Chiodos on Modern Marvels featuring dino bits and pieces

The Chiodo Brothers were featured on a "Modern Marvels" episode a while ago. Sure they worked on big projects like "Team America" and "Elf", but the segment also featured glimpses of some the great stop motion they did for the Gary and Eric dino shows.

After lying dormant for 15 years, it finally erupted!

After completing several specials about dinosaurs, we thought a show about volcanoes might have the same type of primal appeal, so in the early 90's we started work on "The Volcano Show". The first location shoot was Eric's visit to Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park. The landscapes were amazing, the lava tube was eerie, and standing next to a creeping lava flow was humbling! 

Here's Charlie Chiodo's pre-production sketch of the opening scene in which Gary and Eric discover that a volcano has begun to erupt in Eric's backyard....

And, below is a scene from the opening of the show, that was actually shot last...after all the location work. The little volcano was built by Chiodo Bros Productions.

Right after we finished all the shoots, our home video company at the time decided they no longer wanted to pursue the children's video market. We forged ahead and recorded David Spears's score for the show, and just had some final editing to do when the Disney Channel changed executives... and programming philosophy. So,with no home video or broadcast distribution deals in place, The Volcano Show ended up on the shelf along with segments that had been shot for shows about Space (some footage is a special feature on the "More Dinosaurs" DVD), Insects, and Sea Life. 

When we were preparing to release our old Dinosaur Shows on DVD, we decided to go ahead and do the final post production on the Volcano Show, so it could be seen for the first time. 

"The Volcano Show" finally made its debut on the "More Dinosaurs" DVD.

 We think it was a fun addition to the series, and would be interested to know what you think.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Well, it's hard to believe, but it was on Thanksgiving evening all  the way back in 1984 that "Dinosaurs" (the first Gary and Eric "dino" show) premiered on KABC-TV at 7:30 PM. Here is the opening of the show, plus the  beginning of Act 1. The freeze frame after Eric disappears in the first scene is because he reappears at Epcot Center and we no longer have the rights to show that.  The positive reaction to the program led to "More Dinosaurs" and the rest of the specials that later aired on the Disney Channel. 

Happy Halloween!

Eric just asked the Hulk, "What's your favorite dinosaur?" 

Back in the mid 80s, the first 4 Dinosaur Shows aired several times on KABC-TV in Los Angeles, and Gary and Eric became the "Dino Guys" in Southern California. As we were starting production on "Son of Dinosaurs", "Knott's Berry Farm" announced they were opening the "Kingdom of the Dinosaurs" ride. 

So, guess who became the hosts of the ride's opening day ceremonies at Knott's...

Gary and Eric were among the first to enjoy the ride that day.

We came back another day to more carefully shoot the ride. As you can see from this raw footage, things started to get a little silly after a few trips through it.

Over at Dinosaur Theatre, there is also a clip of the camera's POV going through the ride if you want to see more of the now extinct "Kingdom of The Dinosaurs". 

Here's a clip of Eric at the first ever Jurassic Con. We enjoyed it so much we are going to attend the second one October 13th at the Cooper Center in Orange County, CA. 

Here are a couple more Chiodo Bros. art prints now available at:

 http://thedinostore.devhub.com/dino-prints/

"Dino Play"

"New Friend"

Here's a direct response commercial from the 90s for the Son of Dinosaurs home video release.

Back in our June 19th post, we showed the old Dinosaur Hunter Club membership card and asked if anyone was a member. Well, look what Josh Ballze unearthed.... his old club card:

Now, here's some dino art little Josh did at age 10...

And, here's a more recent effort.

You can see Josh in the Tar Pits portion of the "Dinosaurs; Then and Now" special feature on the "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs" DVD, or you can meet him in person at the 2nd Jurassic Con this October 13th. Check the Jurassic Con Facebook page for more info.

In the early 90s, Midwich Entertainment was approached by a major software developer to come up with an idea for an interactive computer program somewhat based on the Gary and Eric dinosaur shows. Basically, it was going to turn your monitor into "Dinovision" = dinosaurs producing and starring in all television programming. Everybody loved the idea, but it turned out that the technology wasn't up to speed yet. Too bad, it would have been fun. Below, the Garyosaurus is the host of a game show in presentation art by Charlie Chiodo.

