Dinosauri

Just like my favorite romance movie, the Princess Bride, or even Rocky and Bullwinkle for that matter, here's a show that's clearly written for two completely different audiences- the kids that love them, and the parents that watch with them. If you want the most cutting example of this, watch the Dinosaurs episode in which a Barney-like animal (a Hippo, if I remember right?)hosts a daytime TV kiddie show, but he's really a manipulative bad guy when the TV cameras are off. Throw in the French Resistance, complete with horrible Clouseau-like frrrrench accents, and, well, you get the idea. Absurdist humor at it's best. I guarantee you'll laugh at this one.

One other noteworthy episode is the last one- it appears that they knew that the show was cancelled, so they put together a parting shot; very different in tone from the rest of the series. Thank goodness this series FINALLY came out on DVD. Now I can throw all those videotapes away.

Watch this with your kids, if you have any. In the words of Baby dinosaur, "AGAIN!!!!!"

Have none of these people ever seen the Flintstones, or its antecedent, the Honeymooners? It was exactly that in formula, but I think the plots and even some of the jokes were deeper and more subtle than these other shows.

I really enjoyed it, though I can understand that why it wouldn't appeal to a lot of the TV audience. First of all, the average channel flipper probably wouldn't watch a Muppet-style show long enough to follow the storyline, characters, and jokes. Secondly, the dry wit wouldn't have been to the taste of some of the audience that did give it a few minutes. Still, if King of the Hill has managed to maintain enough of a demographic to stay on the air as long as it has, Dinosaurs should have been able to get a longer run as well... it was a much better show (IMO).

This is one of the few series I would buy on DVD. Hope to see it eventually available.

This show was fantastic, really funny with the baby being the funniest character, he was always hitting Earl Sinclair on the the head with a frying pan and saying "Not the Mamma". Its just a shame the cancelled it and you can't get the videos anymore.

This show ran the gamut from really bad to really amazing. I for one never was a fan of the obnoxious baby (no, I don't gotta love you), but the rest of the characters were very well-done. Several episodes were hilariously spot-on.

Fran & Earl getting their marriage license renewed ("Earl, let's go upstairs and pretend it's Thursday" is a line I *still* quote to this day).

Robbie "coming out"...as a vegetarian. ("I can't be an herbivore! My dad's a carnivore, my mom's a carnivore..." "Well, it's not necessarily hereditary.").

Robbie's howling (featuring Robbie buying the "So You Want to Learn to Howl" 8-track).

The two-episode "Nuts to War" ("What happened to your eye?" "A pointed stick with my name on it." "Gee, what are the odds?").

And although the finale was extremely heavy-handed and depressing, I give them credit for doing a completely unexpected and serious one instead of the traditional "and they all lived happily ever after".

Best self-referential joke: Real watching sock puppets on TV. "Hey, Fran, you gotta see this. Sure, they're puppets, but they're really funny." To which Fran says, "Forget it - I'm not watching puppets." Probably the reason the show didn't make it.

Possibly one of the greatest concepts in television history. It is a beautifully done show; with amazing characters, set, and stories. The most important thing about this show is the social satire that it puts forth... It is on the same par as the Simpsons and South Park for making one think about social norms in the US society and world culture... the final thing I will say about the show is that there isn't a laugh track in the background, it can be a little weird if you haven't seen the show in a while, but then you realize how brilliant the show is...it's just an honest and wholesome show for everyone. Get it for the kids, get it if you remember the early 90's and want to remember how awesome it was, or get it for the first time and learn how good t.v. can be.