If they released a pure cartoon cut with the narration and other extras edited out, I’d buy it. And place it on the animation shelf next to Rango. As it is, I’m not sure if I want to watch another whole episode.

Great. Way to leave us with basic cable out in the cold.

Having re-watched some of the segments a handful of times, though, I must say the animation for the first episode was indeed horribly bad at places. The animals just slid across the terrain, almost every jump seemed to be defying the laws of physics, and the interaction with the environment was pitiful. In a way, these reminded me of the primitive animations I once tried to make, only that, you know, I made those in like three days, not three years.

But this just made watching the second episode more of a visual delight.

It needed more Miragaia and Octávio Mateus though.

Yet the colors were reasonable too. I liked the seductive tail-tip fans on Eoraptor females and the gorgeous plumage on the bigger raptor – it reminded me of some bird of paradise mating sequences and was thoroughly splendid.

Most of the critique is that it’s mislabeled as revolutionary science rather than a dinosaur tribute. I was itching for one, really liked it and enjoyed it despite those flaws.

What I’d love to see in this vein is someone to turn “Raptor Red” into either a full length movie or a TV miniseries. The story was strong and brilliant, it could be done with a little narration and stay true to the feel of the book. Obviously there’d be some changes in how the Utahraptors and others are presented, plumage could be added to update it. I trust Professor Bakker to be up to date enough that he could work on the project and keep it true to the science as well as the story.