The History of Dino-Riders: How Could It Fail?

as the saying goes guns don't kill people people kill people the same is true for dinosaurs dinosaurs don't kill people because there was no historical era where the two coexisted in the millions of years the dinosaurs lived on earth not to mention that dinosaurs is a general term that applies to a broad spectrum of species including mammals fish birds reptiles and amphibians people kill people but if you take all three of those things guns people dinosaurs and put them together nobody is getting out alive because laser munitions mounted on a stegasaurus piloted by a person will destroy everything that happens to be in the crosshairs hi I'm dan Larson and this is the history of Dino riders [Music] Dino riders was a single season 13 episode animated series that first aired Saturday October 1st 1988 however the pilot episode was initially released direct-to-video a year earlier in 1987 the full series of 13 episodes including that pilot was scheduled to air in conjunction with the release of the Tycho toy line during the 1988 holiday season Dino riders is the story of two warring factions the valori ins and the rule ons who find themselves transported back in time to earth during what we will generically call the dinosaur age both factions equipped dinosaurs with lasers and armor to utilize them as mobile weapons the lorian's are noble human type characters who once in the past befriend dinosaurs via telepathic partnerships Rulon's are evil humanoid creatures that enslave the dinosaurs via mind controlling brain boxes fitted to the dinosaurs heads compelling them to serve them in battle Dino riders was produced by Marvel productions and launched as part of their Marvel action universe series that series featured spider-man cartoons as well as all-new episodes of Dino riders and Robocop Robocop the family fun summer blockbuster of 1987 [Music] the 80s had been a golden age for a multimedia marketing approach to selling toy lines Marvel productions had been producing animation in comics helping to develop mythologies to promote toy lines for nearly a decade and was very good at it brands like GI Joe transformers Jem and the Holograms Muppet Babies Andrew Duggan the dweebs all owe their success to Hasbro's ability to build value and visibility and Tycho was betting on Dinah Ryder's being their root Doug and the dweebs dinosaurs have always been a draw for kids but Tycho recognized that no one was capitalizing on that idea in the toy aisle the way they were hoping to Masters of the Universe used weaponized dinosaurs in 1987 with Vienna tops Tyrannosaurus and turbo dactyl but they were never more than supporting accessories appearing at the very end of the once dominant franchise Tycho saw that it wasn't enough to bolster Masters of the Universe but maybe it was enough to carry a whole new line at the same time Kenner was producing bone Age toys featuring cavemen that wrote modular puzzle boned transforming dinosaur skeletons I know it sounds like a really good idea how could it have failed but that line wasn't supported by any other marketing beyond its placement in the toy aisle and regular TV commercials no cartoons no Comics no game no lunchboxes no mythology to get addicted to Dino riders wanted to reach both the dinosaur enthusiasts as well as the science fiction connoisseurs Star Wars meets Jurassic Park which didn't exist yet future technology with aliens and stuff except actually in the past with g1 dinosaurs dinah writers was created by Jerry and Carla Conway both veterans of comics TV and movies Jerry co-created characters like The Punisher and werewolf by night for Marvel firestorm for DC he worked on key stories like the death of Gwen Stacy in the first DC and Marvel crossover Superman vs the amazing spider-man in fact he worked on just about every notable Marvel or DC character at the time and even held the position of editor-in-chief at Marvel for just over a month he also had plenty of TV experience working on shows like Father Dowling mysteries diagnosis murder Jake and The Fatman the Kevin Sorbo Hercules Baywatch nights and silk Stalkings and all year resident silk Stalkings expert welcome to talking talking star let me give you a little backstory about silk Stalkings no silk Stalkings used to air on USA alright you provide any useful information about this show I will kick you off Karla Conway wrote episodes for cartoons like My Little Pony transformers GI Joe gem and Centurions and comics like Superman MS Marvel and firestorm both of their contributions were so important to the Marvel Universe that she and Jerry are thanked in the end credits for Avengers end game the cast of Dinah writers was chock-full of industry veterans Dan Gill va's an who voiced spider-man on spider-man and his amazing friends and bumblebee on transformers took on the role of quest are the leader of the noble velour Ian's Minds I was played by Peter optimus prime Cullen emperor crewless was played by Frank Megatron Welker gunner was played by Peter Cullen rasp was played by Frank Welker aunt or was played by Peter Cullen's skate was played by Frank Welker Dinah Ryder's the show was produced to promote Dinah Ryder's the toy line from Tyco historically Tyco had built their brand on model train sets and slot cars this was their chance to put themselves into the same category as Hasbro Mattel and Kenner with action figures [Music] I know riders are here dinosaurs in the Dino writers collection Stegosaurus with motorized walking accident battle the gigantic view Brava Zara stop fighting fortress the mute Dino riders are all equipped with armor and action figures now the most fearsome creatures to walk the earth are the greatest force in the universe 22 awesome dinosaurs in the Dino riders collection taiko first wave of toys in 1988 was ambitious featuring twelve different dinosaurs with at least one but as many as three action figures packed in the dinosaurs were the star of the line so Ville Orion and Rulon figures were scaled