BC finally premieres its long-awaited six-hour miniseries Dinotopia just in time for May sweeps. Based on the books by James Gurney, Dinotopia opens as wealthy American Frank Scott (Stuart Wilson) takes his sons, David and Karl, on a trip island-hopping. They hit a sudden storm and the plane goes down, taking Frank with it. David (Miller) and Karl (Leitso) manage to swim to a nearby island, where they soon discover they are in a land unlike any they've ever seen before—a place where humans and dinosaurs seem to co-exist.
They end up on a perilous trip to Waterfall City, where they hope to find the resources that might get them home. Joining them on their trip is Marion (Carr), a young woman who is studying to be the leader of her people. The brothers quickly learn that while most dinosaurs are friendly, the carnivorous ones aren't, and they barely escape a T-rex attack.
When they arrive in Waterfall City, the off-worlders are welcomed by Mayor Waldo (Jim Carter) and the city's citizens. Unfortunately, they are told there is no way off Dinotopia. The brothers are befriended by a librarian Stenonychosaurus named Zippo, who speaks 17 human and Saurian languages, and
they begin to learn about their new home. As David starts to embrace the Dinotopian way, Karl finds himself at odds with his new surroundings.
The brothers are sent to the island's academy to learn to become Dinotopians. When they're given their assignments, the studious David is sent to Skybax Corps training to learn how to fly a pterosaur and the cynical Karl is assigned to oversee the birth of an infant Chasmosaurus named 26.
As Karl and David struggle with their new roles and each other, they discover that there is trouble in paradise. The sunstones, Dinotopia's energy source, are beginning to fail, threatening to plunge the entire island into peril. Without the sunstones there is nothing to keep the carnivores at bay. Unfortunately for the brothers, the only way to save Dinotopia may be to break the island's most sacred rules by taking a dangerous journey to a mythical place known as The World Beneath.
A stunning special-effects spectacular
Move over, Jurassic Park—dinosaurs are walking the earth again, but this time on the small screen. Dinotopia is an impressive special-effects extravaganza that creates an environment where humans and dinosaurs interact in a realistic way. The miniseries is visually stunning, but the story doesn't quite hold up to the special effects.
The tale about two brothers who end up in Dinotopia is a dual coming-of-age story told in epic proportions. While the story could have degenerated into the standard television storytelling of convenient good and evil, it never quite goes there. The first two parts of the miniseries focus on the
brothers' struggles in becoming Dinotopians, before heading into more standard adventure in the final hour as they try to save the world, at least the world of Dinotopia.
Unfortunately, when the real action begins to happen, the dinosaur characters are left behind and the tale loses its unique flavor. Although the baby dinosaur 26 is very cute, the only interactive dinosaur is Zippo. He's a fun character to have around, whether he's stumbling around in the library or
playing pingpong with Karl. However, not enough is done with him and there are no other dinosaurs around who get a chance to do much.
While there are some other problems with the way the tale winds up, it comes down to the fact that there just aren't many surprises at the end of the story. We know pretty much how things are going to end, and they do. It's vaguely unsatisfying, but maybe that's because it should have been great.
