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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 3 SPOILER Review!
The Third Season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous has arrived – meaning we’re bringing you some more content around the show, including our spoiler thoughts on how the third season did when compared to the first two. If you haven’t seen Camp Cretaceous Season 3 yet then click off this article now, as we are going to be discussing some of the key set pieces in this series which make it by far the best one to be released to date. Let’s get into it!
We’ll start by summarising the third season – and, in particular, it’s story. The story of the Campers attempting to get off of the island whilst uncovering that a terrifying new hybrid has broken loose is interesting, with plenty done to explore more of Isla Nublar and, indeed, the terrifying work which Doctor Henry Wu was doing in the shadows of the former Jurassic World. Although the kids ultimately escape the island, this isn’t without a few interesting sequences sprinkled in throughout – including direct tie-ins to Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and also hints at the future of Mantah Corp and their research into InGen’s work. The third story feels incredibly well balanced – with lots of fantastic set pieces balanced with meaningful storytelling and interesting characters alongside brand-new dinosaurs. The third season brings us a much more grounded story which aims to fill some of the canonical gaps left by Season Two – creating a story which feels satisfying and fulfilling.
The third season maintains the same cast of characters – with each of them getting plenty of interesting development. Darius, for example, spends some time earlier in the season filling the holes in his notebook – giving us a fun look at a Dilophosaurus drawing indicating he encountered this animal on the island at some point. Kenji struggles with the kids liking him and feels the need to use his wealth to impress them, whilst Sammy worries about what Mantah Corp may have done to her family back home. Each character feels three dimensional in the third season – with some great development showing how they have adapted to their environment. Of note here in particular is the character of Yasmina, who selflessly heads across the island in search on an anti-serum when Sammy is poisoned by the quills on the Scorpios Rex. This animal itself is handled incredibly well – with the kids feeling genuinely in danger at some points throughout the story.
The other dinosaurs in the story are good too – including surprising appearances from both the Ouranosaurus and the Monolophosaurus. These animals do go against the pre-established canon of the island a little bit, with neither of them ever mentioned as being present on Nublar, but it is possible that the prior existing list was only ever intended to reflect the public-facing dinosaurs. These animals get some interesting sequences throughout the story – although there are a lot of the Monolophosaurus at one point in the story. Beyond the small canonical issues here, the only other real issue I had with Season 3 was the fact that the Scorpios was developed before the Indominus Rex. This does retroactively go against a lot of the pre-established timeline in things like the viral marketing – but it is possible that the Scorpios was hidden from existence altogether given it was seen as a failure by Simon Masrani. It is interesting to note that the Scorpios was able to reproduce asexually – suggesting a second E750 which is present in the show was able to grow to maturity incredibly quickly. Perhaps this can be explained by the enhanced growth Bumpy also inherits, however. These small issues aside, Season 3 took big strides to fix my issues with Season 2 of the show – creating a much more well-rounded experience which fits better within the universe of the films.
There were a few moments throughout Season 3 which stood out to me as building on the critiques on Season 2 – the first of which was the Ouranosaurus Attack at the dock as the kids attempt to patch up the damage which Tiff’s boat has sustained. I loved how the ambience in this sequence felt reflective of sequences in both The Lost World novel and in Trespasser – with some fantastic, tense sequences utilising natural fog and darkness to really elevate the stakes and create something which felt darker and scarier in tone than anything beforehand. We don’t often see herbivores as direct threats for the human characters in Jurassic, so the attention to ambience and atmosphere throughout this sequence really helped to make the Ouranosaurus feel more intimidating when they eventually attacked. I also loved how this sequence is later explained as the animals behaviours changing due to the ecosystem being tilted off-balance by the Scorpios Rex – a fun note which perhaps suggests that the Spinosaurus may have had a similar impact on Isla Sorna. This was a really fun sequence and one which I thought was worth highlighting here as I really enjoyed it.
Next up I wanted to talk about a sequence which hits the nostalgia factor and tones it up to eleven – with the pair of Scorpios Rexes hunting the campers through the original Visitor’s Centre. A lot of the sequences in the centre feel very similar to those in 1993’s Jurassic Park – with sequences in the kitchen, in particular, recreating shot-for-shot some of the moments from the kitchen sequence in the first film. I really liked these call-backs as whilst they were quite overt, they felt as though they fitted with the show, and worked incredibly well. I also love how the series initially shows Blue nesting in the Visitor Centre before she heads to the Ford Explorer, as this underpins how much of this animal’s present-day existence is nested in Henry Wu’s past work at Jurassic Park. The Visitor’s Centre is also ultimately destroyed by the Scorpios Rexes during this sequence – with both animals buried by the rubble. Whilst some fans may be upset to see this location destroyed, I loved how it underpins a very core concept moving forwards – highlighting how Henry Wu’s arrogance and continued ignorance in the implications of his science has ultimately destroyed the legacy of the work that both he and John Hammond attempted to do.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that the third season features two bonus episodes – with the final two episodes tying directly into the Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom opening sequence. After Season One of the show, I tweeted one of the writers asking him if there was a chance we’d see reference to this in the future, so seeing this recreated shot-for-shot in the show with the kids watching on as the Indominus sample was extracted was awesome. It was also really cool seeing how Wu’s additional mission was to retrieve his laptop – noting that without it, the work he needed to do on the Indoraptor would take years and not months. This perhaps explains why the animal we see during the Lockwood Manor auction sequence is only a prototype – as Wu ultimately leaves the island without this information. It is interesting seeing some of Wu’s dialogue with Brooklynn throughout these episodes – with the character perhaps showing some small semblance of remorse. Ultimately, however, he leaves the kids on Nublar – reinforcing his status as a character with a questionable moral compass moving into Jurassic World Dominion. I have to admit – the way this tie-in played out was handled masterfully, and I was really happy to see things unfold in the way they did. I genuinely screamed out loud at my screen with happiness at one moment – emphasising how much work went in to nailing this crossover. It’s clear that the team working on Camp Cretaceous went to great lengths to smash the third season – and the result is some fantastic crossover which pays off and builds the lore of Wu’s work in meaningful ways without any of the massive contradictions I was worried these sequences may introduce.
The Series ends with the Campers finally escaping the island – heading off in a repaired boat, although we do see at the very closing moments that something else is on-board and hidden in the lower decks. This poses an interesting question in its own right, as it has been pre-established that Scorpios can self-reproduce – so is it possible a third hybrid existed on the island? If so then this could pose a grave risk to people on the mainland when the campers return there. We also know that Mantah Corp may potentially still be at play – with a quad-copter drone observing the Scorpios Rex on the island. Is it possible this shady corporation may now recover the carcasses of the dead hybrids for their own experiments? And what happened to the pilot of the Helicopter which the kids crashed in? She didn’t appear to have been eaten – but we never see her again after the crash sequence. These are just a handful of the questions we were left with at the end of Season 3 – implying there is more story to be told, even if the third season felt like it reached a nice natural ending for the series as a whole.
Overall, the third season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous is fantastic. Do not sleep on this season. It adds a lot to the lore of Doctor Henry Wu and his research, and it builds out a lot of interesting lore for the experiments which were happening on Isla Nublar. It also sets up some interesting plot threads for the future without them feeling overly intrusive and detrimental to the wider story telling in the Jurassic universe. Season 2 of this show left me feeling a little deflated, but Season 3 left me feeling reinvigorated. This wraps up the story of E750 and the wider universe in meaningful ways, and is a fantastic and more mature Jurassic adventure which adult fans will enjoy. I can’t wait to see the reception to this season – and how it informs Jurassic content in the future.
Written by: Tom Jurassic
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Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 | SPOILER Breakdown & Review
Be advised – this article contains heavy spoilers for the second season of Camp Cretaceous. Make sure to check out our non-spoiler review before you read this piece. If you’ve seen the entirety of Season Two, please feel free to read this review.
