Dinosaurs is an American family sitcom television series that aired on ABC from April 26, 1991 to July 20, 1994. The show, about a family of anthropomorphic dinosaurs, was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions and Jim Henson Television in association with Walt Disney Television and distributed by Buena Vista International, Inc. The characters were designed by Henson team member Kirk Thatcher.
Origins and development[]
News stories written at the time of the show's premiere highlighted Dinosaurs' connection to Jim Henson, who had died the year before. Henson conceived the show in 1988, according to an article in The New York Times, adding he wanted it to be a sitcom, but about a family of dinosaurs. Until the success of The Simpsons, according to Alex Rockwell, a vice president of the Henson organization, "people thought it was a crazy idea."
In the late 1980s, Henson worked with William Stout, a fantasy artist, illustrator and designer, on a feature film starring animatronic dinosaurs with the working title of The Natural History Project; a 1993 article in The New Yorker said that Henson continued to work on a dinosaur project (presumably the Dinosaurs concept) until the "last months of his life."
The television division of The Walt Disney Company began working on the series in 1990 for CBS before the series landed on ABC, which Disney eventually acquired.
Rafael Montemayor Aguiton of Vulture wrote that upon premiere the show "was a hit", and Michael Jacobs stated that this was why the network did not interfere much in the production.
Aguiton wrote that ratings suffered from the show being moved to different time slots on the network. The animatronics made the show relatively expensive, with Stuart Pankin recalling that "I heard it was the most expensive half-hour TV show, at least at that point" and that this contributed to the cancellation.
Plot[]
Dinosaurs is initially set in 60,000,000 BC in Pangaea. The show centers on the Sinclair family: Earl Sneed Sinclair (father), Fran Sinclair (née Phillips – mother), their three children (son, Robbie; daughter, Charlene; and infant, Baby Sinclair) and Fran's mother, Ethyl.
Earl's job is to push over trees for the Wesayso Corporation with his friend and coworker Roy Hess, where they work under the supervision of their boss, Bradley P. Richfield.
Characters[]
The focus of the show's plot is the Sinclair family: Earl, Fran, Robbie, Charlene, Baby, and Ethyl. The family name is a reference to the Sinclair Oil Corporation, which had prominently featured a dinosaur as its logo and mascot for decades, under the belief that petroleum deposits were formed during the age of the dinosaurs. Other character and family names throughout the series often referred to rival petroleum companies or petroleum products. For example: Phillips, Hess, B.P., Richfield, and Ethyl, among others.
Main characters[]
| Character | Voice | Body | Face/Head | Species | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Earl Sneed Sinclair | Stuart Pankin | Bill BarrettaTom Fisher (occasionally) | Dave Goelz (Seasons 1–2)
Mak Wilson (Seasons 2–4) |
Megalosaurus | The patriarch of the Sinclair family, Earl is the protagonist. He is a 43-year-old Megalosaurus and is depicted as being thick-headed and suggestible. Earl works as a Tree Pusher at the WESAYSO Development Corporation.
"Sneed" is the maiden name of Earl's mother. |
| Fran Phillips-Sinclair | Jessica Walter | Mitchel Young Evans (Seasons 1–2)
Tony Sabin Prince (Seasons 2–4) Pons Maar (occasionally) |
Allan Trautman | Allosaurus | The mother and homemaker of the Sinclair family. Fran is mentioned on the show as being an Allosaurus. On rare occasions, Fran wears fuzzy house slippers. Earl affectionately calls his wife "Frannie". |
| Robert Mark "Robbie" Sinclair | Jason Willinger | Leif Tilden | Steve WhitmireRob Mills (occasionally)
Julianne Buescher (eyes) |
Hypsilophodon | Earl and Fran's son and oldest child, he is a Hypsilophodon. Robbie stands out with his red varsity jacket and bright red sneakers. |
| Charlene Sinclair | Sally Struthers | Michelan SistiStar Townsend (occasionally)
Arlene Lorre (Season 1, episode 1 only) |
Bruce Lanoil | Protoceratops | Earl and Fran's only daughter and middle child, she is a Protoceratops. Charlene stands out by wearing sweaters, necklaces, and earrings. |
| Baby Sinclair | Kevin Clash | Terri Hardin (arms, Season 1–3)
Julianne Buescher (arms, Season 4) |
Kevin Clash (head & mouth)
John Kennedy (eyes) |
Megalosaurus | Earl and Fran's son and youngest child, he is a Megalosaurus as stated by Earl. In the episode "Out of the Frying Pan," Baby is shown as a Ceratosaurus. His legal name is Baby Sinclair, which was given to him by the Chief Elder. Baby is sarcastic and wisecracking. His favorite thing to do is to hit Earl on the head with a frying pan. His catch phrases are "I'm the baby, Gotta love me", "Again," and "Not the mama" (his preferred name for his father Earl, much to his father's chagrin). Earl will often call his youngest son "Junior". For a while, the character was actually christened as "Aaah Aagh I'm Dying You Idiot Sinclair" (the unfortunate last words of a dying Chief Elder who was suffering from a heart attack), but it wasn't until the end of the episode in which he received that hilariously crude name that new Chief Elder Edward R. Hero renamed him "Baby Sinclair" after one of his popular catchphrases.
