The Chief Elder

The Chief Elder, also known as the Elder-in-Chief, presides over the government of Pangaea in Dinosaurs.

History

The Council of Elders is often mentioned throughout the course of the series, but first appears in "The Golden Child". In this earliest appearance, the Elders are a group of shrouded figures, who all speak with the same commanding voice and appear to have near mystical properties. In subsequent appearances, though the robes occasionally resurfaced, the council of elders had been modernized. The council now seemed to be a closer analogue to the United States Senate or Congress, with the Chief Elder in a role akin to that of president, an elected official rather than a member of an ancient order, allowing for greater satirical relevance. Pangaea appeared to have a very high turnover rate regarding the position of Chief Elder. Played in all but one incarnation by a hand-puppet Unisaur, the earliest individual holder of the title appeared in the two-part episode "Nuts to War". A frilled and bespectacled dinosaur, the Chief Elder plunges Pangaea into war with the dinosaurs across the swamp over nut supplies, recanting his position only after casualties affect his popularity. In "And the Winner is...", the Chief Elder (a full-bodied green dinosaur) has regained some mystique, clad again in robes and presiding over the traditional infant-naming ceremony. His sudden death by heart attack while naming Baby Sinclair leads to an emergency election. Earl Sinclair and B.P. Richfield are the chief candidates, but commentator Edward R. Hero is elected instead. Hero's puppet, a crinkly almost humanoid Unisaur, would be recycled for all subsequent chief elders, with different voices and slight alterations in hue and costume. In "Baby Talk", a council of multiple elders, functioning in a manner akin to the Supreme Court, is seen, with no clear designation as to the Chief Elder. A suited Chief Elder returns to the vitriolic politicking of his "Nuts to War" predecessor in "Green Card", blaming the slumping economy on the four-legged dinosaurs, and then on amphibians. This Chief Elder would return in "Working Girl". In "The Greatest Story Ever Sold", the Chief Elder is joined by two other elders, and debates the question of an established belief system for Pangaea, ultimately deciding in favor of the Great Potato as national deity. The Chief Elder's final "appearance" occurs off-screen, praising Earl's exposure of Georgie in "Georgie Must Die".

Casting History

• George Gaynes (voice) and Steve Whitmire (puppeteer) in "Nuts to War"
• Sam McMurray (voice) as the dying elder in "And the Winner is..."
• Joe Flaherty (voice) and Mak Wilson (puppeteer) in "Green Card"
• Tim Curry (voice) and Allan Trautman (puppeteer) in "The Greatest Story Ever Sold"
• Flaherty and Trautman in "Working Girl"

The Many Chief Elders

The Elder-in-Chief from "Nuts to War"

The dying elder in "And the Winner is..."

Edward R. Hero in "And the Winner is..."

The Chief Elder from "Green Card" and "Working Girl"

v - e - d

Media Dinosaurs (episode list) • Videography • Creating Dinosaurs: The Sketches That Started It All • Dinosaurs (comic book) • Big Songs • I'm the Baby (Gotta Love Me) • Dinosaurs Live! Characters Main: Earl Sinclair • Fran Sinclair • Robbie Sinclair • Charlene Sinclair • Baby Sinclair Supporting: Ethyl Phillips • Roy Hess • Bradley P. Richfield • Monica DeVertebrae • Spike • Mindy • Howard Handupme Others: Mr. Ashland • Mel Luster • Gary • Buddy Glimmer • Predator • Sparky • General Chow • Cabby • Maurice • Caroline Foxworth • Solomon the Great • Ramona • Gus Molehill • Glenda Molehill • Al "Sexual" Harris • Otto Lynch • Mason Dixon • Barry Wolfe • Harold Heffer • Jerry Valentine • Grandpa Louie • Cookie Creature • General H. Norman Conquest • Edward R. Hero • Fox Jacket • Heather Worthington • André • Baby Cuddlebunny • Wereman • Dr. Ficus • Zabar • Wendy Richfield • Muse • Henri and Simone Poupon • Francois Poupon • Chief Elder • Dolf • Howlin' Jay • Sonny Episodes Season One: "The Mighty Megalosaurus" • "The Mating Dance" • "Hurling Day" • "High Noon" • "The Howling" Season Two: "The Golden Child" • "Family Challenge" • "I Never Ate for My Father" • "Charlene's Tale" • "Endangered Species" • "Employee of the Month" • "When Food Goes Bad" • "Career Opportunities" • "Unmarried... with Children" • "How to Pick Up Girls" • "Switched at Birth" • "Refrigerator Day" • "What "Sexual" Harris Meant" • "Fran Live" • "Power Erupts" • "The Clip Show" • "A New Leaf" • "The Last Temptation of Ethyl" • "Nuts to War" • "And the Winner is..." • "Slave to Fashion" • "Leader of the Pack" • "WESAYSO Knows Best" Season Three: "Nature Calls" • "Baby Talk" • "Network Genius" • "The Discovery" • "Little Boy Boo" • "Germ Warfare" • "Hungry for Love" • "License to Parent" • "Charlene's Flat World" • "Wilderness Weekend" • "The Son Also Rises" • "Getting to Know You" • "Green Card" • "Out of the Frying Pan" • "Steroids to Heaven" • "Honey, I Miss the Kids" • "Swamp Music" • "Dirty Dancin'" • "If I Were a Tree" • "We Are Not Alone" • "Charlene and Her Amazing Humans" • "The Clip Show II" Season Four: "Monster Under the Bed" • "Earl, Don't Be a Hero" • "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" • "Driving Miss Ethyl" • "Earl's Big Jackpot" • "Terrible Twos" • "Changing Nature" Unaired: "Scent of a Reptile" • "Earl and Pearl" • "Life in the Faust Lane" • "Variations on a Theme Park" • "Working Girl" • "Into the Woods" • "Georgie Must Die!" Locations Pangaea • The Sinclair Home • Sinclair City • WESAYSO • B.P. Richfield's Trailer • Bob LaBrea High School • Mel Luster's Mating Dance Academy • Department of Marriage Vows • Absolute Proof Laboratories • Kave Mart • Le Predateur • Meteor Tiki Lounge • Silent Springs • Wesaysoland Miscellaneous Dinosaur TV • DNN • DTV • Antediluvian Broadcasting Company • The Great Potato