Dopey (episode)

Dopey was third episode of the First Season. It was written by Margaret Armen.
==Summary==
Holly adopts and tries to domesticate a baby brontosaurus.
==Plot==
Will and Holly Marshall are struggling to move a wheeled cart built by Rick Marshall, but the sandy terrain through the jungle makes the task difficult. Holly discovers an empty dinosaur egg. As it occurs to them that the newly hatched dinosaur might still be nearby and might be hungry, they redouble their efforts to move the stubborn cart.
They come upon a grove of giant strawberries and fill the cart with their discovery. As pteranodons fly overhead, they drag the cart back to the cave they muse on why there are dinosaurs here. Will Marshall says that their father believes they have fallen into another universe, and there are things "from all of time and space" here. As this universe seems to be repository of lost items and creatures, Holly wonders if they might find her lost toys.
Reacting to a sound behind them, the Marshall children turn and discover a baby brontosaurus. With their penchant for disagreeing over everything, Will and Holly argue over the gender of the baby, Holly referring to it with feminine pronouns and Will using masculine. Holly decides to feed it a berry, saying "she" looks friendly. Will says it looks "dopey." Holly retorts by conceding that the baby must be male, since anything that looked that dopey can only be a boy, and names him Dopey.
As Holly holds a berry out for him, Dopey immediately rushes at her to take it. Startled by Dopey's sudden charge, Will and Holly retreat. As Dopey pursues them, he gets stuck between two trees growing close together, and begins making loud, distressed trumpeting sounds. Dopey's cries are heard by several nearby dinosaurs, including Grumpy. Realizing they need to quiet him, Holly brings him a giant berry. This is merely a stopgap however, as the baby resumes crying out as soon as he finishes the berry.
As Grumpy approaches, Holly asks Will to "think of something" to save the baby, but he replies "getting dinosaurs out of trees isn't something they teach you in boy scouts." Will and Holly try yelling at Dopey to scare him out of from between the trees. Finally, with Grumpy closing in, Will lunges at Dopey, screaming in exasperation, "Do you want to be dinosaur stew?"
Dopey instinctively recoils from Will's sudden outburst, thereby freeing himself from between the two trees. Noticing Grumpy for the first time, Dopey turns to flee with Grumpy in close pursuit. Realizing there's nothing more they can do to protect Dopey, Will and Holly run.
Will and Holly finally stop to rest, unable to run any further. Holly fears that Dopey has been eaten, while Will sadly tells her that it's just "the law of the jungle." They return to the cart of strawberries and continue pulling it towards the cave. Will notices that the cart is getting lighter and they turn to notice that Dopey has been silently following them, eating all the strawberries from the cart. Holly is delighted that Dopey escaped, but Will is irritated that Dopey has eaten all the berries.
Back at the cave (which Will has dubbed "High Bluff"), Rick Marshall is surprised to find the children accompanied by the baby brontosaurus. Holly asks if she can keep him, but Rick starts to advise Holly against keeping an infant brontosaurus as a pet. However, Will points out that, given Dopey's size, the Marshalls cannot force him to leave.
Honoring her commitment to train Dopey, Holly tries to teach him to fetch a stick. But Dopey only goes to the stick and eats it, much to Will's amusement. Holly later rides the baby dinosaur like a horse. She also teaches Dopey to pull the cart by walking ahead of him and holding out food (leaves).
Late that night, Holly is awakened early by Dopey's mournful. She takes her sleeping bag outside to keep him company, but this doesn't quiet him. Rick and Will are soon awakened by the noise, which again attracts Grumpy. As Grumpy closes in and Dopey attempts to hide himself, the Marshalls have readied a flyswatter and are able to distract Grumpy from his purpose long enough to administer it. Grumpy reels away shrieking, until, as usual, he manages to dislodge a log from his throat.
Dopey has survived and emerges from the jungle. Rick explains that they can't keep Dopey near the cave. Holly agrees to take him to the swamp because Dopey "belongs with his own kind" and it isn't fair to expose him to constant danger. Over breakfast, eaten from giant gourd bowls, Rick reassures Holly that she will be able to visit Dopey any time she wants. "Cheer up, honey," Rick tells her, saying "Dopey will be much happier there." Will, still bitter over the fact that Dopey at all the strawberries that they worked to harvest, makes sarcastic comments about how relieved he'll be when Dopey is gone, prompting Holly to leave the table in anger. At Rick's prompting, Will attempts to be conciliatory, and reminisces with Holly about the fresh-picked strawberries they used to put on homemade ice cream back home.
The next morning, the Marshall family leads Dopey to Emily, a full-grown Brontosaurus, at the edge of the swamp. Holly tells Dopey that he must go. When Dopey appears reluctant to leave her, Holly berates him fiercely, attempting to drive him off. Dopey eventually wanders off, casting one last longing look back at Holly, who continues to scold him. As Dopey approaches Emily, she raises her head and nuzzles the baby.
==Message==
* "If you love someone, let them free."
==Cast==
* Spencer Milligan as Rick Marshall
* Wesley Eure as Will Marshall
* Kathy Coleman as Holly Marshall
* Philip Paley as Cha-Ka
* Sharon Baird as Sa
* Joe A. Giamalva as Ta
==Dinosaurs==
*Dopey (first appearance)
*Emily
* Grumpy
* Spike
* Spot
* Pteranodons
==Quotes==
* Coming Up
==Trivia==
* This episode marks the first appearance of Dopey and Emily.
* Dopey's high-pitched trumpeting (which nearly get him killed by Grumpy -- twice) is an artistic embellishment, as are all vocalizations from the dinosaurs in the series. The dinosaurs in earth's prehistoric past possessed no vocal cords and could not have vocalized anything.
*When Dopey rushes at Holly to get the berry she holds, he passes by their cart which is full of berries.
* Dopey was actually produced by two means: stop motion animation for the full-body scenes, while a puppet was used for close-ups with just his head and neck. The puppet, which gave Dopey an innocuous look, actually bore little resemblance to the head and neck used in the animation model.
* How Dopey managed to escape Grumpy is never revealed. Dopey's death seemed certain. The only plausible explanation is that Dopey found an access large enough to accommodate him, but too small to allow Grumpy to enter. This shelter would have to have been very close at hand, as Grumpy seemed to be mere steps from overtaking the cumbersome, plodding Dopey.
* When Holly sees Dopey for the first time, she concludes that Dopey must have been what hatched out of the eggshell she discovered earlier. Brontosaurus eggs were only a foot long, and the eggshell she discovered was around three feet in diameter. But if Dopey did hatch from that egg, a considerable amount of time must have passed, since Dopey is far too large to have emerged from the egg. This would suggest that Dopey had been left on his own for quite some time.
Category: 1974-1976 Episodes]]
Category: Season One Episodes
Category: Episodes
Category: Dinosaur Episodes