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Land of the Lost (1974 TV series) characters and species
Encyclopedia
Land of the Lost
was a 1974–1976 TV series relating the adventures of the Marshall family (including Will and Holly and their father, later replaced by their uncle). The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe
populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and anthropomorphic reptilian creatures named Sleestak. This article concerns these characters, along with other human and alien visitors to the Land of the Lost.
Travel to the Land of the Lost is almost always accidental, via "time worm holes" that appear to glow and/or billow mist. Time doorways sometimes appear to open and close spontaneously, but they can also be opened and controlled by Pylon crystal matrix tables and by a matrix table in the Lost City. Time doorways obey a form of temporal energy conservation law; whenever something enters the Land of the Lost via a time doorway, something else must then leave it, though not necessarily at exactly the same time. This aspect was abandoned in the show's third and final season, after new producers took over and the show's mythology was substantially changed.
At least one Pylon periodically travels to other universes, acting as a sort of "interdimensional elevator", triggered by a conjunction of the Land's moons that occurs every three to four years. One of the universes it stops at along the way appears to be the Marshalls' home Earth.
Rick Marshall, his son Will and his young daughter Holly, were rafting on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon when they were caught in "the greatest earthquake ever known." The river was diverted over a cliff, and as the Marshalls' raft plunged over the resulting waterfall they struck a time doorway partway down. Trapped in the Land of the Lost with only the minimal camping equipment they'd had on the raft, they make their camp in a natural cave partway up the face of a cliff they call the High Bluff.
The three of them are from California
, though Rick grew up on Ford Street in Indianapolis
and attended Fillmore High there. The Marshalls formerly lived in Harrisville, Indiana. Mrs. Marshall died of unspecified causes when Will and Holly were very young, and neither of them remembers her very clearly. Rick describes her as being headstrong and beautiful, just like Holly, and apparently loved her deeply. Will and Holly frequently suffer bouts of sibling rivalry, though they overcome such issues when the situation becomes difficult enough. Will is the most adventurous of the Marshalls, frequently taking "shortcuts" as an excuse to explore new territory and tampering with Pylons to determine their function. Holly suffers from a fear of heights.
At the beginning of the third season, Rick Marshall unexpectedly returns home via a time doorway in a newly discovered pylon; Will and Holly's uncle Jack Marshall, who had been searching for them for six months by following the same river route along which they'd originally disappeared, experiences another earthquake and falls through a doorway into the Land. At the same time, another earthquake occurs in the Land itself that buries High Bluff along with the Marshalls' equipment and provisions. Therefore, the Marshalls move into a temple near the Lost City instead (not the same as the Builder's Temple).
The series ends without showing the Marshalls' ultimate fate, though there are some ambiguous suggestions of it. In "Elsewhen", an adult version of Holly visits via a time doorway from the future, and in another episode a mysterious "repairman" confidently predicts that the Marshalls will someday escape the Land of the Lost.
An alternate universe version of the Marshalls (who wear clothing that "our" Marshalls lost upon entry into the Land of the Lost, and who did not suffer the loss of their mother) appear in "Split Personality."
It is discovered in the last first-season episode that the Marshalls were their own counterbalance; their death in the Land of the Lost in that episode is what causes the time doorway that drew them there in the first place to open. "Circle" was intended to serve as a "final episode" in the event that the show was not renewed, but since two more seasons were videotaped after this episode depicted their escape (including the seemingly incompatible substitution of Jack for Rick), much debate has ensued in the fan community over exactly what this paradox
meant for the Marshalls.
In the 2009 movie
, the three characters are substantially different. Although given names are retained, they are no longer related to each other, and dysfunctional personality traits are added for comic effect.
artillery
man who has been in the Land of the Lost for many decades. He lives in the caves near where the river goes underground, obsessively mining the rich veins of light crystals there. His only companion is a cannon
named "Sarah" with which he drives away the occasional group of Sleestak attackers using home-made gunpowder; he reports that Sleestak "taste a whole lot like lobster
. But then again, not like lobster, if you know what I mean." Otherwise, his diet seems to consist solely of fish and wild mushrooms. The Marshalls encounter him when they attempt to ride the river out of the Land in the episode "Downstream
", but he ultimately returns to his cave rather than face the dinosaurs in the jungle outside. Apparently, Collie is turned to stone by Medusa (see Native Inhabitants section below), appearing in her garden during the third-season episode "Medusa."
