2011: Dinosaurs on TV!

Check out "American Experience" next week: on January 17, 2011, the show will feature "Dinosaur Wars," a documentary on the rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh.

Then, this spring, Steven Spielberg is doing dinosaurs again! Sadly, not Jurassic Park IV, but a TV series called "Terra Nova," which features a time-traveling family from the future who go back in time to save humanity and get eaten. Or something like that. :-). It'll debut with two hour long episodes on May 23 and May 24 before beginning its regular weekly run in the fall.

Finally, this summer, Discovery Channel is teaming up with Pixar to air a six-part series called "Reign of the Dinosaurs," featuring up-to-date CGI, in the tradition of "Walking with Dinosaurs." Per their press release, "'Reign of the Dinosaurs' combines the latest paleontological research with Hollywood storytelling and the talent of the world's best dinosaur illustrators and animators. In the series, new creatures like giant dinos with Freddy Krueger-style clawed hands, a Jurassic flying squirrel, pygmy T-Rex and frogs so big they can eat dinosaurs, are combined with the latest understanding of dinosaur behaviors."