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Join Date: Jan 09, 2001
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- Other Thoughts:
For those who don't remember, Dinosaurs was a show on ABC in the early 90s revolving around the life of Earl Sinclair (the mighty Megalosaurus) and his family during a few million years BC. Instead of humans or animation, the actors wore dinosaur costumes (this show was produced by Jim Henson), which added to its appeal. However, it jumped when Baby "Not-the-Mama!" Sinclair hit the peak of his popularity by making that damn music video. Despite this, it was a truly unique show. I miss it. (BTW, do the reruns still come on the Disney Channel?)
I enjoyed this show, especially the references to oil companies (Earl Sinclair, his boss B.P. Richfield). However, when Baby Sinclair, arrived he was initially cute but how many times could you hear "not the mama!" before going insane.
To correct the above comment, Baby never "arrived," he was there from day one. But the true jump came with the Potatoism episode from the third season. It was just too stupid. But on the whole, truly a great show, and also important, because it was the last show Jim Henson developed before his death.
This show never jumped! I really loved that Exorcist episode!
This show never jumped. Hey- does anyone remember The Happy Plant episode
The humor and genius of the Jim Henson came through in every episode of this show. The "not the mama" show was probably the low point of a truly funny series. Naming a newscaster muppet "Howard Handupme" was just one of the many little jokes placed within this show. Every few weeks it would change it's air time and they would always have the dinos watching TV and making fun of the show that was opposite them on the other networks. This show never jumped the shark, but without Henson, it probably would have, especially after it sold to Disney. I have a feeling that it missed the teen audience because they thought it was a kid's show. Watch the reruns! They're a crack-up.
no way dinosaurs ever jumped. It was hilarious. yeah not the mama got boring after awhile but it was tolerable. My favorite episode was a court trial between the female brontosaurus and I think earl. The prosecutor put the female bronto on trial and kept asking "isn't it true that you were a prostitute for ten years?" and hilarious questions like that.
HandUpMe is actually pretty funny. Anyway, I loved the show, sure, "Not The Mamma" did get tiresome. I liked the Happy Plant, Happy Fridge Day, and the last episode when they shoved an environmental awareness "This could Happen" episode down your throat by implying that dinosaurs became extinct after destroying the rain forests and ozone layer without a care. I still remember the spots on TV before the show when they showed the end and said that it was coming soon. Man, that was like 12, 13 years ago! I've moved twice since then!
The dinosaurs were so ugly. Yeah, okay, i'll admit it was kinda cool, but after a couple of episodes I just got sick of looking at those ugly things...ok, so I'm superficial. Not the mama: now that got kinda old!
This was a sweet show, and the costumes made it all the more believable. The Happy Plant episode was a bit sappy, but otherwise hilarious. "Not the mama!"
Never jumped. Couldn't jump. Characters were clever and funny. Not even the somewhat redundant "not the mama" thing could have killed this show. Whoever canceled it must have been ingesting some of the happy plant.
The first episode didn't have a laugh track, and it was very funny. When they added it in the next episode, it just made the show feel cheap.
The Simpsons said it best in the episode when they were watching this show on TV: "It's like they took our family and made a television show out of us!"
It was a funny show, but the "Christmas" episode called "Happy Refrigerator Day!" completely jumped! I never watched it since! What kind of writing was that? It made no sense!
I wanted to say "Day 1", but that option doesn't seem to be there any longer. Besides, the first show was kinda cute, especially with the character's surnames being the same as old oil company names. THAT was funny. BUT, it seemed that every week the Henson family had to shove their own politically-correct lecture down our throats. We got the "war is bad" episode, the "pollution is bad" episode, and the VERY SPECIAL "meat eating is bad" episode, et cetera, ad nauseum, ad infinitum! My (former) girlfriend's little boy adored the show, so it was on every Friday. Thank God I could retreat into my office (and later the pub down the street... no wall insulation in that condo)! Jim Henson learned the lessons taught by his KGB handlers exceptionally well. The show was a piece of leftist agit-prop with the occasional decent throwaway one-liner.
