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Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
Encyclopedia
Land of the Lost is a children's television series co-created and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft
. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network
.
However, it also aired in daily syndication in the early 1980s as part of the "Krofft Superstars" package. In 1985, it returned to late Saturday mornings on CBS
as a replacement for the canceled Pryor's Place
- also a Krofft production. It was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel
in the 1990s. It has since become a cult classic
and is now available on DVD. Krofft Productions remade the series in 1991, also titled Land of the Lost
, and a big budget film adaptation
was released in 2009
.
s, a primate-type people called Pakuni, and aggressive humanoid/lizard creatures called Sleestak. The episode storylines focus on the family's efforts to survive and find a way back to their own world, but the exploration of the exotic inhabitants of the Land of the Lost is also an ongoing part of the story.
An article on renewed studio interest in feature film versions of Land of the Lost and H.R. Pufnstuf
commented that "decision-makers in Hollywood, and some big-name stars, have personal recollections of plopping down on the family-room wall-to-wall shag
sometime between 1969
and 1974
to tune in to multiple reruns of the Kroffts' Saturday morning live-action hits," and quoting Marty Krofft as saying that the head of Universal Studios
, Ronald Meyer
, and leaders at Sony Pictures all had been fans of Krofft programs.
A number of well-respected writers in the science fiction
field contributed scripts to the series, including Larry Niven
, Theodore Sturgeon
, Ben Bova
, and Norman Spinrad
, and a number of people involved with Star Trek
, such as Dorothy "D.C." Fontana, Walter Koenig
, and David Gerrold
. Gerrold, Niven, and Fontana also contributed commentaries to the DVD of the first season.
The prolific Krofft team was influential in children's television, producing many oddly formatted, highly energetic, and special-effects heavy programs. Many Krofft shows have similar plots involving children accidentally trapped in other worlds, but Land of the Lost is the Kroffts' most serious treatment of the premise.
Outfitted only for a short camping trip, the resourceful family takes shelter in a natural cave
and improvises the provisions and tools that they need to survive. Their most common and dangerous encounters are with dinosaur
s, particularly a Tyrannosaurus rex they nickname "Grumpy" who frequents the location of their cave. However, many of the dinosaurs are herbivore
s, posing no threat to the Marshalls. One is a particularly tame young Brontosaurus
whom Holly nicknames "Dopey," and whom the family looks upon as a pet.
They also do battle with the hostile Sleestak (lizard-men) and "cave men" called Pakuni (one of whom, Cha-Ka, they befriend), as well as a variety of dangerous creatures, mysterious technology
, and strange geography.
The main goal of the three is to find a way to return home. They are occasionally aided in this by the Altrusian castaway Enik. This storyline theme—marooned in a surreal, fantasy-filled jungle setting, continually attempting to return home—was in this sense somewhat similar to Gilligan's Island
and other such TV series. At the start of the third season Rick Marshall is accidentally returned to Earth alone, leaving his children behind, and is replaced by his brother Jack. Spencer Milligan's absence was explained by having Rick Marshall disappear after he was trying to use one of the pylons to get home, and that Jack had stumbled upon his niece and nephew after he embarked on a search of his own to find them.
Though the term "time doorway" is used throughout the series, Land of the Lost is not meant to portray an era in Earth
's history, but rather an enigmatic zone whose place and time are unknown. The original creators of these time portals were thought to be the ancestors of the Sleestak, called Altrusians, though later episodes raised some questions about this.
Many aspects of the Land of the Lost, including the time doorways and environmental processes, were controlled by the Pylons, metallic obelisk-shaped booths that were larger on the inside than the outside and housed matrix tables — stone tables studded with a grid of colored crystals. Uncontrolled time doorways result in the arrival of a variety of visitors and castaways in the Land.
Victoria Fromkin
was even commissioned to create a special language for the Pakuni, which she based on the sounds of West Africa
n speech and attempted to build into the show in a gradual way that would allow viewers to learn the language over the course of many episodes. The series' intention was to create a realistic fantasy world, albeit relying heavily on children's acceptance of minor inconsistencies.
