Walking with Beasts

***Walking with Beasts*** (marketed as ***Walking with Prehistoric Beasts*** in North America) is a British six-part documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and Jasper James and produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and the Discovery Channel. It is a sequel to *Walking with Dinosaurs*, taking place after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and follows animals in the Cenozoic era; some of the concepts illustrated are the evolution of whales, horses, elephants, and humans. Like *Dinosaurs*, it is presented in the style of a nature documentary. It was narrated by Kenneth Branagh and first aired in the United Kingdom, and subsequently in the United States, in 2001.

## Episodes

*This is the series as it was originally presented in the United Kingdom, prior to its North American broadcast*.

### *The Science of Walking with Beasts*

A two-episode companion documentary which featured interviews with paleontologists and explanations of how the fossil record and modern-day descendants have informed what is known about the animals depicted in *Beasts*. Includes brief sections showing the development of the CGI and animatronic animals used in the series.

### American version

*Walking with Beasts* premiered in North America, under the title *Walking with Prehistoric Beasts*, on the Discovery Channel on December 9, 2001, two weeks before it even finished airing in the United Kingdom. For this version, all six episodes were presented together in a single three-hour format, and with Stockard Channing replacing Branagh as narrator. The two science programs were aired the following day as a part of the network's "Prehistoric Predators" lineup; however, these airings retained Branagh's narration. Reruns of the program saw it split into three parts, each one containing two episodes. This version was later released as a Discovery Channel Store exclusive in a 3-part VHS/DVD set.

#### Prehistoric Planet

The series was later revised by Discovery Channel and Stonehouse Productions as a second season of *Prehistoric Planet* for the Discovery Kids network. This version was narrated by Christian Slater (who would later narrate Discovery Channel's *Dinosaur Planet*), replacing Ben Stiller from the previous season, and followed many of the same style of presentation, such as removing graphic scenes of animals killing their prey and mating, trimming other scenes down to fit the runtime, and including quizzes to act as bumpers around commercial breaks. This season included a bonus episode titled "Prehistoric Planet: Top 10", which focused solely on the creatures from season 1. It aired as a part of Discovery Kids on NBC from December 2002 to April 2003. However, unlike season 1, this version has yet to receive a home media release.

#### Episodes:

1. Bring on the Beasts (December 13, 2002)
2. Killer Whale's Tale (December 20, 2002)
3. Mega-Mammal (December 27, 2002)
4. First Came the Apes (December 28, 2002)
5. Saber-Tooth (January 4, 2003)
6. Ice Age Survivor (January 13, 2003)
7. Prehistoric Planet: Top 10 (April 26, 2003)

## Reception

*Walking with Beasts* was generally well received by critics, who praised its visuals, though some criticized the narration as being overbearing.

The American premiere made a 4.7 household rating on an average of 7.1 million viewers, ranking it as the network's third highest-rated programming event behind *Walking with Dinosaurs* (8.0) and *Raising the Mammoth* (7.8), as well as that weekend's highest-rated non-sports program and the year's highest-rated documentary on cable.

## Home media

Main article: *Walking with... (videography)*