Jurassic Fight Club

Jurassic Fight Club
Narrated by	Erik Thompson
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	12
Production
Running time	45 minutes
Original release
Network	History Channel
Release	July 29 (2008-07-29) – October 22, 2008 (2008-10-22)

Jurassic Fight Club (titled Dinosaur Secrets in Australia and the United Kingdom) is a paleontology-based television miniseries on the History Channel which premiered in the United States in July 2008. Jurassic Fight Club was hosted by George Blasing, a self-taught paleontologist, and also features well-known paleontologists such as Thomas R. Holtz Jr., Philip J. Currie, Lawrence Witmer, and others. The show ran for one season of 12 episodes and was not renewed.

Summary

Scientists study the battles of prehistoric creatures, such as dinosaurs, before they became extinct. Each episode features a forensic-styled breakdown of a prehistoric battle. Based on fossil evidence and paleontologic analysis, a computer-generated imagery rendering of the battle, based on the evidence and the imagination of George Blasing (the show's host) is the final act of each episode. In most cases, the battles are based on actual fossil finds, although in several episodes, scientists simply put two contemporaneous prehistoric animals, against each other. It is the second most-watched show on paleontology beaten only by Walking with Dinosaurs, has been quite controversial but has become very popular, for various show reasons.

Episodes

No.	Title	Featuring	Original Air Date	Location and time period
1	"Cannibal Dinosaur"	Male Majungasaurus vs. Female Majungasaurus	29 July 2008 (2008-07-29)	Madagascar, 70 mya (Late Cretaceous)
A male Majungasaurus enters the territory of an aggressive female Majungasaurus in an attempt to mate with her. He tries to woo her, but soon realizes she is a mother protecting her offspring; he has to kill it to make her receptive. Noticing his change in behavior, the female charges the male, but the male pushes her aside. The male rushes towards the baby, but the mother deflects his course with a headbutt. The male makes two more attempts on the baby’s life, but the female thwarts both his advances. The male attempts to lure the female away from her baby with several mock charges; eventually, she trips on a log. While she is on the ground, the male kills her baby with his jaws. Suddenly, the female grabs him by the neck and crushes the vertebrae with a powerful bite. The male drops the baby as he slumps to ground paralyzed. Upon realizing that her baby is dead, the female eats both it and the male to replenish her energy.
2	"T-Rex Hunter"	Tyrannosaurus vs. Nanotyrannus	5 August 2008 (2008-08-05)	South Dakota, 65 mya (Late Cretaceous)
A male Nanotyrannus enters the nesting area of two juvenile Tyrannosaurus to kill them while their parents are away hunting. Instinctively, the juveniles recognize him as a threat and face him off. One of them leaps at their attacker, but the Nanotyrannus grabs him behind the neck and throws him across the forest floor. The remaining juvenile roars for help; the Nanotyrannus has to kill it before the adult Tyrannosaurus return. He uses his greater fighting experience to overwhelm its young victim. As he moves in for the kill, the other juvenile recovers and bites the Nanotyrannus in his left leg. The Nanotyrannus retaliates, making sure to kill it this time. He prepares to finish off the surviving juvenile, but the mother Tyrannosaurus returns and gets between them. The Nanotyrannus tries to outflank the mother to reach her baby, but gets knocked back and bitten. Exhausted and wounded, he collapses. The adult female scoops him up her jaws and crushes him to death. She then rips his body apart to use as a warning to future threats.
3	"Gang Killers"	Deinonychus vs. Tenontosaurus	12 August 2008 (2008-08-12)	Montana, 115 mya (Early Cretaceous)
A herd of Tenontosaurus migrates across rocky terrain, unaware they are being watched by a pack of Deinonychus. Once they single out the weakest member, the raptors isolate him by scaring the rest of his herd away. The pack viciously tears into their prey, but the Tenontosaurus fights back. When he kills two Deinonychus, the rest of the pack retreats, allowing the large herbivore to find cover in a grove of trees. Later that night, the raptors track down the Tenontosaurus by following his blood trail, using a thunderstorm to conceal their approach. Using a raised ridge as a leaping platform, the pack launches its final assault. They grab onto their prey, slicing him open with their sickle claws. As the assault continues, the Tenontosaurus kills four more raptors, but he eventually falls unconscious. The alpha male finishes him off with a neck bite, and the rest of the pack fights to get access to the best parts of the carcass.
4	"Bloodiest Battle"	Allosaurus vs. Ceratosaurus vs. Stegosaurus vs. Camarasaurus	19 August 2008 (2008-08-19)	Utah, 150 mya (Late Jurassic)
A mother Stegosaurus and her baby approach a lake to drink when they become stuck in mud. The sounds of their struggling attracts a Ceratosaurus, who eats the baby Stegosaurus alive. The smell of blood attracts a trio of Allosaurus; two of them confront the Ceratosaurus head on, allowing the third to catch it off-guard by ramming into it from the flank and crushing its neck. The pack prepares to kill the living adult Stegosaurus, but she kills one of them with a strike of her spiked tail. Meanwhile, a large bull Camarasaurus has approached the lake and gets stuck as well. The two remaining Allosaurus decide to go after him instead. They take up position on either side of the large sauropod and cut into his thick flesh. The Camarasaurus swings his tail into one of the Allosaurus, killing it near instantly. The momentum frees the Camarasaurus's front legs and allows him to rear up and crush the last surviving Allosaurus. Stuck in the mud once again, the Camarasaurus dies alongside the Stegosaurus in a slow, painful death.
5	"Deep Sea Killers"	Megalodon vs. Brygmophyseter	26 August 2008 (2008-08-26)	Japan, 15 mya (Neogene, Miocene)