In a 1999 interview, first-season story editor
and writer David Gerrold claimed that he largely created the show, based on photographs of various science fiction topoi that were bound together in a book and given him by Sid Krofft and Allan Foshko. http://lotl.popapostle.com/html/dginterview.html
It was a marked departure from the Krofft team's previous work, which mostly featured extremely stylized puppets and sets such as those in H.R. Pufnstuf
and Lidsville
.
The series for the first two seasons was shot on a modular indoor soundstage at General Service Studios in Hollywood, and made economical use of a small number of sets and scenic props which were rearranged frequently to suggest the ostensibly vast jungles, ancient cities and cave systems. As is traditional in many effect scenes, miniatures or scale-version settings were used for insertion of live-action scenes. Additional locations were often rendered using scale miniatures and chroma key
.
Spencer Milligan departed the show at the beginning of its third season for financial reasons. In addition to a salary increase, he believed it was only fair that he and the rest of the cast receive compensation for using their image on various merchandise. His character Rick Marshall was replaced by his brother, Jack Marshall, played by actor Ron Harper
. Milligan did not return for the brief scene, also shown in the credits of the third season, showing Rick Marshall being transported out of the Land of the Lost. One of the show's crew played the role instead, wearing a wig resembling Milligan's hair and standing with his back to the camera.
Non-human characters were portrayed by actors in latex rubber suits, or with heavy creature make-up. Dinosaur
s in the series were created using a combination of stop motion
animation miniatures, rear projection film effects
and occasional hand puppets for close-ups of dinosaur heads. Wesley Eure points out on a commentary track for Land of the Losts first season DVD that the Grumpy hand puppet has no hole in the back of its throat, even though it is often seen opening its mouth wide to roar. The series marked a rare example of matting
filmed stop-motion sequences with videotape live action, so as to avoid the telltale blue 'fringe' produced in matting with less exacting processes. Though this occasionally worked very well, the difference in lighting between the video and film sequences sometimes brought inadvertent attention to the limitations of the process.
Special effects footage was frequently re-used. Additional visual effects were achieved using manual film overlay techniques, the low-tech ancestor to current motion control photography.
owned the rights to the show, and released seasons one through three, and a complete series package, with several bonus features, including commentaries, on all of the releases. Those DVDs have since gone out of print. On May 26, 2009, Universal Studios
released two complete series releases, one in original packaging, and the other enclosed in a Land of the Lost vintage lunchbox; the only bonus feature was a look at the film starring Will Ferrell
. On October 13, 2009, Universal released the three seasons individually; the DVDs are identical to Universal's Complete Series Boxes.
of the series began in 1991 and ran for two seasons. The DVDs of the series earned a Saturn nomination for best retro TV series release in 2004.
In the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
, Will Ferrell
plays a character named "Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly," a reference to the three main characters on Land of the Lost. (Ferrell later portrayed Rick Marshall in the 2009 film.) Comedians Daniele Gaither
, Nicole Parker
, Frank Caeti
and Bobby Lee spoofed the series on the season finale of MADtv in 2006.
On June 5, 2009 a feature film based on the 1974 TV series
opened in U.S. theaters. Unlike the original series, which was a serious take on the story, the film is a comedy/parody. The film is directed by Brad Silberling
and stars Will Ferrell
, with the Krofft brothers serving as co-producers. Although the original series was aimed for children, the film's target audience is adults.
Sid and Marty Krofft
Sid Krofft and Marty Krofft , are a sibling team of television producers who were influential in children's television and variety show programs in the USA, particularly throughout the 1970s and early 1980s....
. During its original run, it was broadcast on the NBC television network
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
.
However, it also aired in daily syndication in the early 1980s as part of the "Krofft Superstars" package. In 1985, it returned to late Saturday mornings on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
as a replacement for the canceled Pryor's Place
Pryor's Place
Pryor's Place is a short-lived children's television series that aired on CBS. The live-action series starred comedian, Richard Pryor as himself.-Overview:Despite a reputation for profanity from Richard Pryor, Pryor's Place was aimed at children...
- also a Krofft production. It was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
in the 1990s. It has since become a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
and is now available on DVD. Krofft Productions remade the series in 1991, also titled Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost (1991 TV series)
Land of the Lost is a half-hour Saturday-morning children's series that debuted on ABC in the fall of 1991. The series was very popular, ranking #1 on Saturday Mornings during its first season, and ran for an additional season. Re-runs were later picked up by Nickelodeon...
