History WesternAnimation / DinoRiders

** The Rulons captured dinosaurs that belonged to the Dino-Riders. They aren't brain boxed or restrained. The Dino-Riders use this to their advantage and control them.

* IncrediblyObviousBug: The device that tempered with Questar's computer and sent secret intelligence to Rulon. While hidden under the console, it's large and constantly blink.

** Each gets a flying mount with guns strapped to the wings. The Valorians have a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' figure; the Rulons get a ''Pteranodon''. Though the cartoon features Serena atop a ''Pteranodon'', and the Rulons later get a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' toy.

** Each side gets a ''Deinonychus'' -- the dinosaur toys are identical save the color of the figure's back stripes.

* ContinuitySnarl: The Thanksgiving episode with a flashback sequence. Krulos orders the [[CoolStarship Dreadlock]] to pursue the Valorian ship into the time rift. In the pilot episode, Krulos orders the tractor beam to disengage and the Dreadlock gets zapped into the past anyway.

** The above-mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Tyrannosaurus'' towers over even the ''Diplodocus'' and is the second largest dinosaur after the ''Brontosaurus''. The ''Deinonychus'' was also made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, making it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.
** On the other end of the spectrum, the Dino Riders' ''Ankylosaurus'' was tiny compared to its real life counterpart, and ''Saurolophus'' was barely larger than the ''Deinonychus'', despite the actual animal being comparable in scale to the ''Tyrannosaurus'' (the toy version is smaller than the ''T. rex'''s ''leg'', though the ''T. rex'' is already oversized). ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is the same size as ''Pteranodon''. And ''Megatherium'' is big as both the ''Archaeotherium'' and the ''Smilodon'', even though it's actually taller than a woolly mammoth when standing on two feet (here, it's only half the size of the mammoth).

** ''Brontosaurus''. Never mind that it should have been called ''Apatosaurus'', it was at the centre of a two-part storyline that had the Dino-Riders and Rulons battling over it because it was "the largest dinosaur in the world." But ''Brontosaurus'' was not the largest known dinosaur even then -- ''Brachiosaurus'' was taller and heavier, ''Ultrasaurus''[[note]] it was still considered a valid genus at the time[[note]] was much larger. And ''Diplodocus'' was longer, yet both the toy and cartoon versions of the ''Brontosaurus'' are more than twice as long and tall. ''Brontosaurus'' is now officially a separate genus from ''Apatosaurus'' thanks to re-examining its skeleton for differences. However, this makes the franchise's portrayal even more glaring as ''Brontosaurus excelsus'' was ''shorter'' than either ''Apatosaurus'' or ''Diplodocus''.

** ''Brontosaurus''. Never mind that it should have been called ''Apatosaurus'', it was at the centre of a two-part storyline that had the Dino-Riders and Rulons battling over it because it was "the largest dinosaur in the world." But ''Brontosaurus'' was not the largest known dinosaur even then -- ''Brachiosaurus'' was taller and heavier, ''Argentinosaurus'' was much larger. And ''Diplodocus'' was longer, yet both the toy and cartoon versions of the ''Brontosaurus'' are more than twice as long and tall. ''Brontosaurus'' is now officially a separate genus from ''Apatosaurus'' thanks to re-examining its skeleton for differences. However, this makes the franchise's portrayal even more glaring as ''Brontosaurus excelsus'' was shorter than ''both Apatosaurus and Diplodocus''.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: The Dino-Riders are all good and the Rulons are all evil

* AbortedArc: Questar and everyone look into the future with the STEP crystal to see how things are in Valoria. They saw a Viper, a Sharker and an Ant-man arguing over who will rule the Rulon Empire with Krulos missing. It seem the Empire will either break apart or civil war might erupt, but the vision is cut and we never see what happens next.

** They had dinosaurs like ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' and ''Diplodocus'' coexisting, which were separated by millions of years' time. The line of toys also included ''Dimetrodon'' and ''Placerias'', which were not dinosaurs or even proper reptiles and the former was long extinct before the first dinosaurs came into being. (''Dimetrodon'' is further from the dinosaurs than they are from ''us''. ''Placerias'', on the other hand, at least lived in the late Triassic.)
*** The info card[[https://imgur.com/a/CIdHstg]] on ''Dimetrodon'' did mention that they existed before dinosaurs so it isn't explicitly saying that they '''are''' dinosaurs.

