Dinosaurs (TV series)
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| Dinosaurs | |
|---|---|
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| Format | Sitcom |
| Created by | Michael Jacobs Bob Young Jim Henson (deceased) |
| Starring | Stuart Pankin Jessica Walter Jason Willinger Sally Struthers Kevin Clash |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 65 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 23:15 |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC (U.S) Disney/Band (Brazil) ITV (U.K) |
| Original run | April 26, 1991 – July 20, 1994 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Dinosaurs is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on ABC from April 26, 1991 to July 20, 1994. It was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Productions in association with Walt Disney Television about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs. The world of Dinosaurs is a parody of human society.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The show is initially set in 60,000,003 BC with the years, months and days counting toward zero (in one episode, Robbie asks his father if he ever questions what they are counting down to). The show centers on the Sinclair family (a reference to Sinclair Oil Corporation which uses a dinosaur as its logo)- the father (Earl Sinclair, a reference to Earl Holding, Sinclair Oil's principal owner), the mother (Fran Sinclair), the son (Robbie Sinclair), the daughter (Charlene Sinclair), the baby (Baby Sinclair), and the grandmother (Ethyl Phillips, a reference to Phillips Petroleum and ethyl gasoline). (Curiously, they all appear to belong to wildly different species: Earl, Fran and Robbie look like carnivorous dinosaurs, and Charlene resembles an herbivore.) Earl's job is to push over trees for the Wesayso Corporation (alluding to the fact that petroleum comes from compressed trees and other organic matter, keeping with the petroleum theme of the show) with his friend and coworker Roy Hess (Hess Corporation is another regional petroleum chain). Another reference to petroleum companies is Earl's boss, named B.P. Richfield. Earl's employer, the Wesayso Corporation's logo also is a reference to DuPont Chemical's traditional oval logo.
One of the most popular characters on the show is the mischievous Baby, occasionally referred to as "Junior" until the second season where he was officially named "Baby Sinclair". Baby Sinclair's mannerisms were loosely based on writer and producer Bob Young's youngest child Ethan.[citation needed]
His favorite pastime is to hit Earl repeatedly over the head with a frying pan while shouting, "Not the mama!" Frequently, when Earl is hurt, Baby will throw his arms up enthusiastically and exclaim, "Again!" A music video was produced for a song based on another of Baby's catchphrases, "I'm the Baby, Gotta Love Me".
[edit] Characters
The focus of the show's plot is the Sinclair family: Earl, Fran, Robbie, Charlene and Baby. Other supporting characters are Ethyl Phillips, Roy Hess, B.P. Richfield, Monica Devertebrae and Spike. Humans have appeared in several episodes as cavemen, and the dinosaur characters often expressed the belief that humans could never develop intelligence. A recurring joke is that the dinosaurs do not know how to tell male and female humans apart and usually switch them in conversation or as shown in one episode ("The Mating Dance") in which zoo keepers unknowingly pair two obviously male humans together and cannot figure out why they will not produce offspring. There are also other recurring, major characters, typically from the WeSaySo Corporation where Earl works.
[edit] Intended audience
The world of Dinosaurs is a satirical parody of human society. The dinosaurs are "intelligent" enough to talk, trade, build things, have traditions, go to war, and so forth. Despite the cartoonish violence that often occurs in the series, the plotlines and many jokes are aimed at adults. Sometimes these jokes are in the form of references to events or people which children are not likely to know. For example, at the end of "When Food Goes Bad," the defeated General Chow (a refrigerator creature and source of food to the dinosaurs) states that "Old food never dies, it just goes bad," a reference to General Douglas MacArthur's famous speech in which he stated that "Old soldiers never die. They just fade away."
The show explicitly states that the intended audience is adults, with at least a couple of breaks of the fourth wall. In "How to Pick Up Girls," Earl asks Fran to watch a puppet show on TV. Fran dismisses it with, "Earl, that's for kids," to which Earl replies, "Yeah, you'd think that because they're puppets, so the show seems to have a children's aesthetic," and then he turns toward the camera and says, "yet the dialogue is unquestionably sharp-edged, witty, and thematically skewed to adults." And at the end of the episode "A New Leaf," Robbie makes a short public service announcement asking people to stop doing drugs to help put an end to sitcoms with preachy anti-drug messages. In his message, he describes the show as "adult-themed." And in "Georgie Must Die", when about to punch Georgie (a clear take-off on Barney) in the face, Earl turns to the camera and says, "This is for all you parents at home."
