Original subtitles

Earth,

sixty-six million years ago.

During the great reign of the dinosaurs.

Majestic creatures.

Giants and monsters

that can often seem more imagined than real.

Including…

…this Pachycephalosaurus.

He's an old alpha male,

eager to get back to his harem of females.

But something's caught their attention.

A rival male.

If the alpha doesn't get there, he may lose them to the intruder.

There's just one problem.

There's a herd of giants in his way.

But holding on to his family

is all that matters.

He'll risk his life to reach them.

He may have survived the crossing,

but the battle has just begun.

The trespasser is younger, stronger, and more aggressive.

And he won't surrender these females…

…without a fight.

Their four-inch-thick skulls are designed for a brutal style of combat.

Neither side is backing down.

This time,

the alpha is hurt.

Dazed and fading fast, his hold on his family is slipping away.

Sensing his weakness,

the intruder prepares for a finishing blow.

But in the world of Tyrannosaurus rex…

…the only battle that counts is for survival.

This is the age of the dinosaurs.

This is the story of the dinosaurs

as it has never been told before.

It takes place in a world lost to time.

Long before the infamous asteroid.

Millions and millions of years in the past.

On a planet that looks nothing like it does today.

Where extraordinary beasts clash…

…and struggle to survive.

And where Earth's violent forces…

…determine their fates.

The story begins 235 million years ago…

in an era known as the Triassic…

where a twist of evolution will change the course of history.

The supercontinent of Pangaea.

A single immense landmass that stretches from pole to pole.

Its vast desert interior

is more like the surface of Mars…

than planet Earth.

Temperatures here are brutally hot.

In some places, it hasn't rained in thousands of years.

But there is something far worse than the heat.

Sandstorms.

Few creatures can survive in a world this extreme.

But not all of Pangaea is a desert wasteland.

Along its fringes,

the warm, lush coastlines are the perfect place

for life to thrive.

This is a time long before the age of the dinosaurs.

It is the age of the ancient reptiles.

Like Tanystropheus…

a six-meter-long nightmare that stalks the shallow sea.

And Rhynchosaurs,

one of the most successful reptiles in all of Pangaea.

To each other…

…they're brutes and bullies.

But to this reptile,

they're just the terrified locals.

Luperosuchus,

the four-meter-long apex predator of his time.

But he's not here for the Rhynchosaurs.

He's sniffed out an easier target.

A clutch of eggs.

Very special eggs.

Because growing inside them are the very first of their kind.

A baby Marasuchus.

She weighs no more than a mouse.

But she makes up for it,

because she has a set of skills

that sets her apart from the ancient reptiles.

Including the remarkable ability

to stand on two legs, not just four.

She also has advanced lungs and lighter bones.

Adaptations that give these little hatchlings

an invaluable gift.

They are born to run.

And in this day and age, they need to.

Their only hope is to find a place to hide.

Easier said than done when you've hatched into hell.

All her siblings are gone.

The survival of her bloodline is now hanging by a thread.

But thanks to her,

it's still intact.

Which is vital

because her descendants

are the dinosaurs.

One year later, Marasuchus is now fully grown.

But when you're the size of a pigeon in a land of monsters,

you're still just prey.

Now, Marasuchus must make it through another night.

It's critical,

because if this dinosaur-in-the-making doesn't survive,

her family tree could be cut down before it even takes root.

She's picked up a scent.

Something worthy of her bloodline.

A Rhynchosaur carcass.

But it's already been claimed…

…by her old nemesis,

Luperosuchus.

This is his kill.

And he does not intend to share.

But as night approaches…

temperatures start to drop.

The colder it gets, the drowsier the giant reptile becomes.

Meanwhile, the warmer-blooded Marasuchus has a feathery fuzz that keeps her cozy.

The perfect attire for a daring heist.

If she plays it right…

she may just get her moonlit dinner for one.

A feast

fit for a dinosaur.

Marasuchus has great potential.

She's adaptable, with traits that make her special.

But if the dinosaurs are to challenge the ancient reptiles,

it will take more than skills.

It will take a powerful ally.

The Earth itself.

A million years later…

in the far north of Pangaea,

the darkest forces of nature are awakening.

A series of volcanic eruptions

is creating a catastrophe.

One that will alter the fate of the dinosaurs.

But the danger is not the lava.

It's a gas.

Carbon dioxide.

Filling the skies and warming the planet.

The rising temperatures

cause a massive surge in ocean evaporation.

Huge storm clouds descend on the continent of Pangaea.