Jacobs stated that the popularity of Baby contributed to the network allowing the creators to run the show as they saw fit stating: "As long as the Baby hit his father over the head with a pot, we could use that to hide anything." |
Supporting characters[]
| Character | Voice | Body | Face/Head | Species | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethyl Hinkleman Phillips | Florence Stanley | Brian Henson (seasons 1–2)
Rickey Boyd (seasons 3–4) Kevin Clash (occasionally) David Greenaway (occasionally) Julianne Buescher (face, occasionally) |
Edmontonia | Ethyl is an Edmontonia who is Fran's mother, Earl's mother-in-law, and the maternal grandmother of Robbie, Charlene, and Baby. Ethyl comes to live with the Sinclairs and is revealed to have a son named Stan (Fran's brother). Ethyl always wears house slippers and uses a wheelchair. Ethyl enjoys making fun of Earl and hitting him with her cane. | |
| Roy Danger Hess | Sam McMurray | Pons Maar (body)
Julianne Buescher (arms) |
David Greenaway | Tyrannosaurus rex | Roy is Earl's co-worker at the WESAYSO Development Corporation and best friend. He is a dimwitted Tyrannosaurus who also has a brother named Roy. |
| Bradley P. "B.P." Richfield | Sherman Hemsley | Leif Tilden (arms and hands) | Steve WhitmireRob Mills (occasionally) | Triceratops | B.P. Richfield is Earl, Roy, Ralph, Gus, and Sid's aggressive, heartless and temperamental boss at the WESAYSO Development Corporation where he oversees the Tree Pushers. He is a Triceratops, but has the frill spikes of a Styracosaurus. In episode "Hungry for Love," it is revealed that Mr. Richfield has a daughter named Wendy (in which she there is a slight affair with Robbie) and was known for eating any boyfriend of hers that disappoints him. |
| Monica DeVertebrae | Suzie Plakson | n/a | Julianne Buescher | Brontosaurus | A Brontosaurus and Fran's best friend who is the only four-legged dinosaur on the show and Roy's love interest. She is usually seen from the neck up. It took three or four people to operate her neck and head. |
| Spike (full name unknown) | Christopher Meloni | David Greenaway | N/A | Polacanthus | He is a semi-regular character who resembles a Polacanthus with a bandana, a black leather jacket, and biker boots. Spike is Robbie's best friend who often refers to him as "Scooter." Spike is normally a bad influence on Robbie, whom he enjoys belittling and goading into dangerous and/or humiliating situations. To Spike's credit however, he talked sense into his friend when Robbie used thornoids (sentient anabolic substances) to impress a pretty female classmate. |
| Ralph Needlenose | Various | Various | Various | Troodon | A Troodon who is a co-worker of Earl and Roy at the WESAYSO Development Corporation. The Full-Bodied costume used for Ralph is often used for one-appearance minor characters. |
| Gus Spikeback | Various | Various | Various | Ceratosaurus | A Ceratosaurus who is a co-worker of Earl and Roy at the WESAYSO Development Corporation. The Full-Bodied costume used for Gus is often used for one-appearance minor characters. |
| Sid Turtlepuss | Michelan Sisti | John Kennedy | Michelan Sisti | Psittacosaurus | A Psittacosaurus who is a co-worker of Earl and Roy at the WESAYSO Development Corporation. Sid is seen more than the other characters. He enjoys bagels and donuts. The Full-Bodied costume used for Sid is often used for one-appearance minor characters. |
| Mr. Pulman | Allan Trautman | Bruce Lanoil (first time)
Tom Fisher (later appearances) |
Allan Trautman | Troodon | A bespectacled Troodon who is Robbie, Charlene, Mindy, and Spike's teacher at Bob LaBrea High School. The Full-Bodied costume used for Mr. Pulman is often used for one-appearance minor characters. |
| Mindy | Jessica Lundy | Star Townsend | Julianne Buescher | Corythosaurus | A female Corythosaurus who is Charlene's best friend. There are two different characters with the same name that are both friends of Charlene. There are also two unrelated characters called Mindy:
|
| Howard Handupme | Kevin Clash | N/A | N/A | Pachycephalosaurus | A Walter Cronkite-esque Pachycephalosaurus who is the newscaster for DNN (short for Dinosaur News Network) which is a spoof of CNN. He is one of a few characters that isn't a Full-Bodied character. |
| Chief Elder | Various Voices | Various Performers | N/A | Various species | Also known as the Elder-in-Chief, the Chief Elder presides over all of the government in Pangaea. It is assumed that he is the head of the Council of Elders. There had been different Chief Elders in different appearances:
|
| Mr. Lizard | Allan Trautman | N/A | N/A | Iguanodon | Mr. Lizard is a gray Iguanodon who is the star of Baby's favorite TV show "Ask Mr. Lizard" (a parody of the television show Watch Mr. Wizard). His show helpfully taught generations of children about science that was vaguely related to scientific principles, but mostly existed as a way of ridding the world of young dinosaurs named Timmy. After the often violent death of his assistant, Mr. Lizard would cheerfully call off-camera "We're going to need another Timmy!" |
