Animal Face-Off
Animal Face-Off | |
---|---|
Directed by | Malcolm Hall |
Narrated by | Scott Dreier |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 30 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) |
Andrew Waterworth Michael Stedman |
Producer(s) | Nick Bleszynski |
Running time | 60/120 minutes |
Release | |
Original network | Discovery Channel |
Original release | March 21 – September 12, 2004 ; Present (Hispanic America) |
Animal Face-Off is a television program that aired on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet in 2004.[1]
Synopsis
This program, produced by NHNZ, centers on hypothetical battles between two animals that could meet in the wild, or, in some cases, have been compared to each other by scientists. CGI replicas and models were used to collect data (such as strength, bite force, etc.) about the animals. Then, in a virtual arena, a brief computer-animated fight scene reveals the results. Some people have declared this show similar to the hit Spike TV show Deadliest Warrior. Since the fights are created artificially, results in real life may vary. Each episode of Animal Face-Off is 1 hour long, with the exception of the 12th episode, which is 2 hours long
Series overview
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Season premiere | Season finale | |||
1 | 12 | March 21, 2004 | September 12, 2004 |
Episodes
No. | Animals | Location | Winner |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Saltwater Crocodile vs. Great White Shark" | Northern Australian Coast | Great White Shark |
Glut, a great white shark is roaming close to shore, looking for food; Makuu, a saltwater crocodile swims nearby, looking for a new territory. Glut hits Makuu with the bump-and-bite technique. Accustomed to defending himself against rivals, the croc bites the shark′s tail but can′t get a good grip. Glut swims off and makes a wide turn for a full-on assault; all of a sudden, Makuu gets the first bite on his pectoral fin. The bite tears off Glut′s fin, helped by the classic death roll. Despite the injury, Glut is still strong. Then, Glut and Makuu collide head on; the croc grabs hold of the shark′s snout with his crushing bite. This time, the shark can′t fight back; the croc attempts another death roll. After that, they both sink. Running out of air, Makuu breaks the death roll and heads straight to the surface. Glut takes advantage of him; with the croc′s soft underbelly exposed, he comes back with a textbook attack, killing Makuu with a powerful bite. | |||
2 | "African Bush Elephant vs. Southern White Rhinoceros" | Serengeti National Park | Elephant |
In the African Serengeti, a white rhino has left his mud hole and is looking for somewhere to feed, nearby, Tantor, an African Bush elephant is roaming around, also seeking good grazing. The rhino begin grazing but suddenly feels the ground shaking, and turns to see the elephant, due to his bad eyesight, the ill-tempered rhinoceros sees him as a rival and prepares to charge. Tantor responds to the rhino's challenge with a loud trumpet, but the smaller ungulate is not hesitant to charge, the rhino then makes his move, but the much smarter elephant anticipates the attack by charging too and dodging. The rhino then returns and tries to stab Tantor's throat, but he's too tall, even with his four-foot horn. The white rhino then tries an agile headbutt, but Tantor proves better with his seven-foot tusks, the elephant ungulate then turns the rhino around and stabs it twice with its tusks (breaking one in the process that gets stuck in the rhino). Tantor then topples his rival and crushes him under his weight, Tantor steps off and trumpets in victory. | |||
3 | "Asiatic Lion vs. Bengal Tiger" | India | Lion |
Simba , a male Asiatic Lion is wandering in an abandoned Indian temple when he suddenly spots a Bengal Tiger named Shere Khan feeding close by, the lion roars at his striped cousin to back off, but Shere Khan ignores. Simba then charges at the tiger, but trips upon impact, catching Shere Khan off-guard, the agile Khan then quickly recovers and attempts a throat bite, but Simba shakes off the attack and the combatants are back to square one. Both Simba and Shere Khan roar, claw, and wrestle with one another, but neither lands a fatal blow, Shere Khan then tries to end the fight with a fatal neck bite, but Simba's mane deflects his aim. Shere Khan then charges at the lion, but Simba (being a much more skilled fighter) deflects the attack, catches the tiger off guard again and delivers the killing blow to Shere Khan's neck, killing him. Simba walks off, retaining his crown as King of the Beasts and roaring in victory. | |||
4 | "Hippopotamus vs. Bull Shark" | Zambezi River | Hippopotamus |
A hippopotamus is seen resting in his stretch of river, relaxing by the water′s edge. Unaware that a bull shark is roaming around, looking for food. The shark catches the smell of meat, but doesn't know where it's coming from, the shark starts the encounter with an exploratory bump, after confirming the hippo is indeed food, the shark bites the side, but the massive girth combined with the enormous weight of the hippo is too much of a mouthful for the smaller shark. Even the thick skin in the back leg proves too tough, despite this, the fish does manage to rip off the mammal's tail. All while the hippo has been roaring in pain, not knowing what hit him, but his bad temper lights a fire in his belly, the big mammal submerges and spots the deadly shark, the enraged hippo comes forwards to the shark, and the big fish does the same. The hippo then opens his mouth, revealing it's huge sharp foot-long canine teeth, but the bull shark keeps coming and is finally crushed and killed when the larger hippo closes his mouth on him. | |||
