History Series / Dinosaurs

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Earl as he was made VP of communications to help clear up the vines that were plaguing the dinosaurs (due to WESAYSO building a wax factory over the bugs that ate them and kept them at bay). Robbie and Charlene both tried to get him to use alternate, less damaging methods but he wouldn't listen and when came time for the final volcano exploding plan. When he had the opportunity to object it and save his species, he caved. In the end, the plan formed a new Ice Age which will no doubt kill off the dinosaur civilization.]]

* GenuisDitz: Roy Hess, at times.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Earl is a LicensedSexist, much like his co-workers at WESAYSO.

* Heterosexual Life-Partners: Earl and Roy.

* [[spoiler:TheDinosaursHadItComing: In the last episode, the dinosaurs go extinct due to a chain of events that started with them [[GreenAesop destroying the breeding grounds of a specific species of bug]]. When they try to fix the damage to the ecosystem, [[ItGotWorse it gets worse]]]]

* GreenAesop: Many episodes had one, but not quite so much as the finale: Every year, a huge swarm of insects passes through town, and people come from miles around to see the spectacle, until WESAYSO builds a wax fruit factory on their breeding grounds. The insects die out, and without them, the vines they consumed spread virulently (soon they're taking over the Sinclairs' house, the news studio, WESAYSO's headquarters and everywhere else). [[spoiler:WESAYSO plans to fix that with mass volcanic eruptions, which destroy the ecosphere, bring in the IceAge and end the dinosaur civilisation (and the series).]]

* StrawCharacter: In the election episode, Earl's already-strawmanned [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil big-business boss]] became a Republican-{{expy}} [=strawman=], who among other things described trickle-down economics as stuffing the pockets of rich people so full of money that the change would fall out and roll downhill to poor people.

* StrawCharacter: In the election episode, Earl's already-strawmanned [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil big-business boss]] became a Republican-{{expy}} {{strawman}}, who among other things described trickle-down economics as stuffing the pockets of rich people so full of money that the change would fall out and roll downhill to poor people.

:: Or upon learning that Earl will be challenged to a duel to the death.

* FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter: Despite the presence of both bipedal and quadrupedal dinosaurs in the series, there's also genera that would normally be quadrupedal in real life depicted as walking on two legs.

* FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter: Despite the presence of both bipedal and quadrupedal dinosaurs in the series, there's also genera that would normally be quadrupedal in real life shown walking on two legs all the time.

* FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter: Despite having both bipedal and quadrupedal dinosaurs in the series, genera that would normally be quadrupedal in real life are shown walking on two legs all the time.

* FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter: Despite having both bipedal and quadrupedal dinosaurs in the series, genera that would normally be quadrupedal in real life walk on two legs all the time.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dinosaurs_1775.jpg
[[caption-width:217:Just your average dinosaur family.]]

''Dinosaurs'' was a show created by JimHenson (or at least his production company, since he died when the show was still in pre-production) that aired on ABC in the early '90s. At its core, it has the aesthetic of ''TheFlintstones'' and the social satire of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (only ''Dinosaurs''' social satire is sharper and goes after subject matter that ''The Simpsons'' either doesn't touch at all or doesn't handle very well), and yeah, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they're dinosaurs]]!

It followed the adventures of the Sinclair family: Earl, the not-too-bright blue collar dad who works as a tree pusher for the WESAYSO Company; his wife, long-suffering Fran; and their three kids, teenager Robbie; naive middle daughter Charlene; and annoying younger sibling Baby. Many of the episodes were allegories of modern social issues, such as bullying, puberty, the environment (a major issue dealt with on the show, if the last episode is indicative of anything), war, sexual harassment/discrimination, government incompetence, corporate greed and corruption, indecency in the media, racism, animal rights, religion, and women's rights.

!!This show features examples of:

* AdamAndEvePlot - A cute but delicious species of furry animal has been reduced to a single breeding pair.
* AllAnimalsAreDogs - In at least two episodes, the family has one or more cavemen as their pets. Guess how they act.
* AndIMustScream - The episode "If You Were A Tree".

