'Prehistoric Planet' packs a BBC nature series with plenty of dino might

In a bit of engineering fit for "Jurassic Park," "Prehistoric Planet" weds BBC nature documentaries-- complete with narrator extraordinaire David Attenborough -- with the dinosaur era and conceives a fascinating hybrid, one that doesn't require waiting around to capture footage but creates it using state-of-the-art imaging technology. The result is a five-part Apple TV+ series packed with plenty of dino might.

Set 66 million years ago, as Attenborough explains, the production leverages everything we've learned about dinosaurs to craft narratives that follow the template of traditional nature fare. So viewers get to see these extinct creatures as behaving like animals, not monsters, as mothers protect their young from predators, males battle for territorial and mating rights and other circle-of-life moments, only here created in a computer, not filmed in the wild.

Counting "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau among its producers and boasting a score courtesy of composer Hans Zimmer, the production possesses the look and feel of a theatrical blockbuster, with an educational component woven throughout it. (Each episode directs the audience to a web site for more information about that night's tales.)