Wrecked gardens, giant footprints... Something is loose in Nutwood. While running an errand for his mother, Rupert discovers that that something is dinosaurs. Judging by the state of the Wise Old Goat's house, he used his time machine to travel back to the dinosaur age, but the machine somehow got stuck open, allowing any of the local fauna who pass by it in the past to come through it to the future. Worried because the Wise Old Goat hasn't returned, Rupert (accompanied by his new Stegosaurus friend Ginger) takes the remaining return medal and goes after him. Unjamming the time machine won't be easy, especially with a very hungry Tyrannosaurus rex prowling around.
First time Rupert's dad gets involved in one of his adventures.
This episode provides examples of:
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Granted, we have no idea what color dinosaurs actually were, but a purple Stegosaurus seems a bit of a stretch.
- Androcles' Lion: During his adventure, Rupert helps three baby Pteranodons return safely to their mother in their nest. The mother Pteranodon later repays Rupert by saving him Just in Time both from falling off a cliff and being caught by the T.rex.
- Artistic License – Paleontology: Per the norm, depicts different dinosaur species from time periods millions of years apart (primarily the T. rex and the Stegosaurus) living together.
- Chekhov's Gun: Rupert's errand in this episode is to deliver a bag of gingersnaps to Mrs. Badger. Yeah, there was no way that bag was going to survive the episode.
- Domesticated Dinosaurs: A few gingersnaps is all it takes for Rupert to tame a baby Stegosaurus.
- "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Follows Rupert's dad pointing out that the one part of this day Mrs. Bear won't believe is that he and Rupert weren't the ones who ate all of her gingersnaps.
- Horse of a Different Color: Rupert spends most of the episode riding a baby Stegosaurus.
- It Only Works Once: Rupert and Ginger escape the T. rex during their first Chase Scene by ducking under a fallen tree. The T. rex tries to follow, can't get its head through the gap, and gives up. Rupert tries the same move while distracting the same dinosaur later. The T. rex simply jumps over the log.Rupert: Oh, no! He's a fast learner!
- Meanwhile, in the Future…: The episode shifts between showing Rupert in the past and his father chasing dinosaurs through the woods in the future, with the same amount of time apparently passing for both. Rupert and the Wise Old Goat return to the future several hours after the points where they left.
- Time-Travel Tense Trouble:Rupert: (upon arriving in the past) There must have been quite a battle here. And not very long ago, I'd say. Well, actually, it was along time ago — about 150 million years, to be exact. But it's best not to think about things like that when you're time traveling — it's so easy to get confused.
- We Need a Distraction: Rupert volunteers to distract the T. rex while the Wise Old Goat and Ginger close the time portal.
