Valley of the T. Rex

Valley of the T. Rex is a 2001 Discovery Channel TV Documentary in which renowned paleontologist (and notorious T. rex hater) Jack Horner discusses his theories about the eponymous animal's supposedly carnivorous nature. He presents fact after fact that allegedly proves that the "King of Dinosaurs" was nothing more than a mere sluggish scavenger, and an ugly one at that, much to the contrary of popular belief.

The program received some criticism due to Horner's negligence to take note of any evidence that might confirm the opposite of his theories.

Tropes used in Valley of the T. Rex include:

• Badass: What the T. rex was not in Horner's opinion.
• False Dichotomy: Pure hunter or pure scavenger? Why can't T. rex be a bit of both?
• Feathered Fiend: Saurornitholestes and a bunch of other small dromaeosaurs which the rex chases away from their kill.
• Science Marches On: With more and more evidence arising to support the "predator" theory, even Horner himself admitted he was wrong about the animal.
• Somewhere a Palaeontologist Is Crying: The program was well constructed and explained in detail why it presented the things the way it has, but paleontologists that happened not to hate Tyrannosaurus *Cough*Robert Bakker*Cough* may find it to be somewhat infuriating.
  • That having been said, not all of Horner's facts make sense. Could an animal that size support itself by being lucky enough to constantly bump into still-edible dinosaur carcasses whenever it was hungry?
• Stock Footage: From Discovery's former dinosaur show, When Dinosaurs Roamed America.
• The Makeover: Inverted. Horner takes a standard CGI Tyrannosaurus and turns it disgustingly ugly—or, in his mind, more realistic.
• The Worf Effect: A meta-example. What has previously been seen as the ultimate predator is actually a pathetic carrion stealer. At least, that was what the documentary set out to accomplish.
• Tyrannosaurus Rex