5 | "Gray Wolf vs. Cougar" | Rocky Mountains | Cougar |
A gray wolf is feeding; from a great distance, a cougar catches the smell of meat, and comes to investigate. The cat comes across the canine eating, Lying down, it thinks about how to steal the meal without having the wolf to call for reinforcements. Soon after, the canine notices the cougar and growls. The mountain lion does the same. The wolf responds by charging forward and ferociously bites the cougar′s back leg, but backs off when the cat pounces on it with its front legs and lethal claws. The wolf howls to its pack for backup. Realizing it's in grave danger, the cougar tries to retreat, but the large canine stops it by biting its paw. Furious, the cougar rolls onto its back, rakes the wolf with its claws and throws it off to the ground, killing the canine at once. The feline prepares to eat, but it then hears the wolf pack approaching. Left with no choice, the cougar leaves the kill and flees straight to the forest. | |||
6 | "Walrus vs. Polar Bear" | Arctic Circle | Walrus |
A walrus is relaxing by the water′s edge, suddenly, a hungry polar bear comes by, startled and nervous, the walrus heads straight for the sea. The bear attempts to bite and scratch it, but the pinniped′s thick skin is too much, even for a large bear like itself. Although it briefly manages to latch on with its sharp teeth, the bear can′t do much serious damage. The walrus then tries to stab the bear with its four-foot tusks, but the agile predator anticipates. It then tries several paw swipes to the head, but the walrus's skull is too thick to land a killing blow. As the walrus flees, the bear holds on and gets dragged into the ocean, afterwards, the walrus turns around, goring the bear with its tusks. The bear, wounded and running out of air, heads straight back to the surface. But the walrus returns with a vengeance – it soon sinks its tusks onto the carnivore's back, killing it. The dead bear sinks into the ocean. | |||
7 | "Brown Bear vs. Siberian Tiger" | Siberian Taiga | Brown Bear |
In the Siberian woodlands in wintertime, Raja, a siberian tiger is feasting on his kill, while Bart, a large brown bear is roaming around, looking for one more meal before going into hibernation. Raja then suddenly spots the bear while Bart begins approaching the tiger, Raja, not in the mood to share, roars at Bart to back off, but the larger opponent keeps coming. Raja then tries a body blow, but Bart absorbed the impact without losing his balance, Raja then tries to land a killing blow on Bart's neck, but Bart pushes him down. Bart then approaches the kill, but Raja recovers and pounces at the bear's back, cutting him with his claws, but fail to disable. Bart then turns around and using his superior strength against the tiger's speed and agility, overpowers Raja by pawing his face, the breaking his spine and finishing him off with a neck bite. | |||
8 | "African Lion vs. Nile Crocodile" | Maasai Mara | Nile Crocodile |
Mufusa, an African male lion is eating by the river′s edge when Jacala, a Nile crocodile emerges from the water, intent on stealing the meal. Upon seeing that, the lion roars at the croc to back off, but he does little than get a loud hiss from Jacala. Mufusa attacks but cannot land a deadly blow because of the reptile′s thick armor. Mufusa then tries to flip Jacala to reach his unarmored belly, but a roll and tail swipe stops him from doing so. Determined to get rid of Mufusa, Jacala heads back to the water, and gets out of sight. Determined to protect his kill, Mufusa stays close to the water′s edge, looking for an opportunity to attack. All of a sudden, Jacala launches a surprise attack on the lion, grabbing his neck and dragging him to the water. Jacala soon performs a death roll, which kills Mufusa at once. | |||
9 | "King Cobra vs. Mongoose" | West Indies | King Cobra |
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a mongoose heads to the West Indies, unaware that Thuu, a king cobra is patrolling around, as the mongoose heads into the lake to drink, the snake sees him as prey and takes position, comes to investigate. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi can sense the danger, he soon notices Thuu and sees him. The cobra, upon seeing him, tries to avoid the fight. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi gets distracted by a bird call. Which allowing Thuu to take advantage of him, strikes without warning and wrapping his coils over Rikki-Tikki-Tavi as Thuu attempts to choke him by biting on his neck. Soon, both Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and Thuu fighting each other, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi gets away at first by biting Thuu′s tail. Hurt, but not poisoned and still strong, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi catches Thuu by his tail after the snake trying to retreat. Thuu turns around as he spits venom at Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's eyes, causing him to be blinded. Allowing Thuu to launch a surprise attack, knocking the mongoose and coiling around him again. Too tired to fight back, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is defeated – and soon killed. | |||
