Dinosaurs, The Sitcom Before Time

Debuting back in 1991, this sitcom used full-body puppets to create a show that used a kid-friendly aesthetic to deliver shockingly relevant political and social commentary. It was also pretty darn funny. And thanks to its use of practical effects, it's also aged visually considerably well too.
This video is a look at some of the major themes that ran through this short-lived series, only lasting a mere four seasons, including one of the most memorable finales in TV history.
Follow me on Twitter: / josenotajay
Contribute to my Patreon: / joseonyoutube
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @josebird
Thumbnail concept by fluttr.me

[@JoseBird]

I see a lot of people asking what the broadcaster at 24:00 is saying. The term he's using is "Four-Leggers".

[@superstraight8402]

Looool

[@FizzleFX]

31:45 wait wait wait waiiiit - you are saying they *ALL LOOK ALIKE TO YOU!?* ... that's racist! I am glad they died 65mil years ago so they don't have to hear you being this insensitive!

[@riinak7212]

This is a strange request, but how about "Small Wonder"?

[@xdr22]

I was about to post a funny comment :))

[@gabby3036]

Knowing that doesn't make it sound any less unpleasant. Lawl.

[@xenosbreed]

'Obviously I'm not talking about productive members of society, I'm talking about teenage boys and the poor' 30 years later this show still slaps so freaking hard.

[@ddjsoyenby]

ikr.

[@spacecadet9663]

When I heard that all I could think of is all my buddies who went off to join up with the army/marines after Highschool. It sucks, because for a lot of men and women who grew up working class or poor the military can be their only way outta poverty and into college. Hell, I was almost recruited by the local marine recruitment officer in my area. Luckily for me I had preexisting health conditions that precluded me from enlisting. I still kinda wonder how my life might've turned out had I joined. Most likely scarred and traumatized like most of my other buddies who did. But fuck em though, because the only reason I wanted to join was to become a better marksman with a rifle, but it turns out that I didn't even need them for that. Plus I don't think I could've used one of those evil imperialistic M4's for long, I much more prefer the true revolutionary's rifle, the AK.

[@russellharrell2747]

It was true 30 years before this show aired as well

[@spankthemonkey3437]

Knock the momma😁

[@cannibalisticrequiem]

@@spankthemonkey3437 NOT the momma.

[@bgiv2010]

I loved that line about "why are we counting backwards? What are we waiting for?"

[@NotoriousLightning]

Do you agree with this comment? Then you will love the Lamageddon movie!

[@SugarSnapDragon]

yup

[@worm.7767]

"You're not a soldier you're a kid!" Is such a fucking heavy line and it came from a sitcom about puppet dinosaurs

[@PiedraDeIjada]

"School is not for asking questions. It's a place you go to be out of this house"...... Damn that sounds like something the pandemic has highlighted nowadays.

[@dallascopp4798]

Teachers and parents have two different understanding for the need of schools. Schools are escapism of responsibility for parents from their responsibility of taking care of their children while they gain technical skills in the process and teacher see it as an obvious place of learning for future generations to gain knowledge from (and a paycheck). This is an unspoken relationship between parents and teachers, both get what they want when children go to school. The lockdowns obviously broke this social contract by forcing children to learn at home makes parents stay home and miss work and/or having a social life beyond their children. The parents lost their end of the bargain, while the teachers are so happy not to watch children all day and still get paid to teach them anyways. Now teacher unions are fighting tooth and nail not to reopen any schools because teachers likes the new deal and not needing to go into work and they have no intention of giving that up all the while its under the thin veil of safety even though many teachers went on vacations and travelled.

[@DebatingWombat]

@@dallascopp4798 Really? Because in my neck of the woods (not the US, btw), hardly anyone at any level in the educational sector were NOT looking forward to reopening. I can think of exactly one who said he enjoyed teaching online, and that was in further education. Generally, school teachers have been missing seeing their pupils and vice versa. The only positive thing about online working I’ve heard of from teachers is that some of the boring meetings can be held online… The claims about teacher’s unions and teachers vacationing sounds dubious, to say the least. Especially dubious is the claim that it was a trend that many teachers traveled, not least when the restrictions on travelling are considered.

[@devforfun5618]

@@dallascopp4798 meanwhile in Brazil, the president that used to want remote school now started wanting to reopen everything when they realized not everyone has a computer at home or internet plan for video calls, not that he really cares about poor children losing on education, but it is damaging his popularity

[@thanksforreading33]

@@DebatingWombat Same situation here (Us). All of my teachers were genuinely bummed to have virtual learning. Some even retired because they were so depressed.

[@Snarl_Marx]

Rest in peace, Jessica Walter. She was a huge personality and her talent and humor will be missed.

[@fraudulentfem7322]

Omg I missed the news

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

omg another jessica walters show! i'm 30 seconds in but this seems quite a different character to Lucille Bluth or Malory Archer - nice

[@standoughope]

Her chicken dance in Arrested Development had me in tears... it's my all time favorite scene from AD... "have any of you ever actually seen a chicken?" XD

[@doubtful_seer]

WHAT?

[@frumtheground]

I had no idea. ☹

[@stevenyukabacera160]

Every time I re-watch Dinosaurs, it strikes me just how *hard* that show went. They did not mess around.

[@dynamicworlds1]

My highshool history teacher showed the W.A.R. episode on a slow day (in the early years of the war in Iraq) Side note: realizing that "early years" was the correct phrasing was...unsettling.

[@Robstafarian]

@@dynamicworlds1 Which of the two wars in Iraq was it?

[@dynamicworlds1]

@@Robstafarian the one the younger Bush started that was justified with obvious lies that the majority of the population accepted without question.

[@s_mazey]

How do you rewatch episodes? It was over my head at the time but I’d love to watch now because...progressive 🤷‍♀️

[@carybeweary7209]

@@s_mazey it's on Disney Plus

[@chenstormstout9456]

I’m honestly just amazed at how much the animatronics can emote. Like there’s some serious hardware under those costumes.

