The Anniversary Brothers TV Podcast: Dinosaurs 30th Anniversary

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.


Dinosaurs is streaming on
Disney+.