* BadBoss: Richfield.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Georgie the hippo in "Georgie Must Die", who acted like a friendly and playful ManChild that loves making children happy, but was really [[spoiler: a ManipulativeBastard who only uses the smiles of children for his own profits to make money and avoid taxes.]]
* BreakingTheFourthWall - In the "How to Pick Up Girls" episode, Earl and Baby are watching a puppet show on TV. Fran wonders why they're watching a "kids show." Earl defends his choice of entertainment by citing the concept of ParentalBonus, doing an AsideGlance at the camera while doing so.
** There are many examples. One episode features Earl making the same argument with Fran, ending with Fran scoffing and saying "It'll last a season. Another episode features Ethyl complaining about a sexual harassment trial by stating "Don't they know children are watching?" Still another episode cites its constant comparison to the Simpsons by having the baby exclaim "Don't have a cow, Man!"
* BreakTheCutie: Robbie in "Career Opportunities." While getting a feel as a tree pusher, he incurs the wrath of Richfield, and is shown the entire time to be paralyzed in fear. Unlike most instances of the trope, it's PlayedForLaughs.
* BumblingDad - Earl.

* CarnivoreConfusion - Mr. Richfield is a ceratopsian (horned dinosaur) that eats meat (specifically the two mammals mentioned above, and his daughter's boyfriends). Possibly HilariousInHindsight with the new discoveries that Triceratops may have been omnivorous.
* CasanovaWannabe - Sexual Harris.
* CatchPhrase - The Baby's "Gotta Love Me!" and "Not The Mama", among others.
** An odd instance - "We're going to need another Timmy!" was only used in 3 episodes, yet it sticks out in people's minds. (This one doubles as an in-universe example as the it's part of a ShowWithinAShow and it sticks in the characters' minds.
** Earl Sinclair: Honey, I'm home! I'm hungry!
** B.P. Richfield: SINCLAIR! IN HERE NOW!!!

* CensorshipBySpelling
-->'''Fran''': I don't want to argue in front of the B-A-B-Y.\\
'''Earl''': Well I'm not changing another D-A-I... no wait... D-I-A...
** Baby used some blocks to write "They think I can't spell".
* CheckPlease: Robbie invented a device that'd allow people to draw energy from a volcano. Fearing the financial loss [[MegaCorp Wesayso Corporation]] would suffer, Mr. Richfield invited the Sinclairs for dinner and tried to buy all rights to the device. When Earl unwittingly gave Richfield the idea to buy the volcano instead, Richfield quickly left the scene and Earl asked for the check.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong - Earl, even in the episodes where his complaints seemed to have a certain degree of validity, was ''always'' proved 100% wrong by the coda.
** Lampshaded/subverted in "License to Parent." In the final scene of the episode Earl gripes about how "you were right, I was wrong... Fran is perfect and Earl learns another lesson." Fran disagrees, saying that perhaps ''she'' learned the lesson this time around.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive - Mr. Richfield.
** Mr. Ashland, Wesayso's CEO, is even worse. He detests butt kissers, mounting their heads on a wall, and he keeps a pet "lawyer" named Elliot in his desk, always ready to eat Ashland's enemies.

* CrapsackWorld - It's a world where the biggest, strongest, or oldest are the only ones that get a say in matters, and the decisions made are usually terrible. If you are not the absolute apex predator, you always have to watch your back from being eaten by aformentioned biggest and stongest. And don't get us started on what life is like for small mammals.
* DeadpanSnarker - Ethyl definitely counts.
-->'''Earl:''' It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
-->'''Ethyl:''' Then you're the guy for the job.
** Or upon learning that Earl will be challenged to a duel to the death.
-->'''Ethyl:''' ''(to Fran)'' Congratulations. You're a widow.
* DealWithTheDevil - Earl 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]].
* DinnerWithTheBoss - Done of course. In 'Power Erupts', WESAYSO exec, Earl's boss Mr. Richfield invites the Sinclaire family to dinner at a fancy restaurant in order to convince Robbie to sell his volcano-powered generator designs...after WESAYSO has discredited the idea with some mass-media mudslinging.

