History Characters / Dinosaurs

* BigBad: The closest thing the show has for one since a lot of conflicts are caused by his actions.

-->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SamMcMurray\\

* CartoonCreature: It's unclear just ''what'' kind of dinosaur he is since he doesn't especially resemble any known RealLife species. WordOfDante says he is a ''Pachycephalosaurus,'' albeit without a source confirming this.

* CartoonCreature: It's unclear just ''what'' kind of dinosaur he is since he doesn't especially resemble any known RealLife species.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He cares ''very'' deeply about his daughter Wendy...unfortunately for her ex-boyfriends.

* EverybodyDiesEnding: [[spoiler:In the series finale, it's heavily stated that the dinosaurs wouldn't survive in the ice age for too long.]]
* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Most of the characters wear everything but pants, and it's not just the men. Fran and Charlene might wear a nightdress if they were going to sleep, otherwise the female characters all are pantsless too. Lampshaded in the [[InformedObscenity "smoo" episode]], when censorship goes amuck, Earl shows that, as part of the push for censorship, the pants that he suddenly is forced to wear, to Fran's horror.
** Averted with B.P. Richfield: While there were never any full-body shots of Richfield on the series, the toy of the character wears pants. He's also frequently shown to wear suspenders, so it'd be pretty pointless of him to wear a garment that's meant to hold up an article of clothing he isn't wearing.

* RandomSpeciesOffspring: Earl is a ''Megalosaurus''. Fran is, according to WordOfGod, an ''Allosaurus''. What their children are is anyone's guess. On the behind-the-scenes feature for the DVD, the creators admit that the kids' designs aren't based on any real dinosaurs and are made-up (though Charlene does resemble a ''Protoceratops'' while fans peg Robbie to be a ''Hypsilophodon'').

* CowardlyLion: He once attempted to fight with a dinosaur over a hundred times his size, knowing full-well that he had no possible chance of winning. The situation resolved itself in the end, though he did give the other guy's toe a good walloping.
* DadTheVeteran: "The Mating Dance" reveals that he spent a few years in the Pangean Navy before he and Fran got married, though it's mostly used to introduce a hilariously-bad sex ed video from said navy.
* DealWithTheDevil: He once traded his soul for a mug with a devil. Fortunately, [[spoiler:the mug came with a guarantee of refund for unsatisfied customers which Earl found when the devil was about to collect. Earl's refund came as a ResetButtonEnding that made time come back at the moment the devil showed up to offer the deal in the first place]].

* OnlyOneFindsItFun: In "Switched at Birth", the Sinclairs discover evidence that their baby may have been switched with another baby while still an egg. When tests from the laboratory prove Aubrey to belong to the Sinclairs and Baby to belong to the Molehills (although it is revealed in the end that there was a mix-up with the tests), Robbie and Charlene find Aubrey's needy and hypochondriacal personality annoying, and Fran doesn't accept him as her son. Earl, However, is ecstatic to have a son that isn't physically abusive to him.
* PapaWolf: He may not show it as much, but he is extremely protective over his sons and daughter. When [[TheDreaded Mr. Richfield]] started to insult Earl's son Robbie, Earl (who mind you is afraid of Mr. Richfield more than anyone) actually stands up to him telling Richfield not to insult his son.

* AbusiveOffspring: Anytime he and Earl share screen time, expect Baby to bludgeon him with something while screaming his war-cry of "NOT THE MAMA!", especially if it's a frying pan.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Evil is definitely a stretch, but when she briefly goes to the afterlife, one of the first things she inquired about is her deceased husband, Grandpa Louie. Her second near death experience actually has her meet him face to face, and she’s incredibly glad to see him again, even if he is warning her about “selling the afterlife”, she even sadly replies that she misses him, without a hint of sarcasm or anything of the sort.
* GoneHorriblyRight: She always talks about how Earl is a screw-up and will mess everything and anything up. [[spoiler:She regrets it in the GrandFinale when Earl plays a part in ''the extinction of their species'', admitting she didn't know ''how'' bad he would screw up with a tone of regret.]]