[edit] Topical issues
Topical issues featured in Dinosaurs include environmentalism, women's rights, sexual harassment, objectification of women, censorship, civil rights, body image, steroid use, allusions to masturbation (in the form of Robbie getting caught doing a mating dance by himself),drug abuse, racism, peer pressure, rights of indigenous peoples, corporate crime, government interference of parenting, and allusions to homosexuality and communism (in the guise of herbivorism).
The two-part episode "Nuts to War," in which the two-legged dinosaurs go to war with the four-legged dinosaurs over rights to pistachio trees, aired in February and March of 1992, and was almost certainly in response to the Persian Gulf War. Dialogue in the episode addresses war profiteering (by the Wesayso Corporation of B.P. Richfield, Earl's boss, which sells weaponry to both sides), the casualties of war (limited to one two-legger, which the Sinclair family thought for a time was Robbie), the war's use as a distraction from domestic issues during an election year, government suppression of information, and the harassment of the antiwar movement. The (politically) hawkish dinosaurs created a catchphrase for their political party: "We Are Right" (W.A.R.). Earl, originally a hawk but later disillusioned, takes to protesting the war with a sign reading "Pistachio Eaters Against the Chief Elder" (P.E.A.C.E), a backronym.
In the episode "I Never Ate For My Father," in lieu of carnivorism, Robbie chooses to eat vegetables, and the other characters liken this to homosexuality, irreverence, communism, and drug abuse.
In the final season, "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" (a take off of The Greatest Story Ever Told) even references religion when the Sinclair family becomes eager to learn the meaning of their existence. The Elders dictate a new system of beliefs, and the entire cast (with the exception of Robbie) abandons science to blindly following the newly popular "Potato-ism." The religion arbitrarily brings about a set of strange and pointless rules that they decree all dinosaurs must adhere to, possibly a parody of the Ten Commandments. Robbie and a reluctant Earl refuse to follow the rules leading to their punishment of being burned at the stake. Just as they are about to be executed, the fire mysteriously goes out. It is considered a sign, and the two are allowed to go free. The episode ends with them speculating as to whether there really is a god who created and watches over them.
In another episode, Earl switches bodies with a tree and raises the issue of conservation. This is more dramatically explored in the series finale.
The series finale of Dinosaurs concerns the irresponsible actions of the dinosaurs toward their environment, and the ensuing Ice Age which leads to their demise. The episode begins with the failure of a beetle swarm to show up and devour a form of creeper vine. It is shown that the Wesayso Corporation has constructed a wax fruit factory on the swampland that serves as the beetles' breeding grounds, causing the extinction of the species. Fearing a public relations fiasco more than any environmental threat, Wesayso quickly puts Earl in charge of an attempt to destroy the vines, which have grown out of control without the beetles to keep them in check. Earl proposes spraying the planet with defoliant, which works only too well; not only does the defoliant eradicate all the vines, but all other plant life on the planet as well. B.P. Richfield assumes that the creation of clouds will bring rain, allowing the plants to grow back, and so decides to create clouds by dropping bombs in the planet's volcanoes to cause eruptions and cloud cover. The dark clouds instead instigate global cooling, in the form of a gigantic cloudcover (simulating the effects of what the viewer would recognize as nuclear winter) that scientists estimate would take "tens of thousands of years" to dissipate; viewers are thus left in no doubt as to the final fate of the dinosaurs. The final scene of the series depicts a color-warped broadcast from newscaster Howard Handupme, eerily staring into the camera in a slowly freezing studio, and droning, "And, taking a look at the long-range forecast, continued snow, darkness, and extreme cold. This is Howard Handupme. Goodnight. (pause) Goodbye." The credits then roll over a shot of the Sinclairs' house, slowly disappearing beneath a snowdrift, while a melancholy string instrumental plays. The episode contains a clear, dark message of environmental responsibility, and, while not overt in its portrayal of the extinction of the dinosaurs (their fate is only implied, not depicted), the episode was still a marked change from the series' normal humor. "Changing Nature" merited a special parental warning in TV Guide's listings the week it aired, cautioning that its subject matter might frighten or disturb younger viewers.
[edit] The shows within the show
While Dinosaurs was, of course, a TV show, several jokes in the series were at the expense of television shows in general. Earl often wants to watch TV rather than do something more practical, and several jokes accuse television of "dumbing down" the population and making it lazy. Four episodes had themes related to television. In "Family Challenge", Earl gets the family to go on a game show in order to win a new TV when both of the household's televisions are destroyed. In "Fran Live", Fran gets a call-in show when she suggests that the host of the show "Just Listening With Frank" should give advice rather than just listen. In "Network Genius", Earl starts working for ABC (the Antediluvian Broadcasting Company) and recommends several "stupid" shows for the network; when these shows drastically reduce the IQ of the population, he recommends "smart" shows to save the world. In "Georgie Must Die", Earl attempts to thwart the evil plans of an orange hippo reminiscent of Barney from Barney & Friends.
