The Future Is Wild

"200 MILLION YEARS IN THE FUTURE."

The Future Is Wild was a 2002 thirteen-part documentary television miniseries. Based on research and interviews with several scientists, the miniseries shows how life could evolve in the future if Homo sapiens left the earth. The version broadcast on the Discovery Channel modified this premise, supposing instead that the human race had completely abandoned the Earth and had sent back probes to examine the progress of life on the planet. The show took the form of a nature documentary.

The miniseries was released with a companion book written by geologist Dougal Dixon, the author of several "anthropologies and zoologies of the future", in conjunction with natural history television producer John Adams. For a time in 2005, a theme park based on this program was opened in Japan. In 2008 a special on the Discovery Channel about the development of the video game Spore was combined with airings of The Future Is Wild.

A film version of the series was picked up by Warner Bros.

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Created By

Pierre de Lespinois

Status

Ended

Original Name

The Future Is Wild

First Air Date

April 2, 2002

Last Air Date

June 25, 2002

Seasons

Episodes

Language

English

Production Companies

Networks

Animal Planet

S01E13

The Tentacled Forest

The episode is set in the northern forest, 200 million years into the future. At this point in the future, there are no mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians. There are very few fish. The episode focuses on five species: (1) Lichen Trees, a group of species evolved from simple lichens. Some species are small bushes while others are giant tree like creatures. (2) Forest Flish, a smaller species of flish with hooks for feet so it can hang upside down on tree branches to rest. (3) Megasquid, a five-metre-tall (16 ft) squid with rhino-like skin and three-metre tentacles which patrols the forest. Its eight boneless legs are packed with muscles that act like bones. (4) Squibbon, an arboreal species of squid that swing through trees and have stereoscopic vision. The Squibbon could well be the next sapient life on the planet and create new civilization. (5) Slithersucker, an arboreal species of giant slime mold. Predatory by nature and reproduces by taking control of huge Megasquids.

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