If you read my non-spoiler review of the second season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, then you may have noted my choice to refer directly to coming back to the spoiler section for several bits of key information. That is primarily because the events of this second season take place at a previously un-documented timeframe – meaning everything which occurs is ‘new’ – even if it may have nods to earlier and latter parts of the timeline. 
With that said, we’re going to use this article to talk about some of the juicier parts of the second season of the show. Let’s dive in.
The key part to the second series of the show is the idea of the emergency beacon on Main Street being used by the kids to summon some help to the island – making their rescue a possibility. I enjoyed how the beacon was uncovered by the kids within the Jurassic World Inside Guide – a nice nod to some of the real documents like the Jurassic World Staff Book we have in the real-world. I also enjoyed how this sequence was used as an opportunity to explain how lots of technology may be hidden around the park as ‘nature’ – helping to retroactively explain how the park may have functioned without us even realising in Jurassic World. We also get to see the Jurassic World Discovery Walk (a new attraction!) during this segment, building out the park a little more, and also spend more time in T-Rex Kingdom, which was a welcome addition. This sequence also features a gut wrenching flashback – with Darius having a moment where Ben’s fall from the train in Season One is replaced with his dad falling. This was a heart wrenching moment – and really sets up the guilt arc which is a key driver for Darius throughout the second season. Of note is the fact that the beacon message does change from ‘Sent’ to ‘Received’ – something which is not touched upon again in the second season. This sets up a couple of interesting options for a third season – something which we will discuss in another article here on the website soon.
The next interesting element I wanted to talk about is the implementation of the veterinary area of the park in Episode Two. This was a fun opportunity to peak underneath the hood of the functioning Jurassic World a little bit more – seeing where sick animals may have been quarantined and treated. I particularly appreciated how the animals in cages here included a Parasaurolophus and Stegosaurus – a fun nod to the same animals being caged by Ludlow’s team in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. I loved the way Grim, Chaos and Limbo were introduced during this sequence – and also loved seeing them squaring off with the Stegosaurs, showing that sometimes predators would rather leave groups of Herbivores than pick a fight where they would be outnumbered. This is a nice nod to the real palaeontological understanding that herbivores moved in larger herds to protect them from predators. Kenji and Yaz also got some interesting development in Episode Two, too – and I feel like the first two episodes were some of the strongest in terms of the areas of the park they explored, and also the animal behaviours which they showed throughout the moments we spend with dinosaurs in these episodes. This is continued in Episode Three, however – which introduces us to the watering hole, and some fun accompanying lore to flesh out the behaviour of the dinosaurs in the series a little bit more. 
Episode Three introduces us to the watering hole – and is arguably my favourite episode because of the time it takes to really bring back the ‘natural beauty’ element of the dinosaurs and the environments in the Jurassic franchise. During these sequences we get some interesting bits of information – including Darius sharing that Doctor Grant stated that predators and prey may be able to co-exist at a watering hole if the right conditions were met. It is nice to hear Grant name dropped to remind us of the universe we are in, and this is a nice way of explaining the Ceratosaurus also at the watering hole. During this sequence the Ceratosaurus also encounters the kids but chooses to ignore them and walk off – a nice call-back to the more docile behaviour we see exhibited from this animal in Jurassic Park III.  Of note during this episode is the idea that the Stegosaurus has shed its plate as it has grown and rubbed itself against a tree – something which Sammy compares to modern-day animals, and we also see a Parasaurolophus inhabiting a river – calling back to where they were located in the park. Although we don’t get much of it in the latter parts of the season, the steps taken to really add to the dinosaurs behaviours in the earlier episodes feels rewarding and helps to flesh them out as natural animals in their own right. 
Another interesting note in this episode is the fact that Brooklynn, Sammy and Yaz revisit the genetics lab where Doctor Wu and Eddie were in Season One, to find it now stripped back and empty. This suggests that, much like we see in the film, Hoskins may have ordered his people to extract assets from across the island – which does then call into question some moments which occur later in the season. During this sequence the trio find a key card in an envelope – alongside a couple of pieces of paper which appear to contain information, potentially to do with E750’s genetics given the fact that this name is on the envelope. E750 is, if you remember, the ‘confidential’ folder we saw on Wu’s Computer in Season One – implying that this is something big. At the end of this episode we are also introduced to a campfire on the island – indicating that someone else is on the island. In Episode Four we learn that these people mercenary-type character of Hap, and two Ecotourists – Mitch and Tiff. Mitch’s character design is an overt Alan Grant reference – designed to make us feel as though we can trust him, whilst Hap feels more akin to someone like Dieter Stark. Over the course of this episode we learn a few interesting details – including the fact that the group’s boat is away refueling at Papagayo. Interestingly, this is a peninsula on the North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica – in keeping with the geography of the series. The episode ends with Hap chasing the kids after they tried to break into his yurt – only for them to be rescued at the last moment by Ben and an adult Bumpy.
Episode Five takes the time for us to explore how Ben survived – showing how he attempted to escape the jungle but inadvertently wondered into Toro’s nesting ground. This sequence is cool as it shows Toro has been hunting animals since the end of Season One – suggesting he has been taking his aggression out on Nublar’s other residents. At a couple of different moments here we see Compys surrounding Ben as he cowers – helping to create the similar sense of vulnerableness that we see in Cathy Bowman. Eventually, after snapping at Bumpy and finding himself on his own, Ben stands up to the Compys and decides to go and fight Toro. This leads to a cool sequence where Bumpy eventually saves Ben and fights Toro – although I do feel like here the kids show side of the series takes over a little bit more, as I can imagine a kid with a spear not being much of a problem for a fully grown Carnotaurus. With that said, seeing a fully grown Bumpy showdown with Toro was a nice call-back to the cut Sinoceratops vs Carnotaurus fight from Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and I was quite excited to see Toro back for an episode as I wasn’t sure we would see this animal again in the series. 
The next episode reveals why Tiff and Mitch are truly on the island – because they are Big Game Hunters. In the yurt which was off limits Darius finds a lot of hunting tools, including a bear trap, and brutally – the head of a Sinoceratops. I was genuinely shocked at how morbid this sequence was – and think this reinforces the idea that this isn’t purely a kids show. Whilst this was mainly implied as the whole head is not shown under the cover it has over it, it was enough to shock me. I really enjoyed this reveal as I didn’t expect it – I thought it would be easy for this to be Mantah Corp, but obviously, as The Lost World shows us, there will be people out there who want to hunt these animals for a challenge. Interestingly, Mitch justifies hunting them as preserving their memory, saying that the UN will soon forget and abandon the island. I appreciated this attempt from the writers to show how the character would justify his actions as it helps to make him slightly more compelling – even if I would argue that the writing for both characters is weak here. In this episode we also see the death of Hap – who stays behind to distract the pack of three Baryonyx so that Brooklynn and Kenji can escape on a motorbike following Ben’s rescue. This was an interesting moment as it is clear Hap was written to fit the ‘villain’ stereotype and then flip it. Interestingly enough we don’t see Hap die – so whilst surviving an attack from three Baryonyx is improbable, it is possible he could return. I would argue that he was the best of the three new characters introduced in the second season of the show. We end with Yaz, Darius and Sammy at the mercy of the pair of hunters – who now want Darius to show them the watering hole so they can kill more dinosaurs. This makes sense – but may have benefitted from being slightly more fleshed out in my opinion.