10 | "Mountain Gorilla vs. African Leopard" | Congo Rainforest | Mountain Gorilla |
Kerchak, a male mountain gorilla has left his family in the trees, looking for a place to spend the night. However, he′s unaware that he′s wandering into the territory of Sabor, an African female leopard, who has killed Tarzan's parents. The leopardess confronts the gorilla and sees him as a threat to her young. Kerchak, upon seeing her, tries to avoid the fight, beating his chest, growling and howling in the process, but Sabor does not flinch. Kerchak approaches, swiping at the leopard, which soon leaps onto a rock. Afterwards, Sabor takes the gorilla by surprise by jumping onto his back and biting his shoulder. Kerchak throws Sabor off, but using her better stealth, she leaps on the gorilla′s back again. After that, Kerchak easily throws her off again, and Sabor runs for her life, but Kerchak turns her over on her back. Both Kerchak and Sabor fight briefly. Then Sabor gets back up again, but Kerchak chomps on her shoulder, making her roaring in with pain. After that, she backs off. Both opponents stare and snarl at each other. Desperate, Sabor leaps towards Kerchak, but he throws his powerful arm on her back, breaking her spine and killing her – thus ending the battle. | |||
11 | "American Alligator vs. American Black Bear" | Everglades | American Black Bear |
On a hot day in the Everglades, an American black bear has gone into a lake to drink, not knowing that an American alligator is resting underneath, the gator wakes up and sees the bear, but the bear has also spotted the alligator and tries to retreat. The stealthy alligator then ambushes the smaller bear and grabs his leg and does the classic death roll, but all he grabs is a mouthful of fur, fat and muscle. Hurt, but not fatally and still strong, the black bear fights back by slashing the gator's mouth. The larger gator then attempts a tail swipe, but the much smarter bear anticipates this; knowing it's vulnerable on land, the gator tries to retreat, but the angered bear lungs at him. The alligator then tries to roll free of the mammal's grab, but this gives bear the advantage to roll him, which exposes the gator's soft underbelly which the black bear slashes fatally into, and kills the gator, the bear leaves as the dead gator rots in the riverbank. | |||
12 | "Sperm Whale vs. Colossal Squid" | Antarctic Ocean | Sperm Whale |
A sperm whale is diving into the deep abyss, while a colossal squid rockets through the depths. Both combatants sense each other – the squid sees the whale, while the whale's echolocation reveals the squid's location. Upon seeing the whale as a potential predator, the squid releases a burst of ink as a warning, but it's ignored by the whale, which launches a slow attack on the huge squid. Just before it reaches the mouth, the squid latches onto the whale and rakes it with his suckers, wounding it in the process. By rising close to the surface, the squid is shaken off, but not before it scratches the whale further. Although wounded, the whale amplifies his sonar and stuns the squid. The paralyzed cephalic is helpless – and thus eaten alive. | |||
13 | "Green Anaconda vs. Black Panther" | Amazon River | Black Panther |
On a hot day in the Maasai Mara, Bagheera, a black panther has gone into a lake to drink, not knowing that Kaa, a green anaconda is resting underneath, the snake wakes up and sees the panther, but Bagheera has also spotted Kaa and tries to retreat. The stealthy anaconda then ambushes the panther and grabs his paw and trying to wrap her coils around over Bagheera, but the cat repeatedly pushes Kaa's coils with his legs. Enraged, Bagheera fights back by scratching and biting Kaa's coils (which the anaconda trying to protect her vulnerable head). The anaconda then attempts to wrap her coils over her, but the much smarter Bagheera anticipates this by pushing Kaa's coils to the ground; knowing it's vulnerable on land. Running out of energy and at a disadvantage on land, Kaa tries to retreat into the water, but the angered Bagheera catches her by her tail. Kaa then turns around and prepares to launch a surprise attack, but fails when Bagheera deflects the attack, pinning the anaconda. Bagheera delivers the killing blow to Kaa's soft neck, fatally killing her and the panther walks away. | |||
Siberia | Roosevelt Elk | ||
On a cold day a rossevelt elk walk towards to alpine ibex to rumble and they both ram each other but the elk is stronger than an ibex and it will not back away from the battle as the ibex press its attack and never manages to tip the elk over and explosive with its four foot antlers and the elk finally rams and stabs the ibex and he got killed him by its antlers and elk won the day. |
scrapped episodes 15. baboon vs chimpanzee 16. bison vs wild boar 17. hippo vs tiger 18. orangutan vs sloth bear
DVDs
Each episode of Animal Face-Off has been released on DVD. They can also be rented from the Netflix DVD service.
See also
References
- ↑ John F. Bonfatti (March 27, 2004), "Survival of the Fittest", The Buffalo News