assigning names and jobs?? howard handupme?? not the momma?? "happy plant"?? say it. say it.. "We're gonna need another Timmy!!!!!!" YAY!!!!! Mister Lizard. HAHAHAHAHA Now Timmy, you look right into this Rocket engine while i stand behind this lead wall. hahahahaha. This show never got old. remember the creatures in the fridge?? classic.the only time it came close to JTSing, was when they introduced the brontasaur neighbor, but that was greatt stuff. remember the fight episode where Earl was gonna fight the T Rex?? Classic moment. the tar pit episode. hahaha. oh well. yet another great show that was killed prematurly. WE'RE GONNA NEED ANOTHER SHOW TO LAUGH AT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think that this show suffered from "Simnpson-itis" (the only difference being that The Simpsons go over it). This show was neglected by older T.V. viewers because they all said "Hey, muppets, this must be a kids show" (much like in the early years people said "Hey, The Simpsons, it's animated, must be for kids"). Most of the jokes in this show, aside from the somewhat annoying catchphrases, were not geared at kids in the least, because they were all over their heads (I should know, I was six when it debuted, and only since watching the re-runs on the Disney channel have I finally been able to marvel in the amazing amount of wit, hidden jokes, and humor that I never caught as a six year old). I mean, naming them after fuel companies, genius! Handupme for a muppet name, comedy at it's finest. I wish this show could have outlasted it's "Simpson-itis", because it was one of the most clever shows I have ever been privileged enough to say I was even ALIVE when it was on, we need more shows like this, instead of the swill that passes for most sitcoms today. All of the episodes are classics, and if you've never seen it, then by all means, FIND A WAY. Finally, with all the catchphrases on this show ("Not the Mama!", "I'm the baby, gotta love me!", etc.) the one that will NEVER get old... "Looks like we're gonna need another Timmy!"...
Neat show. When the "happy plant" episode ended with Robbie talking to the camera about the dangers of preachy sitcoms, I cracked up. The really surprising thing about this show is that the same puppeteer who "played" Baby (aka Ugh, Ugh, I'm Dying You Idiot) Sinclair also "plays" that creepy red abomination on Sesame Street.
This show was so funny! I remember one episode when the creatures in the freezer escape and take over.Or how about the episode when Robbie and his sister kept saying the world is round, so the government arranged to have them thrown off the edge of the Earth. But they weren't because there wasn't one! Classic.
Never jumped for sure. I love this show (I'm glad my friend has the bulk of the episodes on tape, as well)! It probably fizzled out either because people never recognized it as an adult show as well (Baby Sinclair's catchphrases actually ceased pretty quickly) or because of Jim Henson's death. Still, it had great humor, particularly because, even though it had the "very special" type of episodes, they were handled well and uniquely: The "Happy Plant" gave us a look at stoned dinosaurs ("How come our number system is based on units of ten when we only have EIGHT fingers?" "WOAHHHHHH..."), then the "Spinoid" episode (Robbie eats some spiny creatures to grow muscles). It also had some innuendos (Fran walking in on Robbie doing "the mating dance" by himself  ) and other gags that made it, as Earl once said, looking like a kids show with dialogue clearly aimed at adults. And to this day, it remains the only TV show that has been able to bring a tear to my eye (the finale was extremely sad).
This show was (still is..when aired)soooo cool. Incredibly funny,the baby and the Grandma, especially. The episode where Earl tries to bury Grandma before her time was hilarious! And the phrase "I'm a baby, gotta love me..." is still used in my house all the time. I wish it was still on the air, maybe replace "Sabrina, the teenage....whatever". Truly a classic comedy!
I loved "Dinosaurs" when it ran on ABC in early '90's & then in syndication awhile(except the syndied shows that cut out some of the opening theme ABC used)...anyways,I remember a teacher at my old school tell me:"Don't watch Dinosaurs! It's terrible!"(He was being facetious,as he loved it);despite his "advice",I tuned in & immediately(well,at least no more than 2 minutes later!)enjoyed it! The animation by Henson(Muppets)was cool,and I just liked the overall show! Earl("Not the Mama!")had been cool at times but was a dominating,bossy ASS especially to teen-ager Robbie who was just trying to grow up & check out things in his own way,though I wonder if he should've hung 'round that biker-punk-gangster-whatever Spike...also,the "Wesayso" company episode where B.P.Richfield had to lay off Earl/his comrades 'cause there were no more trees to push down(is THAT ALL THEY DID?! Hell,lemme do that if I only had the strength)! And remember the show where Grandma had a "near-death experience" & went thru a light to the "afterlife"? Then she "snapped back" to Earth & wanted to tell all 'bout the pleasures of such,only to be re-visited with it & be told to enjoy her earthly existence or else she'd end up in a "not-so-nice" place...filled with Earl's! Plus the "happy plant" was cool(they had drugs back then?)& the baby("Gotta love me!")whining to go to the theme park("I wanna go to Wesayso land!")was funny too,but after family was there they had to pay for everything out the ass & wasn't fun(just like real-life)...the teen-age daughter(Lucy?)was okay but studied too much & worried too much over guys(LOL),and didn't Earl try his hand at being "boss" once in place of B.P.? I haven't seen show in a few years but it's the only Henson show I liked(don't like the Muppet Show).