This idea carries over into Episode Seven – where Darius falsely leads the pair to main street in a desperate bid to escape. There is a really cool sequence on main street here where Darius and Sammy are avoiding the couple in a way which almost mimics the Velociraptor kitchen sequence from Jurassic Park  - with them moving from cover to cover in a slow fashion. Whilst this unfolds, Brooklynn, Kenji, Yaz and Ben find an emergency bunker when Brooklynn follows a hum she has heard throughout the series – pointing to something still being operational underground. The Bunker facility appears identical to the one which we see in Jurassic World Aftermath – which poses some interesting questions for where that latter entry slots into the story given what else unfolds here. We learn that this room connects to a room where a sample is cryogenically frozen – and Kenji inadvertently begins the process of awakening it. I enjoyed everything we saw on the computer screens on this sequence – including the location of the watering hole, which appears to be near Gyrosphere Valley. This then leads into the second sequence we get with the Tyrannosaurus Rex in this series – which is, unfortunately, a sequence which suffers from the necessity for plot armour to carry the antagonists through to the final episode. Rexy tries repeatedly to bite Tiff and Mitch and misses – allowing them to escape and eventually being distracted from Darius and Sammy by lights and sounds the rest of the crew activate in the command centre. Seeing Rexy unable to kill either Tiff or Mitch when they were out in the open is one of the moments which breaks the realism of the series, in my opinion – making it a little bit harder to accept at face value.
The finale starts with Tiff and Mitch heading to the watering hole whilst the rest of the kids attempt to stop them. During this sequence we get a brutal moment where Tiff kills Grim with a single shot – reminding us that this animals are not nearly as resilient as the Indominus Rex. This stood out to me as it reminded me how easy the dinosaurs which are rampaging during Jurassic World Dominion would be to deal with – implying that something more serious may happen to prevent authorities around the world from dealing with the animals so quickly. This moment really was brutal – as although Grim was technically an antagonist, the death had a similar effect to that of Zara, with it not feeling earned. Eventually the kids manage to stop Tiff and Mitch from killing any of the other animals – and both die in ways which homage different parts of the franchise. Mitch steps on his own snare and is eaten by the Tyrannosaurus Rex whilst hanging from a tree – a fun nod to the death of Cooper in JPIII who has a similar fate at the hands of the Velociraptors. Tiff, on the other hand, makes it onto her boat (which has been moored at the dock the whole time) – and makes it on in time to escape before the kids can get onboard. As she begins to sail away it is revealed that Limbo and Chaos have made it onboard – sealing her fate, and providing a moment of Karma for the brutal execution of Grim earlier in the episode. This also serves as a fun nod to the novel – where Velociraptors were able to board the Isla Nublar supply ships. This then ends with the kids practically in the same position as the end of Season One – which does, in some ways, negate the events of the second season as it feels as though no real progress occurs. 
Overall, there are some fun sequences in Season Two of Camp Cretaceous – but it feels as though there are less memorable moments than the first season, and many of them are over-exaggerated and therefore leave you questioning their realism within the canon. Whilst the show should be granted additional freedom due to its target demographic, this undoubtedly is a canonical piece – and I feel like the second season pushed the boundaries of being a canonical entry in the series a little bit too far at times. Whilst some sequences, like a stampede sequence in Episode Seven and the Baryonyx attack in Episode Two feel well executed, other sequences, like the chase in Episode Six, feel a little bit too extreme. With that said, I think kids are definitely going to love these set pieces, so I can look past them for the impact they may have on younger fans. 
I also didn’t enjoy the lack of any presence for Mantah Corp in Season Two. Whilst I appreciated Mitch and Tiff not being agents of the organisation, as that would’ve been easy to do, I do think that having some kind of reference – whether it be another drone, or mention of another boat off shore – would have been a nice way of tying in the fact that Mantah Corp are still an active threat in this universe. Whilst I have no doubt that they will return in the future, the complete lack to acknowledge them beyond Brooklynn and Sammy name-dropping them a couple of times did seem like a shame considering the focus that was placed on season one. The issue which irked me most, however, is probably that of E750 – which is being thawed out. We will have a separate video speculating what this could be, but my biggest issue is how this sits within the canon. As per JWFK and Jurassic World Aftermath, we know that teams were sent back to recover assets and extract them off of the island – so if E750 was such a big project for Wu, then why did he leave it on the island? This makes little sense to me right now and is, in my opinion, one of the bigger issues with retrospectively building this mystery specimen into the Jurassic timeline.
With these issues highlighted, I think Season Two of Camp Cretaceous was good, but it fails to follow-up on some of the more interesting parts of the first season, and strays a little close to the boundaries of the pre-established canon present in the universe. Whilst I appreciate it is a kids show, and I can allow more due to this, I do feel like the E750 storyline has the potential to raise more questions about the rest of the lore, depending on the direction it takes – and this is a problem which can occur when retroactively building a multi-media timeline. I am interested to see how this unfolds in a third season – and I do wonder how much more we can explore on Nublar before it begins to feel stagnant. There is certainly more of the island I would like to see and explore – so I hope we get to do this in future instalments. 
I think it is fair to say I enjoyed the second season of the show – but, perhaps not as much as I did the first season, which I felt gave a little more to adult fans and those of us more familiar with the lore. With that said, I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of Season Two in the comments below, and stay tuned for more Camp Cretaceous content on The Jurassic Park Podcast in the near future.
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 Provides A Glimpse At Isla Nublar Post-Jurassic World Incident (NON SPOILER REVIEW)
Please note this review, whilst non-spoiler, does reference some of the events shown in the trailer for Camp Cretaceous Season 2 – so read at your own discretion.
I think it is safe to say that, for many of us, Season 1 of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous was the new kind of Jurassic World material that we have been craving for many years. Whilst the first season ran parallel to the events of the titular Jurassic World film, it took the time to explore some new and interesting locales with a whole new group of characters. Whilst Season 2 follows much of the same format, the pacing and set pieces sometimes leave a little bit to be desired without the ongoing Indominus Rex rampage to strengthen them.
Season 2 picks up right where the first season ends, and it allows us to explore more of the fallout of the Jurassic World incident. Indeed, the series does take the time to pause and show us a few instances of how the dinosaurs who inhabit this island are beginning to adapt to life without containment – with a couple of cool moments adding nicely to the continually expanding lore of the InGen dinosaurs within this universe. Much like Season 1, Camp Cretaceous aims to once again explore some adult themes within the confines of a story which is more orientated towards younger fans – and there are a couple of twists and turns throughout the story which did have me gasp aloud as I watched events unfold.
The story of the second season is obviously influenced heavily by the events of the first series – with the campers now stranded on the island and desperately trying to survive an island infested with animals which want to kill them. During the earlier half of the season, we explore how the kids are going to attempt to escape from the island, with the group quickly uncovering a way which they can get a signal off of the island to hopefully trigger a rescue operation. After these events unfold, we take the time to explore how the kids are going to survive on the island – and whilst these elements can, at times, feel as though they push the boundaries of reality a little bit too far, they do provide a couple of interesting opportunities to flesh out more of the details of how Jurassic World operated when it was a functional park. The story then takes a twist in the second half of the season – where we learn that the kids aren’t alone on the island, and we begin to explore how this ultimately impacts upon their chances at an escape. Whilst the story felt decent, it did re-tread a lot of ground from prior entries in the Jurassic franchise and ultimately didn’t feel as though it had any real consequence – acting more as filler than as an engaging narrative which will continue in future seasons. This is something which we will remark on more within our full spoiler breakdown of the second season.
The characters who return from the first season have some interesting arcs here – with different developments across the board for them. It is fair to say that the events of the first season have had a psychological impact on many of the kids (as you would expect!) and this is touched upon in an interesting sequence, whilst it also becomes a key motivation for one character throughout the story. At times, some of the writing made it feel as though the characters had perhaps slipped back into their personalities at the start of Season One – negating the development which occurred in their first outing, but overall they continue to be a group of characters who are likeable enough to drive the story forward. There are other characters introduced within this season too, and whilst we don’t want to spoil whether they are in current sequences or flashback sequences, it is fair to say that they are a mixed bag of characters – with some perhaps playing into their stereotypes a little bit too much, causing some of their actions to again, become a little bit over-exaggerated and unrealistic when compared to the wider story of the second season.