[@josephmoore286]

Better than the animatronics used in Jurassic World.

[@TwoWholeWorms]

Henson's company was (and still is) legendary.

[@springchickena1]

amazing to me is how they move in suits and puppet them with huge animatronic faces. like the nightmares from freddy's pizza, but an actual job people had. @@TwoWholeWorms

[@JagoShogun]

I almost forget they're being controlled remotely haha!

[@chenstormstout9456]

@@JagoShogun just the heads, the rest is a full suit.

[@lancerguy3667]

Dinosaurs is like classic-era simpsons. It's a show you watch religiously as a kid, laugh your head off, and don't think too much about. Then, as an adult, you remember it fondly, revisit it one day, see all the social and political commentary, and think "...how the hell did I miss ALL of that?" You basically get to experience it for the first time twice. That's the sign of something really special.

[@johnr797]

Funnily enough, I always think of jurassic park in that same way. As a kid, "ooh cool dinosaurs!" As an adult, "can we truly impose order on a chaotic universe?"

[@AstraVex]

Classic-era Simpsons would be right! New modern Simpsons is miserable writing with hard-hitting plots like "What if Homer bought an iPad?" 🤨

[@heathercalun4919]

I feel like in the argument of "who ripped off who?" people ignore the obvious. Excuse the pun, but "All in the Family" is the most recent common ancestor. Ok well it's not totally ignored.

[@mexisss23m.t.]

Great comment. Sums up perfectly what I'm feeling right now watching this video. I watched this so much as a kid and forgot about it because it was just some old baby cartoon, but seeing this video and going through all the subjects they touched on, I'm now very impressed with the show once again on how they discuss these topics while being comedic and fun to watch along.

[@derekllewellyn6663]

@@johnr797 TV show on doing live 50th anniversary celebration party years birthday and new season start show on seeme street season start in Spanish language arts center spot on Jim Henson's and Brian Henson and make sure most amazing maze in the world

[@fpedrosa2076]

Not sure how appropriate this story is, but this show aired in my country, dubbed, and there was an episode where they had this thing called "hurling day" where you threw your family members that were too old to contribute into a pit or something. I was very young when I watched it. My grandma watched the episode with me and laughed her head off. To this day she jokes that her "hurling day" is coming up. She's still doing well though, despite COVID and I'm super lucky she's still around. Nothing much else to add, just a random family story.

[@Xondar11223344]

I love that story. Your grandma is wonderful.

[@alanhegewisch4486]

Thank you for sharing. Your grandma sounds rad.

[@jblue1622]

That is cute and dope!

[@ymd2516]

I just watched that episode last night. It was pretty dark subject for the 3rd episode of the series 😂

[@victoriareissilveira9129]

Idk if you are also Brazilian, but the same thing happened in my family! To this day mom jokes about the "poço de piche" haha. An iconic series in Brazil, shame few ppl have heard of it where I am now (UK)

[@lostmarble540]

The dinosaurs starting a war over pistachios is eerily similar to how the American pistachio industry lobbied for war with Iran a few years back

[@cataclysmicmystics]

Wait the American pistachio industry did WHAT

[@scaper8]

@Lex Bright Raven Yep. They're still around too! Just now know as Chiquita. Hell, the term "banana republic" comes stright from this and a few related events.

[@Potatotenkopf]

Didn't pineapple and sugar companies heavily influence the US overthrow the Hawaiian monarchy too?

[@scaper8]

@@Potatotenkopf I hadn't heard that, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[@Potatotenkopf]

@@scaper8 "make" is too strong of a word but I'm pretty sure those companies did at least heavily influence the actions of the US in Hawaii.

[@TheChrisHype]

Alan Trautman (Fran Sinclair's puppeteer) was my Improv coach in College. Anytime he spoke of Dinosaurs, and his time on it, he had such a joyful glee to his tone and personality. You could tell that he absolutely loved doing this show.

[@vabvaab]

It's still amazing how expressive their faces are, I don't think it's ever been topped. You forget you're looking at pretty weird puppets and just buy into the world.

[@2nd3rd1st]

I call Earl's commitment to carnivorism into question over his immediate acceptance of an almighty Potato God.

[@Davethe3rd]

Maybe he refuses to eat vegetables because his god is one?

[@2nd3rd1st]

@@Davethe3rd I don't know which episode came first but if the Potato God ep. came before the "green scare" ep., Earl should have had a lot more sympathy for Robbie's vegetarianism

[@Jaspertine]

Potatoism: Now Get Back To Work

[@Spaztastica]

I was thinking that too, but maybe since it's a starch he doesn't count it as much? Like the whole, "meat and potatoes" kinda guy stereotype?

[@MF-R]

Perhaps he is so repulsed by plants that it evolved into a type if phobia, the fear induced by which then caused him to deeply respect plants; hence his willingness to accept them as gods.

[@LexYeen]

5:02 Can we just take a second to appreciate just how much effort it takes to pull off a spin like that in a costume like that _without_ breaking the set, the costume, and/or your own ass?

[@ixcutamp8059]

If you search for the behind the scenes, you can see they practiced those kinds of stunts without the heads until they could do it on camera

[@ixcutamp8059]

@matt I never said it wasn't difficult

[@NotoriousLightning]

Do you agree with this comment? Then you will love the movie Lamageddon.

[@Godzilla00X]

Never liked this even as a huge dinosaur kid, absolutely respect it for that ending. It's absolutely wild the network literally let them end the show with "and then they all died" type scenario

[@TheOnlyCelciAndDontYouForgetIt]

You KNOW that executive sat there for 30 seconds thinking "Why'd I greenlight a show about Dinosaurs?"