Collie was played by Walker Edmiston
, the same actor who later played Enik the Altrusian. The original script for "Downstream" called for him to have a rifle, but concerns over young viewers being inspired to play with firearms resulted in its substitution with a cannon.
's Revolutionary Army
who arrived in the Land of the Lost some time prior to the Marshalls. Koenig and his companion Harry Potts explored the Land extensively in search of a way back to Earth.
When the Marshalls first arrive, they discover a stone pillar in the jungle where Koenig had written "Beware of Sleestak" with chalk
. The Marshalls only learn much later who had been responsible for this warning, when they discovered Koenig's journal. Koenig claims to have dubbed the Sleestak thus in honor of Major Joshua Sleestak. Koenig claims in his journal to have taught the Pakuni a few English words.
Koenig met his death when he followed Potts' path into the Lost City. Koenig went into the third entrance, "where the pillars end," which eventually led through a narrow passageway into the "Devil's Cauldron." This was a lava chamber, with a narrow ledge, where he became trapped when the lava level rose, reviving the Sleestak. He preferred to await death in the lava chamber, rather than facing the Sleestak who had gathered outside the chamber to catch him. The Marshalls find Koenig's skeleton in the chamber and narrowly escape a similar fate.
) of Fort Worth
, Texas
is a hypersonic
glider
pilot from 20 years in Earth's future relative to when the Marshalls became trapped in the Land of the Lost. As shown in the episode "Hurricane", he becomes briefly trapped in the Land of the Lost when Will, tinkering with the crystal matrix table in a Pylon located high on a mountain, causes a time doorway to open high above the ground. Jackson's glider was re-entering Earth's atmosphere over Ecuador
, returning from a routine transit between Phoenix Port and Space Station 5. His glider's tail is suddenly severed, and the next thing he knows he is hanging from a tree by his parachute. With the help of the Marshalls, Jackson soon manages to return via the same time doorway, but the Marshalls cannot follow since Earth's end of the time doorway is 15 miles above the ground and there is only one parachute.
However, in the original script Jackson makes an offhand remark about Texas being its own country prompting a suspicious Rick to compare the currency in his wallet with Jackson's. He discovers that not only is Jackson from the future but from an alternate timeline, where Texas was not part of the United States and oil (not gold) is the standard.
), is introduced in the eponymous second-season episode. The Zarn is a humanoid alien who is invisible except for white spots of light scattered over his surface; he doesn't even leave footprints when he walks on soft soil. His starship became trapped in the Land of the Lost while traveling through hyperspace
. The Zarn has powerful psionic abilities, able to read minds at a great distance and telekinetically levitate objects. However, this powerful telepathy
is also the Zarn's greatest weakness; intense, angry emotions in people nearby cause the Zarn great pain, and the spots of light on his invisible body turn red in reaction.
The Zarn is apparently a researcher of some kind whose mission involved the study of other intelligent species before he became trapped in the Land. Since the Zarn is very sensitive to others' emotions, he creates android "research assistants" to interact with them, programming them from the memories of people he has scanned. The androids are totally convincing although their hands are cold to the touch. They have histories that incorporate great amounts of detail based on the knowledge of the scanned subject, to an eerie and suspicious degree. When the Marshalls first encounter the Zarn he creates an android named Sharon who is based on Rick Marshall's memories, such that she claims to have grown up in the same town as him, gone to the same school, and have the same interests. The excessive coincidences eventually give Sharon away, however, at which point the Zarn causes her to self-destruct.
The Zarn also has a "combat" robot that he named Fred, a 10-foot-tall dinosaur-like armless biped robot with a tail, a long neck and beaked head with glowing eyes. Fred is very strong, but fairly slow. Rick and Will destroy Fred by luring it to a mountain top during a lightning storm. The model for Fred was a metal armature used by special effects artist Wah Chang
to animate Junior the dinosaur, sans "flesh."
The Zarn is extremely overconfident, arrogant, and certain of his superior knowledge, even when it actually has holes. The Zarn is also quite petty, using telekinesis to play tricks on people he dislikes and to sow discord. He claims this behavior is "research". He frequently mocks people by "speaking" telepathically in the voices of people they know, saying hurtful things dredged from their memories. At one point the Zarn claimed that the emotion of pity
was the most painful one for him to be exposed to, so perhaps some of this behavior is intended to prevent that. The Zarn also appears in "The Babysitter", wherein he disparages various emotions he claims to have given up a thousand years before.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Zarn (voiced by Leonard Nimoy
) is a red-skinned Altrusian who was murdered by Enik while relaying a future message for any unfortunate soul whom he tricks into aiding him. Though Enik uses the first part of the holographic message, Holly uncovers the full message by accident along with the Zarn's skeleton.
