Dinotopia is an American television series based on the series of illustrated books of the same name by James Gurney, in which three Americans have crash-landed a plane and found themselves on a remote uncharted island inhabited by people and dinosaurs.

Dinotopia
Based onDinotopia
by James Gurney
StarringErik von Detten
Shiloh Strong
Michael Brandon
Georgina Rylance
Sophie Ward
Lisa Zane
Jonathan Hyde
ComposerTrevor Jones
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseNovember 28, 2002 (2002-11-28) –
August 17, 2003 (2003-08-17)

Outline

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US pilot Frank Scott, with his sons Karl and David, crash-lands a light plane in a tropical storm and they find themselves on an English-speaking island called Dinotopia, remote and undiscovered, where people live alongside dinosaurs, mostly peacefully.

The Scotts settle at Waterfall City, capital of Dinotopia, which then is affected by the arrival of a group called the Outsiders, who live outside the laws of Dinotopia. The Outsiders pose less of a danger than the featured Saurian antagonists, such as Pteranodon, Tyrannosaurus, and Postosuchus.[1]

Production

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The series was produced as a sequel to the miniseries Dinotopia, broadcast in early 2002, and thirteen new episodes were filmed. None of the cast of the mini-series returned to their roles. Location shooting lasted for three months near Budapest, Hungary. Georgina Rylance played Marion Waldo, and Lisa Zane her friend Le Sage, leader of the Outsiders.[2] Michael Brandon, Jonathan Hyde, and Erik von Detten also star in the series.

ABC first planned to launch the series in September 2002, but in the event waited until Thanksgiving in November. The network was disappointed by the 5.7 million viewers for Episode 1, but stated that it had been an "odd viewing night overall" and continued to broadcast the show.[3] However, in December the viewing figures had not improved enough to satisfy the ABC network, and the series was canceled,[4] with the result that only six of the thirteen episodes were aired on ABC, although all thirteen were broadcast in Europe in 2003.

Artisan Entertainment released the whole series on Region 1 DVD on January 20, 2004. This release was later discontinued and went out of print, but on March 15, 2016, Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the series on Region 1 DVD[5] and also on Region 2 DVD in Europe.

Cast

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Marooned"Thomas J. WrightRaymond KhouryNovember 28, 2002 (2002-11-28)475179
2"Making Good"Thomas J. WrightRaymond KhouryNovember 28, 2002 (2002-11-28)475179
3"Handful of Dust"David WinningNick HardingDecember 5, 2002 (2002-12-05)475179
4"Le Sage"Marco Brambilla & Mike FashStory by : Howard Ellis & Nick Harding
Teleplay by : Simon Moore
December 12, 2002 (2002-12-12)475179
5"Car Wars"Mario AzzopardiStory by : Nick Harding
Teleplay by : Simon Moore
December 19, 2002 (2002-12-19)475179
6"The Matriarch"Mario Azzopardi & Marco BrambillaStory by : Judy Morris
Teleplay by : Simon Moore
December 26, 2002 (2002-12-26)475179
7"Night of the Wartosa"David WinningStory by : Nick Harding
Teleplay by : Simon Moore
July 27, 2003 (2003-07-27)475179
8"The Big Fight"Mike Fash & David WinningTeleplay by : Simon MooreJuly 13, 2003 (2003-07-13)475179
9"Contact"Mario Azzopardi & Marco BrambillaStory by : Raymond Khoury
Teleplay by : Simon Moore
July 20, 2003 (2003-07-20)475179
10"Lost & Found"Mario AzzopardiRaymond KhouryJuly 6, 2003 (2003-07-06)475179
11"The Cure Part 1"Thomas J. WrightUnknownAugust 3, 2003 (2003-08-03)475179
12"The Cure Part 2"Thomas J. WrightUnknownAugust 10, 2003 (2003-08-10)475179
13"Crossroads"Mario AzzopardiUnknownAugust 17, 2003 (2003-08-17)475179

Dinosaurs

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Notes

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  1. ^ Terrace, Vincent (January 10, 2014). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 263. ISBN 9780786486410.
  2. ^ "Dinotopia". Cinefantastique. Vol. 34, no. 3/4. 2002. p. 20.
  3. ^ Petrozzello, Donna (3 December 2002). "'Dinotopia' Gets Chance to Avoid Extinction". Daily News. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  4. ^ Lowry, Brian (December 17, 2002). "ABC's 'Dinotopia' is a thing of the past". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  5. ^ Lambert, David (December 16, 2015). "Dinotopia - 'The Series' to be Re-Released in 2016 by Mill Creek Entertainment". TVShowsOnDVD.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
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