If you were a kid in the late 1980s, your Saturday mornings probably consisted of a sugary bowl of cereal and a heavy dose of pure, unadulterated cartoon logic. For me, 1988 was a pinnacle year. I was exactly ten years old, the absolute sweet spot for pop culture obsession. And while there were plenty of heavy hitters on the airwaves, one specific show captured my heart like no other: Denver, the Last Dinosaur.
The premise was peak late 80s radical. A group of California teens unearths a giant prehistoric egg in a tar pit, which promptly hatches into a friendly, bright green corythosaurus. Instead of terrorizing Los Angeles, Denver does what any sensible time-displaced creature would do. He learns to ride a skateboard, puts on a pair of hot pink sunglasses, and plays the electric guitar in his friends' rock band.
The show only ran for two seasons, but to ten-year-old me, it was the absolute best thing on television. It felt like this perfect, fleeting secret. Denver and his human crew which included Wally, Jeremy, Mario, and Casey, were always trying to protect him from greedy concert promoters and scientists, all while managing time travel adventures using a magical piece of Denver's old eggshell. It was funny, it had heart, and it completely embraced the beautifully bizarre aesthetic of the era. But let’s be honest for a second. We can't talk about Denver without talking about the single greatest piece of marketing to ever grace an animated series. The unforgettable theme song.
“Denver, the last dinosaur... He’s my friend and a whole lot more!”
To this day, decades later, that opening track randomly pops into my head out of nowhere. I’ll be doing the dishes, driving to the grocery store, or sitting in a quiet meeting, and suddenly my brain decides it's time to rock out to heavy synth stabs and hair metal guitar riffs. I still sing it out loud from time to time, much to the confusion of anyone born after 1990. It’s an instant hit of pure, unfiltered childhood nostalgia.
Denver, the Last Dinosaur may have had a short run, but for a generation of kids, he truly was a "cool, cool friend".
 |
| Find him on X @brogan78 | on Instagram | on Facebook | or on Youtube |