A megalodon swims across the Pacific Ocean in search of food before suddenly sensing a lone Brygmophyseter. He ambushes the whale, biting off both of his fins and then tearing a huge chunk of flesh off the tail. Unable to move, the Brygmophyseter uses echolocation to call his pod for help. Picking up the signal, the lead bull rallies the rest of the pod to rescue their dispersed member. One by one, the whales ram and bite into the giant shark to drive it away. The megalodon attempts to retreat into deeper waters, but the pod stuns him with their sonar and continue their assault. When they determine the shark is no longer a threat, the Brygmophyseter return to their injured member. After trying and failing to revive him, the pod leaves and sings a sad death song for their fallen member. The megalodon hears the song and later returns to feed on the now dead whale.
6	"Hunter Becomes Hunted"	Allosaurus vs. Ceratosaurus	2 September 2008 (2008-09-02)	Colorado, 150 mya (Late Jurassic)
A mated pair of Ceratosaurus venture into unfamiliar territory to find prime hunting grounds. Unbeknownst to them, it belongs to an Allosaurus. The female Ceratosaurus hides in a dense grove of trees while her mate chases prey towards her position. As she prepares to spring, the Allosaurus swiftly ambushes and kills her. The male Ceratosaurus reaches the ambush spot, but instead of his mate, he sees the Allosaurus close in on him. The nimble Ceratosaurus uses the trees as defense, ducking in and out to attack. He slashes the Allosaurus in the face, infuriating the larger theropod. The Ceratosaurus then leaps onto the other dinosaur’s side, but gets thrown him off to the ground. The Allosaurus clamps down on the smaller theropod’s shoulder and lifts him up, shaking him in his jaws before tossing him against a tree. The victorious carnivore disembowels its victim and roars in victory.
7	"Biggest Killers"	Allosaurus, Utahraptor, Majungasaurus, Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus	9 September 2008 (2008-09-09)	(Numerous places and times)
Allosaurus, Utahraptor, Majungasaurus, Albertosaurus and Tyrannosaurus are compared to find out which was the most dangerous.
8	"Raptor's Last Stand"	Utahraptor vs. Gastonia	16 September 2008 (2008-09-16)	Utah (Early Cretaceous)
During a drought, a Gastonia scrounges a dry riverbed for water. Nearby, a scavenging Utahraptor picks up the ankylosaur’s scent and quietly sneaks up on him. Atop his spiked back, small pterosaurs alert the Gastonia to the raptor’s presence before flying away. The large raptor leaps over the Gastonia before quickly turning around and inflicting a deep wound into the ankylosaur’s side. The Utahraptor tries the same attack again, but this time the armored dinosaur deflects it with his spiked tail. The theropod gets back up, grabs the herbivore’s front leg, and rips off a huge chunk of flesh. The Utahraptor tries to do the same to the back leg, but its own leg gets caught on the spikes at the base of the Gastonia’s tail. The ankylosaur swings his tail into the raptor until it is down. Certain he is now safe, the Gastonia continues his search for water. Ultimately, the Utahraptor survived the battle, but both it and the Gastonia were claimed by the drought.
9	"Ice Age Monsters"	Short-faced bear vs. American lion	23 September 2008 (2008-09-23)	Wyoming, 10 ka (Quaternary, Late Pleistocene)
At the end of the Ice Age, a starving American lion successfully takes down a bison. As the lion feeds, an Arctodus picks up the scent of the kill and comes to steal it. He rears up on his hind legs to try and intimidate the lion, but this allows the big cat to knock him to the ground. The lion then clamps his jaws onto the bear’s back, but the bear shakes him off and regains his footing. When he tries and fails to get the bear to rear up again, the lion attacks his face. The short-faced bear strikes the big cat in the face and bites his midsection. Thinking he has won, the Arctodus turns to feed on the bison, but large lion gets up and tackles him. The big cat attempts a throat bite, but the bear throws him off. With the last of his strength, the lion knocks the bear backwards and bites down on his throat. The short-faced bear regains his footing and throws the big lion into a pit cave where he falls to his death.
10	"River of Death"	Pachyrhinosaurus vs. Albertosaurus	30 September 2008 (2008-09-30)	Alberta, 70 mya (Late Cretaceous)
A pair of Albertosaurus stalk a herd of Pachyrhinosaurus preparing to migrate south for the winter. Alerted to the their presence, the Pachyrhinosaurus take up a defensive formation and scan the forest for their unseen attacker. Realizing the herd is aware of them, the Albertosaurus leave their hiding positions and chase the centrosaurs to the edge of a flooding river. The tyrannosaurs make mock charges to panic the group. When a Pachyrhinosaurus breaks ranks and runs, one Albertosaurus goes after it. Once its cornered, the lone centrosaur takes the defensive; it stabs the tyrannosaur’s leg, but fails to penetrate the bone. Soon after, the Albertosaurus takes down its prey with a neck bite. Meanwhile, the other Albertosaurus successfully pushes the herd back far enough that they fall into the river and drown. When the bodies come to a bend in the river, the momentum of the water pushes them to the outer edge of the band where they pile up en masse. When the floodwaters recede, the Albertosaurus gorges on the carcasses.
11	"Raptors vs. T-Rex"	Edmontosaurus vs. Dromaeosaurus vs. Tyrannosaurus	7 October 2008 (2008-10-07)	South Dakota, 65 mya (Late Cretaceous)
An Edmontosaurus becomes separated from his herd. As he searches for others of his kind, the hadrosaur wanders into the territory of a pack of Dromaeosaurus. Angered by the intrusion, the alpha female orders her pack to attack. The raptors leap onto the Edmontosaurus, inflicting several small wounds with their claws. The Edmontosaurus rears on his hind legs and crushes a Dromaeosaurus with his forelegs, but the pack continues the assault. Eventually, the hadrosaur makes a run for the open plain, but the frenzied raptors drive him into an area that works to their advantage. Eventually, the alpha female inflicts a deep enough wound into the Edmontosaurus’s throat that he collapses dead. As the pack begins to feast, a Tyrannosaurus appears, having been attracted by the sounds of battle. The apex predator rips off the hadrosaur’s tail, leaving it for the Dromaeosaurus as he carries off the rest of the body.
12	"Armageddon"	(Numerous species)	22 October 2008 (2008-10-22)	(Numerous places), 65 mya (Late Cretaceous)
The extinction of the dinosaurs is explained.

