Dinotopia (Season 1)

Dinotopia (2002) is a fantasy adventure miniseries you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Marco Brambilla and based on James Gurney's illustrated book series. The cast includes David Thewlis, Tyron Leitso, Alice Krige, Wentworth Miller, Jim Carter, and Terry Jones.

Two half-brothers who barely know each other survive a plane crash over open water and come ashore on a hidden island where humans and intelligent talking dinosaurs have shared a civilisation for centuries. The island's energy runs through ancient sunstones — and those stones are failing. Predators are pressing at the city gates. The brothers, outsiders with no loyalty to the old order, find the entire mission handed to them anyway.

Shot on location in Malta with practical sets and animatronic creatures, this ABC event miniseries from 2002 was a high-budget family production for its era. Thewlis plays the kind of authoritative, slightly melancholy presence that lifts the show above standard adventure fare. Stream Dinotopia online on iFILM.