* DotingGrandparent: Ethil Phillips to Baby.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything - Multiple, including Robbie's stint with vegetarianism being treated like homosexuality (or having a drug addict in the family or someone in the family getting involved in an unconventional religion or political party), Robbie doing "The Mating Dance" around a girl he likes, Robbie bulking up on "Thornoids," Charlene's tail growing being an obvious reference to breast development, the ''Green Card'' episode refers to anti-immigration sentiment, and blue-furred mammals standing in for African American people.
** Also a "war-time" episode ("Nuts to War"), where the four-legged dinos waged war with the two-legged over pistachio nuts.
** And there was the episode ''The Greatest Story Ever Sold'', which covered philosophy and organized religion, particularly the use of religion as a pacifier for the masses.

* TheDutifulSon - Back when they were kids, Earl and his sister Pearl dreamed of being singers. However, for the sake of his sick mother, Earl set the dream aside and resented his sister for not doing the same.
* EconomyCast - One shot characters are played by the same seven or eight puppets every episode, known as "Unisaurs". That meant a character could be male in one episode and female in another. This got a little awkward when the puppets usually used as Earl's coworkers played females. In one disturbing episode, the usually-male puppets are used as not just females, but ''exotic dancers.''
* EmployeeOfTheMonth - When Mr. Richfield placed a suggestion box, Earl suggested the [=EOTM=] prize would motivate the employees. Mr. Richfield then made Earl the first [=EOTM=] just because he didn't want to take his time evaluating other employees.
* EndOfAnAge - The last episode.
* EscalatingWar - the two-parter ''Nuts To War'' miniseries, made in response to the Persian Gulf War, where a petty territorial dispute over the rights to pistachio trees escalates into a full-blown war between the two-legged dinosaurs and the four-legged ones. In the end, there was only one two-legged casualty, [[spoiler: but it turns out Robbie is okay]].
* ExactWords - Turns out Earl's Meteor insurance is no good because his house was hit by a meteor''ite''.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin - The show's title.

* {{Expy}} - ''TheSimpsons'' has lampshaded in one episode (the episode where Sideshow Bob returns to marry Selma Bouvier) in which Bart is watching a Springfield version of ''Dinosaurs'' and he remarks that its just like someone watched their family and copied it.
* FantasticRacism - A few episodes dealt with tensions between two-legged and four-legged dinosaurs.
** A bit of FridgeLogic when you realize B.P. Richfield himself, being a triceratops, is also a four-legged dinosaur.

* FreeTheFrogs - When Robbie's class are called on to dissect cavepeople, Robbie smuggles his out of the class, takes it home as a pet, and eventually releases it into the wild.
* FryingPanOfDoom - The Baby's weapon of choice.

* FullNameUltimatum - ''"Earl Snead Sinclair!"''

* FurAndLoathing - The episode "Slave to Fashion".

* GetAholdOfYourselfMan: When Earl starts freaking out after Robbie misses his howl, thereby dooming all dinosaurs, Ethyl whacks him with her cane and tells him to get a hold of himself.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:

-->'''Charlene''': I'm so happy I'm a girl.

** After Charlene, Earl, and Roy perform at the war in "Nuts to War: Part 2", Charlene says "I was born to give pleasure to whole groups of boys!".

* GreenAesop: Many episodes had one, but quite so much as the finale: Every year, a huge swarm of insects passes through town, and people come from miles around to see the spectacle, until Wesayso builds a wax fruit factory on their breeding grounds. The insects die out, and without them, the vines they consumed spread virulently (soon they're taking over the Sinclairs' house, the news studio, Wesayso's headquarters and everywhere else). [[spoiler: Wesayso plans to fix that with mass volcanic eruptions, which destroy the ecosphere, bring in the IceAge and end the dinosaur civilisation (and the series).]]

-->For scratching his father's brand new car, Robert Mark Sinclair was grounded for six to ten years. He is currently serving his sentence in his room.
* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Most of the males wear everything but pants.
** 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.
** 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.
* HotSkittyOnWailordAction: Earl is a megalosaurus. Fran is, according to WordOfGod, an ''Allosaur''. 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.

