About this episode

The episode features an interview with Tim Haines discussing prehistoric documentaries and the challenges of depicting ancient life without relying on iconic dinosaurs like T. rex.

Can you make a prehistoric documentary without relying on T. rex? We chat to Tim Haines, the man behind Walking with Dinosaurs and the new series Surviving Earth about mammal-like reptiles, giant extinctions, documentary trickery, CGI dinosaurs, weird prehistoric noises and how you make audiences emotionally invest in creatures that may or may not have peed. From gorgonopsians to giant climate shifts, this is a deep dive into both prehistory and documentary filmmaking. Want bonus episodes and extra Terrible Lizards goodness? Head to https://patreon.com/terriblelizards Watch the series in USA THURS 6/11 NBC and peacock. #Dinosaurs #Paleontology #Documentary #WalkingWithDinosaurs #SurvivingEarth

People in this episode

Hosts: Iszi Lawrence, David Hone

Guest: Tim Haines

Topics covered

• mass extinctions
• documentary filmmaking
• CGI dinosaurs
• prehistoric creatures
• paleontology

Keywords

• mass extinctions
• CGI
• dinosaurs
• prehistoric documentary
• paleontology
• gorgonopsians
• climate shifts

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Walking with Dinosaurs, Surviving Earth

More episodes of Terrible Lizards

• S12DB15 T. rex under the hammer · July 15, 2026 · 14 min
• S12DB14 Inside an Oviraptor Nest! · July 1, 2026 · 13 min
• TLS12E06 Spinosaurus, Jurassic World & Troodon · June 23, 2026 · 55 min
• S12DB13 Mary Anning, Marine Reptiles & the Jurassic Coast · June 17, 2026 · 18 min
• S12DB12 What colour were triceratops horns? · June 3, 2026 · 13 min
• S12DB11 What Bird Eyes Reveal About Dinosaurs · May 20, 2026 · 14 min

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