Dinosaurs: Episode Discussion: Changing Nature (Warning: Contains Spoilers)

PPG-Katelyn
[1]May 27, 2007
member since: 02/09/07
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I heard that the last episode of 'Dinosaurs' 'Changing Nature' was sad because it ended with all of the cast being killed off. My parents think that it was stupid to end it that way since there's many kids that watch it. I have the complete 2nd and 3rd season DVD boxset and when watching all the episodes, I was afraid to watch it since I was worried that it would make me sad so I skipped it and went on to watching the unaired episodes. I did watch the behind the scenes thing that told about it and the clips they showed to the episode do look very sad, especially where Baby Sinclair says "What's gonna happen to us?".
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magicbyben
[2]May 28, 2007
member since: 06/09/06
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My friend got the DVD and I had never seen the end when I was younger so I wanted to watch it...and she's like "no, they all die and it's sad"....and it ticked me off because I wanted to see the end. I mean come on...they are dinosaurs and we've known forever that they would eventually have to become extinct. But I am just rambling... Don't be mad at my opinion. I'm just mad at her....Has anyone seen the last episode that could give a propor review?
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tansydog
[3]Jun 7, 2007
member since: 08/13/06
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While it certainly seems inevitable that they *will* die before too long, you certainly don't see it, it ends with them all sitting in the house in a sort of nuclear winter caused by Earl's efforts to kill a massive overgrowth of a plant which has taken over the planet because the insects which ate the plant had all been killed (apart from one).

Might be upsetting for little kids, then again I'm not sure that they would appreciate what had actually happened.

It wasn't a bad episode at all.
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Slushie
[4]Jun 14, 2007
member since: 09/20/05
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I watched the episode, it was sad too see, after watching this family for a few years, you get attached, even if they are fake. You want them to live happily ever after.

It was very sad, and a little unsetteling to see the whole family together and hear the little Baby ask whats going to happen, in a scared silent voice. Then zoom out and see eveything outside snowing and freezing.

I understand the Dinosaurs are extinct, but why couldn't the Dinosaurs have been extinct a thousand or so years after that Dinosaur family we all know and love.

But from that, when they decided to kill off the Dinosaurs to end the show, they did do a good job. How it happened, and how the reactions of others, such as Earls Boss, who didn't care at all of what was happening, was just glad about all the money he was making because of the sale of heaters.

It does get its point across, things die. But to see a family, with kids, and a baby die, that is just too much, especially for a family show that kids watch. If Dinosaurs was only an adult show, even then I'd be upset, but more understanding, but kids watch it, and I know they'll have to learn of death eventually, but not on a show they love, not a show that's supposed to be funny and cheer you up when your feeling a bit down.

I hate how shows do these things, trying to do something artistic or meaningful or something, we all know how life is, we all know that the Dinosaurs died, we watch a family-comedy like the Dinosaurs to get away from that.
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PPG-Katelyn
[5]Jun 25, 2007
member since: 02/09/07
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I agree with Slushie!
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Slade811
[6]Jun 26, 2007
member since: 09/15/05
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It was sad but it made me think this is our planet and we only get one of it we got to take care of it
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Razor_Leaf
[7]Jan 1, 2008
member since: 12/11/04
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I thought they ended it well. It would have been easy to end on just another funny episode, but doing something more thoughtful and challenging was a more interesting way to go. Particularly because the show appealed to children, and they liked the characters, they were more likely to think about what happened than if their parents lecture them on killing insects or something. But at the same time, it wasn't like they made it a horrific ending. I think the ending was implied more than anything, so that adults would have understood "so this is how they're saying the dinosaurs went extinct" whereas for younger viewers it's a little more vague.
I only saw this episode for the first time on the recent DVD set although I had heard in the last episode they all went extinct, and didn't notice that the remaining episodes on the last disc are bonus episodes and this was actually the last one. I don't know why, perhaps I'd just imagining them becoming extinct a little differently, but I didn't make the connection between what I'd heard and realised I was watching the official last episode. I was honestly expecting to see all the dinosaurs freeze or something.
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Trey_Vore
[8]Feb 21, 2008
member since: 06/06/05
level: 22
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I remember seeing "Changing Nature" on its original broadcast date and it was a very memorable episode (how many other shows end leaving you with the feeling everyone--the parents, the grandma, the kids, the neighbors, the dad's boss, hell, even the baby--in the show's world will be dead not too long after the final episode?)
Something else I noticed: the DVD commentary claims the show's ideas is like something on a time hiccup; on the beginning of the series premiere episode, "The Mighty Megalosaurus", Earl is watching Howard Handupme's news report:
"There is a giant asteroid hurling towards Earth which will destroy all life on the planet. This just in...no it's not."
and at the end of the episode, Earl assures Baby:
"And we're going to rule the world...forever."
At the end of the series finale, Earl reassures the family while they have no food and there is a snowstorm outside:
"And hey! I'm sure everything will work out OK. After all, Dinosaurs have been around for 150 million years, and it's not like we're all going to just...disappear."
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lorenzoduke
[9]Mar 2, 2008
member since: 10/02/06
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I thought 'Changing Nature' was the best episode of the show by far - as a young kid watching it the first time it aired, and as an adult watching it today. Yes, it is undeniably sad and moving, but brilliantly done. How many times have you got emotional over a puppet show?
This episode very much deserves to be more widely seen. I genuinely think its one of the greatest half hours of TV I've ever seen. The script, the tone, the acting...everything is impeccable. And I've yet to see any media get an environmentally themed message across as well as this does.
Remember, Dinosaurs' writers did not intend it to be a kids show. They even explicitly stated within the show many times that it was aimed at adults. If your parents felt it was appropriate for you to watch a show that satirized themes like homosexuality, war, communism, puberty and sexual harrassment just because it had puppets in, fine, but you can't blame the shows writers for ending the show the way they wanted to do all along: as an adult satire.
That said, yes, there are episodes of Dinosaurs that can be enjoyed by kids, and if I had a young child, I wouldn't let them watch this. But if you are old enough and mature enough to face facts: people and animals die, often through their own folly, then this is a must-see. It really is a beautiful, moving piece of work, and such a fitting end to the series. The writers should be applauded for their bravery in choosing this as the way to end the show, rather than the easy-route: another funny episode ending with a group hug.
Another poster mentioned they thought it was wrong to end the show this way because "you come to Dinosaurs for it to cheer you up". Yes, often you do. But what made it a great show, was that it was also thought provoking and intelligent. For what it may lack in laughs, 'Changing Nature' is one of the most thought provoking and intelligent pieces of television I've ever seen.
Edited on 03/02/2008 3:19pm
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