DwarfCast 131 – Timewave Commentary DwarfCasts Posted by Jonathan Capps on 26th March 2021, 17:44 Subscribe to DwarfCasts: RSS • iTunes Over Ganymede & Titan’s long and illustrious life we have seen many milestones. 3 years long service. 6 years long service. 9 years long service. 12 years long service. 15 years long service… 18 years long service. But today we mark the day we officially commentate on the last truly shit episode of Red Dwarf (so far). Its loomed large over us for months as we approached but three heroes have arrived and slew the great beast, probably with some amusingly juxtapositioned song playing in the background. So now, we present to you the defeated corpse… of Timewave. DwarfCast 131 – Timewave Commentary (71.2MB) Well, that was an anti-climax. Anyway, speaking of things that are shit, our next DwarfCast will be part 3 of Last Human so keep a look out on your feeds for that one and get your thoughts logged if you haven’t already. Meanwhile our insatiable desire for your fresh waffles remains, so please do let us know of any questions of any variety you have for a future commentary DwarfCast in the comments. Show notes Article about Helium-3 Extraction on the moon “I think it’s a superfruit” Niki Hutchinson’s tweet about the police uniforms There’s never been a better time to buy a woollen penis The Red Dwarf Plot Inconsistencies Project
I am 17 mins into this and watching with the episode for only a 3rd time and a thought occurs. Would this have been somehow better had this been the result of some of sort of computer malfunction, similar to Samsara’s Karma Drive, and not the result of decisions made by human beings. So, the crew behave the way they do due to some computer that is meant to keep them in line someone (by preventing criticism in someway) malfunctioning which causes the crew to behave more erratic and peculiar ways.
Sorry to chime in like a twat, but the spacesuits appear to have been lifted directly from the beloved/despised Gerry Anderson series Space 1999. https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/images/space/ratm/spratmpose.jpg
Hmm, on Pocketcasts the episode came up as a 219kb video that was just a gif (presumably one that was in the description). Any one else having a problem with the episode in a podcast app?
When there’s a new episode of Red dwarf on, I can be quite blind to it’s faults, and didn’t think Timewave was too bad as it debuted. In fact, I remember thinking that mid-section scene was a downright classic. I reevaluated the episode a short time afterwards. But like Danny said, I think the moment Vulva’s outfit appears, it just pulls you out of the episode completely.
Hmm, on Pocketcasts the episode came up as a 219kb video that was just a gif (presumably one that was in the description). Any one else having a problem with the episode in a podcast app? I had the same in the Apple Podcasts app. So listening via the link on the website.
I sympathise with the points about not being able to watch things as much. I actually get stressed whenever I buy a new album, because I realise I’m going to have to listen to it a certain number of times before I really know it, and until then it’ll feel alien to me, and to do make time to do that I’ll have to take time away from listening to albums I already own, and then yes the realisation that the experience just doesn’t go quite as deep when you’re an adult. Hobbies shouldn’t feel like that, but there we go.
I sympathise with the points about not being able to watch things as much. I actually get stressed whenever I buy a new album, because I realise I’m going to have to listen to it a certain number of times before I really know it, and until then it’ll feel alien to me, and to do make time to do that I’ll have to take time away from listening to albums I already own, and then yes the realisation that the experience just doesn’t go quite as deep when you’re an adult. Hobbies shouldn’t feel like that, but there we go. There is nothing greater though than listening to an album, and then a week later, without realising it, you’ve listened to it 100 times with ease because it’s so fucking brilliant you know every lyric and will happily spend 2hrs discussing a production decision on bar 87 or track 9.
Hmm, on Pocketcasts the episode came up as a 219kb video that was just a gif (presumably one that was in the description). Any one else having a problem with the episode in a podcast app? Oh bloody hell. This is what I get for putting in a stupid easter egg and not realising WordPress would think IT WAS THE ACTUAL EPISODE. That’s fixed now so it should appear properly in feeds shortly.
Ah, I was just about to point out that the ‘Latest DwarfCast’ here on G&T is 15 seconds of silence, and yet still better than watching Timewave.
I genuinely thought it was you lot taking the piss, and rather than putting out the actual episode to people you were just releasing a gif on the feeds.
Re. Spitonawrist: I always quite liked the theory that it wasn’t an underworked first draft of a joke but rather an overworked later draft after “slit her wrist” was deemed too dark an idea. It makes more sense to me to find spitonawrist that way rather than thinking it really sounds anything like clitoris.