[@JohnClark-tt2bl]

When you think about it, how else could it end? It'd be like a network wanting the ending to the Titanic changed because the ship sinks. Which honestly I wouldn't be surprised.....🙄

[@william3100]

​@JohnClark-tt2bl they did kinda do that with those terrible animated titanic movies, such as The Legend Of The Titanic.

[@Jaime-eg4eb]

"It's a sacred text" "Who wrote it?" "Some sacred guy" 😂😂😂

[@qwellen7521]

There’s something profoundly sad about all of these puppets rotting away and all that left of them being their metal skeletons underneath. It’s like there actual Dinosaurs.

[@KatieLHall-fy1hw]

I mean, they can’t last forever though. I was lucky and got to see one of Earl’s heads in an exhibit at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry back in the 90s, it was very cool. I think they took the back out so you could see the interior, then you could push buttons on the front to move his eyes and mouth

[@CosplayCore]

It really is. For some of us, those dinosaurs helped teach us the realities of the world around us before other shows could or did. Many of us are here in these comments because the series had a lasting impact on our lives and all that remains of the very creatures that taught us what we know is just skeletons. I’m honestly really sad that I can’t see most of these characters restored and in person.

[@CosplayCore]

But I did meet one of the puppeteers briefly. Steve Whitmire, who puppeteered Robbie’s face/spikes. He wasn’t too pleased that my favorite Henson project involving him was Dinosaurs but he was nice enough to tell me a little about how Robbie’s head worked. :)

[@D.A.-Espada]

They're Sorry, I... I couldn't help myself

[@RariettyC]

​@@CosplayCore If I was Kermit the Frog I'd also be confused to hear that Muppets Christmas Carol or Treasure Island isn't someone's fav '90s project of mine so I sorta understand

[@T1J]

dope video

[@JoseBird]

Much thanks!

[@zainmudassir2964]

You are dope too

[@theirishpotato6588]

Hello there sir. Nice videos.

[@koffienando3899]

@@theirishpotato6588 an Irish potato commenting on a comment by a black guy on a video by a Mexican josë

[@theirishpotato6588]

@@koffienando3899 yes. An epic racial crossover.

[@lilyhatesgoogle]

this show is no doubt a technical feat, the animatronic heads are so well-made that it's uncanny..... like the movement of the eyes paired with the actual human body language creates something so strange and realistic??? they're almost too human it's so creepy but fascinating to look at

[@FixedFace]

somebody who finds them creepy must have lived quite a sheltered existence

[@LoveGrowsAdam]

I loved this show, I'm 40 now so I was 8 years old when it came out. I looked forward to whatever time it came on...

[@Ergeniz]

Same. I was 45 when this show came out.

[@mynamesnotkenny3845]

Oh boy! It's time for my twelve o'clock sociopolitical analysis of an obscure 90s sitcom!

[@stevenyukabacera160]

To be fair, this show really wears its politics on its sleeve. And the other sleeve, and printed across the shirt, just in case you didn't see it the first two times.

[@blarg2429]

Who would watch a sociopolitical analysis of an obscure 90s sitcom at twelve o'clock?

[@mynamesnotkenny3845]

@@blarg2429 me

[@blarg2429]

@@mynamesnotkenny3845 Just noticed your avatar... good taste in shows.

[@mynamesnotkenny3845]

@@blarg2429 thank you, my good man

[@Herb615]

I still remember watching the last episode and being in tears from it. I officially became an environmentalist right after that show.

[@OjoRojo40]

Never understood the "ahead of his time" adjective. If your show is passing on national television or a big cable network, your anything but ahead of your time, if anything you are now part of the mainstream media.

[@ddjsoyenby]

same.

[@leejoelbeasley5005]

Interesting, people talk about Global warming do not know that England grew more wheat in 12th and 13th century because the climate was warmer (longer growing season)

[@OjoRojo40]

@@leejoelbeasley5005 I don't' get your point. Can you explain please, thanks! Have a good day.

[@leejoelbeasley5005]

@@OjoRojo40 1. global warming is not man-made 2. flinstones was first 3. it only lasted 4 seasons

[@smalls9852]

Lol I just realized that their calendars are backwards. Starting with day 30 and ending with day 1 in a month. That kind of detail is amazing. The people who worked on this show were so talented.

[@tomdavis3878]

Going back to Dinosaurs is like going back to The West Wing for me. It's at once amazing and enjoyable, but also depressing how many of the issues that these shows were talking about 20-30 years ago haven't materially changed, or in some cases have gotten worse.

[@danielpierce4430]

My niece fell in love with this show when she found it on Disney+, and has watched the whole series a couple of times. I loved it too when I was a kid, but it sure hits different rewatching it as an adult.

[@MaeljinRajah]

Same here it replace Dino Dan I'm so freaking thankful

[@glitterberserker1029]

Same I remember renting VHSs of this show from blockbuster as a kid. I found DVDs of it a few years ago and got them thinking it would be stupid but I would enjoy it, I was so wrong. It was just as good as an adult as it was when I was a kid.

[@yveltalpoderoso1303]

It be funny to know how she reacted to the finale

[@Davethe3rd]

RIP Jessica Walter, who played Fran on this show.

[@maikefaltings5091]

I still remember to this day the one episode where the teenage girl of the family came into her womanhood and developed a smell that attracted one male dinosaur. On that fact alone they were considered to be engaged. She didn't like the guy at all (basicly a cole of her father) and hiked across the world in search of a flower that was supposed to change her smell. The only spot where these flowers grew was turned into an adventure park or something. So she didn't get the flower but as she arrived back home the male dinosaur didn't like her smell anymore. Just buy trying so hard to change her smell she changed her smell. As a little girl I just loved that episode. :)

[@Davethe3rd]

To this day, I reference "We're gonna need another Timmy!" and NOBODY gets it!!

[@Robstafarian]

Ditto!