As you have already seen, a plethora of dinosaurs return for the second season – including new dinosaurs in the form of the Ceratosaurus and the Baryonyx. These animals are given their time to shine, although we spend a lot more time with one group then we do the other. The rest of the cast of animals present are consistent with the first season for the most part – with animals, like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, also getting more screen time now that they are not confined to the events of the film. These ‘iconic’ animals do not feel overused throughout the story, however – which is nice, as I think it would have been easy for the writers to depend too heavily on the characters which fans already have relationships with, instead of giving them the opportunity to develop new ones. As mentioned before, we do get some interesting insight into the behaviours of some of the animals, too – with interesting nuggets of information peppered throughout the show to perhaps hint at how these animals would behave in the world they were unleased into at the end of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. I also want to note that the CGI models for many of the dinosaurs feel as though they have had a major upgrade – with some scenes featuring the Baryonyx, in particular, looking incredibly crisp. You can’t have a Jurassic story without the dinosaurs, and they continue to be the stars here.
The second season also takes the time to explore a few locations, akin to the way the first season swapped between them – but it is worth noting that we do spend some time in locations which are familiar, and so this limits the amount we feel we got to ‘uncover’ this time around when you compare it to the first season of the show. The canon of the show also takes a little bit of a hit within the second season – with some elements adding more questions to why certain things occurred after the events of this season. Whilst these aren’t world-breaking per-say, and could easily be explained away, you may find that you will be asking yourself more and more questions as you think about things more – so it may be better to take the second season more at its face value. There are a few nods here and there which were nice little callouts to other parts of the canon – but they are much fewer and farther between here, meaning that there is likely to be a little less appeal for adult fans during the second season of the show.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with the second season of Camp Cretaceous, but I feel as though it didn’t quite hit the highs that Season 1 of the show was able to achieve. Some of the sequences felt a little bit more bombastic during the second season, and some of the story telling, whilst engaging, didn’t really pick up on the threads from the first season in the ways which I was perhaps anticipating and hoping for. Whilst the second season of the show does tackle some interesting subject matter, and indeed has some moments which cause for pause and reflection, I don’t quite feel as though it has as wholesome an over-arching story as the first season did – leaving me with more questions and less answers than beforehand. With that said, there are some fun sequences throughout the series, and Jurassic fans are bound to enjoy themselves regardless as the dino-heavy sequences are fun – but just be prepared for your questions from the first season to perhaps go unanswered for a little bit longer than you may have anticipated.
That’s it for our advanced review of the show – and our big thanks to Universal Studios, Netflix and Dreamworks Animations for allowing us to check out the series in advance. Stay tuned to Netflix, where you can catch the full series on January the 22nd.
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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New Camp Cretaceous Trailer Confirms Season 2 Release Date and Hints at New Threat!
A new trailer for the second season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous has debuted today courtesy of our friends at Entertainment Weekly – and it provides an exciting look at the next set of adventures which the kids will find themselves thrust into now Isla Nublar is abandoned.
The trailer starts of relatively normally – with the kids attempting to find some way to communicate with people off of the island after realising that they were left behind in the wake of the Jurassic World incident. The kids eventually find their way to Main Street, where they encounter Rexy inside the Tyrannosaurus Kingdom. We also see a makeshift camp which the kids have constructed in the ruins of the old Camp here – providing an interesting base-of-operations for the second season of the show. The camp, in particular, almost has a Robinson Crusoe vibe to it, which is pretty cool to see mimicked in a Jurassic project. This is much more a handmade structure than an existing one like Eric found on Isla Sorna in JPIII.
We are treated to a few more fun shots here – including a gorgeous call-back to the lake seen in the original Jurassic Park, before we get an interesting reveal; the kids managed to get a signal off of Nublar, and presumably to a rescue party. We cut through a few more shots – revealing the group of Baryonyx who we believe will be antagonists in the second season, as well as a much clearer look at the Ceratosaurus from the first trailer, which appears to be presented in a much darker colour palette than the one seen in JPIII. We see a few more sequences – including one with the kids notably using what appears to be Owen’s motorbike, before we end with the biggest revelation of the entire trailer – the kids are not alone on Isla Nublar.
As a Ceratosaurus approaches the group they are saved, at the last minute, by a flare which is shot from off the screen – and we hear them state that they are not alone. Whilst this could be the return of Ben, who we know is alive and separated from the group, the sense of revelation in this moment makes it feel as though it may be someone knew – like a group from the menacing Mantah Corp who were first referenced in the first season of the show. It could, however, be other survivors from the incident also abandoned on the Island – so it is safe to say there are lots of questions and little answers right now!
With that said, this trailer has us incredibly excited for Season 2 of Camp Cretaceous. Rather than a simple ‘survive and escape’ story, it looks as if the journey the kids are on may be about to take a much darker twist – and we are excited to see where that may take us. We are also excited to see more of the ruined park in the second instalment of the season, and are really excited to see a ‘new’ swarm of returning Dinosaurs wreak havoc across Isla Nublar.
Camp Cretaceous Season 2 is now confirmed to debut on January the 22nd, 2021 on Netflix. Be sure to check out our video breakdown below.
What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments down below, and stay tuned to The Jurassic Park Podcast for the latest news on all things Jurassic Park and Jurassic World!
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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Velociraptors, Dilophosaurs and a Fallen Kingdom: A follow-up On The Canon Of Jurassic World Aftermath
Recently, we published an article exploring how we thought Jurassic World Aftermath may fit into the wider canon – with lots of speculation as to the role that characters like Dr Wu would play within the story. Now, we can follow-up on that article with some facts pulled straight from a session spent with the new VR Game. The footage to accompany this video can be found on our YouTube channel, and is courtesy of fellow Jurassic fan Brent Kappel, who actually appeared in Jurassic World as an extra!
Without any further ado, let’s break down some of the most interesting pieces of lore introduced within Jurassic World Aftermath. Spoilers ahead for anyone planning to play the game themselves.
The key thing on everyone’s mind is obvious – how are there more Velociraptors on the island? We learn, in Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, that Blue is supposedly the last of her kind – which makes her an invaluable asset for Doctor Wu and Eli Mills to obtain. Naturally, you may think that the inclusion of Velociraptors here in Aftermath takes away from this – but careful consideration has been made to think about where they slot into the story. The N.M.S Centre was an off-the-grid facility so to speak, in terms of the fact that the work they did at the facility was not well known by the other operatives working on Isla Nublar. In fact, mention of Owen Grady and Vic Hoskins is made at one point – acknowledging that neither of them knew about the existence of the programme. This suggests that the work being conducted at the N.M.S Centre was different to the work being conducted by Project IBRIS – and therefore was kept relatively quiet in comparison to InGen’s other project. 
But, you may be asking, why was there a need for a second Velociraptor project?
The answer boils down to the science and genetics of Jurassic World. We know that genetic modification has been a key story point for the latter films, and this is no different in Aftermath, with the work at the N.M.S Centre proving vital in allowing the geneticists at Jurassic World to continue to enhance how much they can augment the code of their dinosaurs. The NMS Centre, in particular, was working on the Velociraptor Genome, and was experimenting with areas like elevated social hormones, suggesting that they were taking the work which IBRIS had done, and seeing if they could tailor-make a Raptor which is more able to respond to commands – aka the latter Indoraptor. We also learn that work had been done to get the raptors to respond to audio prompts so they could come for feeding – again, building upon the idea of these being Raptors who can be more effectively trained and controlled. The way Wu is communicated throughout here as a narcissistic and egotistical character is very interesting, too, as it helps to sell his character as someone who is purely invested in his work without any of the ethical confines which may have otherwise held him back. The mission to recover the Velociraptor Genome ultimately takes a change of pace when, at the end of the game, it is revealed that we need to recover Blue’s DNA. Indeed, in this moment we learn that Blue’s creation seemed to be an accident. Wu was experimenting with monitor lizard polymer raised to promote parthenogenesis (asexual reproduction) when Blue was born – implying that she may be able to reproduce naturally in the current Jurassic World Dominion timeline.
