I watched the first episode of surviving earth and it was fine? I guess? It didn't excite me. And even if it did include a climate message ot the end of the episode I just feel like we don't really need an entire series dedicated to extinction events.
Has the Permian ever been featured in any media that hasn't ended with the Permian-Triassic Extinction? I think the Permian needs a series all to itself that doesn't end with "the great dying", even if normies think that's a cool term. Pangaea has so many stories to tell, let's tell them!
The only thing I can come up with off the top of my head is the first Permian sub-episode of Walking with Monsters, which doesn't really count since the second sub-episode is the extinction
I have so many critiques of the first surviving earth episode you have no idea and it isn't even my study period?????
lions don't even have "lion king" type social dynamics why do we keep assigning them to extinct animals. at least the smilodon in walking with beasts is a cat. what is this.
there is no reason in hell the two adult gorgonopsids would have been fighting in those conditions wtf animals have survival skills
anthropomorphization is bad all the way down. the suminia can't help but rub it in his face? what are you talking about?
the permian extinction lasted millions of years and did NOT take place solely within the lifetime of a single gorgonopsid
why not show off literally any reptile closer to the crown than scutosaurus when you focus on crown reptiles only in the post-section???
for that matter, why not show any dicynodonts in the post section when you focus on one for "what survives"???
frankly why not have more things "survive" because, ya know, they did??? why only Elph???
the end permian is because a gigantic volcano exploded. pangea broke up at the end triassic. this is really basic stuff. that is a huge mistake to include in there.
we don't have any "protopterosaurs" and it is irresponsible to present it in the documentary as though it is based on evidence like the other animals
the only marine reptiles we know of who do the Lay egg in sand thing are sea turtles. Every other kind of marine reptile gave live birth, and the ones in the post-section are closer to other marine reptiles than to turtles and shouldn't be doing the turtle thing
the script is just awkward throughout and there are too many commercial breaks/recaps
frankly the main things I liked about it were
the extremely birdie behavior of the aphanosaurs (though, note: aphanosaurs are equally closely related to dinosaurs and pterosaurs, rendering the "protopterosaur" even more ridiculously unnecessary)
emphasizing the similarities to modern climate change alongside the resilience of life
(I recognize an overview of surviving earth ep 1 wasn't what you asked for but I watched it yesterday and I remain Perturbed)
But yes, more Permian-focused documentaries. Frankly, the entire Permo-Triassic is just "Land Life Gets As Weird As Possible" and it deserves more attention throughout the 100 mya period without focusing on the death thing in the middle