, and a big budget film adaptation
Land of the Lost (film)
Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft TV series of the same name.-Plot:...
was released in 2009
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
.
Overview
Land of the Lost details the adventures of the Marshall family (father Rick, his son Will, and younger daughter Holly) who are trapped in an alternate universe inhabited by dinosaurDinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, a primate-type people called Pakuni, and aggressive humanoid/lizard creatures called Sleestak. The episode storylines focus on the family's efforts to survive and find a way back to their own world, but the exploration of the exotic inhabitants of the Land of the Lost is also an ongoing part of the story.
An article on renewed studio interest in feature film versions of Land of the Lost and H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf was a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-size puppet program. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast September 6, 1969 to September 4, 1971...
commented that "decision-makers in Hollywood, and some big-name stars, have personal recollections of plopping down on the family-room wall-to-wall shag
Shag (fabric)
A shag is a rug or carpet that has a deep pile, giving it a shaggy appearance. Shag carpeting is sometimes evoked as an example of the esthetic from the culture of the 1970s in the United States....
sometime between 1969
1969 in television
The year 1969 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events in 1969.For the American TV schedule, see: 1969-70 American network television schedule.-Events:...
and 1974
1974 in television
The year 1974 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1974.For the American TV schedule, see: 1974-75 American network television schedule.-Events:...
to tune in to multiple reruns of the Kroffts' Saturday morning live-action hits," and quoting Marty Krofft as saying that the head of Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, Ronald Meyer
Ronald Meyer
Ron Meyer is an American entertainment executive and former talent agent.-Early life:Ron Meyer was born to a Jewish family whose love of film influenced him at an early age. At fifteen Ron dropped out of high school, and at the age of seventeen he joined the United States Marine Corps, which he...
, and leaders at Sony Pictures all had been fans of Krofft programs.
A number of well-respected writers in the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
field contributed scripts to the series, including Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
, Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon was an American science fiction author.His most famous novel is More Than Human .-Biography:...
, Ben Bova
Ben Bova
Benjamin William Bova is an American science-fiction author and editor. He is the recipient of six Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor for his work at Analog Science Fiction in the 1970's.-Personal life:...
, and Norman Spinrad
Norman Spinrad
Norman Richard Spinrad is an American science fiction author.Born in New York City, Spinrad is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco,...
, and a number of people involved with Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, such as Dorothy "D.C." Fontana, Walter Koenig
Walter Koenig
Walter Marvin Koenig is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. He wrote the script for the 2008 science fiction legal thriller InAlienable.-Early life:...
, and David Gerrold
David Gerrold
Jerrold David Friedman , better known by his pen name David Gerrold, is an American science fiction author who started his career in 1966 while a college student by submitting an unsolicited story outline for the television series Star Trek. He was invited to submit several premises, and the one...
. Gerrold, Niven, and Fontana also contributed commentaries to the DVD of the first season.
The prolific Krofft team was influential in children's television, producing many oddly formatted, highly energetic, and special-effects heavy programs. Many Krofft shows have similar plots involving children accidentally trapped in other worlds, but Land of the Lost is the Kroffts' most serious treatment of the premise.
Plot and format
The Marshalls are brought to the mysterious world by means of a dimensional portal, a device used frequently throughout the series and a major part of its internal mythology. This portal opens when they are swept down a gigantic 1,000 foot waterfall. We later learn in what should have been the series finale (titled "Circle", which explains the time paradox) that this portal is actually opened by Rick Marshall himself, while in Enik's cave, as a way for the current Marshalls to return to earth, resolving the paradox and allowing Enik to also return to his time.Outfitted only for a short camping trip, the resourceful family takes shelter in a natural cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
and improvises the provisions and tools that they need to survive. Their most common and dangerous encounters are with dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, particularly a Tyrannosaurus rex they nickname "Grumpy" who frequents the location of their cave. However, many of the dinosaurs are herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
s, posing no threat to the Marshalls. One is a particularly tame young Brontosaurus
Apatosaurus
Apatosaurus , also known by the popular but scientifically deprecated synonym Brontosaurus, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived from about 154 to 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period . It was one of the largest land animals that ever existed, with an average length of and a...
whom Holly nicknames "Dopey," and whom the family looks upon as a pet.