Re. Spitonawrist: I always quite liked the theory that it wasn’t an underworked first draft of a joke but rather an overworked later draft after “slit her wrist” was deemed too dark an idea. Oo. That is actually rather feasable. Although dropping the gag altogether would have made much more sense.
I genuinely thought it was you lot taking the piss, and rather than putting out the actual episode to people you were just releasing a gif on the feeds. See, I fucking told you we should’ve just done that.
For anyone who didn’t see it, it was this. And I thought I was escaping to the one show that hadn’t been corrupted by memes. Spaced! Enjoyed the podcast, sorry for my shit question. To be fair, I had retracted it but yeah, orders are orders and I’ll delete my account. Well, see you G&T. I’ll say goodbye to love No one really cared if I should live or die Time and time again the chance for love has passed me by….
I rewatched Timewave the other day in anticipation of this Dwarfcast and really hoped to find some new angle on it or new appreciation of it. But no, it’s shit as it ever was. And not just for the general sense of unfocused homophobia, the whole story is just a mess. I agree with the comments about it being a shame that the idea of a time wave has now been wasted on this episode, too. Having a ship from the past wash up for a limited time has a lot of interesting possibilities for Red Dwarf, but none of them involves gags about feeling uncomfortable around a camp bloke and being arrested by a pink policeman after you insult his wife’s tits.
And I thought I was escaping to the one show that hadn’t been corrupted by memes. Spaced! This reference has earned you a second chance, Jim.
As it’s mentioned, can anyone explain to me exactly why the Blue Midget dance gets SO much hate? I’m not here to defend it or anything and I’m not a fan of series 8 but I feel like, at worst, it’s an over-long but well-executed idea that’s something a bit different. Not anywhere near my favourite moments but I’ve never quite understand why people are so passionately against it.
The dance is an over-the-top bit of fun that’s excused by taking place in a simulated reality (I think we already know this information by that point in the story… can’t remember). It’s not like it’s Pete or Timewave where the events are actually happening in the Red Dwarf universe.
As it’s mentioned, can anyone explain to me exactly why the Blue Midget dance gets SO much hate? People who found Series VIII to be a huge disappointment and missed opportunity use the dance (and to a lesser extent the Dinosaur) as a symbol for wasted effort and talent. We were getting this shit instead of nice model shots and character comedy, and these were the big flashy poster boys for that, so they’re hated. Not saying that’s especially fair (and series VIII does get a really rough ride mainly because there was a lot of expectations for it and it had a great deal to live up to) but that’s certainly how it felt to me at the time, and to a lesser extent today.
Not to mention the Blue Midget dance is 3 mins of a third part of a trilogy that didn’t need to be that long. Whilst that scene might not be, it just adds to the overall padding out of a story to stretch to 90mins rather condensing it down and giving up another better 30min standalone episode.
Currently in hysterics at the idea that Rimmsy tried to slit someone’s wrist as a turn on. That’s the Rimmer we know and love!
The whole artificial reality aspect is often trotted out to excuse the Blue Midget dance, but we have to remember that the characters think it’s reality, and none of them question it. Cat, certainly, I can imagine believing it, but Kryten and Holly accepting that it just happens? Later on, when they think they’ve escaped from AR, Lister tells Cat to ‘do another dance’. That and it’s just a really staggeringly unfunny scene that goes on for way too long. I’m not opposed to silly humour, but things like the show’s main character* having a dance-off with a bad CG spaceship and a set of false teeth falls into kids’ TV territory for me. Oh look, another spaceship is playing air guitar, isn’t that random?!? Ugh, it’s fucking awful. Mind you, it does lead to the line “Come back, Mr. Sucks!” which is one of the best lines in BitR. *which is a generous way of describing the Cat’s role in VIII, admittedly.
The whole artificial reality aspect is often trotted out to excuse the Blue Midget dance, but we have to remember that the characters think it’s reality, and none of them question it. Cat, certainly, I can imagine believing it, but Kryten and Holly accepting that it just happens? Later on, when they think they’ve escaped from AR, Lister tells Cat to ‘do another dance’. I’ve often seen it excused in that, because they’re in AR it warps their perception of reality and thus they don’t question out of the ordinary things because the game convinces them it’s normal/possible etc. But it occurred to me that once they believe they’re out that Lister still thinks it would be possible … although that could be him just being sarcastic.