Other characters[]
| Character | Voice | Body | Face/Head | Species | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary | Steve Landesberg | N/A | N/A | Dilophosaurus | Gary is a 50 ft. dinosaur whose feet can only be seen. He appeared in the Dinosaurs episode "High Noon". He takes a romantic interest in Fran, and challenges Earl for her. Gary has been classified as a Dilophosaurus. Dilophosaurus was actually smaller than Megalosaurus in reality. |
| Blarney | Steve Whitmire | Steve Whitmire | Steve Whitmire | Deinonychus | Blarney is a red Deinonychus hand-puppet character on Dinosaurs, intended as a spoof of Barney the Dinosaur. He appeared in Dinosaur TV segments in two fourth-season episodes – "Terrible Twos" and "Into the Woods". Blarney is adored by young children, but is less popular with older viewers. He appears on videotapes released as part of the Blarney Home Video Library. Parents who order will "get a new video delivered to their child every hour for the next decade". Titles spoof not only the Barney franchise, but other commercials for mail-order videos, from fitness and health tapes to bridge, computers, and semi-religious quests. |
| Henri Poupon | Tim Curry | Allan Trautman (puppeteer) | N/A | Archaeopteryx | Henri Poupon is an Archaeopteryx that appeared in the episode "Getting to Know You". Henri is the father of Francois Poupon and husband of Simone Poupon. The Poupons are a family of birds who come from an unnamed country, clearly based on France, that is outside of Pangea. Henri is irritated by exchange student Charlene Sinclair. He is disappointed by the consumption of his own son, but feels that a big screen TV would help the healing process. |
| Simone Poupon | Julianne Buescher | Julianne Buescher | Simone Poupon is an Archaeopteryx that appeared in the episode "Getting to Know You". She is the wife of Henri and the mother of Francois. | ||
| Francois Poupon | Bruce Lanoil | Bruce Lanoil | Francois Poupon is an Archaeopteryx that appeared in the episode "Getting to Know You". He is the son of Henri Poupon and Simone Poupon. Francois was eaten by Baby Sinclair. | ||
| Decker | Thom Sharp | Pons Maar | Rickey Boyd | Glyptodon | Decker is a Glyptodon that appeared in the episode "Monster Under the Bed". When thought to be the titular monster that has been lurking under Baby Sinclair's bed, it turns out that he was lurking under their house which they built over his house when he captured him, Charlene, and Robbie. Decker did mention that he had to get a permit to do some tunnel digging. When Earl and Fran find out about the situation that ended up involving the police and a broadcast from Howard Handupme that covered the hostage situation, Baby Sinclair suggested that they move the Sinclair house off of Decker's house. Everyone accepted that idea after Howard Handupme did a consultation with someone as it is moved a short distance away from where Decker's house is. |
| Georgie | Allan Trautman (normal voice), Edward Asner (evil voice) | Jack Tate | Allan Trautman | European hippopotamus | Georgie is a dinosaur dressed as a full bodied European hippopotamus. He is a children's TV icon and host of "The Georgie Show" who appeared in the Dinosaurs episode "Georgie Must Die." He appears as kind-hearted. Georgie is actually a megalomaniac planning to take over the world through his financial empire and the devotion of the dinosaur children. After Earl was arrested for impersonating Georgie, Fran invited Georgie down to the police department to clear things up where he showed off his bad side when alone with Earl while stating that he was not pleased with Earl posing as him and reveals his evil plans to take over the minds of children. Later that night, Earl learned about his motives from Jean-Claude and Brigitte upon them springing Earl from the police department. Earl later fought Georgie on his television show and ended up defeating him. During the credits on the DNN Pre-Prime News, Howard Handupme reported about the resulting fallout caused by last week's melee on "The Georgie Show" that sparked a Justice Department investigation on the Georgie empire leading to the arrest of Georgie himself on the charges of tax evasion and racketeering. It was also mentioned by Handupme that Earl was pardoned of all criminal charges by the Chief Elder who is also a parent, presented Earl with the Key to the City, and thanking Earl for in his words "giving that chuckling carpet bag the well-deserved shot in the chops". Roy ended up taking his place on TV as the eponymous "Uncle Roy." Like Blarney, Georgie is also a parody of Barney. |