** ''Brontosaurus''. Never mind that it should have been called ''Apatosaurus'', it was at the centre of a two-part storyline that had the Dino-Riders and Rulons battling over it because it was "the largest dinosaur in the world." But ''Brontosaurus'' was not the largest known dinosaur even then -- ''Brachiosaurus'' was taller and heavier, ''Argentinosaurus'' was much larger. And ''Diplodocus'' was longer, yet both the toy and cartoon versions of the ''Brontosaurus'' are more than twice as long and tall. ''Brontosaurus'' is now officially a separate genus form ''Apatosaurus'' thanks to re-examining its skeleton for differences. However, this makes the franchise's portrayal even more glaring as ''Brontosaurus excelsus'' was shorter than ''both Apatosaurus and Diplodocus''.
** The above mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Tyrannosaurus'' towers over even the ''Diplodocus'' and is the second largest dinosaur after the ''Brontosaurus''. The ''Deinonychus'' was also made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, making it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.
** On the other end of the spectrum, the Dino Riders ''Ankylosaurus'' was tiny compared to its real life counterpart, and ''Saurolophus'' was barely larger than the ''Deinonychus'', despite the actual animal being comparable in scale to the ''Tyrannosaurus'' (the toy version is smaller than the ''T. rex'''s ''leg'', though the ''T. rex'' is already oversized). ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is the same size as ''Pteranodon''. And ''Megatherium'' is big as both the ''Archaeotherium'' and the ''Smilodon'', even though it's actually taller than a woolly mammoth when standing on two feet (here, it's only half the size of the mammoth).

** Krulos constantly yells at his underlings, physically abuses them and uses them for target practice.

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: The lasers of the Rulons are green, while the Dino-Riders's lasers are red. Naturally, when the Brontosaurus is brain boxed, its lasers turn from red to green despite the fact that its still equipped with the Dino-Riders' cannons. If the laser color could be adjusted easily, then it may be done just to avoid confusion & possible "friendly fire".
* ContinuitySnarl: The Thanksgiving episode with a flashback sequence. Krulos orders the [[CoolStarship Dreadlock]] to pursue the Valorian ship in the time rift. In the pilot episode, Krulos orders the tractor beam to disengage and the Dreadlock get zapped into the past anyway.

* OffModel: Colors, characters, dinosaurs and armaments are drawn inconsistently throughout the series.

%%* TheHero: Questar.

* PteroSoarer:
** The Dino-Riders had ''Quetzalcoatlus'' (Yungstar's mount of choice), ''Pterodactylus'', and several small ''Rhamphorhynchus'' which came with the ''Brontosaurus'' set. The Rulons had ''Pteranodon'', and as late addition also a ''Quetzalcoatlus''. A [[AmazingTechnicolorWildlife leopard-patterned]] one. In the cartoon, Serena flew a ''Pteranodon'' with a ''Quetzalcoatlus'' saddle.
** Size issues aside, the pterosaurs are amazingly accurate for their time, including having pycnofibres and, in the cartoon, being quadrupedal.
** The ''Pterodactylus'' or Pterodactyl has a crest and resembles a downsized version of the ''Quetzalcoatlus'', to the point you might think it was a juvenile of the latter genus. It gets more confusing in that ''Pterodactylus'' would turn out to have a crest (made of flesh rather than bone) over a decade later.

** ''Brontosaurus''. Never mind at that time it should be known as ''Apatosaurus'', it was at the centre of a two-part storyline that had the Dino-Riders and Rulons battling over it because it was "the largest dinosaur in the world." A great idea in concept, and to an eight-year old it was an absolutely epic story, but ''Brontosaurus'' was not the largest dinosaur known to science even then -- the ''Brachiosaurus'' was taller and heavier (one wonders why they couldn't have used that instead of ''Brontosaurus''). Other species like ''Argentinosaurus'' are much larger, and ''Diplodocus'', a frequently-seen dinosaur in the show, was longer. Here, it is depicted as a mini-sized version of the ''Brontosaurus'' -- both the toy and cartoon versions of the ''Brontosaurus'' are more than twice as long and tall as the smaller sauropod. ''Brontosaurus'' is now officially a separate genus form ''Apatosaurus'' thanks to re-examining its skeleton for differences. However, this makes the franchise's portrayal even more glaring as ''Brontosaurus excelsus'' was shorter than ''both Apatosaurus and Diplodocus''.
** The above mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Tyrannosaurus'' towers over even the ''Diplodocus'' and is the second largest dinosaur after the ''Brontosaurus''. The ''Deinonychus'' was also made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, though this also ironically makes it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.

[[caption-width-right:350:That is awesome.]]