So, how does all of this tie directly into Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and the birth of the Indoraptor? Well, as we already know from the film, the mission to recover Blue is an important stepping stone in creating the Indoraptor. Therefore it is natural for us to assume that the events of this game are taking place parallel to the development of the first Indoraptor prototype we later see in the film – implying that the work and research recovered here factors in to the eventual creation of that animal. We get more concrete comparison of this being tied together through the fact that Mia and Sam actually have a direct link with Lockwood Manor in the latter part of the game – showing that Wu is indeed working with Mills at this point. It sounds as if Mills is in charge of the operation at this point in time, as Wu mentions him as overseeing the operations at several points. This suggests that the mission to Isla Nublar we see in FK’s opening is perhaps the climax of a long string of missions to recover different pieces of technology which were ultimately needed to continue Wu’s hybridisation work. The most interesting piece of lore here is that we learn that InGen had emergency backup systems connected on the mainland to Nublar – with Lockwood Manor being the emergency backup for the facility. This implies that rather than being a rogue faction, Mills and Wu may have still had some affiliation with InGen during the events of JWFK, although it could equally be implied that the connection existed from the Jurassic Park days when Lockwood was still involved in the parks.
There are a couple of other interesting bits of information strewn throughout the game. The first is that Wu begins to freak out when the character of Emelia (the geneticist helping with the in-game mission)  has a meeting with Simon Masrani in May of 2015. This allegation is taking to the InGen Board, with Wu pulling her up for insubordination towards a superior. This is interesting as Wu becomes very defensive and suggests that she may damage the work of both him and the board – implying that rogue elements inside of InGen may be working against the wishes of Masrani this whole time. Whilst this isn’t anything new per-say, it does provide interesting insight as to where people like Hoskins may have fit into a much larger game being played in the shadows by other entities in InGen. Of note, also, is the way Wu presents his work throughout these audio logs – implying that he is working on multiple projects which will change man’s understanding of the natural world. Much like we saw hinted within Camp Cretaceous, the implication here seems to be that Wu may have worked on many more projects than those we simply see on screen.
A couple of final bits of interesting information we wanted to highlight is to do with specific details inside the story. Firstly, we learn that Isla Nublar’s Jurassic World did, indeed, use a Geothermal Plant – and that the Dilophosaurus can be found nested in there. Whilst this game does take place two years after the titular film, it is entirely possible that they have been nested in them for some time – which may explain the lack of encounters with this particular dinosaur so far in Camp Cretaceous. In addition to this, we also learn that Nublar is under a UN Quarantine following the events of the Jurassic World incident – meaning that we are in a similar situation to that which we find in JPIII. The fact the characters only have one hour on the island suggests this may be more stringent, however. Another fun detail comes in a mention of the Monorail – with it being revealed that the Indominus tore through the monorail track at some point before the main street battle, explaining some of the damage and devastation inflicted upon Nublar between the incident and JWFK. There are also a few other moments scattered throughout – including a fun visual nod to the Jurassic Park Visitors Centre.
All of this comes together to make a piece of Jurassic media which is much broader and deeper in terms of canonical scope than I think any of us expected going into it. Whilst we remain hesitant about whether this will be a ‘canonical’ story or not, I think that there has been some great work here to build on core Jurassic concepts. The character of Wu is developed incredibly well, and the ties to Lockwood Manor and Mills are executed well, too – making enough sense when considered alongside the events of Fallen Kingdom. Overall, Jurassic World Aftermath appears to have a lot of value in building up some pre-established areas of the canon, whilst also building to the future. As mentioned in the article, the idea of asexual reproduction in Blue poses an interesting question for Jurassic World Dominion. A recorded speech from Ian Malcolm present in the game also talks about a course correction after we have meddled with science to this point – setting the perfect precedent for what we are expecting to see in the upcoming sequel.
What do you think? Are you surprised about how much lore is packed into Jurassic World Aftermath? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for plenty more on all things Jurassic Park and Jurassic World here on The Jurassic Park Podcast. 
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 4 years
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Season Two of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous Is Now Official! Coming 2021
Today, ahead of the New York Comic Con Camp Cretaceous panel, the Jurassic World official YouTube account has released a brand-new forty-five second teaser trailer for the second season of the Netflix Animated Show.
The trailer provides a hint at the aftermath of the Jurassic World incident we saw portrayed in both the titular film and the first series of the film – with damage across Isla Nublar now evident as the dinosaurs begin to adapt to life outside of the confines of their paddocks. We can see Sinoceratops making their way through broken fencing, Compsognathus leaping around a muddied and abandoned Gyrosphere, and even the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex on the hunt for the kids.
The new trailer seems to pit the kids against a host of animals not seen in the first season – with the Baryonyx from Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, the Ceratosaurus from Jurassic Park III and the Tyrannosaurus Rex all present to provide a new host of carnivorous creatures for the group to encounter. Interestingly, the shots of the group we have seen so far are without Ben present – suggesting that the reunion we all anticipate may not occur right when the second season picks up.
We are interested to see how this will play out moving forwards. Whilst the main group seem to be fending off dinosaurs together, is it possible that Ben is out there, surviving on his own, similar to Eric Kirby? For now, we will have to wait and see – but the shots from inside of Tyrannosaurus Rex Kingdom get us incredibly excited to explore more of an abandoned Isla Nublar when the second season of Camp Cretaceous drops in early 2021.
What did you think of the first season of the show? And what do you hope will happen in the second season? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to The Jurassic Park Podcast for all the latest news on Camp Cretaceous!
Take a look at the Press Release via Dreamworks below:
"DreamWorks Animation today announced a second season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous will debut globally on Netflix in 2021. The first season, inspired by the multi-billion-dollar franchise from Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, was set against the same timeline of the 2015 blockbuster film Jurassic World. Season 2 will find the stranded campers struggling to survive on Isla Nublar as the series charges forward beyond the events of the Jurassic World film. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous follows a group of six teenagers chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a new adventure camp on the opposite side of Isla Nublar. But when dinosaurs wreak havoc across the island, the campers are stranded. Unable to reach the outside world, they’ll need to go from strangers to friends to family if they’re going to survive. Scott Kreamer (Pinky Malinky) and Aaron Hammersley (Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness), serve as showrunners and executive producers. The series is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Colin Trevorrow and Frank Marshall. The series features the voices of Paul-Mikél Williams (Westworld) as “Darius,” Jenna Ortega (You) as “Brooklynn,” Ryan Potter (Titans) as “Kenji,” Raini Rodriguez (Austin & Ally) as “Sammy,” Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs) as “Ben” and Kausar Mohammed (Silicon Valley) as “Yaz.”   For an inside look at season one be sure to check out the New York Comic Con x MCM Comic Con's Metaverse Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous panel today at 2:40pm EDT. Join executive producers Colin Trevorrow and Scott Kreamer, consulting producer Zack Stentz, story editor Josie Campbell, and staff writers Sheela Shrinivas, Rick Williams and Bethany Armstrong Johnson as they take you inside the writers’ room of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is now streaming on Netflix."
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 6 years
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'The Evolution of Claire' Review | By: Tom Fishenden
BE ADVISED: The following article contains spoilers for The Evolution of Claire.
