Dinosaurs: The Complete 3rd and 4th Seasons

In the early 1990s, Jim Henson Productions' Dinosaurs managed to be one of the few animated prime-time shows that managed to considerably hold its own against its obvious inspiration, The Simpsons. This was largely due to its innovative use of life-sized puppet animatronics and the popularity of the family's youngest member, Baby, with the sitcom's youngest viewers.

However, after a relatively successful two seasons on ABC, the series already began to show signs of fatigue with viewers by its third season. After being left in a state of uncertainty for the next season, the fourth and final season finally aired during the summer and brought the series to relatively successful end. Now, the complete third and fourth seasons of Dinosaurs are available as one package on DVD.

The series continues the daily adventures of the Sinclair family in an Earth populated by anthropomorphized dinosaurs on the continent of Pangaea. Earl is the hard-working, loutish tree-pusher patriarch working for the industrial corporation Wesayso, with Fran as the more sensible matriarch.

They have three children, the socially-conscious 14 year-old Robbie, the bubbly 12 year-old Charlene, and the hyperactive infant known only as "Baby". As with the first two seasons, the series' episodes often revolve around the family and their Pangaea community dealing with often satirical and socially-conscious issues plaguing their society.

In the third and fourth seasons, with much of the original novelty of the show having worn off, the signature satire and social consciousness was considerably heightened. Coincidentally, around the same time, The Simpsons was also entering into a more mature, expansive, high-quality, and well-written creative peak that led the series into what many fans of the show have deemed its 'golden era'.

Unlike The Simpsons however, the satirical aspects, while considerably sharp and thoughtful, often came out considerably more heavy-handed translating into unmemorable episodes. Also hurting its maturation was the fact that unlike the more considerably edgy and controversial Simpsons, Dinosaurs, while intending to appeal to mostly adults, ended up never managing to catch on much with an audience beyond simply children.

Most importantly, the series's high concept had created creative limitations due to its extensive use of animatronics and elaborate sets. As a result, the show's plots and gags start to become repetitious by the end.

Sensing the end had come due to its uncertain status with ABC during the 1993-1994 season, the creators however did manage to go out with a bang. The final episode "Changing Nature" has the Pangaea community destroyed by a drastic cold front that creates an Ice Age on Earth. It is undoubtedly one of the cleverest, yet most shocking and darkest endings ever envisioned for a sitcom with a mostly considerably young fan base.

Special Features:

The DVD's picture quality is in the 1:33:1 full-screen aspect ratio of the original network TV broadcasts. Also, seven episodes from the fourth season, which

never aired until syndication due to the final season being expedited and dumped as summer programming, are all present on the fourth disc in their original uncut network versions.

Also, this DVD set comes with plenty of special features. The first are audio commentaries on the episodes "Nature Calls" and "Into The Woods" with producer/director Brian Henson, writer/character designer Kirk Thatcher, and puppeteers Kevin Clash and Bill Barretta. The commentaries are fun as the five are consistently enthusiastic mixing the humorous with the informative.

The second feature is a featurette titled Creatures with a Cause: The Issues of Dinosaurs that talks about the various issues satirized throughout the series. It features great interviews with Brian Henson, Bob Young, Kevin Clash, and Kirk Thatcher.

The third feature is a featurette titled “I'm The Baby, Gotta Love Me!!!,” which focuses on the show's most popular character. It features behind-the-scenes footage and features interviews with Baby puppeteer/voice actor Kevin Clash, as well as many of the previously mentioned crew members.

Rounding out the special features are various DVD easter eggs known as "Dino Eggs". They lurk around the different discs and contain amusing footage such as ABC promos, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews.

While it did not survive nearly as long past its novel fad period like its clear inspiration The Simpsons, Dinosaurs: The Complete Third And Fourth Seasons shows that by its end, it had emerged as a relatively distinct and unique series that held its own. While often too heavy-handed in its social commentary, the series is still technically dazzling for its use of human animatronics, as well as considerably amusing and clever. This set is also particularly worth owning if you had never seen any of the fourth season episodes that finally aired during its brief syndication run.

Season Grade: B
DVD Features Grade: A
Overall Grade: B+