"Land of the Lost" (1974) TV series 1974-1977

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

7 September 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

A family is thrown back in time and must survive in a dinosaur dominated land.

Plot Keywords:

Dinosaur | Time Travel | Stop Motion | Chroma Key | Virtual Set

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Wesley Eure	...	Will Marshall (43 episodes, 1974-1976)
Kathy Coleman	...	Holly Marshall (43 episodes, 1974-1976)
Philip Paley	...	Cha-Ka (42 episodes, 1974-1976)
Spencer Milligan	...	Park Ranger Rick Marshall (30 episodes, 1974-1975)

Runtime:

30 min (43 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:G (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions

Trivia:

The producers came up with a very interesting idea to keep their viewers looking at the show during the hiatus between the first and second seasons. In the first season's final episode, the Marshalls discover that for some reason they aren't supposed to be there. Enik later informs them that due to a time disturbance that they never really arrived in the Land of the Lost and must go back in time and relive the accident that brought them there. By going back in time, they also would experience everything that happened to them up to that point in a sort of time loop.

Quotes:

[The alien Enik has made a startling discovery about the temporal doorway that has led him and the Marshalls to this world]
Enik: I cannot leave here. Nothing can leave here, unless an object of equal mass and temporal energy enters.
Will Marshall: Well, that means we can't leave either, unless three other people come in.
Enik: Yes, but there is more. You should not be here at all. Your presence here is the source of my problem. Look...
[Enik opens the time doorway onto a view of the Grand Canyon]
Will Marshall: It's Earth! Enik, if I had a parachute I could jump through!
Enik: Wait, there is more.
[Next Will sees himself, Rick, and Holly]
Will Marshall: That's us, on the river!
Enik: Pay attention now, this is the troubling part.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: And Down the Stretch Comes Murder (#2.5)" (2007)

The story counts...

Cheesy music, sets and acting don't detract from the excellence of some of the stories in this TV series, some co-written by Science Fiction greats like Larry Niven. This series was one of my favorites as a kid and helped spark a lifetime interest in Science Fiction... and eventually science as well. I didn't end up a scientist per-se, but some of these stories are great and still watchable (and some are just plain dumb). No specific names or numbers to recommend... watch 'em if you can find 'em and try not to wince at the cheese of the "special effects" and weird mix of banjo and synthesizer music.