[@headfangs]

same

[@glittery_cucumber]

Me three, Dave

[@Kammerliteratur]

+1

[@spacecadet9663]

I feel that. While I don't really reference this show in particular, I do make references to Ren and Stimpy all the time, like singing the LOG jingo just because it makes me kinda happy. Sadly none of my friends get the joke tho :'(

[@sptony2718]

Something I really hated when I was a kid, was watching a show without being taken "seriously". Of course I couldn't communicate this properly. A lot of producers only seem to have read about that kids exist and produce a tone deaf show for someone they have no connection to. I like Jim Henson in that regard; he frequently produced shows with a certain kindness in mind.

[@umbreonofshadows]

Watched dinosaurs as a kid (loved everything with dinosaurs) and loved this retrospective. But man this also hit hard. Earl admitting to his kids that his generation and the previous fucked things up for them was oof.

[@egala005]

Good thing the older generations learned their lesson

[@PedroBenolielBonito]

'The breakout star' just as Baby literally breaks out of his egg was a nice editing touch. Also, back in the day, he was EVERYONE's reason for watching the show, and his catchphrases were the ones being repeated around the playground, especially 'Not the Mama!' right before whacking someone upside the head. (By the way, everyone thought that was a frying pan too.) Although Earl's 'Honey, I'm ho-ome!' was also quite popular.

[@adamdavis1648]

Wait, it's not a frying pan? What is it, then?

[@PedroBenolielBonito]

@@adamdavis1648 it's meant to be a saucepan. See how it's got raised sides, like a casserole pan, as opposed to low sloping sides, like a frying pan?

[@adamdavis1648]

@@PedroBenolielBonito Interesting

[@ZackHeise]

He uses a lot of different kinds of pans

[@DoggyHateFire]

I'm rather shocked that you didn't mention that 'Nuts to War' was obviously a commentary on the Gulf War which happened less than two years earlier. My dad served in the Gulf War so I remember it pretty well. Fighting over a certain resource, cable news' mostly uncritical coverage, even the stupid t-shirts were a thing back then.

[@jeanhartely]

I was a cashier at a department store during that first gulf war. My register was totally clogged up with mind-numbing slogans for sale: bumper stickers, tee shirts, balloons, pencils, you name it, we sold it in red, white and blue. They wanted me to wear big, pro-war buttons too, but I was against the war and refused.

[@roseofsilence]

As a child I had a collection of Operation Desert Storm trading cards. That's always struck me as morbid.

[@DoggyHateFire]

@@roseofsilence I had some of those as well. I was really big into military stuff. I could identify a bunch of different aircraft and such. One of the coolest things I had was a deck of cards my dad gave me that had technical drawings of different Soviet tanks, APCs and such. I guess they were supposed to help soldiers identify them were we to have WWIII.

[@in_ur_moms_house]

@@roseofsilence even in Canada I remember they were selling fruit snacks modeled after the different planes involved. I had some of those cards too, as a 12 yr old kid I bought into the propaganda.

[@YuzoKoshiroSan]

I guess because it was way too obvious.

[@TheMrFabian1]

The "last time I was this early"-joke is basically writing itself with this show.

[@blarg2429]

Last time I was this early, Herb615 wan't an environmentalist yet.

[@benjisaac]

@@blarg2429 well crafted lol

[@blarg2429]

@@benjisaac :)

[@NextToToddliness]

One of my all-time favorite shows. Watching it as an adult, I fell back in love with the scathing satire & social commentary. My favorite episode is "When Food Goes Bad". It's when the creatures in the fridge break free and capture the baby.

[@LoveMyUnusual]

Lmao that description reminds me of the episode of Cowboy Bebop when they get hunted down by old lobster in the fridge that turns into some evil alien creature. 😂

[@SkipperJane]

I was 12 when the Dinosaurs finale aired and it’s one of the television episodes that’s stuck with me the most over the years. The message of always attempting to solve the last problem and the unintended consequences of short sighted thinking definitely influenced my understanding of the world.

[@chrisp7044]

Jeez, that subtext sailed right over my head... when I first watched this show I was in the target demographic for the "not da mama" catchphrase.

[@Kuhmuhnistische_Partei]

Yeah, I was so young, I probably not even knew that you need money to get things. And a lot of the smaller puppets were kinda scary.

[@ShadeATV]

At the time, I was only starting to learn to count to 10

[@Xondar11223344]

I remember my friends talking about Dinosaurs and catching a few episodes when I was a kid, and the only thing I got out of the series was "NOT THE MOMMA! NOT THE MOMMA! NOT THE MOMMA!" It's interesting to see it was far more complex than I had ever known as a kid.

[@katelynbrown98]

Lol. 🤣🤣 same. It's so entertaining & kooky.

[@glitterberserker1029]

I still call my parents "the mama" and "not the mama".

[@CraftQueen22]

My late husband just loved this show!! He especially loved when the baby said, "Not the Mama".

[@Endocrom]

There was also an "album" that was bedtime stories told by Earl to Baby with voices of the cast as fairy tale characters. Little Red Riding Horn, Cinderellasaurus, Goldiscales and the three giant sloths, Hanzelsaurus and Greteldactyl.

[@veloxfelidae85]

I’m so sad that Jessica Walters died recently. Such a bummer.

[@goodluckgorsky3413]

Rest In Peace

[@captindo]

Final episode did me in as a kid, made me think about what we're doing to our planet right now and how this is just foreshadowing.

[@mrillis9259]

What's that term. Predictive programing?

[@thatlosergirlfromnextdoor2039]

Shit you make me want to watch the show now

[@eleSDSU]

@@thatlosergirlfromnextdoor2039 I think I will.