) is a mysterious figure who appears to the Marshalls as a pudgy, balding man in his late 40s with a British accent. He claims to be a "repairman" for the sun (although probably just the Sun pylon) and carries an umbrella and a valise with him. Although apparently human, Blandings displays considerable - nearly clairvoyant - knowledge about both the Marshalls and the Land of the Lost and the implements he carries with him are anything but ordinary. His umbrella acts something like an air conditioner keeping himself and Uncle Jack cool during the sweltering heat of increasing solar flare activity. Much like the pylons, his valise appears extradimensional in nature and from it Blandings can produce anything he wants. He also carries an amulet which produces a forcefield which he uses to repel the Sleestak. Although a formidable being, Blandings offers hints that he was sent by and actually serves a higher power.
), the self-proclaimed "God of the Cro-Magnon", is a bit of a cypher. For a Cro-Magnon, he is quite evolved and possesses knowledge more on a Bronze Age level as he carries a sword, knows what a ship is, and has the ability to divert an underground river into the Sleestak egg caves if they don't pay tribute. In addition, he speaks fluent English and fully understands the concept of time travel as he asks Jack what age and time he comes from. He also claims to be "King of the Teutons". While his true origins and title (if any) remain unknown, what is clear is that Malak is an opportunistic barbarian who is not above lying, stealing, threatening, or bullying people to get what he wants. How and when he came to the Land of the Lost is never revealed.
's megafauna
consists primarily of dinosaurs; species noted included Coelophysis
, Tyrannosaurus
, Allosaurus
, Triceratops
, Apatosaurus
(described in the series as Brontosaurus
), and Pteranodon
. There are also iguanas, wild blue and red pig
s, pink and blue chicken
-like birds, fish, rhinoceros, skunk, goats, guenia pigs, large beetles (called "Tula" by Enik), bamboo, and giant varieties of modern berries and vegetables. It is unknown whether they were placed here by the Altrusians or if they came to the Land of the Lost accidentally. Rick suggests that the plants grow unusually large due to the nature of the soil. There were also a number of species that did not appear closely related to known Earth life: the aforementioned Sleestak, a large venus-flytrap
-like plant capable of consuming prey the size of a large rodent using a paralytic poison, a two-headed Elasmosaurus
-like creature (LuLu), and a fire-breathing Dimetrodon
-like creature (Torchy).
Several dinosaurs that the Marshalls encountered frequently were given names, for example, Spike, for at least two Triceratops; Spot, for many Coelophysis; and Dopey, the baby Brontosaurus that they sometimes used as a pack animal
, along with his adopted mother, Emily (who, according to Gerrold, was named after Emily Bronte
).
It should be noted that LuLu and Torchy both appear in the third season of the series, the former as a result of a earthquake that brought her to the surface. Both monsters came into the show as the result when the consistency and style of the series' writing appeared to suffer a significant change; one episode in the third season also features the legendary Greek
Medusa
, for example. Another species that made an appearance in the third season was a Yeti
-like creature called Tappa and a similar creature named Kona, as well as a unicorn-pony called a Toe-Ki that lives high in the mountains, prevented from descending into the jungle by a guardian statue left behind by the Altrusians.
The 2009 movie incarnation included not only some of the dinosaurs in the original series, but also Velociraptors
, Compsognathus
and a giant crab
.
, Grumpy was first of the Dinosaurs the Marshall family encountered, occasionally chasing them to High Bluff, being tall enough to look inside as the Marshalls ram a sharpened log they called the "flyswatter" into Grumpy's open mouth and drive him away. Holly speculates that Grumpy continued to return due to the large quantities of a ground-hugging fern-like plant she dubs "dinosaur nip" that grows in the area.
The 2009 movie incarnation of Grumpy, like the other dinosaurs, makes a meal of any unfortunate human who ends up in the Land of the Lost. Grumpy seems to have a vendetta against Marshall due to him insulting his intelligence, and focuses all attention on him alone allowing Will, Holly, and Cha-ka to seek cover. In their final battle Grumpy ingests Rick who then passes through his intestinal tract dislodging a blockage calming Grumpy and endearing Rick to him to the point that Grumpy saves Will, Cha-ka, Holly, from swarming Sleestak allowing them to escape into the pylon in chase of Enik.