Several years after Michael Crichton’s iconic Jurassic Park and The Lost World laid the foundations for the sprawling Jurassic movie verse that Universal Pictures have built, we finally get to build even more Jurassic lore in a novel format. This time, through Tess Sharpe’s The Evolution of Claire.
The Evolution of Claire falls nicely within the gap between Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World – exploring the story of a young Claire Dearing, and how she is an intern on Isla Nublar during the construction of the Jurassic World resort. The book is a fantastic deep dive into Claire’s character – explaining beautifully how the traumas and effects of a dangerous Nublar shape Claire into the cold, calculating and clinical character we meet in Jurassic World before Owen can break through her layers and reveal more of the slightly vulnerable, more sensitive character who we first meet in the beginning chapters of this novel. The Evolution of Claire does a fantastic job of really exploring Claire’s character – delving into how she behaves, and why she behaves the way we she does. Tess has done a fantastic job in working in conjunction with both Universal and Bryce Dallas Howard herself to really align the Claire in the novel with the Claire we see on screen. The novel helps add context and explanation to Claire’s actions, and helps to provide a fulfilling backstory which really compliments the Claire we see fighting sharply for animal’s rights in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
However, The Evolution of Claire doesn’t just focus solely on Claire Dearing – as much as the name may suggest otherwise. We have a whole cast of rich and diverse characters – some new, some returning – who really help to carry the story and build real, strong emotional connections with the story as it unfolds. We have Claire’s fellow interns – from the snobby, brat-like Wyatt (Whom I’m sure we can all compare to someone during our time at school), to the more desperate characters like Tanya and her twin brother Eric, who are on Isla Nublar for far more nefarious reasons. Like the Biosyn plot of the original Jurassic Park – where Lewis Dodgson paid Nedry to obtain embryos from the original site, in The Evolution of Claire, Tanya and Eric are being forced to steal specifications and technology from the new Masrani Global facility on Nublar – all for a rival medical science company who have technology which will save their sister’s life, for a price. This kind of ethical question comes into play towards the end of the novel, but really makes the reader think about technology and all its relevant applications – both good and bad. It also leads to the most traumatizing area of the book – an area focused around the character of Justin.
Justin is introduced as a cute, slightly-geeky character around Claire’s age with similar interests and a passion for business. He instantly hits off with Claire, and the two form quite the small romance which we gradually see grow as we explore the book further. It’s your typical teenage romance – all nerves and bumbling along, but it is well written and really serves to build and elevate both characters and their investments in the park further. It is this sparking romance that impacts us most when reading the novel – as it all goes horrifically wrong. Whilst trying to re-route the power to collect paddock information for the rival technology firm, Eric and Tanya accidentally unlock a Velociraptor which has just been transported to Isla Nublar from Isla Sorna – which is explained to be a hatching ground much like in the days of John Hammond. However, whilst attempting to escape the paddock to relative safety, Justin ultimately sacrifices himself – dying at the claws of the Velociraptor so that Claire may escape. It is this act of sacrifice that shocks readers – and helps to form the traumatized and clinical Claire we met in Jurassic World so well. Seeing an intern die was a shock – and it is a shock which was pleasantly surprising as I did not expect such chaos from a Jurassic World prequel novel.
It is here that it feels appropriate to move onto Simon Masrani’s character – as we learn a lot about his character within this novel. One of the driving components of Claire is finding a previous intern’s journal – despite being told they were the first group. This leads to the discovery of an algae which is harming the Brachiosaurs – but also to the discovery of a cover up, which we ultimately learn, lead to the death of a previous intern and the covering up of their first intern group. It is through these actions, and the dialogue with Masrani towards the end of the novel, that we learn a lot more about this kind and caring man – and the burden of sacrifice and loss upon him. He feels deeply whenever something goes wrong and whenever somebody dies – but he also feels that it is important to not let death ruin somebody’s legacy. In the case of the missing intern, Isobel – Masrani decided that it was better to cover up her death because she truly cared for the dinosaurs – and wanted them to bring happiness to people across the world. Masrani makes the hard decision to cover her death up because, in doing so, he allows her legacy to live on and grow throughout the park. The Evolution of Claire does a fantastic job of building upon Masrani – developing his ethics whilst also showing how the world of business is sometimes murky and blurred. His character in the Novel really adds to the Masrani we meet in Jurassic World, and to Tess’s credit, I feel as though Masrani is arguably one of the most beautifully written characters within the whole book.
We also get to revisit Henry Wu within the novel – and the novel adds a little bit more humanity to Wu’s character, exploring how the events of the first park perhaps effected Wu a little bit more than he lets on. His persistence to create more of these creatures to honour his colleague’s deaths adds a lot more to his persistent cause – and helps to make more sense of his character’s lapses of judgement within Jurassic World and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Wu is, fundamentally, continuing mad science to honour his fallen comrades. The story also introduces a couple of fun park workers – the most memorable being Bertie, an animal trainer who works with the T-Rex, Brachiosaurs and Triceratops, and Oscar – who is a dark, security-focussed individual not too dis-similar from Lambert within Jurassic World Evolution. Adding these additional characters does a fantastic job in adding personality to the Jurassic World we see within the films – reminding us that everyone from the security staff on main street to the paddock workers at the Raptor Pen had a story – and had something which they would have done within the run up to Jurassic World’s opening. It’s interesting as in some areas, I feel as if Tess has opened the flood gates – showing exactly how much scope for additional and meaningful story telling there is within this universe.
The story also feels fulfilling – exploring how different areas of the park have been worked on and why certain features and functions exist. We gain insight into different components – from the construction of the Monorail and how the Mosasaur was a late addition to Jurassic World, to the development of certain paddocks and enclosures, and how the processes to transfer animals were created. Nothing here ever feels forced for the sake of fan appreciation. Everything Tess includes within the story feels logical and conclusive – and really speaks volumes of the kind of faults, errors and corrections that a real theme park may encounter before launch day. You can tell that Tess worked hard to research existing source material in addition to real-life attractions, and the result is a story which feels logical and crucially – makes sense when grounded within the Jurassic Lore. We gain a lot of insight in a short amount of time – and you walk away from this book really longing for more. I want to see more of how Jurassic World was constructed. The roundup of dinosaurs. The capture and sedation of them. This book answers so many questions and adds so much context, whilst at the same time – opening so many more questions. These are questions which I can only hope Universal are willing to invest in – allowing us to get more novels and canonical materials in the future
The book isn’t perfect. Towards the end, the developments perhaps feel a little bit rushed – with a lot happening in a short span of time. And, some characters – such as Vic Hoskins, for example, do not make appearances. But – this could be because there is ample room to tell more stories including these characters soon. What Tess Sharpe has done is produce a fantastic and insightful prequel to Jurassic World. The novel builds upon many characters we already know whilst adding new ones – and everything feels organic and appropriate to the universe. The Evolution of Claire is a fantastic novel – and I hope that it is the start of many more to come under the Jurassic banner.
Don't miss our podcast review below!
Article written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 6 years
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ARTICLE: Why Museums Are Just As Important As Dino Films
"Dinosaurs lived 65 million years ago. What is left of them is fossilised in the rocks, and it is in the rock that real scientists do real work."  -- Dr. Alan Grant (Jurassic Park III)
What starts out as a dig at the work of In-Gen within the Jurassic Park films is an incredibly poignant pointer when it comes to how we reflect on paleontology within the modern day. Dinosaurs have never been so front and centre within the media. We have new Jurassic World films – bringing with them a plethora of merchandise ranging from books and informational computer device applications, to live-shows and exhibitions. It is true that all of this is doing wonders to reignite the imaginations of children (and big kids!) across the globe – but these materials only go so far. We know Jurassic Park has never been accurate – and this is where we find ourselves today. However – all is not lost. There are hardworking teams of paleontologists and researchers out there, and they work hard to deliver information and real-life artifacts from the prehistoric eras to our local museums.
