Official Synopsis:
Meet the Sinclairs - the funniest family in 60 million years! They're just your average family with one BIG difference. They're dinosaurs, living the good life in sixty million and three B.C.! Daddy Earl, his wife Fran, their kids, Robbie, Charlene, and the Baby, and feisty Grandma Ethyl, bring a hilarious Jurassic twist to daily life as they eat, drink, make merry, and get their kicks watching cavemen rub rocks together. Based on an idea by Jim Henson, the award-winning comedy series features state-of-the-art puppetry and audioanimatronics. For the first time, you can enjoy the complete first two seasons and rediscover the pre-hysterical fun all over again.
Our Take:
Growing up, TGI Friday was a real television staple for me. Shows like Perfect Strangers, Step By Step, and Family Matters made the night worth waiting all week for. Making its premiere on the biggest TV night of the week (at least for a for a twelve-year-old), Dinosaurs stomped in and put the “situation” back into phrase “situation comedy.” Most television sitcoms always seems to have to do with some family relationship or another; whether it’s two guys, a girl, and an easy-bake oven or whatever lame excuse a team of a thousand monkeys with typewriters can come up with next, they’ve always got some sort of gimmick. When Dinosaurs came out, someone managed to come up with something fresh and new, but of course they had to look to 65 million years ago for inspiration.
Critics of Family Guy accuse its creators of ripping off The Simpsons, but after watching Dinosaurs again, I think I can see where there are some similarities here as well. Dinosaurs takes everything a good sitcom needs and stays true to the formula: the every-day working class buffoon Dad; the loving, supportive Mom; two kids in their awkward teenage years; and, of course, a cute baby who is just full of catch phrases like, “I’m the baby, gotta love!” who is probably more intelligent than the lot of them.
Plus, you’ve got to ask yourself, how cool are dinosaurs? This was before Jurassic Park came along, but what warm-blooded human boy or girl doesn’t love dinosaurs? With the help of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the show was able to bring these great looking, lovable creatures to life. While the show appealed to kids, it had some terrific writing, especially for a sitcom. It dealt with many issues that other shows with real people couldn’t necessarily get away with, including very adult topics like peer pressure, sexual harassment, women’s rights, and environmentalism. For a show that's fifteen years old, it still seems as relevant today as it was then. At 65 million years old, it’s aged really well!
Dinosaurs may be extinct, but we can see how this show came to be through the process of evolution. (Or for those who live in certain states, intelligent design.)
* Pre-Hysterical Times: The Making of Dinosaurs (14 minutes) - Features brand new interviews with creators and producers and a behind-the-scenes look at how Dinosaurs were brought back to life. A must watch.
* Creating Dinosaurs: The Sketches That Started It All (8 minutes) - Character Designer Kirk Thatcher shows off some original artwork created for the dinosaurs. Pretty interesting to see how quickly these lizards evolved.
* Dino Eggs - Similar to easter eggs, but instead of containing furry little rabbits bearing gifts of chocolate and jelly beans, these little snippets include interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. For instance, did you know that all the character names are fossil fuel names? These Dino Eggs aren’t too hard to find, just play with the arrow buttons on your remote, but they're worth the trouble.
Dinosaurs: The Complete First and Second Seasons is a fantastic DVD set. It’s something that the kids will enjoy, as its something unlike what they're used to seeing on TV. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these episodes again, many of which I remembered even though I haven’t seen them in at least a decade. For some pre-hysteric laughs, be sure to check out Dinosaurs!
Overall Picture:
Show: B+
DVD: B
- Chris Lawrence
Staff Writer
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