A few characters in the shows within Dinosaurs made repeat appearances. Howard Handupme was the standard news anchor for the Dinosaur News Network (DNN). Mr. Lizard, a parody of Mr. Wizard, was a scientist demonstrating several dangerous aspects of nature and science for his child assistant, who inevitably died in each episode (by such methods as watching the effects of what happens when you put an open flame next to a mixture of sulfur, phosphorus, and gasoline; having Timmy see how a rocket engine works by sticking his head into the exhaust while Mr. Lizard turns it on; and the effects of putting nitroglycerine in a blender), prompting Mr. Lizard to quip, "We're going to need another Timmy!" Captain Action Figure shows up in children's programming that Fran mistakes for a commercial. Whenever Captain Action Figure mentions a product, the screen flashes "Tell Mommy I WANT THAT!". Before the appearance of Georgie, Dinosaurs used a puppet highly reminiscent of Barney named "Blarney" in two episodes. During his appearances, members of the Sinclair family commented on his annoying characteristics and failure to teach anything to children. As the powers behind Barney & Friends have threatened legal action to subdue Anti-Barney Humor, it is possible that Dinosaurs received a legal warning, resulting in the creation of the Georgie character.
Other fictional shows that have appeared on Dinosaurs:
- Tricera-Cops: appeared in two episodes as a parody of fictional dramas about unconventional police officers.
- Mr. Ugh: a parody of Mr. Ed featuring a talking caveman.
- Info 411: a parody of Rescue 911 featuring actual calls to Information.
- Totally Ineffectual Dad: a show about a father who neglects the needs of his son, who is on fire in the episode featured.
- Don't Lift That Heavy Object: a show that captures real-life dinosaurs in the act of trying to lift heavy things.
- The Smoo Show: a show that appeared to be musical/variety, created in response to positive reaction to the use of a swear word on network television. Similar shows were mentioned but not shown, called "The Flark Show" and "Kiss My Glick."
- Totally Hidden Predator: a parody of Totally Hidden Video (a Candid Camera-like show from the 1990s) in which a camera captures the reactions of dinosaurs to a huge hidden monster that devours them.
- DNN: parody of CNN.
- DSPN: parody of ESPN.
- DSN: Dinosaur Shopping Network: a parody of HSN.
- DTV: Dinomusic Television: a parody of MTV.
- Dirty Dare: a parody of Double Dare.
- Love Confession: a parody of Love Connection.
- Good Morning Pangaea: a parody of ABC's Good Morning America.
- Pangaea's Funniest Home Injuries and Pangaea's 2nd Funniest Home Injuries: a parody of America's Funniest Home Videos. In one episode, the host of the show said that here's a father and son playing catch near an active volcano with a new way of the expression "Go Deep."
- The Hat Channel: 24 hours a day of hat news, hat features, and hat happenings. Later in the broadcast, a news anchor reports "The fire swept through two square city blocks. Miraculously, no hats were damaged." Earl replies, "Yippee, there's a piece of good news."
- Box Full o' Puppies: A show in which people were surprised by receiving a cardboard box full of puppies.
- The Happy Colors Show: One of Earl's "dumb" shows, it appears to be little more than a grid of flashing colors. The theme song goes, "It's the Happy Colors Show / It's the happiest show we know / With red and green and aquamarine / And blue like the sky above / But our favorite color is love!"
- Economics Hoedown: One of Earl's "smart" shows, it features dinosaurs popping up from a cornfield to give riddles involving complex economic patterns. A parody of Hee Haw.
- We're Not Even Related But Somehow We're All Living Together: A show which teaches valuable lessons. Likely a parody of Three's Company.
- House Full of Dads: A sitcom in which a girl is raised by at least a dozen fathers. Another likely parody of Full House and/or My Two Dads in which Florence Stanley, the voice of Grandma Ethyl, had a recurring role.
- Mysteries that Haven't Been Solved Yet: A parody of Unsolved Mysteries, except that the program features the same set of stories in every episode, which no one notices. One of the mysteries is eventually solved though, so after her near-death experience, Ethyl is approached to tell her story for the show.
- Pangaea Hills, DINO210: a parody of Beverly Hills, 90210.
- Lifestyles of Those We Envy: is a parody of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.
- "Way Too Complicated", a parody of the Brady Bunch, with 14 kids that are either ghosts or dinosaurs.
