Review: Dinotopia the TV Series

"Breathe deep." This is a saying of the citizens of Dinotopia, an utopia where humans and intelligent dinosaurs live side by side. In May 2002, "Dinotopia" the miniseries debuted, full of special effects and a story about this Fantasy world. Spurred by strong ratings, producers have turned it into a weekly tv series. "Dinotopia" consists of one hour episodes picking up where the miniseries left off. It continues the story of the two brothers and their father as they adjust to living in their new home. The series has fun characters, entertaining plots and excellent special effects.

Aimed at children, "Dinotopia" has fun characters that keeps viewers watching. Brothers Carl and David along with their father are still adjusting to life on the island. There is a continued friction about how their lives are working out. They are guided by young Marion and her family. The dinosaur librarian Zipeau is a continued character of amusement and wise advisor. The new character of a tough woman from the Outsiders presents a touch of chaos to the mix. All of the characters have interesting quirks that make them fun to follow through each episode.

The entertaining plots help to keep you watching. In the first episode, the Scotts must save the people from the Outsiders who possess a magic stone that controls the Tyrannosaurs. During this crisis, the Scotts' father tries to get them to leave the island. Another episode had Marion and Carl trying to save dinosaurs from being killed by a man seeking a potion for eternal youth. Both episodes have some fun, adventure and provide interesting glimpses of Dinotopia. The series could be better if the creators dropped the getting off the island stories and showed more about the island. Viewers would find stories on the culture or exploration of Dinotopia more interesting.

Finally, the excellent special effects helps give this Fantasy series a realistic feel. Computer generated images make the dinosaurs look alive. Zipeau interacts with the actors seamlessly in many scenes. The backgrounds of places like Waterfall City and the Canyon help suspend your disbelief. Flying scenes with the Skyvox and the meat eating dinosaurs attacking are well done. Special effects help improve Fantasy series by making them look real. "Dinotopia" has good special effects to keep a viewer fascinated for an hour.

The Fantasy world of Dinotopia was created by James Gurney. His world has come to life in a miniseries and now a new tv series. "Dinotopia" is a weely one hour series aimed at children, but adults can enjoy it too. The fun characters, entertaining plots and excellent special effects makes "Dinotopia" an enjoyable series to romp through each week. Many of the scarier scenes are relatively bloodless, so parents should not fear their children watching. So, "Breathe deep!"

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