Above are the great two art prints by Charlie Chiodo that are now available over at thedinostore.devhub.com.  If all goes well, we plan to offer new ones at regular intervals.

We decided to create a site that features all the products available from Midwich Entertainment's
Dinosaur Shows. Come visit http://thedinostore.devhub.com/

Where else can you buy extinct things like The Return of Dinosaurs VHS cassette.

 or the Music For Dinosaurs Audio cassette tape.

Original Dino Hunters Art

The original Dinosaur Hunters Club newsletter issued by Twin Tower Home Video (the first distribution company of the Gary and Eric dinosaurs shows) encouraged members to submit drawings. It would be interesting to know what the artists are up to today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAY!

Ray Harryhausen is 92 years old today. That's Ray standing between Eric Boardman and Gary Owens at a signing event in the early 90s. 

Steggie!

My standard question for any guest on our shows---or anybody standing within 10 feet of me is, “What’s your favorite dinosaur?”

I have asked that all over the world: in England’s Crystal Palace, on a dig in Drumheller, Alberta, at a paleontologists’ conference in Berkeley, CA, at a statue unveiling (and ice cream social) in Albuquerque, N.M. or closer to home at Los Angeles’ Museum of Natural History’s Dinosaurs Ball. (You may recall the legendary actor Jimmy Stewart told me he was “a brontosaurus fan.”)

Well, most folks say T. Rex or one of the other raptors, but for me the dinosaur of choice is stegosaurus. First of all, I like the nickname “Steggie”, but mostly I relate to his lifestyle. He was a plant-eater. That’s a healthy way to go. He lived in a herd, possibly in a family unit. (We have found tracks of large and small stegosaurs walking together. That says family to me.) He wasn’t aggressive, but had the tools to defend himself if attacked. Those 17 triangular plates on his back were not for fighting (most likely they helped with temperature control and to impress a mate), but his spiked tail was a mighty weapon. Imagine the punch he could deliver! Plus his skin was a type of armor, like today’s crocodiles and alligators. No matter how sharp his teeth a predator would have trouble penetrating Steggie's tough-as-nails skin and quickly figure out there was an easier meal down the road. Finally, I like the fact that stegosaurus could be found mostly in North America and Europe. Me too.

Wouldn’t be great if we could go back to the Late Jurassic Period (150 million years ago) and get to know Steggie better?  I’d grab a nice bunch of ferns for my favorite dino’s lunch. A really big bunch. Those guys were 30 feet long and weighed close to 7000 pounds, so you know he had quite an appetite.

Oh, and by the way…what’s your favorite dinosaur?

ERIC BOARDMAN

In case you're wondering why this blog is called the Dinosaurs Hunter's Club...

It was the name of the fan club sponsored by the first video (VHS) distribution company of the Gary and Eric dinosaur shows. Below is the mail-in membership card that was sent out with the tapes. Anyone out there happen to be a member back in the olden days, when you had to use a pen and a stamp to join?

Happy Father's Day...

Here is some presentation art Charlie Chiodo did for an interactive game that we were working on in the early 90s that would have been based on the Midwich dinosaur shows with Gary and Eric.

More about that later, but for now leave a comment and tell us what's your favorite guilty pleasure dinosaur movie. We're not talking Jurassic Park here...it's those dumb, cheap, or corny ones that you enjoy watching.    

On June 7th, 2012, The "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs" DVD was officially released. 

We want to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone who made our Kickstarter effort a success, and made this release possible!    
           (their names are listed  at http://dinosaursx3dvd.devhub.com/thanks/ )

Something to look forward to...

This new blog is for Dinosaur Fans everywhere. While starting it is partially motivated by the DVD releases of "More Dinosaurs", and "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs", we want this to be a fun, family friendly, and open forum for anything and everything dino. Eric Boardman, who along with Gary Owens hosted Midwich Entertainment's dinosaur shows, will be a regular contributor.  Check back soon!

Above is Eric, with Gary, in a 1987 publicity photo for the first home video release of "More Dinosaurs".  Below, is a photo taken last Saturday (June 9th) at the first-ever Jurassic Con.   Eric was there to meet fans (like Derrick Davis in this pic) and sign copies of the just released "Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs" DVD.