Originally airing in FirstRunSyndication (as part of the ''Marvel Action Universe'' block) in 1988, the show is best known today for being the benefactor of MemeticMutation. The dinosaur toys were eventually recycled (stripped of their armor) as a series of straight, though articulated, dinosaur models (they were even endorsed by the ''Smithsonian Institution''). Compare ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaucers}}'', ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeDinosaurs'', ''Anime/DinoZaurs'', ''Anime/DinosaurKing'' and ''WesternAnimation/DinoSquad'' for more fun with dinosaurs.

Recently, it has been revealed to be in talks for a Live-Action Film adaptation, hoping to compete with ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}''.

Originally airing in FirstRunSyndication (as part of the ''Marvel Action Universe'' block), the show is best known today for being the benefactor of MemeticMutation. The dinosaur toys were eventually recycled (stripped of their armor) as a series of straight, though articulated, dinosaur models (they were even endorsed by the ''Smithsonian Institution''). Compare ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaucers}}'', ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeDinosaurs'', ''Anime/DinoZaurs'', ''Anime/DinosaurKing'' and ''WesternAnimation/DinoSquad'' for more fun with dinosaurs.

%%* TheChick: Serena.

** Small Ceratopsians are common -- the Valorians ride ''Styracosaurus'', while the Rulons get a head & PaletteSwap in ''Monoclonius''.

** The above mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Tyrannosaurus'' is made the second largest dinosaur after ''Brontosaurus'' and the largest in the first series, towering over even the ''Diplodocus''. The ''Deinonychus'' was also made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, though this also ironically makes it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.

** The above mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Tyrannosaurus'' is the second largest dinosaur after ''Brontosaurus'', towering over the ''Diplodocus''. The ''Deinonychus'' was also made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, though this also ironically makes it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.

** The above mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Tyrannosaurus'' is the second largest dinosaur after ''Brontosaurus'', towering over the other dinosaurs including ''Diplodocus''. The ''Deinonychus'' was also made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, though this also ironically makes it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.

** The above mentioned ''Brontosaurus'' was not the only dinosaur depicted [[AnimalsNotToScale out of scale]]. For example, the ''Deinonychus'' was made [[RaptorAttack larger and bulkier than the real one]] (who could hardly have carried a human on its back), ironically putting it at about the same size as the much-later-discovered ''Utahraptor''. ''Kentrosaurus'' is made about the same size as ''Stegosaurus'' instead of half as large, though this also ironically makes it more similar to ''Dacentrurus''. Not to mention ''Pteranodon'' and ''Pterodactylus'' (referred to as "Pterodactyl") are both portrayed as large and strong enough to carry a full-grown human, although the latter is smaller than the former. And ''Dimetrodon'' was in no way large enough to cart around a rider and all that armor, and the whole "hide behind the sail and raise a seat above it as cover" trick would never work. Plus, ''Smilodon'' was certainly not as big as a ''Pachyrhinosaurus''.
** On the other end of the spectrum, the Dino Riders ''Ankylosaurus'' was tiny compared to its real life counterpart, and ''Saurolophus'' was barely larger than the ''Deinonychus'', despite the actual animal being comparable in scale to the ''Tyrannosaurus'' (the toy version is smaller than the ''T. rex'''s ''leg''). ''Quetzalcoatlus'' is the same size as ''Pteranodon''. And ''Megatherium'' is big as both the ''Archaeotherium'' and the ''Smilodon'', even though it's actually taller than a woolly mammoth when standing on two feet (here, it's only half the size of the mammoth).

Originally airing in FirstRunSyndication (as part of the ''Marvel Action Universe'' block), the show is best known today for being the benefactor of MemeticMutation. The dinosaur toys were eventually recycled (stripped of their armor) as a series of straight, though articulated, dinosaur models (they were even endorsed by the ''Smithsonian Institution''). Compare ''WesternAnimation/{{Dinosaucers}}'', ''WesternAnimation/ExtremeDinosaurs'', ''Anime/DinoZaurs'', ''Anime/DinosaurKing'' and ''WesternAnimation/DinoSquad'' for more [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs fun with dinosaurs.]]

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs

* SnowySabretooths: ''Smilodon'' is part of the Ice Age lineup.

* StockDinosaurs: Zig-zagged. While well-known genera such as ''Tyrannosaurus'' and ''Triceratops'' are present, there are plenty of lesser-known ones like ''Kentrosaurus'' and ''Edmontonia''.

* StockDinosaurs: Zig-zagged. While well-known genera such as ''Tyrannosaurus'' and ''Triceratops'' are present, there are plenty of [[SeldomSeenSpecies lesser-known ones]] like ''Kentrosaurus'' and ''Edmontonia''.