They also do battle with the hostile Sleestak (lizard-men) and "cave men" called Pakuni (one of whom, Cha-Ka, they befriend), as well as a variety of dangerous creatures, mysterious technology
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series) geography and technology
Land of the Lost was a 1974-1976 TV series presenting the adventures of the Marshall family . The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and lizard-like creatures named Sleestak...
, and strange geography.
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series) geography and technology
Land of the Lost was a 1974-1976 TV series presenting the adventures of the Marshall family . The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and lizard-like creatures named Sleestak...
The main goal of the three is to find a way to return home. They are occasionally aided in this by the Altrusian castaway Enik. This storyline theme—marooned in a surreal, fantasy-filled jungle setting, continually attempting to return home—was in this sense somewhat similar to Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
and other such TV series. At the start of the third season Rick Marshall is accidentally returned to Earth alone, leaving his children behind, and is replaced by his brother Jack. Spencer Milligan's absence was explained by having Rick Marshall disappear after he was trying to use one of the pylons to get home, and that Jack had stumbled upon his niece and nephew after he embarked on a search of his own to find them.
Though the term "time doorway" is used throughout the series, Land of the Lost is not meant to portray an era in Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's history, but rather an enigmatic zone whose place and time are unknown. The original creators of these time portals were thought to be the ancestors of the Sleestak, called Altrusians, though later episodes raised some questions about this.
Many aspects of the Land of the Lost, including the time doorways and environmental processes, were controlled by the Pylons, metallic obelisk-shaped booths that were larger on the inside than the outside and housed matrix tables — stone tables studded with a grid of colored crystals. Uncontrolled time doorways result in the arrival of a variety of visitors and castaways in the Land.
Production
Land of the Lost is notable for its epic-scale concept, which suggested an expansive world with many fantastic forms of life and mysterious technology, all created on a children's series' limited production budget. To support the internal mythology, linguistLinguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
Victoria Fromkin
Victoria Fromkin
Victoria Fromkin was an American linguist who taught at UCLA. She studied slips of the tongue, mishearing, and other speech errors and applied this to phonology, the study of how the sounds of a language are organized in the mind.- Biography :Fromkin was born in Passaic, New Jersey as Victoria...
was even commissioned to create a special language for the Pakuni, which she based on the sounds of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n speech and attempted to build into the show in a gradual way that would allow viewers to learn the language over the course of many episodes. The series' intention was to create a realistic fantasy world, albeit relying heavily on children's acceptance of minor inconsistencies.
In a 1999 interview, first-season story editor
Story editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
and writer David Gerrold claimed that he largely created the show, based on photographs of various science fiction topoi that were bound together in a book and given him by Sid Krofft and Allan Foshko. http://lotl.popapostle.com/html/dginterview.html
It was a marked departure from the Krofft team's previous work, which mostly featured extremely stylized puppets and sets such as those in H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf was a children's television series produced by Sid and Marty Krofft in the United States. It was the first Krofft live-action, life-size puppet program. The seventeen episodes were originally broadcast September 6, 1969 to September 4, 1971...
and Lidsville
Lidsville
Lidsville was Sid and Marty Krofft's third television show following H.R. Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos . As did its predecessors, the series combined two types of characters: conventional actors in makeup filmed alongside performers in full mascot costumes, whose voices were dubbed in post-production...
.
The series for the first two seasons was shot on a modular indoor soundstage at General Service Studios in Hollywood, and made economical use of a small number of sets and scenic props which were rearranged frequently to suggest the ostensibly vast jungles, ancient cities and cave systems. As is traditional in many effect scenes, miniatures or scale-version settings were used for insertion of live-action scenes. Additional locations were often rendered using scale miniatures and chroma key
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
.
Spencer Milligan departed the show at the beginning of its third season for financial reasons. In addition to a salary increase, he believed it was only fair that he and the rest of the cast receive compensation for using their image on various merchandise. His character Rick Marshall was replaced by his brother, Jack Marshall, played by actor Ron Harper
Ron Harper (actor)
Ronald Robert "Ron" Harper is an American television and film actor.- Biography :Harper was born in Turtle Creek in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Mabel Grace Champion and George Harper...
