Dinosaur is a heartwarming and funny series that handles the topic of autism with great nuance and self-deprecation. There are many prejudices and stereotypes about people with autism. They are said to be stuck in rituals and rhythms, have no emotions, be unable to hold conversations, lack empathy, and, of course, have an enormous obsession with dinosaurs. A film that may have contributed to these stereotypes is Rain Man from 1988. However, the image created in this film is very one-sided, and for every autistic person, autism means something quite different.
In recent years, various films and series have emerged that challenge this image of autism, showing that autism can manifest in many forms, and where people with autism have also been involved. Think of the dramedies Atypical and As We See It, the youth series A Kind of Spark, and the crime series Patience. A series that, in my opinion, can also be added to that list is the BBC/Hulu series Dinosaur.
Nina (Ashley Storrie) is an autistic woman in her thirties from Glasgow whose life moves in a predictable rhythm. She works as a paleontologist in a museum (that cliché is present in this series), gets the same coffee from the same place every day, is a big fan of The Real Housewives, and shares everything with her sister Evie (Kat Ronney). That changes when Evie announces that she is getting married to a man she met only six weeks ago (Danny Ashok). This event marks a turning point in Nina's life and is the beginning of a journey of self-discovery.
The main character may be autistic, but Dinosaur is about much more than that.
Although Nina is autistic, that is not the only main subject of Dinosaur. It is also a sweet and heartwarming series about the bond between two sisters and how they must accept themselves and each other in their own ways as things change. There are plenty of tensions and conflicts, but everything remains light and comedic. The humor is somewhat sarcastic and often relies on awkward and absurd situations. The subject of autism is approached with self-deprecation at times, but the series just as often exposes the absurdity of social rituals of neurotypical people.
Like many of the previously mentioned series, Dinosaur does not try to paint a daunting picture of autism but rather sheds nuance on it. It shows that autism does not necessarily make someone better or worse, just different. We live in a society where social norms dictate our lives, and we filter who we are to meet that norm. But why do we present ourselves differently? And why would you support a football club if they always end up last? For Nina, that filter is much less present, and she questions social norms in an interesting way. Dinosaur effectively shows viewers that people with autism think differently and that this doesn't always have to be a bad thing.
The subject of autism is approached with a lot of self-deprecating humor and nuance.
At the same time, Dinosaur shows that the lives of people with autism and their surroundings have various obstacles, and the series does not shy away from this at all. Nina regularly encounters issues that neurotypical people are unaware of, and the creators bring this out strongly. For example, autistic people process stimuli differently than most, and the series effectively portrays this several times. Nina's challenges and how they affect her relationship with Evie and her environment make for interesting television.
Lead actress and co-writer Ashley Storrie (who is also autistic) is a delightful actress, and the other actors also perform well. Notably, Kat Ronney, Jim Kitson, and Lorn Macdonald stand out as sister Evie, colleague Declan, and Lee, the employee at Nina's regular coffee shop, respectively. However, some storylines do get a bit overshadowed. There was more potential in the storyline about Evie and Nina's brother (David Carlyle), but those are minor flaws I can overlook.
Dinosaur is a lovely series that creates a nuanced view of autism while simultaneously telling a heartwarming story about the bond between two sisters. So far, two six-episode seasons with half-hour episodes have been made. Whether there will be a third season is not yet known. Hopefully, there will be, as I would love to see more of Nina's life.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
