"Changing Nature" is the 14th episode of season four of the family sitcom Dinosaurs and the 65th episode overall. It is the series finale, although the previous seven episodes would premiere in syndication.
Plot[]
Earl makes a terrible mistake when he tampers around with nature and starts an ice age which leads to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Story[]
It's May 14, the day when the bunch beetles return to Pangaea to migrate, and also eat all of the cider poppies that have been growing. But for some reason, they don't show up when expected. Ethyl mentions that they have never been late like this before. Four days later, the cider poppies are growing like crazy, into the inside of the Sinclair household.
A bunch beetle, Stan, finally shows up. He tells the Sinclairs that he was traveling with other bunch beetles, but then halfway to the swamp, he remembered that he left the sink running, and is now lost. Earl tells him that he's supposed to eat the cider poppies, but Stan doesn't have time to eat because he has to go to the swamp, find a female, mate, and reproduce due to his shortened lifespan. They realize that it's the baby bunch beetles who eat the cider poppies, and also learn that Stan can't find the swamp.
Charlene takes Stan to the swamp, and the pair are shocked to discover that WESAYSO has built a wax fruit factory on top of it. A factory worker sees Stan and is about to spray him, but Charlene stops him in defense of the bunch beetle. The worker then informs her that all of the bugs that got near the factory have been sprayed, meaning the species (apart from Stan) has been extinct.
As Earl and Fran cut down plants in the living room, they watch Charlene and Stan on the news. Charlene informs the news that Stan is the last bunch beetle because WESAYSO tore down the swamp and killed off the species just to build a wax fruit factory, making progress just for the sake of progress.
When Earl realizes that Charlene is being interviewed from in the kitchen, he defends WESAYSO and also supports progress, saying that he can deal with any sacrifice as long as there is new technology. B.P. Richfield watches the program, and gets a call from his boss, knowing that this report could cause trouble for the company. After seeing Earl defend progress, Richfield gets the idea to start a task force, and find somebody dumb enough to volunteer to be in charge.
Earl and Roy are interviewed about the task force, explaining that they plan on poisoning the cider poppies. Earl's family begs him to consider a safer alternative, but he refuses. Helicopters fly all over the world, spraying poison on the poppies. The next day, it is reported that the process worked too well: not only are the poppies gone, but so are all forms of plant life on earth, which means that there is no food.
Earl and Roy ask Richfield for a plan to bring back the plants. Richfield initially hasn't thought of anything, but then realizes that it needs to rain in order for the plants to grow back, and rain comes from clouds. Richfield figures that clouds always come whenever volcanoes erupt, so he plans on throwing a bunch of bombs into volcanoes so that there will be a lot of clouds. Since the last plan had backfired, Earl suggests that they think twice about it, but Richfield convinces Earl that this is no time to lose faith in progress.
Bombs are thrown into the volcanoes, but instead of raining, it snows instead. Earl figures that when the sun comes up, the snow will melt and there will be plenty of water. However, Howard Handupme reports that the clouds are so thick that scientists have predicted it will take tens of thousands of years before the sun will melt away the snow. Earl calls Richfield, who doesn't see this as a problem; because of the sudden "cold snap", people are buying a lot of WESAYSO logs, heaters, blankets and hot cocoa mixes. Earl points out that the world might come to an end, but Richfield misses the point (or simply doesn't care), and is only concerned about all the money he's going to make.
Earl apologizes to Stan for the extinction of his species, and apologizes to his family for bringing the world to an end. Earl says that his problem was putting too much faith in progress and having not enough respect for nature, taking it for granted because it is always there. He tells the Baby that he didn't take very good care of the world, but Baby is reassured that no matter what happens, they will always be a family. The house begins to be covered with snow, as is the Wax Fruit factory that kicked off the disaster.
In the final scene, anchorman Howard Handupme reports an extreme cold weather and then, signs off for the final time. The ending credits roll with scenes of snow falling around the Sinclair home, signaling the start of a volcanic/nuclear winter.
Trivia[]
- The ending of this episode is infamously known to have frustrated audiences during its original time slot due to the result that all the dinosaurs would be killed off by the coming of the ice age. It is also known to have scared and saddened a lot of viewers due to its dark and depressing setting as it’s still unsettling and disturbing to watch today, which is a good reason for this episode to earn a TV-PG rating.
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