Dinosaurs Get Fleshed Out

In 1993's groundbreaking Jurassic Park, several unfortunate souls (Samuel L. Jackson! Newman! That whiny accountant guy on the john!) got to see the inside of a dinosaur ... the hard way.

But on Discovery Channel's new show Clash of the Dinosaurs, you get to see them from the inside out, and thankfully, live to talk about it.

Here's the official word on the show:

Dinosaurs were the ultimate prehistoric survival machines, ruling the earth for 120 Million years.  Until now we’ve seen them as skeletons and robotic models. Dino Body takes a new look at dinosaurs -- from the inside out. Combining cinematic photo-real 3D graphics and leading-edge anatomy and paleontology, we peel back their skin, their muscles, even their brains to reveal the unique inner workings of the greatest beasts that ever lived.  Hidden inside dino bodies are the anatomical secrets to surviving prehistoric Planet Earth for millions of years. 

I've been looking at these prehistoric beasts for so long as static skeletons in museums, that I forget that they were living creatures that breathed, ate and fought.

There's several clips of the special online already. One shows a battle royale between a triceratops (described colorfully as a white rhino on steroids) and everyone's favorite carnivore, T-Rex.

The fight is unreal. Remember Rocky III? Like that, except picture Rocky with 3-foot horns on his head and Mr. T with tiny arms and a huge mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth. Rocky wins, with a jab to the eye. Ouch.

Another clip goes inside the head of the gigantic Sauroposeidon - the tallest land animal in the history of the world - to reveal a brain the size ... of a 4 oz. cheeseburger. "Dumb as a fence post," is how one scientist describes, noting that its cerebrum is hardly developed, meaning that it had no strategic thinking. I can think of some humans that might have a lot in common with Sauroposeidon.

There's CGI that goes inside a T-Rex's shnoz - you're looking the way the dinosaur would sniff out its next meal, or pick up the scent of its young. Or inside a T-Rex egg, revealing a developing embryo. 

The four-part special premiers on Sunday, Dec. 6 @ 8 p.m. on Discovery Channel.