* ImpossibleInsurance: In one episode, the Sinclair's house (and TV) gets struck by a falling meteor. Earl actually had bought meteor insurance but is denied coverage since he's only covered for meteors and once a meteor passes through the atmosphere it becomes a meteorite. When the insurance company employee told Earl he'd only get coverage if his house had been floating in space when the meteor hit the TV, Earl [[BlatantLies claimed it was and that the neighbors would confirm it]].
* ImageSong: The [[EarWorm irritatingly catchy]] "I'm The Baby" is the best known because it had a music video that aired after an episode, but there was actually a full album of these. Even [[LetsMeetTheMeat the food in the Sinclairs' refrigerator]] got it's own song.
* InformedObscenity: In one episode, a great controversy erupted over the word "smoo". And thanks the the publicity, the same channel then started showing "The Flark Show"

* InsaneTrollLogic: In "Family Challenge," Earl preps his family for their upcoming game show appearance with a lesson. On his blackboard, he has classified everything on Earth into three categories - "Animal", "Vegetable" and "Rocks."

* ItIsNotYourTime: Ethyl once went to the afterlife only to be told it wasn't her time yet and she woke up with earth on her face since Earl buried her. She missed her late husband so much she didn't want to wait for her time any longer until he warned her to live her life to her full extent otherwise she'd spent her afterlife at a "not so nice place". (In her case, a Sinclair household full of Earls, resulting in a BigNo)
* IronicEcho: At the very end of the first episode, Earl tells Baby while standing at the window that he and his brother and sister were born dinosaurs, "and dinosaurs rule the world... and we're gonna rule the world forever." In the final episode, he [[spoiler: admits to Baby that he's screwed up the world to the point where there isn't much of a world left for his children. He also says desperately, "And hey, I'm sure it will all turn out OK. After all, dinosaurs have been on this earth for 150 million years. It's not like we're going to just...disappear." One of the final scenes is Earl at the same window, watching the encroaching Ice Age that will doom the dinosaurs.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Spike.

* KarmaHoudini: Mr. Richfield.
** Earl's fellow network executives in the episode "Network Genius" also qualify. When the programming Earl puts on makes dinosaurs dumber, he reluctantly puts on more intelligent shows which succeed in making dinosaurs smarter again, but eventually they become so smart that they don't feel a need to watch television. Earl ends up quitting when he finds out his fellow executives don't care what's on TV, as long as they get ratings. [[spoiler: And then they use the publics love of reading to put out an {{Expy}} for TV Guide, which gets them watching television again and losing their newfound intelligence, while the ratings presumably improve.]]

* [[spoiler: KillEmAll: The last episode.]]
* KillThePoor:

* KnightTemplarParent: Richfield. He's eaten every ex-boyfriend his daughter has dated after they broke her heart. Naturally, this raises problems for the Sinclair family once Robbie starts dating her.
** Not after, ''while'' they were dating his daughter.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: During the "Sexual" Harris Hearings on TV, Monica gets called a prostitute by one of the workers. Ethyl complains about the language used on TV these days and how it's bad for kids. Fran argues that it makes them think, with Ethyl saying that she doesn't want kids to think, and instead would rather have them watch "safe little situational comedies with [[StrictlyFormula time-tested repetitive storylines]]".

-->"You might think that because they're puppets, the show seems to have a children's aesthetic. ''(AsideGlance)'' Yet the dialogue is unquestionable sharp-edged, witty, and thematically skewed to adults."

* LiteralGenie: The house gets hit by a '''meteorite'''. Earl says it's okay, since they have '''meteor''' insurance. Guess what the insurance guy says?
** This is , a spectacular demonstration of lay people not doing the research. Or possibly an {{Anvilicious}} TakeThat against perceived semantic hair-splitting by insurance agents.
* MacGuffin: Parodied. In the episode "Scent of a Reptile", Charlene gets her "scent", which will attract one male dinosaur, who will be her mate for life. Because her destined mate is a slobbish janitor, her grandmother tells her the only way to change her scent is with a very rare flower found on the other side of the world - the MacGuffin Lily.

* MegaCorp: The Wesayso Corporation.

* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds - [[spoiler: Earl in the last episode.]]
* MonsterMunch: Various small mammals existed only to be the dinosaurs' food, even though they were sentient and sometimes had dialogue.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: Earl as he was made VP of communications to help clear up the vines that were plaguing the dinosaurs (due to WESAYSO building a wax factory over the bugs that ate them and kept them at bay). Robbie and Charlene both tried to get him to use alternate, less damaging methods but he wouldn't listen and when came time for the final volcano exploding plan. When he had the opportunity to object it and save his species, he caved. In the end, the plan formed a new Ice Age which will no doubt kill off the dinosaur civilization.]]

* OutOfOrder: Even though Charlene grew a bigger tail in "Charlene's Tale", certain episodes filmed prior showing her shorter tail such as "Employee of the Month" and "Unmarried... With Children" aired after it. There's also the seven episodes filmed prior to the series finale that were shown afterwards when the show moved to syndication.
* ParentalBonus:

* PeopleInRubberSuits - Sorry if this [[TheUntwist shocking revelation]] has just shattered anyone's illusions here. [[YesVirginia No, Virginia]], there is no Sinclair family. This is also mixed with hand-operated puppets.
* PoliticallyIncorrectHero - Earl is a LicensedSexist, much like his co-workers at Wesayso.
* PunnyName: The newsreader (a hand-operated puppet) is named Howard Handupme.

* ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud- "And let me conclude by saying Foreman Harris is a great guy. Monica's been a troublemaker as long as I've known her and I'm pretty sure she cheats on her taxes. Stop here, look up, [[http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/3328/earlfvp.jpg smile]]."

* RetroactiveWish: Baby Sinclair was whining about wanting his pacifier. After it fell of the fireplace, Earl shouted that he wanted a big screen tv and cable. As nothing happened, he said he wanted a bigger fireplace.

* SelfDeprecation: One episode where Earl was a TV executive had him see a pilot episode of ''Dr. Kirk Marcus, M.D.'' which featured a minor character called "Baby Cuddlebunny", who is essentially a parody of Baby Sinclair himself. Earl liked him and demanded that he be the doctor, changing the name to ''[[DoogieHowser Baby Cuddlebunny, M.D.]]''. He later spouts his {{catch phrase}} ("Not the pajamas!"), wears T-shirts of his likeness, and the execs even make a talking pullstring doll (similar to the [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Talking_Baby_Sinclair_Doll real doll]] made of Baby Sinclair). Ethyl even wonders [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall how his catchphrase got so popular]].
* ShowWithinAShow - Several, most notably ''Mr. Lizard'' ("'''We're''' [[GonnaNeedMoreX going to need]] another Timmy!").
* ShoutOut / StealthPun:
** The Sinclair family's name comes from the Sinclair gas station, which has a green dinosaur for a mascot. Earl is name after Earl Holding, the company's owner. Earl also wears a shirt of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Sinclair Sinclair clan's]] tartan.
** Earl's boss, B.P. Richfield, is named after both British Petroleum (BP) and the Richfield Oil Company (which coincidentally absorbed the Sinclair chain in the late 1960s, and both companies were later absorbed by BP many years later!).
** In "Charlene's Flat World", after being convicted of heresy for thinking the Earth wasn't flat, Charlene requests her sentence be death by being thrown off the earth. She and Robbie return from the other side...[[AroundTheWorldInEightyDays 80 days later]].
** In one episode, Earl and Roy are dumping toxic waste in a swamp called "Silent Spring Recreation Area."