. Milligan did not return for the brief scene, also shown in the credits of the third season, showing Rick Marshall being transported out of the Land of the Lost. One of the show's crew played the role instead, wearing a wig resembling Milligan's hair and standing with his back to the camera.
Non-human characters were portrayed by actors in latex rubber suits, or with heavy creature make-up. Dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s in the series were created using a combination of stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
animation miniatures, rear projection film effects
Rear projection effect
Rear projection is part of many in-camera effects cinematic techniquesin film production for combining foreground performances with pre-filmed backgrounds. It was widely used for many years in driving scenes, or to show other forms of "distant" background motion...
and occasional hand puppets for close-ups of dinosaur heads. Wesley Eure points out on a commentary track for Land of the Losts first season DVD that the Grumpy hand puppet has no hole in the back of its throat, even though it is often seen opening its mouth wide to roar. The series marked a rare example of matting
Matte (filmmaking)
Mattes are used in photography and special effects filmmaking to combine two or more image elements into a single, final image. Usually, mattes are used to combine a foreground image with a background image . In this case, the matte is the background painting...
filmed stop-motion sequences with videotape live action, so as to avoid the telltale blue 'fringe' produced in matting with less exacting processes. Though this occasionally worked very well, the difference in lighting between the video and film sequences sometimes brought inadvertent attention to the limitations of the process.
Special effects footage was frequently re-used. Additional visual effects were achieved using manual film overlay techniques, the low-tech ancestor to current motion control photography.
Cast
- Rick Marshall (Seasons 1 and 2) – Spencer MilliganSpencer MilliganSpencer Milligan is an American actor best known for playing Rick Marshall, the father of Will and Holly Marshall, on the first two seasons of the 1970s children science fiction TV series, Land of the Lost. The fictional Marshalls were an American family who found themselves transported to a...
- Uncle Jack Marshall (Season 3) – Ron HarperRon Harper (actor)Ronald Robert "Ron" Harper is an American television and film actor.- Biography :Harper was born in Turtle Creek in Allegheny County near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Mabel Grace Champion and George Harper...
- Will Marshall – Wesley EureWesley EureWesley Eure is an American actor.Eure came to prominence when he appeared in two long running television series in the 1970s, Days of our Lives and Land of the Lost. For several years, he appeared in both shows simultaneously...
- Holly Marshall – Kathy ColemanKathy ColemanKathy Coleman is a former American child actress who is known for playing Holly Marshall in the children's TV show Land of the Lost, a cult favorite...
- Cha-Ka – Philip PaleyPhilip PaleyPhillip Paley is an American actor possibly best recalled for his role as Cha-Ka in the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost.wiki...
- Sa – Sharon BairdSharon BairdSharon Baird is an American actress and dancer who is best known for having been a Mouseketeer.-Early life:Sharon Baird was born in Seattle, Washington to Eldon Baird, an aerospace worker, and Nikki Marcus, a future talent agent. She has one younger brother, Jimmy Baird, also a former child actor...
(Seasons 1 and 2) - Ta – Joe Giamalva (Season 1) and Scutter McKay (Season 2)
- Enik – Walker EdmistonWalker Edmiston-Career:Walker Edmiston was an American character actor and voice-over artist who was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Edmiston appeared on various television programs in character roles during the 1950s – 1970s, such as Gunsmoke, Mission: Impossible, Knots Landing, and The Dukes of Hazzard, all...
- The Zarn – Marvin MillerMarvin Miller (actor)Marvin Elliott Miller was an American film and voice-over actor. Possessing a deep, baritone voice, he began his career in radio in St. Louis, Missouri before becoming a Hollywood actor...
(voice) and Van Snowden (body) (Season 2) - Malak – Richard KielRichard KielRichard Dawson Kiel is an American actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Jaws in the James Bond movies The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker as well as the video game Everything or Nothing, and Mr. Larson in Happy Gilmore...
(Season 3) - Sleestak Leader – Jon Locke (Season 3)
- Sleestak – Dave Greenwood, Bill LaimbeerBill LaimbeerWilliam "Bill" Laimbeer, Jr. is a retired National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. Playing at center, the 6'11" Laimbeer was a four-time All-Star and integral part of the Pistons teams that won two championships...
