Paleoworld
Paleoworld is an American documentary television series that aired on The Learning Channel from 1994 to 1999. The series focused on paleontology and comprised 50 half-hour episodes spread over four seasons. It was the first multi-season television series dedicated to paleontology. Clips from the series were frequently used within other paleontology programs aired by the Discovery Channel and other channels owned by the Discovery Network.
Reception
Season 1 featured a smooth style and was narrated by Ben Gazzara. This series had many musical scenes, and some considered the show calm and relaxing; it also used much more paleoart than later series. Season 2 and Season 3 lost the musical element, which resulted in a more conventional-style nature documentary. Even so, Seasons 2 and 3 were still perceived as maintaining the quality standard. For Season 4, the series changed narrators again, and viewers felt that the show suffered a drop in quality, shifting from being musical and calm, to full-on and repetitive. Consequently, Season 4 was cancelled mid-season, and the series was ended.Spin-offs
In July 1997, a kid-friendly version of the show called Bonehead Detectives of the Paleoworld, hosted by Rebecca Budig and Danny Tamberelli, aired as a part of Discovery Channel's "Discovery Kids" slot on Sunday mornings. It lasted for only one season, and it consisted of just 18 episodes.In August 1999, TLC aired the 6-episode mini-series When Dinosaurs Ruled, hosted by Jeff Goldblum. This was a Paleoworld spin-off which combined clips from older Paleoworld episodes along with segments describing new discoveries.