Plot: What’s it about?
Earl Sinclair is a blue collar working dinosaur, employed as a tree pusher by the Wesayso Corporation. That is right, he pushes over trees as his profession. And while he is able to make ends meet, his employer is still a cold, heartless corporation that only cares about the bottom line. Even when he thinks he is doing well at work, he somehow ends up called into B.P. Richfield’s office. Richfield is as demanding as bosses come and if he doesn’t like your work, your head could end up on the block. But Earl does have a friend at work in Roy Hess, so that eases his mind a little. As if work wasn’t enough of a stressful situation, at home Earl has little peace, thanks to his wife and three kids. His wife Fran is loving and logical, but Earl’s temper sometimes gets the best of her and their kids often get into trouble. Their daughter Charlene wants to be treated like a princess, oldest son Robbie means well, but sometimes takes a wrong step, and the youngest, Baby is pure chaos. Earl tries to get close to Baby, but he usually ends up with a face full of frying pan instead. Earl’s blood pressure skyrockets when Fran’s mother Ethyl visits, as he insults him as soon as she rolls in the door. Can Earl balance his thankless work with his crazy home life, or will it all be too much for him?
As so many television shows are released on DVD, I have gone back to revisit numerous old favorites, with mixed results. Some of the shows have held up well, but others, I just shake my head and wonder how in the world I ever loved this stuff. The latter happened when I popped in Dinosaurs. I didn’t love the show back then, but I liked it and now, I can’t understand why that was the case. I suppose the concept appealed to me, as a big fan of The Flintstones and all. I also think the animatronic characters did wonders to pull in viewers, since the look was so different from the rest of the shows out there. But once you peel back the visuals, you have the same old sitcom and in this case, one with poor, predictable writing involved. I can predict almost every line in this show, it is that basic and by the numbers. The result is that despite the cool visuals, the show stinks and in my opinion, is now a chore to watch. After two episodes, I was done with this show, but I endured the rest for this review and it wasn’t an easy task. I do still like The Baby, but not as much as I once did and the rest of Dinosaurs just seems flat and way too predictable. But, given how popular bland sitcoms are, I imagine a good deal of folks will still enjoy this show, even now. Disney’s release brings us the first two seasons in total, plus a few bonus elements, so if you’re interested, a rental is recommended.
Video: How does it look?
The episodes are presented in full frame, as intended. This show is fifteen years old, so while it looks good, it isn’t on the same level as more recent releases. In other words, Dinosaurs can’t compete with 24 in terms of visuals, but the episodes look quite good. There is some grain, which lessens the visuals, but debris is minimal and that is good news. The main issue is sharpness, as the visuals just don’t have the kind of depth and detail we’ve come to expect. But this show is fifteen years old and we’re spoiled by same year releases, so for what it is, this looks more than passable. The colors are usually on the mark, but do slip up at times, while contrast is solid, but not as refined as I would like. So in the end, the episodes look good, but there is room for improvement, though I doubt we’ll see a new release on DVD.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a situation comedy, so the audio has no real duties outside of the show’s main element, dialogue. So the theme music sounds good and the basic sound effects come through, but the sole spotlight here shines down on the vocals. From Ethyl’s insults to Richfield’s yelling, all the vocal work is in excellent form here. The whispers even sound clear as a bell in this release, so you won’t miss a single one-liner. Not a memorable presentation, but a solid one.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes two new featurettes, which total about twenty minutes in duration.