To encourage you to get out and explore your local museum, I’ve visited one of several museums which can be found in my home county of Kent – Maidstone Museum. Maidstone Museum is home to the National History Museum’s original pieces relating to the Iguanodon. Furthermore, Maidstone’s Coat of Arms is the only in the country to utilize a dinosaur, with the Iguanodon being a symbolic piece of local heritage as it was discovered in Sussex, which is just down the road from Kent. Learning more about this dinosaur set a nice precedent for my trip – and it was nice seeing the museum pay homage to a dinosaur of local relevance. Different dig sites exist across the globe – delivering more and more information on an era we though long-gone each day.  What Doctor Grant says in Jurassic Park III is very true – real scientists do real work within this field every day to help us realize what these creatures may have been like. And it is that value for these hardworking individuals that I want you to take away from this article. Don’t read up about these online – visit your local museum, and see physical history unfold in front of you.
Anyway, moving on – I had the opportunity to look at several different relics – from different prehistoric eras. These included a Smilodon Tooth (F7), a Megalodon Tooth (C9), bones from an Iguanodon, a Raptor’s Sickle Claw (A3), a Baryonyx Claw (A4) and a T-Rex tooth (A9). Seeing these was fascinating, as it really gives you a sense of the kind of scale which these creatures must have come in at. Even with our best animatronics and our greatest models, there is nothing quite like looking at fossils, bones and teeth to really imagine what these creatures may have been like. I think, for me, the most visual example is the Megalodon – and how many times bigger it’s teeth were than those of a normal shark. That sense of scale, then magnified by the entire shark, is truly insane – and it shows exactly how far history has come. This I think encapsulates nicely why Paleontology and prehistoric history is so interesting – because every little detail we find brings us a step closer to a clearer picture of these prehistoric giants.
I had a great day learning more about dinosaurs at my local museum – and now I’m handing the reigns to you. I recommend you head out and check out your local museum. Many of these are small organisations led by passionate people based upon funding and donations – and they have a wide assortment of enriching history that you may never expect to discover. There are many great museums out there – and many of them are free. Don’t just take the dinosaurs in these films at face value – get out there, appreciate some local heritage, and learn more about the history of these magnificent creatures.
Article Written By: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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How Doctor Wu’s Return May Tie Jurassic World Aftermath Into The Wider Canon
In a new trailer for Jurassic World Aftermath, courtesy of Mashable, we have an exciting look at where the upcoming VR game by Oculus Studios may fit into the timeline of the Jurassic World films – potentially tying into the pre-established canon in a much more interesting way than we anticipated.
With only roughly one minute worth of footage, there are two interesting points which we wanted to focus on within this trailer. The first is that the protagonist who we are playing as within the game appears to have been on Isla Nublar before – with her remarking that ‘it’s like coming home’. Whilst this could just be a line to describe how she is feeling, the odd placement of it suggests that there is actually much more depth to the protagonist than we originally anticipated – with her possibly being a former employee for the doomed park. If Jurassic Park showed us one thing with Dennis Nedry, it was that park employees can be bought, so we wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case in the upcoming game.
The second, and much more interesting detail, is the fact that the trailer reveals that our character has an hour to ‘enter the lab and recover the genome’. Given that the character is recovering a genome and not something like a life specimen, we are willing to be that this is a snatch and grab operation which preludes the operation which we see at the start of Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom – meaning that Eli Mills could be involved in this operation to some extent. Indeed, at 00:19 in the trailer, we do hear a character who sounds an awful lot like the disgraced Dr. Henry Wu, and the accompanying Mashable article confirms Wong’s return as the titular character in this game.
What this suggests, to us, is simple – Jurassic World Aftermath takes place between Jurassic World and Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, providing the first steps for the eventual creation of the Indoraptor in the latter film. The point of contention here, however, is the fact that we see a mercenary team return to Isla Nublar at the start of Fallen Kingdom – so either they realised that they needed more resources to complete the production of the Indoraptor or, more likely, the mission which we embark on within Aftermath may ultimately be a failure.
The potential to tie into the canon poses an interesting question about the rest of the trailer here, however, as we see plenty of ‘wild’ Velociraptors present across the island, and we also see the return of the Dilophosaurus. Whilst the latter is not a far stretch and is highly likely, the presence of multiple Velociraptors does seem to be somewhat canon-breaking, unless there is extra storytelling built in to explain the expansion of the IBRIS Project raptors we see in 2015’s Jurassic World. It has long been speculated that there may be other Raptors on Nublar, anyway, so we are interested to see if this is confirmed through this game – and how that may influence other stories like Camp Cretaceous.
Regardless of its canonicity, Jurassic World Aftermath looks set to be an exciting adventure in a fully realised park filled with Dinosaurs, and we are excited to see how fans of the franchise receive the new game when it debuts on the Oculus tomorrow (December 17th).
What do you think? Are you excited for the new game? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to The Jurassic Park Podcast for all of the latest Jurassic news.
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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The Innovation Centre w/ Belgian Jurassic + The Jurassic Wire Mini-Episode | Episode 257
Welcome to The Jurassic Park Podcast! In episode 257, we enter The Innovation Centre to hear from Tom Jurassic, Arjan Bos and their guest Belgian Jurassic! Jeremiah, aka Belgian Jurassic, was the winner of our Jurassic Gives Back contest to join up on an episode of The Jurassic Wire. Due to scheduling issues, we weren’t able to get that segment to work with Jeremiah, so we offered to have him join Tom and Arjan instead.
As a bonus, since this is typically the week for The Jurassic Wire, we are giving you a bonus mini-episode of The Wire with Brad Jost and Aaron Beyer introducing Jeremiah popping on the show and also some potential spoiler based content at the very end of the show. Sit back, relax and ENJOY this episode of The Jurassic Park Podcast!
Resources:
Jurassic Your World’s Charity Drive
This Podcast Ruined My Childhood - Jurassic World
The Mandalorian Recaps Chapters 9-12
Today’s Guest: Jeremiah - Belgian Jurassic
This Episode’s Contributors:
Tom Fishenden
Aaron Beyer
Arjan Bos
Brad Jost
Be sure to check out all their links and work by clicking through!
Don't forget to give our voicemail line a call at 732-825-7763!
Share this post and comment below! Enjoy.
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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Help Bring Jurassic Magic To Children This Christmas!
We’re lucky to have a great Jurassic community which tends to rally around the need to make a difference through good causes. We’ve seen it in the past with our own Jurassic Gives Back campaign, and now we are excited to share another campaign spearheaded by Neemz over on the Jurassic Your World Instagram Account.
The ‘Jurassic Toy Drive’ aims to bring fans together with the goal of raising money to purchase Jurassic toys for charities such as The Orange County Rescue Mission and Toys For Tots. Tim from Collect Jurassic is also involved in the campaign – ensuring that young people in Illinois, as well as California, get a positive boost this Christmas.
At the time of writing this article the fundraising campaign page, found here, has achieved over $1,500 – with just $500 left to hit its goal. We’re confident the campaign is going to heat its target before the deadline, but every little helps, so we wanted to do our part to encourage additional donations.
On my Twitter account, from 23rd of November 2020 until 28th of November 2020, any community member making a donation of $2 or more will have an opportunity to win a figure of Toro the Carnotaurus from Camp Cretaceous. Collect Jurassic are also running a similar opportunity for donors to have a chance at winning an SDCC Nedry – so not only can your money make a difference, but you also have a chance at winning some cool Jurassic loot this Christmas.
