Valley of the Dinosaurs (TV series)
| Valley of the Dinosaurs (TV series) | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Network | CBS |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Distributor | Taft Broadcasting |
| Original release | September 7―December 21, 1974 |
| Run time | 21 minutes |
| Starring | Mike Road Shannon Farnon Jackie E. Haley Kathy Gori Alan Oppenheimer Joan Gardner Franklin Welker Melanie Baker |
| Executive producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Producer(s) | Iwao Takamoto Zoran Janjic |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Writer(s) | Sam Roeca Peter Dixon Peter Germano James Henderson Ernie Kahn Ben Masselink Dick Robbins Henry Sharp Jerry Thomas |
| Director(s) | Charles A. Nichols Wally Burr (voices) |
| Animation director(s) | Peter Luschiwitz |
Valley of the Dinosaurs is an American animated action-adventure drama TV series produced by the Australian arm of Hanna-Barbera Productions for CBS' Saturday morning children's programming. It ran in 1974, airing 16 episodes.
While rafting in the Amazon, the Butlers get caught in a whirlpool, emerging in a hidden realm where man and dinosaur coexist together. Upon their arrival, they are met and befriended by a neanderthal family who helps them adapt to living in this strange world, while the Butlers try to ease their everyday living by introducing them to simple modern inventions.
The series is similar to the then-concurrent prehistoric-themed live-action TV series Korg: 70,000 B.C. on ABC.
The entire series has been released on DVD.
Production
Development
Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, credited as musical director, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte. The music editor was Pat Foley.
Episodes
| Episode | Number | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| "Forbidden Fruit" | 1x01 | September 7, 1974 |
| "What Goes Up" | 1x02 | September 14, 1974 |
| "A Turned Turtle" | 1x03 | September 21, 1974 |
| "The Volcano" | 1x04 | September 28, 1974 |
| "Smoke Screen" | 1x05 | October 5, 1974 |
| "Pteranodon" | 1x06 | October 12, 1974 |
| "The Saber-Tooth Kids" | 1x07 | October 19, 1974 |
| "After Shock" | 1x08 | October 26, 1974 |
| "Top Cave, Please" | 1x09 | November 2, 1974 |
| "S.O.S." | 1x10 | November 9, 1974 |
| "Fire" | 1x11 | November 16, 1974 |
| "Rain of Meteors" | 1x12 | November 23, 1974 |
| "To Fly a Kite" | 1x13 | November 30, 1974 |
| "Test Flight" | 1x14 | December 7, 1974 |
| "The Big Toothache" | 1x15 | December 14, 1974 |
| "Torch" | 1x16 | December 21, 1974 |
Cast
- Mike Road as John Butler
- Shannon Farnon as Kim Butler
- Jackie E. Haley as Greg Butler
- Kathy Gori as Katie Butler
- Alan Oppenheimer as Gorak
- Joan Gardner as Gara
- Franklin Welker (yes, Franklin) as Lok, Glump, and Digger
- Melanie Baker as Tana
Crossover
| Episode | Number | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: "Beyond the Valley of the Dinosaurs" | 1 | August 28, 2005 |
Legacy
As mentioned above, Gorak and his teenage daughter, Tana, had cameos in the Adult Swim parody series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, while Gorak's pet, Glump, had a cameo in HBO Max's 2021 children's sitcom, Jellystone!