AR software used as evidence in a trial convinced them that dancing spaceships were normal. I don’t think there’s any head canon way to make it into anything other than really sloppy writing.
I appreciate the Blue Midget dance as fun visual spectacle. I imagine it was a highly technical sequence to pull of for its time. But was it worth the budget? I ain’t sure.
An episode that wants to say criticism helps society function while accidentally telling people with ‘alternative lifestyles’ to fall in line. Robbie the Robert around that time suggesting it was such a deftly-wielded swipe at political correctness didn’t help either. I still like St. Trembles though. That’s your Big Finish spinoff. Not the school, the guy who was canonised. That Space Corps directive joke is pre-dated by Barrie’s version for the G&T plug, right? I just never seem to see (or hear) anyone making a connection.
we have to remember that the characters think it’s reality, and none of them question it. But why would they question it? What’s to question? Perhaps it helps that this was the first time we saw this “new” Blue Midget but as soon as I saw that sequence I just presumed, oh, they’re like massive, pilotable Skutters with a semblance of personality (as implied with the addition of arms and legs). Cat doing a dance off with one in order to prove he can pilot it doesn’t strike me as any weirder than many other interactions that the crew have had with AI on the ship.
Also, I haven’t seen Remastered since it came out, probably, but I seem to recall plenty of the new bipedal “Blue Midget” walking around like a robot dinosaur in that so, going into series 8, I already had it in my head that this new version of the ship was considerably more anthropomorphised than the likes of Starbug. So going from that to dancing in the next series didn’t seem like a stretch or something the crew would even question at all to me, when watching it for the first time.
But why would they question it? What’s to question? The music? The fact that other ships that Cat wasn’t piloting were also taking part (such as the one playing air guitar)? The false teeth which have now turned into a set of toy chattering teeth and seemingly have a mind of their own and the ability to try and dance?
That Space Corps directive joke is pre-dated by Barrie’s version for the G&T plug, right? I just never seem to see (or hear) anyone making a connection. Oh yeah! You’d think we’d have spotted that.
Glad to of helped out, in bringing up the last bit of “Timewave” info for G&T…. (May we never speak of it again on this site ;p) Also love the discussion you lot had about the unused Model shots for Series 7 and Chris’s CGI work too. Which I do hope will of reminded you lot of another Waffle I sent you a while back and hopefully be answered in a future Dwarfcast ep ??? (when you come to it, of course ;) ) And if not… tsk… P.S. Got a say, I laugh when your mate said “You Promise !!!” when heading into my question :D
But why would they question it? What’s to question? The music? The fact that other ships that Cat wasn’t piloting were also taking part (such as the one playing air guitar)? The false teeth which have now turned into a set of toy chattering teeth and seemingly have a mind of their own and the ability to try and dance? This is what happens: Cat starts dancing, eventually the Blue Midget starts to copy him and then all the other Blue Midgets join in. There’s no indication that anybody in the room is actually “hearing” the music so I always took it as a stylistic representation of the “groove” or “flow” or however you want to put it that Cat is creating, and how that is spreading throughout the room, rather than being an audible sound in the room as you’re assuming. There is actually form for this. Cat’s ‘Riviera Kid’ dance in ‘Gunmen..’ is also accompanied by a sting of music but there’s no indication that any of the characters on-screen literally hear it and nobody outside of the main crew reacts (so it’s probably not a part of the video game). In fact, the very first time we ever see Cat on-screen he’s accompanied by a bit of music that’s different to everything else on the show and he’s dancing along to it. So Red Dwarf has repeatedly given us music to emphasise or represent Cat’s ability to dance and be cool and I see no reason to think the Blue Midget sequence is any different. (note: I’m fully aware I have given this far more thought than probably even Doug did) As the teeth…. yeah, that’s daft.
I’ve decided that three watches of Timewave are enough for this lifetime, so I’ll just listen to this Dwarfcast going forward. The music? The fact that other ships that Cat wasn’t piloting were also taking part (such as the one playing air guitar)? The false teeth which have now turned into a set of toy chattering teeth and seemingly have a mind of their own and the ability to try and dance? You forgot the bit where the Blue Midget kicks Cat and he flies through the air like a cartoon character and doesn’t die.
