Valley of the Dinosaurs is an American animated television series produced by the Australian studios of Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 7 to December 21, 1974, and in syndication from 1977 to 1983. The series, about a contemporary family sucked by a vortex back to the Stone Age was intended to be educational as well as entertaining, demonstrating the early human uses of fire, clothing, weapons, and cooking. It debuted on the same day as Land of the Lost.
Characters[]
The main characters of the series are:
- John Butler: A science professor and the father of the Butler family. He is voiced by Mike Road.
- Kim Butler: John’s wife and a homemaker. She is voiced by Shannon Farnon.
- Katie Butler: John and Kim’s teenage daughter. She is voiced by Kathy Gori.
- Greg Butler: John and Kim’s young son. He is voiced by Jackie Earle Haley.
- Digger: The Butlers’ pet dog. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
- Gorok: The leader of the Neanderthal clan and the father of the cave family. He is voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
- Gara: Gorok’s wife and a skilled healer. She is voiced by Joan Gardner.
- Lok: Gorok and Gara’s teenage son and a brave hunter. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
- Tana: Gorok and Gara’s young daughter and a curious explorer. She is voiced by Melanie Baker.
- Glump: The cave family’s pet baby stegosaurus. He is voiced by Frank Welker.
Episodes[]
The series consists of 16 episodes, each about 30 minutes long. The following is a list of episodes with their original air dates and a brief summary.
| No. | Title | Air date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forbidden Fruit | September 7, 1974 | Greg is warned against harvesting arok, a delicious fruit. But he can’t resist and the smell of the fruit draws a massive Brontosaurus to the cave. The hungry beast traps the Butlers and their friends between arok and a hard place. |
| 2 | What Goes Up | September 14, 1974 | When the valley is attacked by voracious army ants, even the dinosaurs run for cover. The Butlers must save themselves and their new cave-dwelling friends by constructing a hot-air balloon to escape. |
| 3 | A Turned Turtle | September 21, 1974 | With the shell of an Archelon, the Butlers build a primitive submarine to help them explore a part of the valley ruled by a massive, hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex. |
| 4 | The Volcano | September 28, 1974 | When a volcano threatens to erupt, the villagers believe it to be just the regular rumbling. John and Gorak must climb the beast, outwit a Terror Bird and find a way to divert the inevitable lava flow down to the village. |
| 5 | Smoke Screen | October 5, 1974 | The Butlers inadvertently anger a tribe of primitive “missing links,” and must prepare the village against an imminent attack. They’re outnumbered, but they have ingenuity – and fire – on their side. |
| 6 | Pteranodon | October 12, 1974 | Kim Butler has fallen ill and only a group effort to collect ingredients for a medicine can help. Along the way, the clan runs afoul of a giant tortoise, a long-necked Elasmosaurus, a hungry Deinosuchus, and a determined mother Pteranodon. |
| 7 | The Saber-Tooth Kids | October 19, 1974 | Their pet Stegosaurus, Glump, is lost and Greg and Tana are worried. When they find him “treed” on an outcropping of rock by hungry wolves, they decide to dress in an old Smilodon fur to scare the wolves away. |
| 8 | After Shock | October 26, 1974 | When a quake unsettles a guardian statue’s head, Gorok feels the clan must replace it. Bemused by his superstition, the Butlers build a wagon, encounter a Dimetrodon, and transport a boulder before realizing Gorok’s feeling was right. |
| 9 | Top Cave, Please | November 2, 1974 | Lok is accused of releasing the villager’s lucky hunting mascot, an adult Stegosaurus. |
| 10 | S.O.S. | November 9, 1974 | The Butlers spot a plane flying overhead and try to signal it with a giant SOS sign made of rocks. However, they are unaware that the plane belongs to a group of ruthless treasure hunters who are after the valley’s riches. |
| 11 | Fire | November 16, 1974 | A lightning strike ignites a forest fire that threatens the village. The Butlers and the cavepeople must work together to create a firebreak and save their homes. |
| 12 | Rain of Meteors | November 23, 1974 | A meteor shower causes panic among the villagers, who believe it is a sign of the gods’ anger. John tries to explain the scientific nature of the phenomenon, but his words fall on deaf ears. Meanwhile, a large meteor lands near the village, attracting the attention of a hostile tribe. |
| 13 | To Fly a Kite | November 30, 1974 | Greg and Tana make a kite out of dinosaur skin and bamboo. They have fun flying it, until it gets caught in a tree. They climb up to retrieve it, but end up falling into a nest of baby Pteranodons. The mother Pteranodon is not pleased and chases them across the valley. |
| 14 | Test Flight | December 7, 1974 | John and Gorok build a glider to explore the other side of the mountain. They take off successfully, but encounter a storm that damages their craft. They crash-land in a swamp, where they meet a friendly tribe of swamp dwellers who help them repair their glider. |
| 15 | The Big Toothache | December 14, 1974 | Gorok suffers from a severe toothache that makes him irritable and unable to lead the clan. John offers to help him by extracting the rotten tooth, but Gorok refuses to let him. John must find a way to convince Gorok to trust him and endure the pain. |
| 16 | Torch | December 21, 1974 | When camel-riding night raiders from the other side of the mountain threaten the village, the Butlers devise a plan using a huge diamond-encrusted drill, natural gas and a pesky baby Styracosaurus to make the mountain pass unpassable. |
The series consists of 16 episodes, each with a title and a brief synopsis. The episodes are:
- Forbidden Fruit: The Butlers discover a fruit that can cure any illness, but also attracts a hungry tyrannosaurus rex.
- What Goes Up: John and Gorok build a hot air balloon to explore the valley, but encounter a pteranodon and a volcano.
- A Turned Turtle: The Butlers use the shell of a giant turtle to make a submarine, but are attacked by a mosasaurus and a megalodon.
- The Volcano: A volcanic eruption threatens to destroy the cave village, so the Butlers and the cave people work together to divert the lava flow.
- Smoke Screen: The Butlers and the cave people are captured by a hostile tribe, but escape with the help of Digger and Glump.
- Pteranodon: Katie and Tana are kidnapped by a pteranodon and taken to its nest, where they meet a friendly baby pteranodon.
- The Saber-Tooth Kids: Greg and Lok befriend two saber-tooth tiger cubs, but their mother is not happy about it.
- After Shock: An earthquake causes a landslide that traps John and Gorok in a cave, where they find a mysterious device.
- Top Cave, Please: The Butlers and the cave people move to a new cave, but find out that it is already occupied by a family of mammoths.
- S.O.S.: John and Kim try to send a distress signal with a radio, but attract the attention of a pirate plane.
- Fire: The Butlers teach the cave people how to make fire, but also have to deal with a fire-breathing dragon.
- Rain of Meteors: A meteor shower causes a series of disasters in the valley, such as a flood, a forest fire, and a stampede of dinosaurs.
- To Fly a Kite: John and Katie make a kite, but it gets caught in a storm and leads them to a hidden temple.
- Test Flight: John and Gorok invent a glider, but it crashes into a swamp and they are chased by a crocodile and a swamp monster.
- The Big Toothache: Glump has a toothache, so the Butlers and the cave people try to help him, but end up angering a triceratops and a brontosaurus.
- Torch: The Butlers and the cave people are threatened by a group of raiders, but they use a drill, a gas pipe, and a torch to scare them away.