This year has been tough for many of us – and we appreciate money is tight right now. Please don’t feel pressured to donate if you are unable too – that’s OK. Sharing this campaign around the community and ensuring that we raise awareness can make a huge difference, too.
Let’s come together and show people why the Jurassic Community is so great, by using our collective power to make a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children this Christmas.
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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Dino DNA w/ Conor O'Keeffe - Featuring Tom Fishenden + Jurassic Kids Watch Jurassic Park!
Welcome to The Jurassic Park Podcast! In episode 256, we see the return of Jurassic Kids! Annabelle and Gabby take over the hosting duties and tell us their thoughts after seeing Jurassic Park at the drive in with some friends.
After that, we debut a brand new segment, Dino DNA with Conor O’Keeffe! Conor will be looking at the dinosaurs of the franchise and discussing their real life counterparts in full within Dino DNA. In today’s segment, Tom Fishenden joins Conor to discuss a few dino species. Sit back, relax and ENJOY this episode of The Jurassic Park Podcast!
Resources:
#CretaceousChristmas Article from Tom Fishenden
Innovation Center featuring Conor O’Keeffe
This Episode’s Contributors
Annabelle + Gabby
Tom Fishenden
Conor O’Keeffe
Be sure to check out all their links and work by clicking through!
Don't forget to give our voicemail line a call at 732-825-7763!
Share this post and comment below! Enjoy.
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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Announcing The Launch of ‘#CretaceousChristmas’ | Via @Tom_Jurassic
Hey everyone – Tom here today with another announcement which isn’t too dis-similar from the Stay Safe Stay Jurassic project we started at the beginning of the pandemic.
As we approach Christmas and the festive holiday period, it is important to acknowledge that this period of time is going to be different for many of us. Those of us who are used to large family celebrations and parties with friends may find ourselves struggling – and that can have an impact on our wellbeing. In an attempt to tackle this, we are launching a Christmas-inspired hashtag with the aim of bringing Jurassic fans together this Christmas.
Cretaceous Christmas will be a hashtag which people can use to celebrate, but we are also going to put together a Christmas video of positive messages we can share with other Jurassic fans on Christmas Day. We will be collecting submissions for this up until the 18th of December via the e-mail address [email protected].
For more details on how this project will work, you can watch the video below:
2020 has been a difficult and challenging year – but we all have the power to make a difference, and to do something positive this Christmas period. Get involved, share in the festive season with other Jurassic fans, and let’s make sure that nobody in our community has to celebrate Christmas alone this year.
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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jurassicparkpodcast · 6 years
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A Look at the Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary Blu Ray Boxset!
2018 has been a great year for Jurassic Park fans – with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom fast approaching, and the Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary celebrations in full swing! We have events, merchandise, celebrations and so much more to look forward to – in addition to a slew of DVD releases! One such release, the Jurassic Park 25th Anniversary Blu Ray boxset, includes some exciting new concept artwork from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Friends of mine Dan (@dyingcorpse123 on Twitter) and his partner Léyla were lucky enough to get their hands on the beautiful new boxset a day before its release, and they have shared the artwork with the Jurassic fandom for all to see. Check out the below concept art – but be warned, it may contain spoilers for the upcoming movie!
Our first piece of concept artwork features something very like the most recent trailer – the Indoraptor being auctioned off in a room full of bidders.  The composition of this shot is very close to what we see in the final piece – with everything from the guards to the cage looking incredibly like the result. I’m excited to get a visual idea of how this artwork evolved into the final film. Next up, we have a look at the abandoned Jurassic World – and this shot, again, echoes much of what we see in the third trailer. Everything – from the Innovation Center to the Monorail, appears to be overgrown and in a state of disrepair. Here, very similarly to the final trailer, we see a collapsed monorail track – but it is also super cool to see the hotel structure descending into a state of disrepair as it begins to tumble inwards. Everything here looks super unique – and it is impressive how close the final piece matches up to the concept art envisioned beforehand.
We then, again, get a shot very like the final trailer – of the Mosasaur leaping out of the water to attack a person on a rope as they desperately attempt to escape to the helicopter above. It is, again, interesting to see the similarities here associated with the final content – although there are some clear distinctions hear such as the nature of the shot, the character’s apparel. The T-Rex in the backdrop is a nice touch here, and it helps us piece together what we all already believe may be happening within this sequence. I’m excited to see how the final composition comes together on our screens in just a few short weeks! And lastly, we have a lava-centric sequence which appears to represent Claire and either Owen or Franklin escaping from what we can assume is the Baryonyx. The Baryonyx looks funky here, but the artwork itself is very vibrant – looking very like the final location we see within the film and perhaps suggesting how our heroes may escape what seems to be certain peril.
So, overall, these are some cool pieces of artwork which emulate the final film we have seen nicely! I’m super excited to get my hands on these pieces of artwork – and I am excited to see how they transfer into the final film. Thanks once again to Dan and Léyla for sharing these awesome pieces of artwork – I think I speak for all when I say we appreciate it!
Check back here very soon for more awesome Jurassic content.
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jurassicparkpodcast · 3 years
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Halloween Special 2020!
Welcome to The Jurassic Park Podcast! In this special episode, we present our Halloween Special for 2020! What a year it's been, so let's sit back, relax and enjoy this Halloween treat! Today we'll hear from Brad, Tom Fishenden, Jaye Jurassick, James Hawkins and Steve Hurrell! Let's hope everyone made it out alive.
This Episode’s Contributors
Tom Fishenden
James Hawkins
Jaye Jurassick
Steve Hurrell
Brad Jost
Be sure to check out all their links and work by clicking through!
Don't forget to give our voicemail line a call at 732-825-7763!
Share this post and comment below! Enjoy.
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jurassicparkpodcast · 4 years
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Jurassic World Dominion Delayed To June 10th 2022 | Thoughts From @Tom_Jurassic
Today, the official Jurassic World account announced that Jurassic World Dominion’s 2021 release has been delayed to June 10th, 2022.
The delay was announced in the form of a brand-new poster for the upcoming movie, featuring the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex skull in what appears to be a cracked and broken ball of amber not too dis-similar to the Amber seen atop John Hammond’s cane in the original Jurassic Park. The design language here is certainly a clear nod to the visual language of the classic films – and does a lot to lend towards the idea that this film will, indeed, play heavily with the idea of nostalgia for the original trilogy we have all grown to know and love.
Colin Trevorrow shared a short and heartfelt message with fans on Twitter:
"“For the past three months, I’ve worked with an extraordinary cast and crew on a film we can’t wait to share with the world. Even though we'll have to wait a bit longer, it will all be worth it. Let’s stay healthy and take care of each other until then.”"
His short message is a reminder of the strange world we find ourselves in currently – and it also fills us with hope for the future. This film is a celebration of this franchise, so it is only fitting that we all have the opportunity to celebrate it together – whether it be through face-to-face events, watch parties, or premieres. We are hopeful that the move will give our community the opportunity to experience this special endcap to Colin’s trilogy together – as was always intended.
We know that the gap left in the year that follows will be difficult for some, so we wanted to take a moment to remind you of the strength of this community. Let’s use the year we have now been afforded to have meaningful conversations about the franchise we love. Let’s share opinions (respectfully, of course!), make artwork, create videos, and let’s continue to build a community with a rich love for dinosaurs. The Jurassic Park community is so much more than one film – or a group of films. It is a group of fans with a love for all things dinosaur, and that is a love which we will all get to share in June of 2022.
For now, enjoy the new poster – and remember – stay safe, stay Jurassic!
While on the topics, don’t miss Brad’s YouTube Live Stream on the topic of Jurassic World: Dominion’s delay. Brad theorized on 2021 and what the move means for the franchise.
You can also check out some thoughts on the announcement via The Jurassic Park Podcast on the bonus episode!
Written by: Tom Fishenden
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