Most of the comments don't seem to acknowledge the sharply satiric nature of Dinosaurs. Only the guy that called it "politically correct" "left wing propaganda," stating, essentially, that he would rather go to the local pub and dull his mind further than to put up with anti-war, anti-greed, pro-environment messages, seemed to get it.
Dinosaurs was always preachy but the final episode takes the cake. Scaring children into thinking that the world is going to come to an end unless they embrace liberal bleeding heart environmentalist propaganda is irresponsible.
The dinosaurs were scary, not because they were suppose to be, but because they didnt wear pants, and what was horrifying Earl didnt have any genitial, and his dorky son I wanted to murder.
I thought this show was the best! I used to run around stomping my feet during the opening credits (I was a kid give me a break) But the show was funny and was like a real family show. And I'm shamed to admit that I actually had a crush on the son!
Never, ever got close to jumping. The sheer insanity of the W.A.R. (We Are Right) where they came up with a logo for the soldiers to where on their backs -- red and white concentric circles!
This show did have some good throwaway jokes, but was never able to overcome it's preachy and condescending nature. Actually, I think that might have been it's selling point. During the early 90's, left-wing politics, most notably enviromentalism, somehow managed to become trendy among young children, and Dinosaurs played to that feeling of social consciousness. I was never able to figure out wether the show was serious about it's viewpoints or self-mocking, which was probably it's biggest problem... the audience couldn't figure it out either, so they were left to assume it was just a preachy sitcom. In any case, I still prefer Fraggle Rock.
What the Christ was that last episode?! Does anyone remember that strange and not well done final episode where old Earl turns out to be responsible for the death of the entire dinosaur world? That wasn't necessary. It's like they wanted us to feel bad they couldn't keep the lousy show on longer. It rained ashes! And then Credits! A hilariously awkward moment in T.V. history.
Re: the daughter's name. It was Charlene, voiced by Sally Struthers. I thought it was hilarious when she stole Earl's credit card and bought a really expensive (cat) fur coat. The coat was a pretentious status symbol, voiced by Tim Curry.
This show JTS day one! When this show was popular and everyone was running around saying "Not the mama," I was about 11 and my peers all thought it was the best show on television. To this day this lame show haunts me, the way the daddy dinosaur sat around wearing a plaid shirt reminded me too much of Roseanne's "Dan" character. A bad show from the start, how did it last so long?
I remember Dinosaurs when I was little, and it always would make me laugh and I thought that it sorta taught me a lot about the dinos and what they were about. Sure--the baby DID get annoying, but it was good. I loved the episode where the mom thought she died and came back to tell everyone!!! It was clinchers like that, that drew me towards it, and I miss it greatly!!!
As a little kid with my dad I loved watching this show. It was great!!I remember not liking the baby at all, but I also remember that really bad song and music video. Just like that song Dur Dur D'Etre Bebe by that French toddler, this song was something that screwed up the otherwise great early 1990s for us North American toddlers.
To this day I love this show! Especially the episode where the neighbour gets hit on by harris the tree-pusher while at work (Women as tree-pushers? NEVER). The court trial is hilarious, lothario Harris has the nickname of "Sexual" Harris so the theme of the trial becomes "What Sexual Harris Meant". I cant sit through a work seminar on Sexual Harassment without thinking about this show!