But this will be no ordinary rainfall.

It sweeps across the globe…

carving vast rivers

into the once dry continent.

Known as the Carnian Pluvial Event…

this series of storms will be the longest downpour in history,

lasting more than a million years.

When the rains finally do subside,

Pangaea emerges transformed.

A world reborn.

What were endless deserts are now forests.

New lands that will help set the course for the rise of the dinosaurs.

But first, the reptile empire must falter.

The air in these woods is thick with the smell of tree resin.

Nature is unforgiving here.

The once prosperous plant-eating reptiles

are on the decline.

Not only is this Rhynchosaur alone…

…she's starving.

In this new world of towering trees…

the low-lying plants that once allowed her species to thrive…

have all but disappeared.

She won't survive if she can't reach her food.

And she has a more immediate problem than hunger.

A relative of the fearsome Luperosuchus.

For these reptilian carnivores,

this is a time of great opportunity.

Unlike the nimble Marasuchus, she's slow…

…weak,

vulnerable.

The Rhynchosaurs were once among the most successful

of the plant-eating reptiles.

Now, their extinction is just a matter of time.

As the kingdom of the ancient reptiles begins to fracture…

…another kind of animal is on the rise.

The dinosaurs.

And in this changing world, they must be adaptable.

They must evolve.

They must improve over time.

And transform in ways that will help them survive.

Finally, 12 million years after the demise of the Rhynchosaurs,

the dinosaurs can begin to come out of the shadows.

As the end of the Triassic draws near,

vast forests still dominate the land,

now more vibrant than ever.

And the dinosaurs are reaping the benefits.

Like Plateosaurus,

a dinosaur trailblazer.

This little one

and her siblings are embarking on a mission

to explore their new world

with almost no regard for the dangers it may hold.

They may not look any bigger than little Marasuchus…

but when they grow up,

they grow up bigger.

Much bigger.

They are the first dinosaurs to become gigantic.

Over seven meters long, they've come a long way

since their tiny ancestors ran for their lives.

And unlike the Rhynchosaurs,

these giants can easily reach the higher vegetation.

They even have a trick

for reaching the most tender shoots of all.

Excessive, maybe.

But worth it.

Because an adult Plateosaurus

must eat 25 kilos of plants each day.

And to wash down that much food

requires a lot of water.

It's an easy life.

But in the age of the early dinosaurs,

even a giant like Plateosaurus must be careful…

…because there is another dinosaur on the rise.

A newcomer with a taste for blood.

Procompsognathus.

A carnivore with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws.

His descendants will one day include Tyrannosaurus rex.

But for now, this angry predator…

…is only the size of a turkey.

While the matchup between these two dinosaurs

may be a little lopsided…

…it won't stay that way.

Over time, a fierce rivalry will grow between two great dinosaur clans.

The herbivores

and the carnivores.

But for the time being…

all dinosaurs are facing a much greater threat than each other.

In the water and on land,

the ancient reptiles remain top of the food chain.

The dinosaurs are growing as a force in the world,

but their rise is slow.

The planet still belongs to the reptiles.

For the dinosaurs to truly challenge them,

it will take millions of years.

Shaped by Earth's dynamic forces,

they grow fiercer,

more powerful,

more advanced.

By the end of the Triassic,

the dinosaurs are ready to flex their muscle.

But there are new creatures also vying for domination.

And in the mountains of Pangaea,

some of them have taken to the air.

Pterosaurs.

Flying reptiles with a wingspan of two meters.

And they are in total command of the Triassic skies.

These jagged peaks

are their mating grounds.

And this male has spotted a female.

First, eject the competition.

Now, it's time for the courtship to begin.

During these rituals,

the Pterosaurs are focused entirely on each other,

not their surroundings.

Which can be costly

because dinosaurs dwell in these canyons.

The largest member of the carnivore clan…

…Liliensternus.

Twice as long as a grizzly bear, with claws that can tear through flesh.

And with her finely-tuned sense of smell,

she doesn't miss a thing.

Dozens of eyes are circling above.

Even with her camouflage, one wrong move could blow her cover.

This moment marks a new chapter in the rise of the dinosaurs.

At last, they are a force to be feared.

But the commotion of her attack has attracted another predator.

The ancient reptiles have terrorized the dinosaurs from the beginning.

But that ends now.

Liliensternus won't be skulking back to the shadows.

She can hold her ground.

The trouble is,

here at the end of the Triassic,

the ground itself

is about to throw the entire dinosaur story into chaos.