[@twichingsparrow2052]

Never hears of this show (early 200s baby), but man do I love it. Not only do I love the messages, Im a huge fan of the characters. Im shocked with how expressive ans natural they are. I cant imagine how heavy those costumes must be, and as a performer, I find it incredible how those actors are able to have such control of the bodies. The faces are also incredible. Theyre so expressive and can convey both grand and more subtle emotion. I love how they keep the little details like characters gazing off for no more than a second, tiny twitches that couldve easily gone unnoticed. These characters are so easy to get invested in because they feel alive. Ill definitley be checking the show out!

[@victoriareissilveira9129]

This series, in its dubbed version, is still iconic in Brazil. It holds a place in my heart still. Thank you for this video appreciating such an underrated series❤

[@Void7.4.14]

Also RIP the ever legendary Sherman Hemsley! Voiced the boss, B.P. Richfield and is better known for his iconic roles like George Jefferson 💪

[@facely]

I knew I recognized that voice. Loved All In The Family.

[@jonathanstern5537]

The 24 dollars and some shiny beads was a reference to the purchase of Manhattan by the Dutch from the Lenape.

[@himbourbanist]

I cannot believe how well done the puppetry in this show is. Having real actors in the suits with the excellently executed facial animatronics just looks SO good. It's like a cartoon that's come to life, or something.

[@livelybubbs6242]

For years, I’ve dismissed this show as “stupid” and “hammy” (even though I’ve never seen it). I decided to give it a shot, because I figured that even if it was dumb, it could still be entertaining and good for a laugh. I don’t think I have to tell anyone how wrong I was. At every turn, I was pleasantly surprised by the episodes and the characters, I was hooked and too happy to be wrong about something. Which… is why the finale stings so much. I’ve been…avoiding it, and pretty much denying the fact that these characters are going extinct and they’ve got nobody to blame but themselves. I’m curious, what was everyone else’s first impressions on dinosaurs?

[@Ccyawn123]

Same

[@Eidlones]

My first impression was basically "Dinosaurs and muppets!!!" But then I was like 5 when it first aired, so. I remembered certain things before rewatching it on Disney+, like Sexual Harris, but didn't really remember how deep it got.

[@Subrick]

I grew up watching the show, so essentially all the social commentary went over my head as a kid. My wife and I ended up doing a full watchthrough in early 2020, one that actually intersected with the start of the pandemic and related lockdowns, and I was amazed with how much they were able to talk about and get away with. It’s an EXTREMELY left wing show, to a degree very few other shows have ever even sniffed being. There’s so much explicitly anarcho-communist philosophy Dinosaurs adhered to that would never fly nowadays just because of how paradoxically more AND less conservative American society has become in the last 30 years.

[@sycastells1212]

When I was a small child I saw approximately 17 seconds of a Dinosaurs episode and it terrified me so much that I have never, EVER seen anything more of it. Maybe it's time to stare into that void finally...

[@sinnsage]

you can do it. and you should!

[@funnymalerainbow9163]

Everytime it was on it was always that one Halloween episode where the baby was possessed..... It fuck me up so much

[@LexYeen]

If you could make it through this review, you can make it through the series. I believe in you, comrade. Show your inner child that there's nothing to be scared of.

[@cupofcustard]

Glad to see i wasn't the only one! I was 4 when dinosaurs reached the UK and just watching the intro freaked me out.

[@sycastells1212]

@@funnymalerainbow9163 I think that might have been where the scene I saw came from! The baby was being SO scary.

[@Wabajck]

The final episode is still so crazy. Just casually waiting out their deaths like ya do for a series finale.

[@andrejg4136]

I think that's why so many apocalypse-seekers want it to be swift and brutal. A societal end like that has to be like one final grand torture, knowing that your collective action is the reason why you are staring death dead in it's non-existent eyes, and there is no way out.

[@MsDisneylandlover]

Right 😢

[@natedoggcata]

Man if Changing Nature wasnt originally planned to be the finale, I shudder to think what they had planned short of actually seeing the Dinosaurs just slowly wasting away to death in their house.

[@Zenosable]

This show was a gem. But it was really sad how they ended it on a dark note.

[@fionafox420]

I just started watching this on Disney+ (I wasn’t allowed to watch this as a kid because my parents were evangelical Christians and thought dinosaurs were satanic or something). It’s actually pretty good and I really love and appreciate the artistry of all the puppets

[@jb888888888]

The dinosaurs were (semi) literally counting down to the birth of Jesus. Not very satanic.

[@fionafox420]

@@jb888888888 I didn’t say it made any sense lmao 😹 I also started watching King of the Hill, I wasn’t allowed to watch it because my parents thought it was too vulgar. King of the Hill is one of the more wholesome shows that I’ve watched in a while. I’ve come to the conclusion my parents either didn’t like those shows for whatever reason, or they were just crazy 🥴

[@asmodiusjones9563]

@@fionafox420 that was what it was like in religious communities in those days. They forbade various media for kind of no reason because their leaders told them to. All my friends were forbidden from watching random shows and movies like the simpsons and ninja turtles.

[@fortunatecookie]

Imagine thinking that a real species on our earth is satanic. Like, I get it, they’re reptiles and there was that whole thing with the snake, but come on! Just because something is extinct now doesn’t make it magical!

[@crimsondynamo615]

I remember some weirdo saying Satan put dinosaur bones in the ground to try and trick people. All i could think was, *why*

[@Chimerayuri3]

This was my childhood. And God damn that final episode...

[@theirishpotato6588]

Same and I'm 18.

[@1.800zZzZzZz]

Man, I never even watched this show before and it has such a deep meaning and amazing critiques on genuine issues. It’s crazy, just now becoming aware of this show lol

[@Sen-droit]

I have a lot of fond memories watching this show with my family on saturday mornings and everyone shouting HONEY I'M HOOOME (which was translated to something like "I'm home, who else?") whenever they came home and I think the themes really got to me subconciously, so I'll absolutly show this to my kids someday

[@Hanmacx]

Hello fellow german xD

[@BenWard29]

Naming the dinosaurs after oil companies is also a joke about the fact that the oil in the ground is composed of the dinosaurs. In reality, oil is primarily composed of plant material, but I think the joke works none-the-less. Great video too, BTW. I used to watch this when I was a kid on it's initial airing and the show always made me feel oddly uncomfortable- probably because it challenged the world-view of my conservative parents, which was also my world-view at that young age.

