Though it aired for four seasons (1991—1994), Dinosaurs was easy to dismiss; ABC never quite knew how to market the show, and let it languish during family-safe primetime throughout its run. Which is a shame, since it’s one of the most bizarre and daring shows in TV history—the most twisted Jim Henson production since The Dark Crystal.
Set some 60,000,000 years BC, Dinosaurs spent its entire lifespan tackling adult-themed issues in a kiddie-show format. Everything from questions about creation to the evils of oil cartels was addressed during the series’s run, with the show’s cutesy animatronic characters often mirroring real-world concerns. Nowhere is this more apparent than during the show’s startling series finale, which is now available on this four-disc set. During the episode, entitled “Changing Seasons,” misguided attempts at progress, along with equal doses of greed and stupidity, bring about a worldwide famine, culminating in desperate measures and, ultimately, the dawning of the Ice Age. All of which leads to the show’s haunting parting scene, where a solemn newscaster delivers the news to a panicked dinosaur nation that their doom is, indeed, impending.
It remains one of the greatest series finales you’ll ever see.