down to roughly three inches to make the final dinosaur size reasonable to produce but still large enough to include gimmicks like battery-operated walking movable jaws or other mechanically engineered movements the amount of detailed sculpting and paint applications meant Dino riders just as pure dinosaur toys even without all the firepower stood apart from anything that had been produced noted paleontologist Robert Bakker who was instrumental in changing the depiction of dinosaurs as slowed down tail dragging giant lizards was actually consulted regarding the production of the toys and how the dinosaurs should look following in the footsteps of previous toys like Masters of the Universe each of the Dino riders toys included a mini comic to help support the mythology to give kids a jumping-off point for their action figures storytelling even if they hadn't watched the cartoon Marvel productions contributed to that effort with Dino riders comic books three issues were released beginning in February of 1989 series 2 toys arrived in 1989 adding 10 more dinosaurs with even more figures the full marketing push was with Dino riders lunchboxes backpacks Halloween costumes color forms puzzles sticker books and of course not to be confused with play-doh Tycho Brahe and Super Doh sets even with the prime Saturday positioning with spider-man and Robocop as entertainment allies Dino riders failed to capture the scale of audience or dollars in the toy aisle that would be needed to maintain a prominent television presence series 3 toy released in 1990 would be trimmed down to just three dinosaurs with extremely limited distribution making them super rare today and the line would end with series 4 also in 1990 also super rare today has a late attempt to pivot to the Ice Age never made it into television production beyond a single 14th episode of the series that was released direct a home video but Dinah writers has a claim to fame that no one else shares the toys were so well designed for the era that the Smithsonian Institute would partner with Tyco to reuse the molds for a line of dinosaur toys to be sold in gift shops barring the Smithsonian name some modifications like removing the battery operated functions were removed to make them more affordable but their historical street cred was amplified take that turbo dactyl that same year Tyco would again reuse the molds in the line of toys developed for the 1993 animated series Cadillacs and dinosaurs the toys even featured similar snap-on parts to add further play value to the dinosaurs like they had with Dino riders the 1st 2nd and 14th episodes of Dino riders were released on home video so if you still have a VCR you can catch those in the format that they were intended to be viewed the entire first season episodes 1 through 13 can be purchased on DVD from time to time at various online retailers but if you don't want to spend any money or go anywhere do anything most of it is right here on YouTube as of the publishing of this video tag it was purchased by Mattel in 1997 which means that Dino riders officially belongs to them in 2015 there was a little buzz online about the possibility of a dino riders movie but that has gone the way of the dinosaurs there are no officially licensed comics toys games or cartoons currently being produced Dino riders does have a bit of a legacy inspiring other brands Rex from Toy Story was definitely based on Dino riders toys his body is nearly identical in sculpting to the Tyco t-rex and he even says as much in the first movie he states that yes he is from Mattel but actually from a smaller company that was purchased by Mattel in a leveraged buyout there's a line of toys called primal clash from LAN art toys which is essentially Dino riders meets GI Joe 4 inch scaled dinosaurs and other creatures with saddles and missiles and all of the same kind of fun and Fisher prices Imaginext line has all manner of dinosaurs with various mechanical parts and add-ons who knows what the future holds for Dino riders Mattel owns Tyco which owns Dino riders so the future is in there and Hasbro has been making every effort albeit unsuccessfully to get a shared toy universe into theatres if they can make it happen at some point perhaps Mattel will follow suit and Dyna riders can pave the way until then Dyna riders like the velour Ian's and Rulon's remain trapped in the past this episode of taiga let's see is brought to you by Squarespace from websites and online stores to marketing tools and analytics Squarespace is the all-in-one platform to build a beautiful online presence and run your business my galaxy is all about telling stories stories about monsters robots aliens superheroes pop culture collecting stuff Squarespace empowers you to tell the story of your collection and your experience as a collector save yourself the time and hassle leave the visual design of your site to Squarespace is user-friendly easy 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those of you who already are if you're in the position help the channel grow up please visit our patreon at patreon.com slash toy galaxy please share this video and let us know in the comments down below whether you would rather be a friendly Vil Orion or an evil Rulon yes the lorian's created a trusting bond with the dinosaurs by telepathy but Rulon's had crocodiles Cobra and hammerhead shark heads so it's a tough call is all I'm saying you do want to show

Channel: Secret Galaxy

Views: 285,043

Keywords: dino riders, dino-riders (tv program), dino riders cartoon, dino riders cartoon intro, dino rider toys, dino riders intro, dino riders commercial, dino riders toys, dino riders full episodes, cadillacs and dinosaurs, saturday morning cartoons, saturday morning cartoons 80s, saturday morning cartoons 90s, 80s cartoons, 80s toys commercials, 90s cartoons, 90s toy commercials, 90s toys, pop culture documentary, toy galaxy history, dinosaucers, dinosaucers cartoon

Id: Z44LEqZ2oFE

Length: 11min 52sec (712 seconds)

Published: Thu May 09 2019