TV Miniseries
A 2002 four-hour TV mini-series produced by Hallmark Entertainment was also based on James Gurney's work, and was advertised as the first "mega-series." The show featured new characters such as Zippo (changed to Zippeau for the TV series to avoid legal issues with the lighter maker Zippo), a troodon who is said to have worked with Sylvia; and a new plot device, the sunstones, which are described as a source of power and protection originating in the World Beneath. This in turn became the pilot for a short-lived series, wherein the failure both of the sunstones and of Dinotopian officials to adhere to the underlying meanings of their culture's philosophy caused several discontented people – a leader-in-training, Zippeau himself, and two twentieth-century Dolphinbacks, Karl and David – to embark on a quest that led ultimately to the World Beneath. The characters in the miniseries refer several times to figures from the various books, including Will Denison, Gideon Altaire, and Lee Crabb, whose son Cyrus features as the antagonist. The mini-series won an Emmy for its special effects.
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