* StrawmanPolitical: In the election episode, Earl's already-strawmanned [[CorruptCorporateExecutive evil big-business boss]] became a Republican-{{expy}} {{strawman}}, who among other things described trickle-down economics as stuffing the pockets of rich people so full of money that the change would fall out and roll downhill to poor people.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: subverted with Baby

* TerraDeforming: In the last episode, Earl ends up destroying all plant life on the planet to get rid of these vines that were growing everywhere as a result of the bugs that would normally eat them having gone extinct (Wesayso built a wax fruit factory on their breeding grounds, thus killing all the bugs).
* ThatOldTimePrescription: Baby gets seriously ill and the family spends lots of money on fancy new medicines. When those fail, they go to a healer who lives in the woods, who cures the baby with moldy bread.
** A bit of FridgeBrilliance when you realize penicillin, an antibiotic, comes from a mold.
* ThemeNaming - The names of the main characters are based on oil and/or gas companies ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Oil Sinclair]], Roy [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hess_Corporation Hess]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene Ethyl]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_Petroleum Phillips]], [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BP B.P.]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARCO Richfield]]). Petroleum is a fossil fuel. Since dinosaurs are the best-known fossil animals, they have become associated with oil.
** Earl also sounds like "oil".
* TheyKilledKennyAgain - "We're gonna need another Timmy!"
* TinkleInTheEye - Subverted; Baby Sinclair used a squirt gun.
* TooDumbToLive - Each and every Timmy. Well, maybe not at first, when the experiments weren't as obviously deadly, but after how many Timmies bit the dust, and after Mr. Lizard started hiding behind lead shielding before Timmy did what he did, this was clearly in effect.

* TyrannosaurusRex - Roy.
* {{Unishment}} - Being tossed across the kitchen by daddy is this to Baby, who enjoys it.
* VerySpecialEpisode - Spoofed in an early episode, then played straight with nearly every other episode.
** The particular episode which spoofed this was "A New Leaf" where the "happy plant" is like a drug. At the end of the episode, Robbie implores the viewing audience to not do drugs so that an end can be put to "preachy [TV] sitcom endings".
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Georgie in "Georgie Must Die".
** Possibly the [=WeSaySo=] Corporation as well. They do some pretty bad things in the show, but no one ever really stands up to them, nor do they protest stuff they do, such as when they bad-mouth Robbie because he created a dome over a volcano which could give everyone free energy.

* WhenIWasYourAge
-->'''Earl:''' "When I was your age we didn't have lawn mowers, we didn't have scissors, we had to get down on all fours and graze like a cow."

* WhamLine: [[spoiler: "Considering the thickness of the cloud cover, scientists predict it may be tens of thousands of years before the sun shines over Pangaea again."]]
* YouMeanXmas - "Refrigerator Day".

* RepeatAfterMe: The Chief Elder has, among other responsibilities, the duty to name babies. When Earl and Fran brought Baby to be named, the Chief Elder started feeling pain and moaned. As the scribe in charge of writing the names on a certificate wrote the moans, the Chief Elder explained he was dying. Until a new Chief Elder was elected so the Sinclairs could take Baby to be renamed, Baby Sinclair's official name was "Ouch Ouch I'm Dying You Idiot Sinclair". Another victim of the trope was Fran's cousin "Atchoo".

* StrongFamilyResemblance

* RetroactiveWish: Baby Sinclair was whining about wanting his facifier. After it fell of the fireplace, Earl shouted that he wanted a big screen tv and cable. As nothing happened, he said he wanted a bigger fireplace.

''Dinosaurs'' was a show created by JimHenson (or at least his production company, since he died when the show was still in pre-production) that aired on ABC in the early '90s. At its core, it has the aesthetic of ''TheFlintstones'' [[XMeetsY and]] the social satire of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (only ''Dinosaurs''' social satire is sharper and goes after subject matter that ''The Simpsons'' either doesn't touch at all or doesn't handle very well), and yeah, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin they're dinosaurs]]!

* TheOtherDarrin: Played with. Fran's animatronic was entirely redesigned for the second season so it absolutely does not resemble her first incarnation.

It followed the adventures of the Sinclair family: Earl, the not-too-bright blue collar dad who works as a tree pusher for the WESAYSO Company; his wife, long-suffering Fran; and their three kids, teenager Robbie; naive middle daughter Charlene; and annoying younger sibling Baby. Many of the episodes were allegories of modern social issues, such as bullying, sexual development, the environment (a major issue dealt with on the show, if the last episode is indicative of anything), war, fame, sexual harassment/discrimination, government incompetence, corporate greed and corruption, indecency in the media, racism (or specie-ism), animal rights, and women's rights.