I assume documentaries are included, yes? 'Cuz I'd like to take this moment for some minor pluggage related to the topic in question, especially since prehistory documentaries have been dear to my heart since childhood - seriously, if you haven't watched the original Walking With Dinosaurs TV miniseries, please do! All episodes are, as of this writing, available on Dailymotion. Of course, the series is quite dated science-wise, so of course more recent docu-series are trying to go for the All Yesterdays style, with varying degrees of success. In particular, there are three of these I wish to highlight which also deserve mention.

BBC's Planet Dinosaur, narrated by John Hurt, takes the more scientific approach to the subject matter, transitioning between CGI renditions of the critters themselves and paleontology findings corresponding to the topic at hand. It should be noted that this series is quite carnivore-centric, and some of the depictions aren't entirely consistent with what we know of today (long-legged Spinosaurus, Troodon without wing feathers on the arms, that venomous Sinornithosaurus hypothesis that got debunked not long after it was suggested...), but the visuals look wonderful, and even my nitpicky self very much enjoyed the series as a whole, with every single episode having its own appeal. I'm most fond of pterosaurs, sure, but Hatzegopteryx sadly got too little screentime and other pterosaurs ended up being canon fodder. Oh well. The Predator X/Pliosaurus segments were definitely my favorite part, and it's nice to see a more sensible depiction than that kaiju-sized Liopleurodon from WWD.

Next on the list is Discovery Channel's Dinosaur Revolution, which has its own set of issues and could stand to be less sensationalist in particular, but hey, properly feathered dromaeosaurs! In general, this has to be the best set of dinosaur depictions on television, and there was clearly a lot of work put into them with proper feathering and even scale patterns based on whatever skin impressions were available. Plus the animals themselves are colorful, lively, entertaining to watch, and most importantly, as accurate as we can imply from the most current evidence. You may even find yourself rooting for a good number of them as the show progresses. This series opted for separating the segments with the creatures themselves with "talking heads" i.e. paleontologists commenting on the critters featured, which is a bit of hit-or-miss for me since we all know what I care for lol. Still, it's a visual treat that certainly lived up to its hype, and is leagues ahead of a number of documentaries which either didn't know better or simply didn't care. I mean, one of them freaking quote-mined one of the people the makers consulted. Eesh.

Last on the list is Sir David Attenborough's Flying Monsters 3D, which I had the pleasure of seeing on the big 3D screen at the local science center at my hometown! Unlike the previous two documentaries, which relegated pterosaurs to bit parts with only one or two segments focusing on them, this one explores them and their evolution in all of this family's glory. This is another relatively well-researched feature, though it's one cinematic film rather than a series of episodes, with Attenborough himself leading us through the whole thing and directly interacting with the paleontologists presented, discussing the evidence we have for what pterosaurs were like - and with their proper coating of pycnofibers (hair-like scales akin to birdy down, if you will) and vibrant colors, the animals presented look utterly glorious. As somewhat expected, there are still a number of minor and occasionally not-so-minor boo-boos that can be spotted by a sharp-eyed viewer. (Of particular note is a segment with Tupandactylus courting, but both males and females have the same tall crest that only the males have in reality. Think about what that means for a second...) For what it's worth, though, the film has impressive visuals, and when it does get something right, it demonstrates it beautifully. As someone who insists on more accurate pterosaurs in media (to the point where I disguised my PPC persona as a terrestrial ground-stalking Quetzalcoatlus on two separate missions), this film is a guilty pleasure for me and my inner paleo-nerd, and while best taken with an amount of salt that can vary between a grain and a whole darn shaker, it's an impressive piece of work nonetheless.

And there you have it, three of my favorite pieces of modern dinosaur media. If anyone has any works they'd like to recommend themselves, feel free to let us know and discuss them as well!