You forgot the bit where the Blue Midget kicks Cat and he flies through the air like a cartoon character and doesn’t die. Again, though, that’s in-keeping with how Cat is portrayed. Most of the times he comes to harm he turns into a cartoon character. The end of ‘Justice’, for example and his many “goes entirely rigid and falls down like a plank” moments. Not to mention other times characters haven’t died after what would be serious injuries, such as Lister falling down that big hole (also in ‘Justice’) and Kryten* being ejected from Starbug and coming back in without a scratch. EDIT: Oh wait, that was Rimmer. Scratch that!
Cat is knocked unconscious by a shovel to the head and the scene ends. Yes, he has a goofy look on his face when he keels over, but he’s clearly affected by this. Lister falls down a hole (of unknown depth), the others survey the effects of his fall and the episode ends. Cat is kicked twenty feet in the air by a metal leg and, instead of showing a single ill effects of this, dances around like a twat for 2 minutes, and no one questions why this might not be reality.
Cat is knocked unconscious by a shovel to the head and the scene ends. Yes, he has a goofy look on his face when he keels over, but he’s clearly affected by this. Lister falls down a hole (of unknown depth), the others survey the effects of his fall and the episode ends. Cat is kicked twenty feet in the air by a metal leg and, instead of showing a single ill effects of this, dances around like a twat for 2 minutes, and no one questions why this might not be reality. Earlier in the scene Cat changes clothes in a cartoon fashion (if I recall, you see his his discarded clothes whipping out from behind one of BM’s legs, which are not wide enough to conceal him) so the whole sequence obviously takes place in a state of heightened/exaggerated reality. Sorry, but the “no one questions why this might not be reality” complaint does not – unlike Blue Midget – appear to have any legs to stand on.
There’s no indication that anybody in the room is actually “hearing” the music … rather than being an audible sound in the room as you’re assuming. If the characters heard all the music cues being played I’d imagine they would get just as tired of the reuse of that one sting in Series XII as we do.
Earlier in the scene Cat changes clothes in a cartoon fashion (if I recall, you see his his discarded clothes whipping out from behind one of BM’s legs, which are not wide enough to conceal him) so the whole sequence obviously takes place in a state of heightened/exaggerated reality. Yet it’s not “obvious” enough for the show to reveal the twist immediately afterwards, and we have another 4 minutes of painfully unfunny shit to get through before the characters twig and that “twist” is revealed. Sorry, but the “no one questions why this might not be reality” complaint does not – unlike Blue Midget – appear to have any legs to stand on. No, instead it’s Lister thinking their escape was easy that leads them to question reality. I guess that’s much more wacky and unbelievable than the Cat pausing their escape to do a little dance.
Another enjoyable Dwarfcast and I regret more and more each day that I chose this daft username! :) I think it’s a fair point that fans tend to be more generous towards bold ideas like Tongue Tied when they are from a really popular era of a show. Having said that, the execution of the two dances is like night and day. Tongue Tied is placed at the start of the episode and I think they cut the opening credits, so didn’t eat into too much of the show. It also used the characters for the comedy by including numerous shots of all of them. Then you can add the inclusion of lyrics, albeit written earlier, which adds another layer. The Blue Midget dance occurs towards the end of a three-parter when the plot would ideally be reaching a satisfying and dramatic conclusion. It also takes up a massive chunk of time of an episode that had already been shortened by the inclusion of the recap at the start. There are no reaction shots of Kryten, Lister and Kochanski throughout which is where some of the comedy might have come from. The use of the cheap sounding music and the cheap looking computer graphics don’t help, either. And I’d forgotten that all of the characters are embarrassingly dressed up as Duane Dibbley at the start of the scene!
Cat is kicked twenty feet in the air by a metal leg and, instead of showing a single ill effects of this, dances around like a twat for 2 minutes, and no one questions why this might not be reality. He’s a Cat. They always land on their feet. (Note: I am not defending the sequence by any means!)
not only have I had to go this page and not the Apple Podcasts app to listen to this, I also had to reboot my tv box to get the video streaming. I must really hate myself.
It’s so true that the characters behave unnaturally in this episode. At the point where they meet the Crit Cop for the first time, someone needs to break the criticism law so they get locked up (and then escape only to immediately get recaptured, but whatever). The Cat is the obvious choice to put his foot in it. Doug needed to come up with an insult aimed at a member of the Enconium crew. They all wear silly fancy dress type clothing (for some reason). The Cat’s whole bag is fashion and clothes!… “your wife’s droopy-ass titties” Anyway, shite episode, good DwarfCast.
