Steve O'Shea said:
Boy, am I feeling poked and proded. Have checked out the site and ja, I'd say that was the one (I've seen that animatic squid before .... somewhere .... seems like a long time ago now). Quite an interesting animatic where Jeff gets eaten by the squid, except I don't believe
Architeuthis propels its tentacles out like that, or hovers horizontally in the water column. That's alright - I'll turn a blind eye until someone gets the
in situ imagery to prove it one way or the other.
Hope I get a copy soon; would appreciate hearing what you all thought of it.
Cheers
O
(now I'm going back to my hibernation, until the next time I'm poked from slumber
)
Hey Steve-O', the show aired on ANIMAL PLANET last night -- twice in a row! It was two hours long and lots of fun. In fact my son (who usually could care less about zoology and nature shows) watched the whole show with us and actually enjoyed it. So it appears that the impressive computer animations had their desired effect of generating interest among a wider audience than the usual AP geeks (like Richard and me).
As for us old farts, we found the real-life animals just as fascinating as the animated "monsters". One of my favorite parts was the two-toed sloth cuddled up around Jeff's chest like a furry reversed backpack -- just made me want to reach into the TV and hug that funny-looking li'l sweetie (the sloth, not Jeff
) Plus the pregnant Goliath tarantula was amazing -- I've seen photos and models of bird-eaters, but never a live one before. After watching it crawl on Jeff's hand (which was actually too small to accommodate its bulk), the animated Megarachnids were almost a letdown.
The Archi segment really was well-done, though I agree they did play up the "man-eater" stereotype a bit too much. I guess that's another semi-justifiable stretching of the truth in order to keep the viewers' interest. As you said, the horizontal stance and the cuttlefish-style attack are also permissible until proved conclusively otherwise. Anyway, that simulated head-on beak shot was pretty awesome -- and the lead-in with the calamari-eating scene was funny and clever.
I remember, throughout my childhood, that T-Rexes were portrayed on film as predators who dragged their tails. Now they are more accurately portrayed as scavengers who keep their tails in the air horizontally for balance. So I assume the same improved accuracy will occur with Archis as popular imagery gradually catches up with scientific research.
The only real disappointment was at the end when they neglected to list your name in the credits as a scientific advisor. I think we should all write a nasty letter of protest, threatening to boycott ANIMAL PLANET forever, or at least until the next episode of "The Planet's Funniest Animals" is on.
OK, now you can go back to your lair "until the latter fire shall heat the deep". We'll wake you when the next Archi washes up on the message board....
Tani the Terrible
and a six-pack of 
