Land of the Lost (1974)

[Brent]

I just recently got into this series, the original one, from the 70's. I didn't even know it existed before now, seeing as how I was born in '79.

When I was a kid, I remember watching the remake in 1991, so that is what I grew up on, I didn't know it was a remake then, but know now.

Due to the new movie that is out now, SCIFI ran a marathon on TV a couple weeks back, showing all of the old 1974 series. I caught most of that and was instantly hooked. So I went to Hulu and they have the entire first season of Land of the Lost (1974) up there, so I watched each episode, then I got a hold of Season 2 and 3 as well and am almost done with the last season now.

I just have to say, wow, I am hooked, I know the effects and acting is cheesy and corny to today's standards, but that is what makes it fun! For a Saturday Morning TV show the SCIFI aspects in it are pretty heady! I mean, the episode "Circle" alone, at the end of Season 1 is a classic SCIFI paradox/self fulfilling prophecy! I am amazed at how "SCIFI" it all really is. There were some neat stories, and for kids, some great time travel/multi-universe type stuff that makes you think. I love the family dynamic as well.

The mythology is also pretty neat, about how a civilization can de-evolve, and the mysteries about who actually built the place, was it the Altrusians, or was it the Builder's race, who appear humanoid? Was The Land of the Lost actually constructed, i.e., built, with a giant heart/power source at its center by this race of Builders? So many unanswered questions, so much mystery and mythology there actually.

Short lived series, but pretty neat as far as Saturday Morning TV programs go. The new 2009 movie may suck, but the original Land of the Lost rocks.

 

[Forbin]

A kids show that tried to be serious sci fi, and treated its viewers like adults.
Did you notice the genuine sci fi writers, and ex-Star Trek personnel who worked on the show?

Now you know why some of us old geezers despise the new movie. Imagine what it could have been like if done seriously, in the spirit of the original show?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I quite enjoyed the Sci-Fi marathon as well, it took me a while to get through them off my DVR but I enjoyed it much more than I thought. I expected only some kitschy laughs but found many of the stories interesting.

What the hell happened at the third season though? Holy cow, what a drop-off, only about five minutes in or whatever you realize the whole thing has gone off the rails.

 

[Gojirob]

Dad, to use the Power Rangers' parlance, got sent off to the peace conference. Yeah, it really fell off, to the point where I, for my own peace of mind, regard 'Circle' as the true finale. In a 'lost episode' (really lost, like it never existed) Dad and the Uncle switched once again, right before 'Circle'.

As to the current movie, I hope it opens the door for a more serious treatment. Yes, the show had comedic moments, and the SFX looked not so S at times. But the miss was so hard, it makes me wince.

 

[Brent]

A kids show that tried to be serious sci fi, and treated its viewers like adults.
Did you notice the genuine sci fi writers, and ex-Star Trek personnel who worked on the show?

Now you know why some of us old geezers despise the new movie. Imagine what it could have been like if done seriously, in the spirit of the original show?

Yeah, from Wiki:

A number of well-respected writers in the science fiction field contributed scripts to the series, including Larry Niven,[6] Theodore Sturgeon,[6] Ben Bova,[6] and Norman Spinrad, and a number of people involved with Star Trek, such as Dorothy "D.C." Fontana,[6] Walter Koenig,[6][7][8] and David Gerrold.[6] Gerrold, Niven, and Fontana also contributed commentaries to the DVD of the first season.[3]

quite impressive

Man, there was a lot of potential there for the movie, I wish it had been serious, maybe revealed more about the mythology and mysteries of the Land of the Lost, so much potential lost.

 

[Brent]

I quite enjoyed the Sci-Fi marathon as well, it took me a while to get through them off my DVR but I enjoyed it much more than I thought. I expected only some kitschy laughs but found many of the stories interesting.

What the hell happened at the third season though? Holy cow, what a drop-off, only about five minutes in or whatever you realize the whole thing has gone off the rails.

Yeah, the actor playing Rick Marshall had a contract dispute, and he was gone after the second season, replaced. You could even tell toward the end of the Second season he wasn't happy, like there was a lot of animosity on stage or something. There was one episode in Season 2 he wasn't there at all, then after that, it just fell apart for him, he was way different after that, and then in Season 3 the difference in tone could be felt, a shame really.

 

[Newski]

A kids show that tried to be serious sci fi, and treated its viewers like adults.
Did you notice the genuine sci fi writers, and ex-Star Trek personnel who worked on the show?

I was just on IMDB checking it out... It's amazing the talent they had behind it...

Now you know why some of us old geezers despise the new movie. Imagine what it could have been like if done seriously, in the spirit of the original show?

I'm 24 and feel I could have captured the spirit of the show better than the 30 or 40 somethings that wrote it.....

I think the movie went too far with some of it's jokes, and realized that the humor should be a bit more tongue and cheek, and based around the pure camp, while still taking the story seriously.

 

[Brent]

Oh, and I have come to the conclusion that Pylons are TARDIS's

They are bigger on the inside, they have a central control matrix, they can create time doorways, and the "Pylon Express" can even dematerialize and re-materialize on other planets/dimensions just like a TARDIS, and the Pylons make a cool sound, just like a TARDIS

 

[Kelso]

I was genuinely surprised at how well the show holds up.

Back in the 90's, SCIFI used to play it every morning at either 800 or 830 and I was absolutely obsessed with it. I had a daily ritual to set my VCR so I'd be able to watch it after school (I was probably 11 at the time). My brother used to tease me because I kept a little notebook with every pakuni word that I could translate. "It's not a real language," he would say, "It's just gibberish!" I felt pretty gratified to later learn that they brought in an actual linguist to create a language for the pakuni.

It certainly wasn't perfect... but it was smarter than it had any right to be.

 

[Trek4Ever]

One thing that irks me about my renewed interest in the show is that I'm stumped on which DVD to get. Rhino released individual seasons some time back with interviews but they are quite picey now. OTOH, The complete series has been released at a reasonable price but without the extras except for crap on the new film which I could do without.

 

[Davros]

I know the effects and acting is cheesy and corny to today's standards, but that is what makes it fun!

They were cheesy and corny then as well, but I still tuned in every week.

 

[timelord1010]

I'm glad to see that I am not along in Liking the original Land of the Lost. How many kids shows talk about characters being killed, or the episode with future Holly showing up and telling young Holly to cherish her brother and father since they might not be around forever, a hint that they may never get out of the Land of the Lost.

It's a shame it only lasted three years and then Will Ferrell ruined a great opportunity to bring it back. Instead of Brendon Fraiser's Journey to the Center of the Earth, they could have made minor changes and called that movie the Land of the Lost and it would have been better than Ferrell's movie. At least Fraiser's movie took itself seriously. Maybe SyFy will make a weekly series, it could be better than most of the crap on the air now...

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I watched at least the later episodes during the original run. It was so long ago I can't remember if I saw all of them, or the later ones (3rd season). I think some of my memories of this show were confused with the other Kroft show Sigmund and the Sea Monsters that was on around the same period (35 or so years ago).

Some of those writers only worked on the first season, and some websites/reviews talk about how the quality went down in the second season. But having watched the Sci-Fi marathon, I can't say I really saw that much of a difference between any of the seasons. They all seem cheesy now, but were still fun to watch.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Seeing the show again, I'm amazed how prevalent the banjo was, in the show.

 

[Forbin]

Seeing the show again, I'm amazed how prevalent the banjo was, in the show.

Me too! I didn't remember it that way.