Land of the Lost

On Memorial Day, SciFi ran a Land of the Lost marathon. I thought it would be amusing to Tivo them and watch them all. I thought there were probably only 6 or 7 episodes. 12 tops. Weren’t we surprised to discover that there were 43 episodes of the original show. 43. That just shouldn’t have been legal. This show had three actors and one of them doesn’t even appear in the last season, the producers just hired his brother and only shot him from the back or something. (That may not be factually accurate. After watching a dozen episodes of this show you wouldn’t be credible either. I could look it up, but I’m not going to. I believe it, so it must be true).

Since there’s a major motion picture remake about to land on us all, you surely know which show I’m talking about. Just in case you don’t, let me recap:

A ranger named Rick Marshall gets a Mike Brady perm, dresses his son Will and his daughter Holly in Garanimals and takes them on the most poorly conceived rafting adventure ever. They go over a giant waterfall that drops them into another dimension. From 1974 – 1976 they have many wacky adventures involving reptilian Sleestaks, an apelike creature named Chaka, and a bunch of rubber dinosaurs. This being a Sid and Marty Kroft show, every penny of the budget shows on screen. And how.

Sidenote: Will Ferrell played a character named Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

There was an awesome episode where Dad threw a rock into a pit and then said something like, “I don’t know where that goes.” Then he threw another rock in and stood there, waiting for an answer and then said, “I still don’t know where it goes.”

I’ve repressed the rest of the episode, but I think there was something hilariously ridiculous involving a rope and giant carrots. Or maybe a weed called “dinosaur nip.”

Nothing says SciFi-fantasy time travel futurism like banjo music.

I’m sorry. I forgot what I was saying. The future alien Sleestak, Enik, just explained something or another and…what? What the hell is happening in this episode?

All I know is, there’s a lot of Acting going on and it’s slightly distracting. Marshall, Will and Holly are all inexplicably acting like William Shatner. Upon closer inspection, I see that the ep was written by Walter Koenig. Coincidence? You can watch the full episode here at imdb.

Go ahead, I dare you.

I have more to say about all of this but it’ll have to wait. I just clicked on a Land of the Lost fan fiction website and I think I need to go bleach my eyeballs now. And my brain.

3 thoughts on “Land of the Lost

  1. txskatemom

    Ben watched two episodes of that with Dad last week — he was most amused/horrified at production values when he noticed the edge of the sleestak helmet at their neckline. I told him he just wasn’t paying attention to the shots from behind or he’d have seen the zippers, too!

  2. JunglePete

    what is wrong with you? Battlestar Gallactica 1980, Land of the Lost. Despite my nostalgia for that time I have no desire to revisit Lidsville or watch the Banana Splits (but I can sing the theme song word for word.) I realize this is a lie after discovering the actual names of the Splits – Fleagle, Bingo, Drooper and Snork – maybe I better go back and watch. I have time.

  3. Kae Davis

    We watched the marathon for a while, too… just long enough to teach my son the history of the program and for me to figure out there is NO RATIONAL REASON to be scared of being eaten by giant plastic or claymation dinosaurs or that Sleestaks are ever coming to get me. Thank god for hi-def big screen TVs that helps adults recover from their childhood fears and addictions to sci-fi fantasy! [Everyone had a huge laugh over the whole ordeal — I mean while watching the awesome reruns from this series. Your article was too funny…

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