel forgoes his personal safety to track down an Archelon and ride it. Him and the cameraman ride off in the small inflatable raft that they had used previously in the Ordovician.
Before long, Nigel finds his quarry, and dives, grabbing onto the huge turtle's shell before noticing the imminent danger- a school of Xiphactinus are circling the Archelon. Nigel quickly makes his escape back up to the raft- but disaster strikes. A family pod of Hainosaurus attack the raft, completely overturning it, plunging the crew into the sea. Fortunately for Nigel, the mosasaurs seem more interested in the boat than the humans, and they quickly escape back to the Mariner.
It is implied that the boat is destroyed by a mob of mosasaurs after the credits, but Nigel goes on to star in an ITV1 show, Prehistoric Park, afterwards (so one can suppose that he survived the attack, however this has not been confirmed, Prehistoric Park could have even been set before these events).
List of animals featured (in movie and in book)
- Hesperornis
- Halisaurus (identified as mosasaur, revealed in book, encyclopedia and on website)
- Elasmosaurus
- Archelon
- Xiphactinus
- Hainosaurus ,or a similar species
- Pteranodon
- Tyrannosaurus (not identified)
- Squalicorax (identified as shark, revealed in book)
- giant squid
- Hadrosaurus (in book)
- Dromaeosaurus (in book)
- Ankylosaurus (in book)
- Globidens (in book)
- Dolichorynchops (in book)
- Tylosaurus (identified as giant mosasaur, revealed in encyclopedia)
[edit] External links
| Impossible Pictures Productions |
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| Land of Giants • Ocean Odyssey • Perfect Disaster • Pickles: The Dog who Won the World Cup • Prehistoric Park • Primeval • Sea Monsters Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets • The Ballad of Big Al • The Giant Claw • The Lost World • The Legend of the Tamworth Two The Story of One • T. rex - 100 Years in Pictures • Walking with Beasts • Walking with Dinosaurs • Walking with Monsters |