I feel like the characters sometimes act unnaturally in the Dave Era anyway. when the characters need to be dumb to make something happen then they are dumb. when they need to be intelligent to make something happen, then they are intelligent. and the characters have become slightly interchangeable when the plot needs it also.
I just accidentally erased my multi-paragraph reply to to the Back in the Red stuff earlier by trying to add another quote to it (and CTRL+Z refused to help me) but rest assured I effectively dismantled the common “It’s a simulation so literally anything can happen for no reason and it would still be justified” defense that even VIII’s critics are inexplicably willing to give in defense of scenes like the Blue Midget dance. And now my edibles kicked in so I’m too high to recreate it in full. TL;DR The simulation was created with the express purpose of convincing the crew they are in reality (it is NOT some sandbox imaginatorium game where anything should be able to happen, it’s an explicit recreation of the real world for the intent of proving or disproving guilt in a crime) and while the gang become suspicious at unnaturally good luck earlier on they don’t even give a token “What the hell?” to spaceships turning into cartoon characters, which is exponentially more bizarre than anything that has happened up to that point in the simulation. I also had a bit about how the Blue Midget Dance could have _potentially_ worked as a big punchline to a running gag if the simulation operated on Rashomon rules where each character’s perspective was uniquely suited to convince them (a la Psirens’ SOS calls), which I’ve seen suggested as a token explanation but there’s actually no hint that this is going on at all. And it would probably entirely invalidate the stated purpose of the simulation, which the Blue Midget dance already does anyway. Although the longer version that got deleted was way better worded and thorough and I’m kind of fucking angry at Firefox for not letting me CTRL+Z back more than a couple levels. I actually edited a fan edit of Back in the Red not too many years ago (and have rewatched it a couple times since), so I’ve thought about its plotting an unhealthy amount and have it pretty fresh in my memory despite almost never rewatching the actual VIII in the past six or seven years. My version was like 46 minutes long in total and infinitely more watchable to me than the original. Cat doing a dance off with one in order to prove he can pilot it doesn’t strike me as any weirder than many other interactions that the crew have had with AI on the ship. Yeah, when I watch Lister fight with his annoying toaster or a vending machine dispense a bucket instead of food I feel like the next logical step is three minutes of spaceships dancing for no reason.
I actually edited a fan edit of Back in the Red not too many years ago (and have rewatched it a couple times since), so I’ve thought about its plotting an unhealthy amount and have it pretty fresh in my memory despite almost never rewatching the actual VIII in the past six or seven years. My version was like 46 minutes long in total and infinitely more watchable to me than the original. … is this version available anywhere to watch? I am eternally miffed that we get Xtended when what we actually needed was just the original 2-parter.
… is this version available anywhere to watch? I am eternally miffed that we get Xtended when what we actually needed was just the original 2-parter. Yeah, especially as Doug complained in the script book about people probably never seeing a 60 minute version. The DVD would have been an opportunity to do that, even if it might not have been exactly as Doug envisaged.
Whoever programmed the BITR simulation set it to “whatever plans they try in order to get around Red Dwarf security and commit crimes, they work” so they could prove the defendants would go through with the crimes. They just didn’t think their first idea for getting around “I don’t have clearance to flee in this Blue Midget” would be “I use the magic of rhythm to spontaneously conduct a Blue Midget dance routine”. What I’m saying here is that I’m imagining the simulation programmer as the GM, and the Dwarfers as players who aren’t interested in taking the setting seriously and are just looking for ways to mess around. “You want to convince the traffic controller that you’re free to go by making the Blue Midgets dance?! But that could never… OK, you know what, fine, you can try it. But because it’s so absurd, it will only work if you roll a 20.”
I think Timewave highlights my biggest criticism of the show as it’s gone on, that they’re increasingly inhabiting a silly/cartoon universe. Concepts like E.R.R.A., outlawing criticism etc. feel more at home in a Douglas Adams book.
I actually like ERRA as a Red Dwarf concept, largely because Kryten’s long description followed by the “no” is very Dwarfy. As soon as they actually get on board and everything works wrong and Rimmer suddenly feels at home there and the dumb blonde woman is so stupid she falls in love with Rimmer, then yes, it stops working and derails what is otherwise a really great episode.