[@unf3z4nt]

Actually, ancient remains of plankton; but the age range is close enough.

[@PhlexTheRidiculous]

Yup. Sinclair Oil Corporation Est. 1916 “Fossil-Fuels”

[@BenWard29]

@@unf3z4nt Phytoplankton are that weird bridge between plants and algae- I can never remember that it's not a tiny plant. I guess the lack of a cell wall should clue me in. But diatoms are plankton and technically have a cell wall. I could talk about taxonomy ALL DAY LONG. But you are totally right.

[@BenWard29]

@@PhlexTheRidiculous Yeah I think they even had a large dinosaur mascot at their filling stations.

[@thuzzwhistle1028]

I’m really glad to see Dinosaurs getting some love lately. I watched the show the first time around as a kid and it’s interesting to see how many of the political and cultural opinions I hold as an adult were probably shaped in part by this show. The WAR episodes in particular made a big impact on me.

[@florianneumann9441]

I will always have a special place in my heart for this show. It was one of the things that thought me some things just get over 'parents' head ^^ You presented perfect on the why and how

[@anddudewaslike]

all the social commentary went over my head as a child. But I loved the series none the less. It's aged so well that I can watch it now at almost 40 and it still feels incredibly relevant

[@zufallrap]

I live in Germany and I love what the voice actors here did to the show. Look up German "Die Dinos". The aggressiveness in Richfield's voice, how annoying the baby sounds ... its all amazing.

[@MsOopsiDaisy]

They stayed so true to the english source,it was nice to watch

[@mattiapedulla5284]

German dubs of late 90's and early 2000's American kid's shows are amazing in general. Think Drake and Josh, Kim Possible, Spongebob Squarepants etc. I'd even argue that the German dub of Spongebob Squarepants is BETTER than the (already outstanding) English original, it's just that well made.

[@Mystifix]

Amazing too, that the first voice of Earl (Edgar Ott) died during production. They replaced him with Jürgen Kluckert then (also knien as the voice of Benjamin the elefant) and you totally won‘t spot the difference.

[@zufallrap]

@@Mystifix Really? I never knew that, what the FUCK!

[@mattiapedulla5284]

@@Mystifix Also also known as the German voice of Mr. Krabs! Which makes the hospital scene where Mr. Krabs tries to convince the Flying Dutchman that he's "Benjamin. Benjamin... Blümchen." ten times funnier.

[@HallyVee]

Hm. This probably deserves as much credit as Hayayo Miyazaki for turning me Left.

[@sarapocorn]

I am curious as to how Miyazaki‘s work turned you left, would you mind elaborating? Princess Mononoke springs to my mind (one of my absolute favourites) but would love to hear what‘s the case for you :)

[@thebox1720]

I would think Nausicaa too

[@HallyVee]

@@sarapocorn I'm afraid I would mind ;) KZbin comments are the last place I post such effort-worthy breakdowns. Suffice it to say that anything that even considers ecosystems and human effects on it, that shows the realities of wars, and the injustice of hierarchies is more than enough to point me Leftward. I was born that way, just needed direction I think.

[@HallyVee]

@@thebox1720 Well even Castle in the Sky had heavy overtones of power destroying the natural world, evil government, etc. Heck even Spirited Away has lots of allusions to slavery and authoritarian stuff, etc. I've not seen a Miyazaki movie that *doesn't* showcase most of that.

[@anenemystand5582]

@@sarapocorn grave of the fireflies definitely has that power. I was a kid when I saw it because my grandpa assumed it was a kids show. I actually watched animal farm for that exact reason too...

[@leonardo.diCATio]

I had the whole show on VHS as a kid, I could probably still recite it word for word. I never realized how deep it got.

[@derheadbanger9039]

I love this underrated and often forgotten show! It was so smart and cynical. To my mom it was just a puppet show... but I have it in my rotation of shows I rewatch every now and then. Also, it has one of the best finales ever and has aged very well!

[@ddjsoyenby]

same.

[@CosplayCore]

It’s also in my rotation. If I don’t know what to pick to watch on my Amazon, I default to either Dinosaurs here or Sabrina the Teenage Witch (90’s sitcom version) a lot. When I don’t feel good, the Sinclairs and Salem Saberhagen from my childhood can really help.

[@Jaspertine]

The ending might have been dark, but I feel like it succeeded in making a complex issue relatable to kids. This was the era of crap like Captain Planet, where the villains acted like... well... supervillains. So singlemindedly determined to do harm to a degree that made no logical sense even to my kid brain. Dinosaurs, on the other hand, showed a chain reaction of events where each bad decision made some amount of sense. And when those bad decisions backfired, a lightbulb went off my my kid brain, because they weren't *trying* to kill the planet, they were just being reckless and irresponsible, and ignoring the bigger picture.

[@BlackReshiram]

Oh gods, I feel knocked back into my pre-teenhood. Thank you so much for covering this, rhis show was phenomenal and so ahead of it's time.

[@winko567]

born in 1995 here... no idea why i never heard of this till now...

[@TheSlipperyNUwUdle]

I was born in 1994 and my only frame of reference is my dad quoting “Not the mama!” line even today. Haha

[@stephjovi]

Watch it! It's timeless you're missing out

[@__Andrew]

Ok, first i watched all of Malcom in the Middle and Jose did a video the next week. Then i watched Dinosaurs and again, two weeks later Jose does a video. If his next video is on Battlestar Galactica im going to start wondering how Jose got my streaming passwords.

