Dinosaurs – The Complete Third and Fourth Seasons (Disney/Michael
Jacobs Production)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B Episodes: B+
HONEY!
I’m Home. Finally a blast from the past
arrives on DVD with the arrival of Dinosaurs:
The Complete Third and Fourth Seasons.
Finishing off the second half of a great series, this 4 DVD Disc set has
been highly anticipated for a long time.
To give new comers and old timers alike a little wrap of the series,
here is a brief prehistory lesson. The
1991-1994 ABC series stars the lovable dinosaur clan known as the Sinclair’s;
Earl the father, Fran the Momma, Robbie the son, Charlene the daughter, and
Baby the ummm, baby. The creatures of
the series were created and operated by none other than the Jim Henson Production
Company and even somewhat resembles The
Muppet Show. The series takes place
in the year 60,000,003 BC and the goes backwards as the series progresses.
In a
humorous moment of the series Robbie Sinclair asks Earl ‘What are we counting
down to?’ The series is setup like any
family sitcom but places a humorous and satirical spin on every tail slapping
moment. Though children and adults alike
both love this series many of the themes embodied in this prehistoric series
are very mature; though shrouded in a fog of cuteness and humor. The series has addressed an array of issues
including environmentalism, civil rights, women’s rights, racism, drug abuse,
corporate crimes, and much, much more.
Great moments include a public service announcement about drugs and even
an allusion to their own series when Earl addresses a puppet show he is
watching as ‘not for kids’ and ‘sharp edged and witty.’ Overall, Dinosaurs is a great series that
continues to be relevant, humorous, and smart with its satirical edge.
Another
running joke in the series centers on the incessant television watching
occurring in the Sinclair House. At
least once an episode (and usually much more) the camera turns to the TV set
and gives the audience a front row view of what the Sinclair Family uses for
entertainment; for the most part mocking the exact venue that give this series
its popularity. Some parody examples are
Mr. Ugh the talking caveman (like Mr. Ed),
Good Morning Pangaea (like Good Morning
America), House Full of Dads (like Full
House), Mysteries that haven’t been Solved (like Unsolved Mysteries), and so on.
Even our television networks get mocked with dinosaur stations such as
DNN (like CNN), DTV (like MTV), DSPN (like ESPN), and on and on. The basic drift here is that the series is an
unending treasure trove of satirical gold.
The
technical features of this set are very nice for the most part. The picture is presented in a nice 1.33 X 1
Full Screen. The picture could have
definitely used an anamorphic Widescreen treatment as well as a tad bit more
restoring but overall it did not detract from the viewing experience. Also at times the colors seem a bit bland
and could have ‘popped’ better than they did.
The sound is presented in a simple Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo that is
adequate but could have been better. The
sound ‘stomps’ and ‘slams’ in all the right places, but having 5.1 surrounds
could have greatly improved the series.
There is no shortage of extras on this prehistoric set having something
for everyone to enjoy. Bonus Features
include a featurette entitled ‘Creatures with a Cause’ that delves into the
secrets of the series as well as the controversial last episode, Audio
Commentaries, ‘I’m the Baby’ featurette, and much more. One of the best features on this set is the
hours of episodes that never aired on network television (basically the 4th
Season). In the end this is a great box
set with great features.
Dinosaurs
left a footprint in television history that will never be forgot. The satire, the humor, and the overall
creativeness that the series brought to the table has not been matched…at least
by puppets. The combination of Jim
Henson’s and Mark Jacobs’ Production Studios was a great collaborative effort
and let’s hope more greatness like this occurs soon.
- Michael P Dougherty II