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Originally Posted by StainlessSteelCynic
Well, I'm one of those who definitely does NOT mind this sideline discussion!
I've owned a copy of C&D since the time I saw it in my favourite game shop back in the day. They only ever had a few copies and because it used the same rules as T2k 2nd Ed./M2k it was always going to be potential purchase.
However because it was about Mark Schultz' Xenozoic Tales I would have bought it no matter what rules it had!
But yes, unless you watched the cartoon series (titled Cadillacs & Dinosaurs - I don't think it was ever shown in Australia though), or read the Xenozoic Tales comics, you would have precious little background material to make a good campaign of C&D just from the game book. The included background isn't too bad, it's comprehensive but misses a lot of little details found in the comics that really illustrate the relationships between various personalities or gives some extra explanation about the "what, why, where & when" of certain events.
I'm of the impression that GDW had plans for more product but the reception of the main book was not encouraging so it never progressed further. A number of reviewers felt the T2k rules were too serious and complex for what should have been in their view, a pulp-adventure style game.
There were some adventures published in Challenge and I believe some of them were actually written by GDW staff or GDW contract writers (I think they were but I'd have to check to be certain).
I think where the C&D book still proves useful for Merc, aside from equipment (such as the small boat types), is in the extra careers. They form a useful expansion of the careers in the Bangkok sourcebook.
And although it's not about T2k or M2k, it's also quite useful for Dark Conspiracy and Traveller: The New Era.
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The YouTube channel Retro Rerun has all of the TV episodes available. I found the book to be rather shallow on background material and lacking easy hooks, but I haven't read it recently so my opinion might be different if I did so now.
As far as Challenge goes, there are two articles I can recall: Frank Chadwick's The Horror Below in issue #47 and Chuck Kallenbach II's A Job for Toulouse in issue #73. I think Tales from the Floating Vagabond had more articles than C&D.