, Big Alice dwells around the Lost City and is referred to by the Sleestaks as "Selima", meaning "Protector" in their language due to her role in keeping predators away from their eggs. She even tangled with Grumpy on occasion whenever he trespasses on her territory. She also had her own egg that hatched into her son Junior.
The 2009 movie incarnation of Big Alice made a minor appearance, attacking Marshall at the desert before ingesting a tank of liquid nitrogen
that causes her to explode.
-like lizard
in the episode "Stone Soup", for example). They know how to create fire
using flint
s, and manufacture simple tools such as the sharpened sticks they use as defensive weapons. Pakuni display significant skill with representational art and have superstitious rituals that usually include chanting but they do not appear to understand music. They live in small family groups that construct strong bamboo
enclosures as shelters. The family groups are territorial but they are quite capable of forming alliances and friendships with neighbors when resources are plentiful and they understand the concept of trade. Young Pakuni undergo a rite of adulthood in which they must steal the egg of a large predatory dinosaur to prove their worth.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Pakuni resemble their original series selves, yet live in greater numbers. The females of Cha-Ka's tribe resemble scantily-clad human females, although Cha-Ka claimed that all the female Paku were ugly.
The Paku language is relatively primitive. It was created for the show by the linguist
Victoria Fromkin
, and is similar to the Kwa languages
of West Africa
. It has regular ante-penultimate stress
, homorganic nasals
, nasalization
of vowel
s before nasals, and deletion of final vowels before vowel initial suffix
es. The language eventually had about 200 words; "Pakuni" simply means "people" in this language.
and splint
ed Cha-Ka's broken leg. Subsequently, Cha-Ka forms a close friendship with the family and with Holly in particular, helping them whenever possible and occasionally visits the Marshalls in their cave in High Bluff. Much of Cha-Ka's moments range from his attempt to undergo the rite of adulthood to facing a mysterious being who saw him worthy of advancing on a intellectual level, resulting with him gaining the ability to speak near perfect English, play an alto recorder-like wind-instrument, walk and run upright, and learn to make fire by Season 3. After being separated from Ta and Sa after the earthquake that marks the beginning of season three, Cha-Ka moves in with the Marshalls at the temple.
The 2009 movie incarnation of Cha-Ka (or Chaka) is a Pakuni prince under a death sentence for immoral behavior, who is rescued by Marshall and company seconds before he would have been executed. Chaka follows them for the rest of the movie and even brings Will to his homeland at the end of the movie. Chaka's accomplishments in the film include stealing Marshall's wallet, introducing Marshall, Holly and Will to an edible narcotic fruit, and helping them get the amplifier back from a nest full of hatching pterodactyls.
) occasionally seems to be a moderating influence on Ta, but for the most part serves as a follower. Ta is sometimes considered to be the "alpha" Paku or a "witch doctor". He has knowledge of some of the workings of the Land of the Lost, which he disguises with a clever use of herbs and phony chanting and dancing to make it appear that he controls them. For example, he understands that the "Pylon Express" only opens when the three moons are aligned and so times his own "opening ritual" to coincide with that, and he knows that the effects of the poison from the carnivorous plant are only temporary and so hurries to sell the Marshalls a "cure" before it wears off on its own. Both Ta and Sa get separated from Cha-Ka during the earthquake that marks the beginning of season three and were not seen there after, though it was mentioned their tracks were seen "ending at a dead-end cliff-face and disapearing" by Will in Season 3, Episode 8.
oid features; they have scaly skin with frills around the neck, bulbous unblinking eyes, pincer-like hands, stubby tails, and a single blunt horn on top of the head, and bear a resemblance to the hypothetical "Dinosauroid". Sleestaks often communicate with a hissing sound that rarely changes in characteristics. However, like their Altrusian ancestors, they possess some rudimentary form of telepathy as well. Sleestaks are more sophisticated than Pakuni and are able to manufacture crossbow
s, rope
, nets, periscopes and other relatively advanced technologies. Sleestak are typically equipped with a crossbow and a quiver full of metal bolts which hang from their waist. The Sleestak have a current population of about 7,000 according to the Library of Skulls, but there were only three Sleestak costumes available for the show's production, which sometimes required creative editing to create the illusion that they were that numerous.
