The competition for primetime TV viewership tends to result in the sacrifice of true science in favor of creative embellishment. That means audiences must attempt to separate paleo-fact from paleo-fiction.
Made for TV: Paleo-Fact: A grouping of dinosaur remains is found in a small area. Some of the dinosaurs are stacked on top of each other. Proper scientific techniques use all available information in an attempt to understand the relationship of the dinosaurs and their final resting places. These techniques involve mapping the bones and skeletons of the dinosaurs, analyzing the enclosing rock or matrix, and studying any other remains such as plant material, sedimentary features and other features that give clues to the origin of the digsite.
Most likely, the dinosaurs would have died and been washed into their final resting place during flooding events, similar to flood deposits that are evidenced today (without the dinosaurs!)
Made for TV: Paleo-Fiction: A grouping of dinosaur remains is found in a small area. Some of the dinosaurs are stacked on top of each other. The TV narrator, with utmost certainty and conviction, states that the dinosaurs died during battle. While locked in mortal combat, a mudslide or other significant event occurred, miraculously preserving the dinosaurs in a remarkable death scene. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately this is often how dinosaur bone deposits are portrayed in documentaries and on reality shows. Very little science is involved. Their rationale is that more people will watch if the explanation is more dramatic.
And it doesn’t stop at television. Collectors who want to buy dinosaur bones can also find websites that favor the fictional over the factual.
Made for Website: Paleo-Fact: A dinosaur bone is on a website for the purpose of public interest, or is available for purchase. The description gives detailed information about the specimen, including provenance, size, condition, species, and other pertinent or interesting facts. If any modifications (reconstruction, etc.) are made to the specimen, these are noted and described. This data set gives the reader a very good understanding of the specimen and, if desired, its relative worth, both scientifically and monetarily.
Made for Website: Paleo-Fiction: A dinosaur bone is on a website for the purpose of public interest, or is available for purchase. A general description of the specimen is given, but details on the size, condition, quality, or actual prep work performed are missing. There's non-pertinent information, and it's all filler. Sometimes there are highfalutin headers and wild descriptive phrases like “World’s Best! Incredible death scene! One of a kind! Biggest ever! Never will see another one like it!”
We recommend the following rule-of-thumb: The more dramatic and over-the-top the description, the more you need to be very careful concerning the validity of the program or the specimen on display. If the spotlight is placed more on the ‘fiction/fantasy’ aspect than on the science, step back and really consider what you are being asked to believe – and at what cost.
Paleo-Fact vs. Paleo-Fiction
Made for TV: Paleo-Fiction: A grouping of dinosaur remains is found in a small area. Some of the dinosaurs are stacked on top of each other. The TV narrator, with utmost certainty and conviction, states that the dinosaurs died during battle. While locked in mortal combat, a mudslide or other significant event occurred, miraculously preserving the dinosaurs in a remarkable death scene. Sound familiar? 
