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Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are here for the May edition of their TV retrospectives, joined by a special guest, Editor-in-Chief Bill Bodkin. This month they’re talking about Dinosaurs, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary.
Dinosaurs first premiered April 26, 1991 on ABC, where it ran for four seasons. While the true series finale aired in July, the show finished out of order and ended its 65-episode run in syndication on October 19, 1994. Created by Michael Jacobs and Bob Young, Dinosaurs is a family sitcom featuring actors dressed up as anthropomorphic dinosaurs. The TV show utilizes animatronics and puppetry by The Jim Henson Company.
Dinosaurs follows the life of Earl (Stuart Pankin, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Fran Sinclair (Jessica Walter, Arrested Development), a suburban couple raising a family in 60,000,003 BC on the continent of Pangaea. Earl and Fran have three children, Robbie (Jason Willinger, A Goofy Movie), Charlene (Sally Struthers, All in the Family), and Baby Sinclair (Kevin Clash, Sesame Street). Fran’s mother, Ethyl (Florence Stanley, My Two Dads), lives with them as well.
Despite its absurd premise, Dinosaurs occasionally tackles important social issues, such as women’s rights, environmentalism, and racism. In addition to an Emmy nomination for Editing for a Single Camera Production and a win for Best Art Direction, the series received a Television Critics Association Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Programming and won three Environmental Media Awards for TV Comedy.
Josh, Aaron, and Bill look back at their time watching Dinosaurs before diving into the series premiere and the show as a whole. Topics include how the show compares to other sitcoms of the era, the work by The Jim Henson Company, and the show’s take on topical issues.
You can listen to Josh and Aaron’s podcast on another Jim Henson property, Muppet Treasure Island.