Sleestaks live in the Lost City, an underground tunnel complex originally constructed by the Altrusians. They hate bright light and rarely venture out during the day. Sleestaks also have a "hibernation
season" during which they cocoon themselves into rocky alcoves using some sort of webbing; cool air keeps them in hibernation, and the heat from lava
in a pool that the character Peter Koenig (see below) dubbed "Devil's Cauldron" inside the caverns of the Lost City revives them again on a regular schedule. The Sleestaks are very defensive of the Lost City. They know that their ancestors built it, but do not know how or why. They have occasionally tried exploring beyond the chasm that separates the Lost City from the rest of the Land, but their expeditions generally do not return; they consider the City to be their only refuge. However, after the earthquake at the beginning of season 3 the Sleestaks are afraid and try to kick the Marshalls out of the temple. Fortunately, Jack gets the door shut and the Sleestaks are trapped outside.
The Sleestaks have encountered many other humans who have become trapped in the Land of the Lost before the Marshalls arrive, and regard humans as a terrible threat; they attempt to capture and sacrifice humans to their god (an unseen beast who dwells in a smoky pit) at every opportunity.
Altrusian moths are considered sacred by the Sleestak and required for fertilization of their eggs. The Sleestak hunt them when they emerge during the night. In "Blackout", the Sleestaks scheme to cause perpetual night by disabling a second clock pylon, allowing them to capture the Altrusian moths. The Sleestak plan to devour large quantities of the moths so that in one thousand hours, a thousand new Sleestak will be born allowing them to resume control over the Land of the Lost. Unfortunately for the Sleestak (but fortunately for the Marshalls), the cold of the long night also begins killing the moths.
(According to Wina Sturgeon's original story for "The Hole", the Sleestak ate bugs as a regular part of their diet and used a special drill attachment for their crossbow bolts to dig them out of trees)
Sleestak eggs are gestated in a communal hatchery. The Sleestaks capture live animals and tie them up there, leaving them for the young to feed on when they hatch. Occasionally, a Sleestak will be hatched that is a "throwback" to their Altrusian ancestors, being born with greater intelligence and with an innate knowledge of Altrusian history and technology—though not, for some reason, knowledge of the pylons or matrix operation. The other Sleestaks regard these throwbacks as a threat, and so they are also sacrificed to the Sleestak god when detected. One such throwback, named S'latch, is encountered by the Marshalls in the episode "The Hole", but S'latch is never seen again thereafter.
The Sleestak are governed by both a Council and a Leader. The Sleestak Leader wears a distinctive pendant and Enik occasionally negotiates with him as in the episode "Fair Trade
". The Council often consults the "Library of Skulls" where several skulls belonging to their ancient ancestors are somehow able to communicate with them and dispense advice. These skulls seem to be from the era when the Altrusians were devolving into the Sleestaks, as they are still quite intelligent and capable of speech, but are also very hostile and warlike (at least in the third season).
The Pakuni word for Sleestak is "Sarisataka".
Ex-Detroit Piston and current WNBA coach Bill Laimbeer
played a Sleestak before attending Notre Dame
. He was a Palos Verdes High School
student, and the show raided their basketball team for tall people to play Sleestaks.
Though only three appear in the 1991 TV series, the Sleestaks are made to be more reptilian in nature and just as violent.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Sleestaks resemble their original series selves, yet can open their mouths wide to reveal two sets of teeth. Made to be more feral in nature and able to venture in daylight, the Sleestaks answer to either the Library of Skulls, what remained of the Altrusians, or Enik while he possessed the crystal to control them. The Sleestaks also have a high reproductive rate and sex drive and are able to lay a large number of eggs.
One Altrusian, named Enik, is a recurring character in the series, introduced in the episode "The Stranger
". He travels to the current time accidentally via a time doorway. He initially believes himself to be in the distant past, but upon discovering the ruins of the Lost City, he theorizes that his people degenerated into modern Sleestak when they failed to control their hate and anger. Rick Marshall speculates that it was not the presence of hate that doomed the Altrusians, but rather the absence of compassion; Enik considers this to be a cogent argument and plans to return to his people to warn them of this flaw in their philosophy
.