Inaccuracies

Jurassic Fight Club is often criticized for its portrayal of prehistoric life. All the carnivores are portrayed as having insatiable appetites and always fighting each other to the death, which rarely happens in nature. Conversely, nearly all herbivores are easy for the predators to kill, even when they reasonably could defend themselves.

Like other documentaries focusing on prehistoric life, Jurassic Fight Club contains scientific errors and outdated information. While some of this is the result of new discoveries during and after release, some inaccuracies were known even at the time. The show also often presents fringe theories and fabricated information as indisputable fact.

The theropods have errors common in other dinosaur documentaries of the time; minimal soft tissue restoration, pronated wrists, mammalian roars, and practically no feathering. With the exception of Utahraptor, dromaeosaurs are depicted as pack hunters with a dominance hierarchy, launching coordinated attacks using their sickle claws to slash and disembowel prey.

Specific errors

• At the time of production, Majungatholus was the name given to the abelisaurid from Madagascar, but by the time of broadcast, the name had been determined to be a more modern synonym for Majungasaurus.
• The young Tyrannosaurus in the documentary are depicted as smaller versions of the adults, when they would have looked more like the Nanotyrannus at that point in their lives. Furthermore, they are depicted without feathers, when they likely would have had them before molting upon reaching maturity.
• The unidentified pterosaur in the episode "Raptor's Last Stand" is a scaled-down model of Quetzalcoatlus. However, the episode takes place in the Early Cretaceous, when Azhdarchids did not appear until the Late Cretaceous.
• The Pachyrhinosaurus in the series is depicted with a rhinoceros-like horn on its head; however, current evidence suggests that the structure was a large bony mass, but that is because experts at the time believed it had a keratin horn like rhinoceroses and therefore did not fossilize.
• In the episode "Raptors vs. T. rex ", it is stated that the Tyrannosaurus "burst onto the earth 90 million years ago, and ruled planet Earth for the next 25 million years", when in fact the oldest T. rex dates back 69 million years and went extinct along with the other dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

Turf Wars

The Jurassic Fight Club game, Turf Wars was a fighting game that could be found on history.com but is no longer available. You could play as one of six dinosaurs, skills are used to defeat the other five. Cheat codes can make players invincible, access special attacks, etc. These dinosaurs are featured in battle order with their own status:

Dinosaur	Offense	Defense	Speed
Female Majungasaurus	4	7	8
Male Majungasaurus	5	8	4
Tyrannosaurus	10	9	8
Stegosaurus	9	10	4
Utahraptor	10	8	6
Pachyrhinosaurus	8	8	8