Don’t Bring Back “Denver, the Last Dinosaur”

Sequels and remakes have been the name of the game for Hollywood during the past few years. Every summer sees re-imaginings of television shows or movies I saw as a kid, but there is one that is probably better left alone: Denver, the Last Dinosaur.

The basic plot of Denver is pretty standard (and would later be echoed by the movie Encino Man). A group of kids finds an unattended dinosaur egg in a pit. The egg promptly hatches, revealing a green dinosaur with a mohawk-like spike on its head. As per convention, the dinosaur (named Denver, of course) is not only friendly but pretty darned smart, and together he and the kids have lots of wacky adventures.

Maybe this general storyline could be resuscitated, but Denver was the kind of show that could have only existed in the 1980s. Pink sunglasses, spandex-wearing metal bands, big hair, skateboarding, and garishly colored clothes made up much of the background of the show. As painful as it would be to watch, if Denver were brought back without these little touches it just wouldn't be the same.

I don't think anyone is thinking of bringing Denver back to life, though. The show attempted to capitalize on the dino-mania sparked by the animated film The Land Before Time, but by the end of the second season the dinosaur craze had ebbed. The producers let the show go extinct. While it might be fun to go back and watch the cheesy original episodes, I think Denver has had enough adventures.

Riley Black | | READ MORE

Riley Black is the author of The Last Days of the Dinosaurs and many other books. She is a science correspondent for Smithsonian magazine covering fossils and natural history, and she writes about the prehistoric past for a variety of publications.