View Full Version : Dinotopia the series, premieres Thanksgiving Night on ABC!


Pavan
11-21-2002, 11:00 PM
This is the perfect thing to watch after the feast ...

SERIES PREMIERE

"DINOTOPIA," A LIVE-ACTION DRAMATIC SERIES THAT FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ABC'S EMMY AWARD-WINNING MEGASERIES, PREMIERES WITH BACK-TO-BACK EPISODES IN A SPECTACULAR TWO-HOUR EXTRAVAGANZA ON THANKSGIVING NIGHT, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28

Hallmark Entertainment and Disney present "Dinotopia," a new live action dramatic series filmed in Budapest, Hungary, following in the footsteps of the hit Emmy Award-winning 'megaseries,' which aired on ABC in May 2002. In a holiday treat for the whole family, the series, which will continue to present a dramatic and emotional portrait of a lost continent where dinosaurs and humans live together, will have a two-hour premiere extravaganza on Thanksgiving night with spectacular back-to-back episodes, airing THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28 (8:00-9:00 p.m. and 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Leading the new cast will be Erik von Detten ("The Princess Diaries") and Shiloh Strong, starring as teenage brothers Karl and David Scott who find themselves castaways in a strange new world, with Michael Brandon portraying their father, Frank, a wealthy American. Dinotopia's other human inhabitants will include Georgina Rylance as the smart and beautiful Marion, who is in training to be a leader of her people; Jonathan Hyde ("Titanic," "The Mummy") as Marion's father, Mayor Waldo, the overseer of Dinotopia's spectacular capital, Waterfall City; Sophie Ward ("Dracula") as Marion's mother, revered matriarch Rosemary; and Lisa Zane ("Monkeybone") as Le Sage, who becomes the beautiful leader of a renegade group known as the Outsiders.

"Dinotopia's" story began when Frank Scott crashed his plane into the Caribbean. He appeared to perish, but his two teenaged sons, Karl and David, survived, only to find themselves castaways on Dinotopia. Karl and David are constantly at odds, even as they struggle to adjust to life in their strange new world.

Marion - who captures both Karl's and David's hearts - leads the brothers to Waterfall City where Mayor Waldo welcomes the "off-worlders" and has them enrolled in the capital's academy so they can learn to become Dinotopians. They're soon befriended by the talkative Zipeau, now voiced by British comedian Omid Djalili ("The Mummy," Hallmark Entertainment's "Cleopatra"), an academic Stenonychosaurus who speaks 17 human and Saurian languages. Upon receiving their Dinotopian assignments, cynical Karl is assigned to a Saurian "hatchery," where he's charged with overseeing the birth of an infant Chasmosaurus named 26. David - who is terrified of heights - is ordered to partake in Skybax training on the very frontier of Dinotopia, Canyon City.

The brothers discover that they have arrived at a critical moment in the history of this lost world. The sunstones, a force of life in Dinotopia, are mysteriously failing, and Dinotopia may soon be plunged into darkness and chaos. Finally, the boys save their new home and find their father, alive and well, when they journey to the World Beneath, a dangerous territory forbidden to all the continent's inhabitants.

Now, the series follows Karl, David and Frank as they face their uncertain future on this lost continent. They must attempt to adapt to their new home -- and all its inhabitants, human and otherwise -- with a bold sense of adventure, as they continue to uncover Dinotopia's long-held secrets.

In the premiere episode, "Marooned," T-Rex inexplicably return and attack the villages outside Dinotopia's capital, Waterfall City, after the rebel group known as the Outsiders accidentally discovers a mysterious glowing green pendant in an ancient burial chamber. Meanwhile Frank, unhappy that he is trapped on this lost continent, desperately plots a getaway, despite pleas from Karl and David and warnings that previous attempts to escape have resulted in death.

In the second episode, "Making Good," total panic reigns as the Dinotopians are evacuated from Waterfall City in the face of the rampaging T-Rex. Frank and a reluctant Karl attempt an escape from the island, pulling Marion along with them.

callmetootie
11-22-2002, 12:31 PM
Ugh....it's like Spielberg wanted to put "Jurassic Park" on television. I thought that the film Dinotopia was the most boring, limp, and unrealistic thing I've ever had my displeasure to watch on TV. But at least they put it at a bad timeslot, for where it will most likely die. It's up against the Thursday-night extravaganza on NBC, and CSI/Survivor on CBS. But are thursdays its normal timeslot. I'll be happy if it is, so I can watch it fade away....or in a better way of saying it "not watch it fade away".

callmetootie
11-22-2002, 12:41 PM
Well....I saw that it will air normally at 8:00 on Thursdays. GOOD! It'll die out before Just Shoot Me does!!! It's up against Friends and Scrubs on NBC and Survivor on CBS. That is the WORST place to start out your show. That's what they did with Monk, and they ended up playing with the schedule, and moving it to Monday, and ya-da-ya-da-ya-da. I feel that at least Monk with a somewhat well-known star as the characater could do better than a show that deserves to be another mushy teen show on the WB. OY!

Pavan
11-22-2002, 12:58 PM
Originally posted by callmetootie
Well....I saw that it will air normally at 8:00 on Thursdays. GOOD! It'll die out before Just Shoot Me does!!! It's up against Friends and Scrubs on NBC and Survivor on CBS. That is the WORST place to start out your show. That's what they did with Monk, and they ended up playing with the schedule, and moving it to Monday, and ya-da-ya-da-ya-da. I feel that at least Monk with a somewhat well-known star as the characater could do better than a show that deserves to be another mushy teen show on the WB. OY!

Survivor ends next week. It's not going to die at all, it will improve ABC's Thursday line-up I think. The mini-series was great in the ratings. I don't expect the first day to be that good in the ratings, since it is Thanksgiving Day.

callmetootie
11-22-2002, 01:00 PM
I'd much rather have Dinosaurs come back, rather then this crap. I'm willing to bet that it won't last for more than 5 episodes.

callmetootie
11-28-2002, 10:03 PM
I ended up going back-and-forth between Dinotopia and NBC tonight. Well...sort of.

After 15 minutes of Dinotopia, I almost fell asleep. Why isn't this crap on the WB? It has many comparisons to Smallville...except for the fact that it's about 1/10 as good. Terrible special effects and horrible actors. Ugh...I watched the rest of one of my least favorite sitcoms' Friends instead. I expect this series to at least run as long as: Imagine That, Emeril, Deadline, Danny, or Push Nevada!

Swimfan85
11-28-2002, 11:23 PM
I saw commercials for it but even tho I like Erik von Detten, im not a fan of Dinousour shows/movies/ect