[@GribbleGob]

You should wonder why he was having meltdowns on twitter.

[@thuzzwhistle1028]

@@GribbleGob Nobody should care about anything that happens on Twitter

[@alanhegewisch4486]

I'm convinced is the place where dreams go to die and the source of mosquitoes.

[@jb888888888]

@@alanhegewisch4486 Or bunch beetles.

[@chavaspada]

Hugh Mann what happened?

[@kevinwillems8720]

Ok, I'm actually gonna come back to this one because I can watch this show. For now I'll leave a like and a comment for the algorithm.

[@racheljwallace]

We're engaging! ENGAGE

[@leilanidru7506]

Where can we watch it?

[@kevinwillems8720]

@@leilanidru7506 it's on Disney plus (or pirating if your a salty sea dog)

[@stimpyoh]

Loved every second of this video, very well done! Thank you!!!

[@TravTravYT]

"We've been around for this long, it's not like we're just gonna disappear..." That's haunting, especially considering the whole show as a human allegory.

[@typhoon6346]

I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned it already, but there's a funny little paleontological joke going on behind the father and the baby being megalosaurus. Megalosaurus was the first nonavian dinosaur to be described, and for that, over time it's had some extremely outdated reconstructions and thoughts about its behavior and lifestyle. There's even an iconic statue of a megalosaurus in the Crystal Palace Park, which shows it as a giant, lumbering lizard on all fours, whereas nowadays we understand it to be an active therapod that ran bipedally. I think it's funny that one of the characters with outdated ideas is a species with such a long history of outdated conceptions about it, and that it's in contrast to the baby, who has a lot of newer ideas and questions the more traditional way of life. Also, the first megalosaurus fossil to be found was the end of a bone, and was given the scientific name "Scrotum humanum" for... Well, looking exactly the way you would expect. A fun thing to think about, when the dad shows so much of the negatives associated with modern concepts of masculinity.

[@manospondylus4896]

People keep talking about the ending but I tell them that the entire show was like that

[@TheMaestroso]

Jason Alexander as the creep in "What Sexual Harris Meant" is so perfect

[@djtenzen]

These videos are amazing and make me tear up at realizing how far in the past time has gone. I really appreciate the opportunity to reflect and gain a new perspective over these shows that were so heavily present in my world growing up. Nostalgia is the greatest vacation I will ever take.

[@UncannyXander]

That ending is so horribly chilling omg

[@randallbesch2424]

Omnicide is far from painless. Suicides go up.

[@hunny___]

The boss character would be a lot more subdued and sublimely sadistic in today’s age.

[@MaeljinRajah]

I don't know his heartlessness brutality and evil is perfectly reflective of today's management and bosses

[@nicolasnamed]

@@MaeljinRajah Yeah but now it's more veiled behind corporate language and protocol

[@jkholtgreve]

@@nicolasnamed Yeah you can only get away with that in small business.

[@andrejg4136]

@@MaeljinRajah Yeah, that character today would be a lot more suave and utilize more emotional and psychological manipulation. It'd be the same kind of brutal, just less visceral and more like a slow-acting poison.

[@hiccuphufflepuff176]

I watched this show as a young kid because "funny dinosaur puppets" and all of the heavy commentary flew completely over my head. I don't think my parents ever looked twice at it and they probably weren't alone, which is a shame. Definitely worth rewatching as an adult.

[@black_platypus]

So good! Thank you, what a joy to watch! _Dinosaurs_ has a special place in my heart and I think you did a great job talking about its strengths, its messages, its difficulties and the time it was set in (the production, not the story) If I ever need to explain the show to somebody, I'll remember this 😊

[@DNorbs7]

Got embarrassingly hyped when I saw that this dropped. I think you cover TV shows better than anyone else on KZbin.

[@casperjones8476]

OH MY GOD THAT JAY PUPPET IS SO CUTE I can't buy one, but if I had money to drop on one of these, I totally would get a josé bird plush to keep perched on my monitor to remind me to be mindful of the media we consume. ^^

[@JoseBird]

I still can't over how cute it is!

[@robertrussell4035]

I can't believe this show is now 30 years old. Like I remember watching it when I was a kid.

[@codychapman7342]

This was 10x better than I ever thought it would be. Thank you

[@datadoggieein]

My idea for a _Dinosaurs_ reboot involved having Sinclairs being found in a block of ice and being thawed out, and then having to adapt to an all too familiar human society

[@valuebrandmelkor5973]

And completely ruin the point of the ending?

[@Davethe3rd]

Dinosaurs should not be rebooted. It was fine the way it was. Sometimes you just gotta let go and accept what was, man...

[@LOAblue]

I would so watch that.

[@Piqipeg]

Technically it wouldn't be a reboot, but a continuation.

[@PlusUltraAdrian]

I had that same idea. But as a movie.

[@tristynsmith6797]

I didn't realize that the show was on Disney Plus. I was actually getting ready to buy the box sets (and probably still will), but I'm so glad I can watch it before then

[@swanpride]

Disney bough the Henson properties. Thus said, Disney is still in the process of adding stuff.

[@donnerblitzen1388]

Hurry! Before disney censorship gets a hold of it!

[@ThatsJustLikeYourOpinionMan]

@@donnerblitzen1388 I was just thinking that. I wouldn't be surprised if all the episodes referencing the term "4 legger" get removed entirely.

[@AndyG13GLA]

Did you ever buy the series, and does it include S2 Ep17 “A New Leaf”?

[@MaggieMaeFish]

[@anarchisticauthoritarian228]

Was directed from your channel to this one. Just as a heads up that KZbin algorithm sometimes does good work.

[@bertfromseasamestreet]

Wow! Maggie Mae Fish!

