Walking With Wikis
Register
Advertisement
Sea Monsters
SeaMonsters
Series information
Episodes Dangerous Seas
Into the Jaws of Death
To Hell... and Back?
Narrator Karen Hayley
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s) Jasper James
Broadcast information
Original channel BBC, Discovery Channel
Original run 9 November - 23 November 2003
Chronology
Preceded by:
Walking with Cavemen
Followed by:
Walking with Monsters

Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Trilogy - broadcast in North America as Chased by Sea Monsters - was a documentary trilogy that first aired on BBC One on 9 November 2003. This is the second Walking with... programme to star Nigel Marven and was the last Walking with... special to air. It is also the only programme to be narrated by Karen Hayley.

The show is about Nigel Marven travelling back in time to visit the seven deadliest prehistoric seas. On his journey, he encounters many marine animals, from the predators to the prey. He travels to those time periods on a boat called The Ancient Mariner, a 24 metre long boat with a crew. His means of time travel is never shown but the closest thing to it is his time map, that show the seven deadliest seas and the creatures that live in them. On his dives, he wears a scuba set with a fullface mask so that he can narrate while under water. On some of the most dangerous dives, he uses a strong shark cage, which is spherical so that it is difficult for predators to bite it.

Unlike the other programmes, Sea Monsters has never had a UK DVD release. The programme was however featured on the US release of Chased by Dinosaurs and on a Region 2 Dutch DVD.

Sea Monsters was nominated for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Television Series in the 2004 Visual Effects Society Awards. It also won Best Visual Effects at the 2004 BAFTA Awards.[1]

Production[]

List of episodes[]

Image Episode title Episode number Original airdate
Dunkleosteus charging SME01 Dangerous Seas 1 9 November, 2003
This episode marks the beginning of Nigel's quest as he travels back to the Ordovician to find the giant orthocone. He then ventures to the Triassic to encounter Cymbospondylus but on his journey there, he encounters nothosaurs and the creature that defies physics. His last trek of the episode is to the Devonian where he encounters the Dunkleosteus.
IntoTheJawsOfDeath Into the Jaws of Death 2 16 November, 2003
This episode starts with Nigel still in the Devonian escaping the wrath of Dunkleosteus. The episode then moves on to the Eocene where Nigel encounters a rhino-like elephant and the giant Basilosaurus. The episode then continues to the Pliocene where he encounters the bizarre Odobenocetops and the titanic shark Megalodon.
ToHellAndBack To Hell... and Back? 3 23 November, 2003
This episode starts with Nigel still in the Pliocene still trying to attach a camera to a Megalodon. The episode then moves on to the Jurassic where Nigel comes face-to-face with the giant fish Leedsichthys, the marine croc Metriorhynchus and the giant monster Liopleurodon. The episode concludes in the Cretaceous, Hell's Aquarium. There, Nigel encounters a plethora of sea monsters and then come face-to-face with the deadliest sea monster of all.

Companion book[]

A companion book to the trilogy was published by BBC Books on 16 October 2003.  Instead of organising the chapters into the order of the most deadly seas, the book is presented in temporal order. The chapters also feature more creatures than in the television series.

Trivia[]

  • After Nigel's diving with Dunkleosteus, one of the The Ancient Mariner crew members strikes out the Devonian period on the wall board. On this board, the Ordovician located above the Devonian but under the Triassic as if the latter was meant to be the least dangerous of all the seven seas. Moreover, the Jurassic and Cretaceous seas are seems to be striked out already.

Technical errors[]

  • When a sea scorpion bites Nigel, a hat appears on Nigel's head, but after a few seconds it disappears and is not even visible on Nigel's assistant's head.
  • Just before Cymbospondylus falls down on the Time map, Nigel swims under the ship without an electric prod. This short scene is probably the same as in the Basilosaurus episode.
  • When the Arsinoitherium begins to chase Nigel, the shallows and shadows are very different from what they were a few seconds ago.
  • When the crew of The Ancient Mariner looks at the ocean, a dorsal fin of a Megalodon moves wrong side forward.
  • While Nigel riding an Archelon, assistant watches on a motitor where Archelon swims without Nigel.

Behind the scenes[]

Notes and references[]

Gallery[]

Advertisement