, John LambertJohn Lambert (basketball)John Edward Lambert is a retired American professional basketball player.A 6'10" center from the University of Southern California, Lambert played in the National Basketball Association from 1975 to 1982 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Kansas City Kings, and the San Antonio Spurs...
, Cleveland Porter, Jack Tingley, Scott Fullerton, Mike Westra, Bill Boyd, David HarrisDavid HarrisDavid Harris may refer to:In politics and government:* David B. Harris, former Canadian Security Intelligence Service planner and terrorism consultant* David Harris , the Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee...
, Clarke Roberts
DVD releases
From 2004 to 2005, Rhino EntertainmentRhino Entertainment
Rhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
owned the rights to the show, and released seasons one through three, and a complete series package, with several bonus features, including commentaries, on all of the releases. Those DVDs have since gone out of print. On May 26, 2009, Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
released two complete series releases, one in original packaging, and the other enclosed in a Land of the Lost vintage lunchbox; the only bonus feature was a look at the film starring Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
. On October 13, 2009, Universal released the three seasons individually; the DVDs are identical to Universal's Complete Series Boxes.
Cultural impact
Despite the short run of the series, the show continued to be aired extensively through syndication. Based on that success, a remakeLand of the Lost (1991 TV series)
Land of the Lost is a half-hour Saturday-morning children's series that debuted on ABC in the fall of 1991. The series was very popular, ranking #1 on Saturday Mornings during its first season, and ran for an additional season. Re-runs were later picked up by Nickelodeon...
of the series began in 1991 and ran for two seasons. The DVDs of the series earned a Saturn nomination for best retro TV series release in 2004.
In the 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
, Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
plays a character named "Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly," a reference to the three main characters on Land of the Lost. (Ferrell later portrayed Rick Marshall in the 2009 film.) Comedians Daniele Gaither
Daniele Gaither
Daniele Gaither is an American comic actress. Gaither is most notable for her membership in the recurring cast of comedians on sketch comedy series MADtv.-Early life:...
, Nicole Parker
Nicole Parker
Nicole Frances Parker is an Emmy Award-winning actress and singer best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show MADtv. In July 2009, she concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked...
, Frank Caeti
Frank Caeti
Franklin "Frank" Caeti is an American actor and comedian known for his time as a cast member on the FOX sketch-series MADtv from 2005 to 2007. Caeti is also an alumnus of The Second City and Comedysportz in Chicago.- Education :...
and Bobby Lee spoofed the series on the season finale of MADtv in 2006.
On June 5, 2009 a feature film based on the 1974 TV series
Land of the Lost (film)
Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft TV series of the same name.-Plot:...
opened in U.S. theaters. Unlike the original series, which was a serious take on the story, the film is a comedy/parody. The film is directed by Brad Silberling
Brad Silberling
Bradley Mitchell Silberling is an American television and film director. He is married to the actress Amy Brenneman, who he met on the set of NYPD Blue and with whom he has two children, Charlotte Tucker and Bodhi Russell...
and stars Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
, with the Krofft brothers serving as co-producers. Although the original series was aimed for children, the film's target audience is adults.
See also
- List of Land of the Lost episodes
- Land of the Lost characters and species
- Land of the Lost geography and technologyLand of the Lost (1974 TV series) geography and technologyLand of the Lost was a 1974-1976 TV series presenting the adventures of the Marshall family . The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and lizard-like creatures named Sleestak...
- Land of the Lost (1991 TV series)Land of the Lost (1991 TV series)Land of the Lost is a half-hour Saturday-morning children's series that debuted on ABC in the fall of 1991. The series was very popular, ranking #1 on Saturday Mornings during its first season, and ran for an additional season. Re-runs were later picked up by Nickelodeon...
, the TV remake of the original series - Land of the Lost (film)Land of the Lost (film)Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft TV series of the same name.-Plot:...
, a 2009 film starring Will FerrellWill FerrellJohn William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
based on the 1974 series - Valley of the DinosaursValley of the DinosaursValley of the Dinosaurs is an animated television series from Hanna-Barbera that ran for 16 half-hour installments on CBS Saturday Morning from September 7, 1974 to September 4, 1976...
, a Hanna-BarberaHanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoon with a somewhat similar premise.