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DVD: The Land Of The Lost
The Complete First Season
The Complete Second Season (Rhino Home Video)
Reviewed by Holly Day
Even though I grew up in a house without television, I did manage to catch a couple of episodes of this show when it was on the air in the '70s. I think it was exactly two episodes, in fact - the one where Cha-Ka gets trapped in a mysterious, transdimensional porthole, and the one where Marshall, Will and Holly find a mysterious ring in the Lost City. I had a deep affinity for the show, despite only seeing about 1/10th of it -firstly, because there were dinosaurs and monsters in it, and secondly, because the main female character in it was named Holly. I know, it's stupid, but hey, I was four.
For those not familiar with the short-lived series - I think it only lasted these two seasons, but I'm not positive - the premise is simple and has been copied many times since. Rick Marshall and his two children, Will and Holly, are out canoeing one day, when "the greatest earthquake in the world" strikes, sending their canoe over a gigantic waterfall that ends in The Land of the Lost: an artificially-created world out of time and in, apparently, a different dimension, populated by (Claymation/Stop-Motion) dinosaurs, a family of talking ape-like creatures called the Pakuni, and vicious lizard-people called Sleestak. Throughout the series, our heroes are chased by Sleestak, get caught up in inter-dimensional hijinx, discover interesting facts about the creators of the Land of the Lost, and make friends with dinosaurs. There's also a couple of awesome theme songs that my kids just love, especially my fifteen-month-old, who starts dancing and singing every time she hears them come on.
The thing that really set this series apart from so many other cheesy sci-fi series is the writing. Classic science fiction writers and scientists, like Larry Niven and Walter Koenig, wrote episodes for the series, and can be heard commenting on their work on the DVD extras that are tacked onto the end of each disc. Despite the corny aspects of the show itself that hearken to a time long before ours - like the fact that Rick Marshall's hairy chest is constantly hanging out of his shirt, and the rubbery, clunky, anatomically-incorrect dinosaurs that may not appeal to a generation of kids raised on Jurassic Park effects - the show's still a lot of fun to watch and a triumph of good storytelling over a tiny budget.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 3 DVDs, 2 hours 10 minutes (each collection)
© 2005 - Holly Day