Anyone remember Land of the Giants?

[HIjol]

When I was in grade school in the mid 60s I had a Land of the Giants lunchbox. I can still smell that hot, almost-but-not-quite rusty, metallic aroma when I'd open it up at lunchtime.

Good times.

Good times, indeed!

If you still have the thermous, you could probably retire!

Oh, the Pain! The Pain!

 

[urbandefault]

When I was in grade school in the mid 60s I had a Land of the Giants lunchbox.

Mid-60s? That's quite a feat, considering that the show debuted in 1968. Was the lunchbox bigger on the inside than the outside?

Ok, late 60s.

 

[Saul]

Well I've seen it during reruns on Channel 4, it used to air Sundays around 12:00 of memory serves.

Back to back with 'The Time Tunnel' wasn't it?

 

[Silvercrest]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, HIjol.

 

[Saga]

Giants was my least favorite of the Irwin Allen shows. i haven't watched it in ages though. maybe time for a rewatch.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

That show was too goofy

Land of the Giants--like the other three Irwin Allen sci-fi series from the 60's--launched with a strong, very dramatic pilot, and a few memorable early episodes. Unfortunately, the Allen tendency to use the worst of his staff writers, trying to ape the Dr. Smith/Will relationship with Fitzhugh & no personality Barry, and other issues evetually hurt the series.

I will give it a break in that the running theme of a totalitarian government relentlessly pursuing all "little people" and their advanced earth technology was a breakthrough for TV sci-fi, and gave it an edge lacking in the other Allen series.

for anyone watching the series in broadcast order, one would think there some uneven development and a here now/gone later sense of danger. That could be due to the episodes not airing in production order. The start of the series seems stronger if you watch the pilot followed by the actual 2nd episode, "The Weird World" which dealt with the Spindrift castaways encountering the paranoid, lone survivor of an earlier space flight, and their attempt to locate his captured ship.

BTW, that lone survivor was actor Glenn Corbett, who portrayed Zefram Cochrane in TOS' "Metamorphosis"--another lost space traveler script.

One strong point for the series is that the characters had occasional conflicts, but they seemed to have a genuine loyalty / affection for the others, particularly the Spindrift crew (Steve Burton, Dan Erickson & Betty Hamilton).

 

[publiusr]

The look of the Spindrift was really nice.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

The look of the Spindrift was really nice.

True. A slick, unique design.

Some wise company should make a larger kit (assembled) of the studio miniature--and this time, use accurate measurements missing in the old Aurora or Lunar kits.

 

[Joel_Kirk]

I used to have "Valerie in Giantland" the self-published sequel by Deanna Lund. It wasn't great, but it was interesting to read her pov on how the Spindrift crew continued on in their current state.

 

[Galileo7]

The Spindrift was a unique design that looked like an elongated revision of the Flying Sub from Irwin Allen's Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea with similar bow windows.

I was always impressed by the Irwin Allen '60s television shows standing permanent sets:

Land Of The Giants:
full-scale Spindrift set in the oversized forest of the LOTG planet

Lost In Space:
Jupiter 2 upperdeck set
Jupiter 2 lowerdeck set
fullscale Spacepod
full-scale working Chariot

Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea [season two through four]:
Seaview sets especially the control room with large viewports and hatch to the Flying Sub.
Flying Sub set

 

[Christopher]

Lost In Space:
Jupiter 2 upperdeck set
Jupiter 2 lowerdeck set
fullscale Spacepod
full-scale working Chariot

The last three of which could not possibly fit inside the ship exterior... And that's not even counting the engine bay set we saw once or twice in season 3.

 

[Galileo7]

Lost In Space:
Jupiter 2 upperdeck set
Jupiter 2 lowerdeck set
fullscale Spacepod
full-scale working Chariot

The last three of which could not possibly fit inside the ship exterior... And that's not even counting the engine bay set we saw once or twice in season 3.

Agree.

Irwin Allen's Jupiter 2 was truly like The Doctor's T.A.R.D.I.S. to fit all that inside. The season three episode "Space Creature" showed the viewer the massive Jupiter 2 Powercore[engine bay] that you mentioned.

 

[Kemaiku]

Even the film made fun of that by showing an engineering/core set that was too large even for the much larger Jupiter 2.

 

[JD]

I might have to check this one out sometime. I've seen it on Hulu, but wasn't really sure quite what to make of it.

 

[Christopher]

Irwin Allen's Jupiter 2 was truly like The Doctor's T.A.R.D.I.S. to fit all that inside. The season three episode "Space Creature" showed the viewer the massive Jupiter 2 Powercore[engine bay] that you mentioned.

Honestly, there are tons of fictional vehicles and dwellings that are bigger on the inside than the outside -- your own namesake shuttlecraft being one of them. It's so common that it's a surprise to me when I come across an interior set that actually does match the exterior dimensions, such as Jim Rockford's trailer.

 

[Drone]

[/I]
BTW, that lone survivor was actor Glenn Corbett, who portrayed Zefram Cochrane in TOS' "Metamorphosis"--another lost space traveler script.

I guess Glenn Corbett's highest profile role was in Route 66. I think the more apt comparison in the LOTG context is his starring turn in The Stranger, duplicate Earth (down to the Chryslers), totalitarian state, main character always on the run, etc.

As far as the show, I think the elements I found most interesting at the time were the insights (slight) into the Elephantines social order and culture, their perceptions of Earthers and the "threat" they posed, and contrasts of the technological capabilities of both. I suppose I liked it well enough back then. I've seen a few episodes recently, including some gaga interdimensional travel one with Albert Salmi in a dual role. Oy vey!! We really lost a 4th season of LIS for this schmatte? Facepalm.....

 

[Tony Crnkovich]

I loved LAND OF THE GIANTS when it debuted and still do. IMO it's the best of Irwin Allen's sci-fi shows. It's appeal is timeless, having avoided any pretentions to being topical at the time. The episodes dealt with universal moral and ethical principles encountered by the space travellers as they desperately try to survive in a hostile world of giants.The chemistry between the characters is engaging with more spontaneity in the dialogue than in Allen's other shows. LOTG also never resorted to silliness as did LOST IN SPACE, but rather had a darker, more serious tone which was even suggested by the lighting, especially during its first season.

 

[JD]

Wow, talk about reviving an old thread.

We have a current thread where LOTG is being discussed episode by episode.