Spacehamster’s Blog

With the plethora of low-budget (not to mention lowbrow) reality shows like Big Brother and Wife Swap, more educational fare is getting short shrift. So the format needs to be reinvented for an audience with shorter attention spans. ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ was one very good example - using CGI to stimulate people’s imaginations and rekindle an interest in natural science and the importance it has on our world.

The most recent example of this trend is Prehistoric Park. Unfortunately, it’s also copped a bit of flak - mostly from the grim, humorless critics and readers at London newspapers like ‘The Guardian’ or websites like the Digital Spy Forums. The biggest criticism is that children will be too stupid to realise that prehistoric animals can’t be brought forward in time to the 21st Century.

And quite frankly, if they think children are too stupid to understand that, then they’re the ones that are idiots.

When I was young, I loved watching shows like Voltron, Astroboy and Transformers. I knew it was enjoyable fiction, and I was always offended when well-meaning adults tried to convince me that it wasn’t real. Well, of course it wasn’t real, but it excited my imagination and my creativity. Docudramas like ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’ and ‘Prehistoric Park’ are far better for children than Transformers could ever be. In addition to teaching children (and hopefully Mums and Dads too) about the wonders of natural science, it also excites the imagination and creativity as well.

And in a world that is definitely lacking in any sense of wonder, creativity or imagination, programs like these are definitely sorely needed.