It hurts to say this, because I really loved this show, liberal agenda and all, but I HATED the last episode. Yes, I know there were always dark moments -- "We're gonna need another Timmy" and "Totally Hidden Predator" come to mind -- but they were tongue in cheek satire. But I was totally unprepared to watch these dear characters suffer horribly, with the worst still to come! After watching wide-eyed Baby asking for food that you knew he wasn't going to get at fade out, I looked at my own wide-eyed son, and, sadly, I realized I'd never be able to watch this show again. And you know, even though I own several pro dupes, I never have.
The show never jumped and the final episode left no guess work as to what would happen to them unlike most shows that always leave a window of opportunity to continue the show somehow, somewhere, rather than except cancellation.
Dinosaurs was a great show. I was in my early teens when it premiered, and once I realized that it wasn't a kids' show, I watched it all the time. I loved the dialogue between Earl and his mother-in-law Ethyl. The episode when he buried her alive was one of the funniest. I also really liked Earl's boss, B.P. Richfield! I still laugh when I think about him singing "Purple Haze" in the "Happy Plant" episode. "We're gonna sit around all day and eat the happy plant! Can you dig it? I kneeeeeeew you could!!" Earl's friend Roy and Robbie's friend Spike were also great. This show never jumped the shark...it was very well done.
Dinosaurs is infinitely delightful even though it is off the air--the highlight of the entire series is when Earl asks the baby if he is making a poop and the baby groans (indicating that he is indeed making a poop)and than says "Not anymore!" I quote that to this day!
Dinosaurs was a truly great show that was a hair away from being the pop culture phenomenon the Simpsons became. It tackled the social issues of the day, which are pretty much the same as they are now, and it had funny slapstick humor as well as intelligent jokes, like a Norman Lear show with huge puppets. It was hilarious watching how they tackled topical issues by relating them to prehistoric times a la the Flintstones, like Robbie wanting to do the 'mating dance', the use of the profanity "Smoo" on TV, and having the cavemen be a subjugated minority and naming sports teams after them like they do with Native Americans. The series finale was one of the best ever for a show, shocking and perfectly capping off the run with brilliance. The Baby's song was the closest thing to a shark jump this show had, but no dice. This show was way too ahead of its time and smart for the TGIF kiddie and family audience, but it was great while it lasted and ran a perfect course
This was a fantastic show that was extremely well-written and performed. The baby was absolutely adorable. I loved the liberal viewpoint of the show. The voice artists were magnificent (Stuart Pankin (as Earl Sinclair) and Sherman Hemsley as his boss) were the funniest--but all of them were wonderful. I agree with the earlier post comparing the show to All in the Family--it was that good, if not better. I'm really glad I taped many of the episodes so that the witty scripts aren't just memories that fade.
Dinosaurs was one of the best shows ever made by U.S. television. I have each episode on tape and can watch any or all of them without being annoyed or bored. Great social commentary with high entertainment value throughout the series. If you pick out the best 50-60 Simpsons episodes you might get a series about half as good as Dinosaurs. No, I'm not a Simpsons basher but that show isn't being allowed to die with dignity. Dinosaurs made all its points then left the stage. Thank you and good day!
Never understood why folks who don't like a show (or its message) watch it anyway. Dinosaurs was clever at the least and wickedly pointed at its best. So what if the last show "depressed" somebody? The truth hurts and we don't always like to see it in the guise of entertainment. Can't face the fact that the real dinosaurs died a horrible death? Can't face the fact that we humans are causing environmental damage? Can't face the fact that war shouldn't be our automatic first choice? Well, for heaven's sake, then go watch Three's Company or Love Boat or something. I miss Dinosaurs, even though it made me uncomfortable sometimes. It made me think about relevant issues -- and what's wrong with that? Beats watching some of the other stuff out there that passes for entertainment, like the friends who populate a store called Central Perk.
I absolutely loved DINOSAURS during its brief run on ABC. I don't why but this show was consistently entertaining and the voices suited the characters extremely well. I liked the PLANET OF THE APES sensibility where the few times humans were glanced they were projected as animals and beasts of burden. Stuart Pankin was great as the voice of Earl Sinclair and Sally Struthers did daughter Charleen justice without subjecting us to the fact that Sally Struthers has gotten as big as a house. This show was funny as hell and never jumped the shark. All together now: "Not the Mama, Not the Mama!"
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10-01-2013, 11:54 PM
Dinosaurs Boned the Fish When...