* SoleSurvivor: In the episode where Earl drives her to her high school reunion, they spend the trip over arguing, and Ethyl tells Earl that once she meets up with her friends, they will finalize their plans to move in together so she won't have to put up with Earl anymore. At the reunion, the M.C. informs them that she's the last surviving member of her graduate class, and she falls into a funk, saying she's alone. On the way home, [[Heartwarming/{{Dinosaurs}} Earl joins her in singing the song he found annoying, and cheers her up.]]

* BigBad: The closest thing the show has for one, since a lot of conflicts are caused by his actions.

* BoyfriendBlockingDad: Mr. Richfield is ''so'' overprotective, he actually ''eats'' his daughters boyfriends. (He claims he only wanted to talk to the first one, but he lost his temper, and "after that, it was like eatin' peanuts.")

* ChildHater: With the singular exception of his daughter, he has been repeatedly been shown to hate kids, to the point of eating them. He employs Robbie and Charlene at different points in the series, and isn't any fonder of them than he is of Earl.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Reaches its peak in "Changing Nature", where he's willing to bring the world to an end if it will enable him to make a lot of money. It had already been shown how corrupt he is in "Nuts to War", when WESAYSO not only sells weapons to the two-legged dinos government but also to the enemy, four-legged dino army.

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Near the end of ''Endangered Species'' he seemed moved by Earl's explanation of the Grapdelites status as the last of their kind and told Earl that the Wesayso will take care of the two creatures. Then we see Mr. Richfield laughing smugly and we, and Earl, hear a horrifying crunch.

* MentorInSourArmor: To Charlene. She gives Charlene advice and encouragement in her pursuits, but fully understands that she will not have a fair chance in a male-dominated world.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: He's styled after Walter Cronkite, delivering the news in a simple but effective way.

* PredationIsNatural: What else would the carnivorous dinosaurs like Earl are supposed to eat?

* DumbDinos: Double subverted on this show. The dinosaurs here have evolved into intelligent beings capable of founding modern civilization resembling the early 90s America. But the show heavily relies on [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology old dinosaur stereotypes]] of the pre-Dinosaur Renaissance era, and these civilized dinosaurs are ruled by [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinists]] who are [[EvilReactionary openly hostile to new ideas or anything that challenges their ideas]]. This environment enables corporations to cut corners and destroy much of the natural world in favor of their consumerist culture and profits, [[spoiler: which ultimately dooms them to extinction]].

* DumbDinos: Double subverted on this show. The dinosaurs here have evolved into intelligent beings capable of founding modern civilization resembling the early 90s America. But the show heavily relies on [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology old dinosaur stereotypes]] of the pre-Dinosaur Renaissance era, and these civilized dinosaurs are ruled by [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinists]] who are [[EvilReactionary openly hostile to new ideas or anything that challenges the apex-predators on top of society]]. This environment the dinosaurs created enabled corporations to cut corners and destroy much of the natural world in favor of their consumerist culture and profits, [[spoiler: which ultimately dooms them to extinction]].

* TheDinosaursHadItComing: Surprisingly PlayedForDrama in the series finale, "Changing Nature". [[spoiler: The dinosaurs go extinct due to a chain of events that started with Earl's [[CorruptCorporateExecutive boss]] foolishly [[GreenAesop destroying the breeding grounds of a specific species of bug]]. The dinosaurs [[ClimateChangeAllegory try to reverse the damage to the ecosystem]], but wind up [[FromBadToWorse wiping out all plant life, then plunging the planet into an ice age]] due to their short-sighted decisions. As the ice piles up, [[SuddenDownerEnding Earl has to explain to his shivering family why they are all going to die]].]]

* TheDinosaursHadItComing: Surprisingly PlayedForDrama in the series finale, "Changing Nature". The dinosaurs go extinct due to a chain of events that started with Earl's [[CorruptCorporateExecutive boss]] foolishly [[GreenAesop destroying the breeding grounds of a specific species of bug]]. The dinosaurs [[ClimateChangeAllegory try to reverse the damage to the ecosystem]], but wind up [[FromBadToWorse wiping out all plant life, then plunging the planet into an ice age]] due to their short-sighted decisions. As the ice piles up, [[SuddenDownerEnding Earl has to explain to his shivering family why they are all going to die]].
* DumbDinos: Double subverted on this show. The dinosaurs here have evolved into intelligent beings capable of founding modern civilization resembling the early 90s America. But the show heavily relies on [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology old dinosaur stereotypes]] of the pre-Dinosaur Renaissance era, and these civilized dinosaurs are shown to be [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinists]] who are openly hostile to new ideas or anything that challenges the apex-predators on top of society. This environment the dinosaurs created enabled corporations to cut corners and destroy much of the natural world in favor of their consumerist culture and profits, [[spoiler: which ultimately dooms them to extinction]].