The concept of the space station and institute is alright I suppose, bit daft but not the worst, but after that it’s a mess. The chimp bloke, Professor E with her upside down glasses (who needs characterisation when you can just put your glasses on upside down?), the bollock bomb, the scene where they diffuse the bollock bomb that seems to go on forever even though the audience know what’s happening after about 5 seconds, the reaction to the death of an innocent human. Definitely a low point in X for me.
Her death is also a poorly done scene. I dunno if it was the directing or Doug just wrote himself into a hole that didn’t make much sense. But she trips over a box and falls sideways into the airlock which closes behind her.
> Her death is also a poorly done scene. I dunno if it was the directing or Doug just wrote himself into a hole that didn’t make much sense. But she trips over a box and falls sideways into the airlock which closes behind her. The ending (in fact, quite a lot of the last half of Entangled) was a last-minute fudge when they realised the originally scripted version was unfilmable because of restrictions over how long the performer in the chip costume could work for.
So was the chimp gonna flush itself out into space instead? From what i can remember Doug said something about wanting to keep the chimp around to do a storyline where rimmer uses it to pass an officers exam, while lister was against the idea. giving off an arguing parents vibe.
Man didn’t evolve from a modern chimpanzee anyway, chimps and humans split about 3 million years ago from some upright hominid that probably looked more like a gangly gorilla than a PG Tips monkey. None of it makes sense.
Man didn’t evolve from a modern chimpanzee anyway, chimps and humans split about 3 million years ago from some upright hominid that probably looked more like a gangly gorilla than a PG Tips monkey. None of it makes sense. Next you’ll be telling us that a sparrow can’t turn into a tyrannosaurus.
Imagine if that scene from Demons and Angels had been written today? “I’ve given birth to twins, I’ve played pool with planets, I’ve seen a sparrow turn into a T-Rex then shit everywhere, I’ve seen a chimp instantly evolve into a human and then trip into an airlock and die, I’ve operated on Jesus’ knob and I’ve been on a weird pink ship that made us all turn vaguely homophobic… but I never thought I’d ever see a Just Eat delivery arrive at the time it’s supposed to.”
For what it’s worth, I think “have you got a pen” makes up for all of the flaws of Entangled’s last 10mins.
The first time I watched Entangled, I was still riding the high of the first 20 minutes feeling like a great mid-era episode with lots of fantastic jokes, so the final ten minutes almost worked for me. Repeat viewings have been very disappointing in that regard, but I still rate the episode for it being mostly excellent.
For what it’s worth, I think “have you got a pen” makes up for all of the flaws of Entangled’s last 10mins. I wouldn’t go that far but I do quite like it, and moments like that weren’t completely unprecedented. Red Dwarf has always had a strange sort of blasé attitude to death. I guess holograms being a thing is part of it.
The line’s ok, and Craig’s delivery of it elevates it brilliantly. Unfortunately, the fact it’s Lister’s first reaction to the death of a human, means it as ill-conceived as the rest of the episode. As cheap laughs go, it’s funny and well performed. Doesn’t stop it being cheap.
Man didn’t evolve from a modern chimpanzee anyway, chimps and humans split about 3 million years ago from some upright hominid that probably looked more like a gangly gorilla than a PG Tips monkey. None of it makes sense. Next you’ll be telling us that a sparrow can’t turn into a tyrannosaurus. Modern birds actually evolved from therapods, which I think a T-rex was, though the small theropods, not a big fuck off T-rex. Human’s however didn’t evolve from chimpanzees. If Doug had done a google, he could have saved some money and not hired the professional chimp bloke, gone for a more “caveman” treatment and could have done the episode as intended.
A caveman wouldn’t have looked as good as the chimp costume. which was fairly impressive. so i wouldn’t be shocked if Doug wrote around the existence of the life-like chimp costume.
Modern birds actually evolved from therapods, which I think a T-rex was, though the small theropods, not a big fuck off T-rex. Human’s however didn’t evolve from chimpanzees. There were also real birds by the time T-rex was running around.
A caveman wouldn’t have looked as good as the chimp costume. which was fairly impressive. so i wouldn’t be shocked if Doug wrote around the existence of the life-like chimp costume. You’d sacrifice a moderately-attractive caveman to save a beautiful monkey?