Netflix’s Dinosaur Docuseries Makes Glaring Errors That Can’t Be Ignored

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While Netflix’s “The Dinosaurs” is currently a very popular show, it has some noticeable flaws. As someone who loves dinosaurs and enjoys learning about them, I was excited to hear Netflix was creating a nature documentary about them, especially with Morgan Freeman narrating.

Everyone was really excited by how quickly people started talking about Steven Spielberg’s new show, The Dinosaurs. Critics loved it, giving it perfect reviews, and it immediately became one of the most popular shows online. However, I was disappointed when I finally watched it – it didn’t live up to the hype.

The series is fun to watch and looks great, though the narration sometimes feels awkward. However, it contains significant factual mistakes and omits important details, which seriously undermines its value as an educational resource.

Netflix’s The Dinosaurs Makes Glaring Scientific Errors

While The Dinosaurs aims to be a definitive source on prehistoric life, it contains noticeable mistakes, repeats old myths, and relies on information that scientists have already disproven.

Scientists now know that many dinosaurs, particularly theropods, had feathers or feather-like structures. These animals weren’t simply cold-blooded; they were mesothermic, meaning they had a mix of warm and cold-blooded characteristics. However, the Netflix series portrays dinosaurs as mostly scaly and cold-blooded, with very few feathers. Today, the debate isn’t about if dinosaurs had feathers, but rather which dinosaurs had them.

The documentary The Dinosaurs suggests pterosaurs were overtaken by birds, highlighting a larger problem with the series. It incorrectly implies that evolution means things are always getting more complex and ‘better.’ This idea of evolutionary superiority isn’t accurate – evolution isn’t a simple progression from ‘lower’ to ‘higher’ life forms.

Evolution doesn’t happen with a specific goal in mind, and it’s not a process of becoming ‘better’ or more advanced. Natural selection doesn’t create perfect organisms; it simply favors traits that allow creatures to survive well enough in their surroundings. Also, evolution isn’t always beneficial – processes like genetic drift can sometimes be harmful to a species.

Netflix’s The Dinosaurs doesn’t serve viewers well by repeating this misconception, and it’s particularly annoying how the show portrays evolution as if it’s a conscious entity with its own intentions.

The show keeps presenting dinosaurs and reptiles as different groups, even though dinosaurs are a type of reptile. It also incorrectly claims it rained continuously for over a million years during a period called the Carnian Pluvial Episode. While it was likely rainier then, it definitely didn’t rain non-stop for that entire time.

The film also has a few minor inaccuracies. For example, it depicts Pachycephalosaurus head-butting, which scientists still debate actually happened. Additionally, the way it portrays extinction is too simple – it shows the dinosaurs abruptly appearing in a new setting, rather than illustrating the gradual environmental changes that occurred over time.

The Dinosaurs Frivolously Mixes Together Speculation & Facts

One problem with The Dinosaurs is its failure to clearly separate guesswork from established facts. We have a good understanding of many dinosaurs – their size, habitat, how they moved, and diet, as well as details like their nesting habits. This knowledge comes from studying their fossils, and The Dinosaur does include a lot of this factual information.

Some things, like what dinosaurs sounded like, are impossible to know for sure. So, filmmakers often have to make educated guesses based on available evidence. For example, while unique features might suggest how dinosaurs attracted mates, the show doesn’t explain how they determined what those behaviors actually were.

Okay, so we know what dinosaurs ate, but figuring out how they hunted? That’s still a big mystery. Scientists are piecing things together – looking at footprints, bite marks, trying to figure out who was a lone hunter and who worked as a team. But honestly, the documentary The Dinosaurs just completely skips over explaining how we actually know any of this. It presents these hunting behaviors as fact without ever showing us the evidence or the reasoning behind them, which is a pretty big oversight, in my opinion.

The concept of “alpha” Pachycephalosaurus battling for groups of females likely comes from movies and popular science, not solid evidence. While we know some dinosaurs built nests, guessing about how they raised their young is just speculation. Similarly, the idea of sharks using dead fish as bait is an interesting possibility, but it remains a theory.

The problem with this documentary is that it presents information as definite truth without offering any proof. While most dinosaur documentaries use some imagination to cover gaps in knowledge, this Netflix documentary should have been more upfront about what was speculation and what was based on evidence.

It’s unrealistic to expect most Netflix viewers to know enough about dinosaurs to separate what’s true from what’s just guesswork. While some people are dinosaur experts or enthusiasts, most viewers likely don’t have that level of knowledge, so the show shouldn’t rely on it.

Netflix’s Dinosaur Docuseries Leaves Out Important Information

The series could have explained evolution and extinction in more detail, as some key information was missing. For example, it didn’t mention the idea that dinosaurs might have actually shortened the lifespans of mammals. While the filmmakers likely wanted to avoid a dry, academic tone, leaving out these details ultimately made the series less informative and impactful.

The documentary skips over the actual names of many dinosaurs, and it misses a chance to explain how the Plateosaurus connects to the larger sauropod family. It also spends time talking about a relative of the stegosaurus without ever identifying what dinosaur it is. These omissions are simple fixes that would have significantly improved the educational quality of Netflix’s The Dinosaurs.

The Dinosaurs Is Best Seen As An Introduction For Kids & Casual Dinosaur Fans

Despite its flaws, Netflix’s The Dinosaurs has some positive qualities. The show isn’t entirely inaccurate, and it’s visually impressive with well-done narration and directing. Because of this, it’s better to view The Dinosaurs as an entertaining show rather than a strictly educational documentary.

This series is great for kids who are new to dinosaurs, and it’s also perfect for anyone who just wants to enjoy these amazing creatures without getting bogged down in details. As a kid, I would have been completely captivated, and while it’s not quite as impressive now, it’s still a really fun and engaging family show if you don’t mind that it’s not entirely accurate. Netflix’s The Dinosaurs is a perfect, lighthearted watch for the whole family.

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2026-03-13 05:09