* TheDinosaursHadItComing: The dinosaur civilization is shown to be a [[TheSocialDarwinist dinosaur-eat-dinosaur world]], hostile to new ideas or anything that challenges the apex-predators on top of society. This environment the dinosaurs created enabled corporations to cut corners and destroy much of the natural world in favor of their consumerist culture and profits. Time and time again, the harm caused by the dino corporations foreshadows the inevitable extinction of the dinosaurs [[spoiler:which ultimately comes to pass when an extinction of crucial beetle species leads to a chain of bad decisions that culminates into an Ice Age that none of the dinosaurs could survive through.]]
* DumbDinos: Double subverted on this show. The dinosaurs here have evolved into intelligent beings capable of founding modern civilization resembling the early 90s America. But the show heavily relies on [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology old dinosaur stereotypes]] of the pre-Dinosaur Renaissance era, and these civilized dinosaurs embody [[HumansAreBastards the worst aspects of humanity]], which ultimately dooming them to extinction.

[[folder: In General]]

[[folder: The Sinclair family]]

* WeakWilled: Earl is [[ExtremeDoormat browbeaten and manipulated]] by everyone from his wife to his boss to his infant son. Beyond this, if a tactic is said to only work on the impressionable, rest assured he'll fall for it. In one instance, after insisting he would no longer be swayed by a greedy doctor's smooth talk, Earl is somehow mesmerized by the doctor's ''excellent penmanship''. [[spoiler: Unfortunately this is what ended up leading to the extinction of dinosaurs as he couldn't bring himself to object to WESAYSO and Richfield's methods at a critical moment and allowed them to proceed with their plans, which in turn lead to an ice age.]]

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* SoleSurvivor: In the episode where Earl drives her to her high school reunion, they spend the trip over arguing, and Ethyl tells Earl that once she meets up with her friends, they will finalize their plans to move in together so she won't have to put up with Earl anymore. At the reunion, the [=M.C.=] informs them that she's the last surviving member of her graduate class, and she falls into a funk, saying she's alone. On the way home, [[Heartwarming/{{Dinosaurs}} Earl joins her in singing the song he found annoying, and cheers her up.]]

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[[folder: [=WeSaySo=] Corporation]]

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-->'''Richfield''': I feed my dogs...to my snakes, that is! 'Cause I'm a cold-blooded guy!

* WealthsInAName: Despite everyone being named for oil companies, Richfield gets two (BP stands for British Petroleum, and Richfield for the last name), which indicate his status amoung the dinosaurs.

[[folder: Other Characters]]

* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: As he delivers the final news in "Changing Nature", he mourningly says a final goodbye to his watchers, uncertain that he would survive to deliver another news report.]]
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: He’s styled after Walter Cronkite, delivering the news in a simple but effective way.

* ThatsAllFolks: [[spoiler: He delivers the final lines of the series, mourningly announcing the continuing harsh climate forecast and sending off the audience, not expecting to survive to deliver another announcement.]]

[[/folder]]

* ChildHater: With the [[OverprotectiveDad singular exception of his daughter]], he has been repeatedly been shown to hate kids, to the point of eating them. He employs Robbie and Charlene at different points in the series, and isn't any fonder of them than he is of Earl.

* OverprotectiveDad: Mr. Richfield is ''so'' overprotective, he actually ''eats'' his daughters boyfriends. (He claims he only wanted to talk to the first one, but he lost his temper, and "after that, it was like eatin' peanuts.")

-->'''Voiced by:''' Florence Stanley\\

* DumbDinos: Double subverted on this show. The dinosaurs here have evolved into intelligent beings capable of founding modern civilization resembling the early 90s America. But the show heavily rely on [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology old dinosaur stereotypes]] of the pre-Dinosaur Renaissance era, and these civilized dinosaurs embody [[HumansAreBastards the worst aspects of humanity]], which ultimately dooming them to extinction.