- A parody of a Richard Simmons-type workout show appears at the beginning of the episode Nature Calls. Richard Simmons does a guest voice over for his Richard Simmons Dinosaur character.
- In the episode "Honey, I Miss the Kids," the movie "The Little Girl Under the Water" is a parody of Disney's The Little Mermaid.
[edit] Airings Outside of the United States of America
The show was screened on ITV in 1992 and in reruns from 1995 to 2002 in the UK on Disney Channel.
[edit] DVD Releases
On May 2, 2006 Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released "Dinosaurs: The Complete First And Second Seasons" as a four-disc DVD box set. The DVD set includes "exclusive bonus features including a never-before-seen look at the making of Dinosaurs" The Complete Third and Fourth seasons were released May 1, 2007 with special features, including the episodes not aired on TV, assumedly episodes 59-65. Both sets are currently available only on Region 1. A Region 2 release of the four seasons has yet to be released.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete 1st & 2nd Seasons | 29 | May 2, 2006 |
| The Complete 3rd & 4th Seasons | 36 | May 1, 2007 |
[edit] Credits
- Creators Michael Jacobs and Bob Young
- Executive Producers Michael Jacobs, Brian Henson
- Producer Michael Jacobs
- Director of Photography, second unit Robert Schoenhut
- Performance Coordinator Pons Maar
- Camera Operator Robert Schoenhut
- Staff Writers included Mark Drop and Jane Espenson.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Gunge, a small rodent-like creature from Fraggle Rock, appeared in a dinosaur's stomach in one episode.
- A running gag involved the calendars, which ran backward—the month of October ended with the 1st, in line with the idea that the years were counting down to 0. In one episode, Robbie asks his father whether he ever questions what they are counting down to.
- The plaid on Earl's shirt was the Sinclair tartan, in line with the family's surname.
- In the episode "Network Genius," names of TV shows parodying real shows are shown such as "Mary Tyler," "She Wrote," "Gilligan's," "My Two," "Hardcastle," and others all ending or starting with "Test Pattern" after the network's test pattern turns out to be more popular than regular shows. A potential show by the name of "A Question of Faith" is a parody of The Flying Nun.
- "Refrigerator Day," featured in the episode of the same name, has characteristics of mostly Christmas but also Hannukah and Thanksgiving. In one scene towards the end, Baby is dressed up as, and uses a line from, Tiny Tim from Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. Also in this episode, a store named "Kave Mart" is likely a parody of K-Mart.
[edit] Pop culture references
- In the episode "Charlene's Tale" there are numerous parodies and references. A commercial advertises "Dino-Netics" by L. Mother Hubbard, a parody of Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard. In the same episode, a commercial for a magazine named "Dinosaur Sports" is a parody of Sports Illustrated, a commercial advertising an up-coming television show called "Way Too Complicated!" is a parody of The Brady Bunch, and Fran mentions the cancellation of a show called "Thirty Million Something," a reference to the show Thirtysomething.
- In the episode "License to Parent," the ending credits is highly reminiscent of the ending to the TV series Real Stories of the Highway Patrol.
- In the episode "When Food Goes Bad," the abduction of Baby by the creatures from the refrigerator and the threat from the leader to Charlene is highly reminiscent of Labyrinth, another Jim Henson production.
- In the episode "Driving Miss Ethyl," Ethyl mentions moving in with her friends Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose, the names of three of The Golden Girls. Also in this episode, when they are lost in the Valley of the Monsters there is a parody of Jurassic Park when a giant monster is walking towards the car and the liquid in Earl's cup ripples with each step.
- In the episode "The Howling", Robbie has a poster in his room that says "Teenage Mutant Ninja Cavemen", an obvious reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
[edit] In Other media
- In the PC game Quest for Glory, Earl Sinclair makes a cameo appearance in the forest east of Spielburg.
- In one episode, Earl points this out by saying they've made one big successful show now others are making cheap rip-offs of it, to which Baby replies, "Don't have a cow, man," a regular catch phrase used by Bart Simpson.[citation needed]
- In the 1992 The Simpsons episode "Black Widower", the Simpson family watches a show very similar to Dinosaurs. A father dinosaur asks his son to turn down some music, to which the son replies, "Don't have a Stegosaurus, man!" Then a baby dinosaur hits the father on the head, causing the father to shout "D'oh!" Lisa states that the dinosaurs on the show behave more realistically than real families on TV, and Bart makes a veiled accusation that the family characters on the show were copied from the Simpson family. Bart even exclaims, "It's like they saw our lives and put it right up on screen!" [1]
- A board game was also created based upon various aspects of several episodes.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
Unless otherwise noted, material in this article comes from the DVD releases of this television series.
[edit] External links