[@allyabernathy4098]

the WESAYSO logo and sciencey-innovation commercial vibe are a definite homage to dupont - i’m from DE and saw that messaging everywhere as a kid. also holy shit 48:15 - “we took care of you for 30 million years and now you want to listen to someone else? isn’t that kind of ungrateful?” such explicit and RAZOR sharp commentary, and so fucking applicable today. this show was wild i remember watching it as a kid but didn’t actively absorb the lefty messaging.... maybe it subconsciously contributed to me being a socialist today in some small way 🤔 also, this was an excellent video my dude. i love your series of 80s/90s sitcom nostalgia videos. any plans for a boy meets world retrospective at any point??

[@Cruelty-Torture]

This should o been aired every generation since it was made. All of us who saw the last episode didnt forget its impact. Lol

[@qwellen7521]

This show is almost a proto-Bojack horseman; brutally honest satire protected by the vaneer of talking animals.

[@CosplayCore]

Robbie: “Say no to drugs.” Toddler me with a massive crush on him: “Okay. Will do, Robbie.” Teenage me: “Anime is my anti drug.” Adult me: “I’m afraid of drugs.” Robbie got me to listen really well. 🤣

[@motherlandone6300]

I think Jose’ missed the exquisite point the colonial satire was making. So called civilized people looked on indigenous peoples as another species. The fact that the dinosaurs looked at humans as beastly and uncivilized was the visual brilliance of the episode. I’m a political cartoonist so I see the idea as portrayed clearly.

[@guerillagrueplays6301]

I realize this is months late, but just watching Jose's content so.... Another reading of Jose's reaction is that Jose's viewing it from what is still, frankly, a rather colonialist or imperialist viewpoint... but one that's much more insidious in our modern day, and that's the idea that humans' interactions with out humans should be seen as different, contextually, from our interactions with other species. He touches on this a bit at other points in the program, but in this case seems to miss that it's just as valid: that the species of those you're usurping matters just as little as their race: in doing so, in relegating any other living thing to a place of inferiority, you perpetuate the same harmful issues. Even as a dedicated omnivore with a deep love for venison and hamburgers, I always find these kinds of attitudes interesting and problematic, and it's interesting that he sees this as an issue here, but doesn't see that that trans-species variety is part of the whole show despite mentioning it right at the beginning in regards to the make-up of the family itself. Species really doesn't play into it: usurping a place's occupant is something to be wary of regardless of species. Our lack of concern for such -- as highlighted in the finale of THIS show -- destroys ecologies in ways that it can take years for us to comprehend, almost always when it's too late to fix it.

[@myronsanders4563]

I've just recently found this channel and seen some episodes. And even though he makes some good points and "gets the message" other points just go over his head. And some points he's so way off on I just say "did you even pay attention to the episode you just watched" Good Channel but he's hit and miss on "getting it"

[@gabby3036]

@@guerillagrueplays6301 I agree wholeheartedly with both yourself and the OP - I actually paused the video at the end of that particular segment and came to the comments section looking to get involved in this very discussion. Hopefully neither of you mind if I attempt to politely butt in lawl. To add to your guys' points, I think phrenology is a perfect example of the many ways colonizers attempted to "other" the human beings they wished to subjugate - inventing "scientific proof" of their inferiority and therefore, reinforcing the right to mistreat and enslave human beings by casting them as *not* their counterparts but instead as not more than animals.

[@beipiaosaurus]

Gotta agree here. Even if the colonized species were as dogs are to humans, given the intelligence shown to cavemen in the series, colonialism would be a bad thing. Colonialism isn't bad because we're all Homo sapiens, it's bad because we're all aware.

[@ImmortalKabal]

Bart Simpson: "It's like they saw our lives and put it right on TV"

[@camelopardalis84]

Dinosaurs always reminded me A LOT of Family Matters.

[@martinsriber7760]

My father still says "honey, I'm home" when he arrives.

[@TheSchmuck2]

Whoa, I swear I have a crystal clear memory of a completely different series finale where the asteroid finally arrives and hits the Earth. So weird. I must have imagined it.

[@kevinlee7678]

The asteroid DID arrive, but was deflected by Earl when he was Captain Impressive. Or, perhaps you're thinking of the episode where one landed on the Sinclair TV.

[@JONEPUNK]

"Daddy was put in charge of the world, and he didn't take much care of it. And now there might not be a world left for you". WOW. That one hits home, and hits it hard. Truly saying something a whole generation should say

[@ToastyJunebugs]

It was really bothering me that the son character has a shirt and jacket but no pants. I realize its because he also has huge baggy socks.

[@LexYeen]

Protip from a furry: Keep safesearch on when searching for the characters from Dinosaurs.

[@manospondylus4896]

There actually is an episode where they joke about this. Due to parents complaining about a show using a swear word censorship becomes so hard that the dinosaurs are forced to wear pants

[@JustinMoralesTheComposer]

Duckburg style

[@TheMrFabian1]

I watched this show back as a child in the German dub and I never realised until now that Jessica Walter was in the original voice cast. I really, really need to rewatch this.

[@gypsylee333]

OMG I loooooved this show as a kid I haven't seen it since. I should dig it up to rewatch as an adult. I even remember the song, "I'm the baby, gotta love me, big purple eyes I'm super cuddly"

[@Jackerco]

i was born in 2004 but i have distinct memories of watching this series when i was really young. I used to search up 'Dinosaur Baby' on youtube and watch videos of this show for hours on end. Good times

[@thanatosalter]

I remember watching the first few episodes of this show a lot as a kid. My grandparents had a vhs copy, and whenever I went to visit them I would often end up putting Dinosaurs on. And now i can't help wanting to binge the show again and see what my younger self missed

[@JasonLudeli]

My only memories of this show are very vague but also linked to my grandparents. Specifically my Great Grandpa. It was the mid 90s though so it might have been on cable but I was too young to understand any themes.