Altrusians have a very strict — but self-serving — code of honor; they cannot allow others to show more self-control or make greater personal sacrifices than themselves. One can thus shame them into making sacrifices. In "The Search", Will (unintentionally) convinces Enik to pass up a chance to return to his own time by first passing up an opportunity of his own to return to Earth. Enik also claims that Altrusians are incapable of lying although clearly they can "bend" the truth (or not give full disclosure of all facts) if it's in their best interest to do so. In fact, it appears that Altrusians seldom do anything that does not benefit them in some way. While Enik told Jack Marshall that he grasped the concept of morality, he concluded that it was "not logical". Also handed down from the Altrusians was the concept of "Altrusian grace." This meant that someone (including a human) who helped a Sleestak would be allowed safe passage to and from the Library of Skulls to ask the Index Skull a single question.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Altrusians resemble their original series selves, yet without their tunics (in the film, such a tunic is considered the mark of a criminal). All of the Altrusians are killed by Enik, producing the Library of Skulls.
) introduced in the episode "The Stranger
", is one of the original Altrusian inhabitants from before their civilization fell, though he initially believes himself to be trapped in the Altrusians' pre-civilized period. However, he too fell through a time doorway to become trapped in the current era of the Land of the Lost. He introduced himself as being one of the "keepers of the time portals" although it's unclear if he is referring to a select number of Altrusians tasked with that responsibility or his entire race. As such, he is equipped with a piece of Altrusian technology called a Magetti, a large crystal suspended in a tetrahedral frame that Enik describes as a "divining rod" that can be used to locate and fix dimensional doorways, determining where and when they would open. The Magetti has a self-destruct mechanism that is triggered when its user experiences sufficiently-strong hostile emotions; this is a built-in safeguard to prevent it from falling into violent hands. Will Marshall inadvertently destroys it and forces Enik to rely on a different and less-suitable device (a "companion piece" to the Magetti that is worn around his neck as a pendant) to continue his efforts to return to his own time and warn his people of their fate.
Enik is quite contemptuous of the current state of the Sleestaks since the fall of the Altrusian civilization, though he feels compelled to aid them because they are his future, albeit contemptible. The Sleestaks return the contempt, referring to him as "the dwarf", and fear that he intends to seize power over them. He is equipped with a bracelet of red crystals he can use to cause beings to be overcome by hallucinations of their greatest fear, so the Sleestaks generally give Enik a wide berth. He spends much of his time during the series in the Lost City, working with a matrix table there attempting to open a time doorway home.
In addition to his shorter stature and different skin coloration, Enik is distinguished from the Sleestak in that he wears a distinctive red garment (Sleestak do not wear clothing). This garment was added to his costume when the wetsuit Enik's skin was crafted from shrank after rubber scales were glued to it, requiring slits to be cut across the front in order for Walker Edmiston to fit inside.
A being resembling Enik, suggesting that his appearance is typical of Altrusians - or possibly Enik himself - was seen in what is presumably the Lost City from the time of the Altrusians.
Walter Koenig
, the scriptwriter of "The Stranger", originally named this character "Eneg", in honor of Gene Roddenberry
. As noted in an audio commentary on the DVD, the spelling was changed to Enik (reverse of the Greek root word for "cinema") by David Gerrold, before the episode "The Stranger" was taped.
Many episodes refer to or take place in Enik's cave, which contains a time doorway and lies near the Sleestak god's pit, and is accessible through the central of the three entrances into the Lost City. Enik also appears in other episodes, including "The Search", "Circle", "Fair Trade" and "Blackout."
The 2009 movie incarnation of Enik (John Boylan) is the principal villain, committing the genocide of his people before being imprisoned for ten millennia, donning the tunic which symbolizes his deceit. Possessing a crystal, Enik can control the Sleestaks and he intended to use them to invade other dimensions. With Marshall's unwitting assistance, he nearly succeeded in making the Earth the first of his targets. But in the end, Enik's plan is thwarted as he is last seen being chased off by the Sleestaks upon losing his means to control them.
Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)
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....
was a 1974–1976 TV series relating the adventures of the Marshall family (including Will and Holly and their father, later replaced by their uncle). The Marshalls become trapped in a pocket universe
Pocket universe
-In science:A pocket universe is a concept in inflationary theory, proposed by Alan Guth. It defines a realm like the one that contains the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones.-In fiction:...
populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni, and anthropomorphic reptilian creatures named Sleestak. This article concerns these characters, along with other human and alien visitors to the Land of the Lost.
Travel to the Land of the Lost is almost always accidental, via "time worm holes" that appear to glow and/or billow mist. Time doorways sometimes appear to open and close spontaneously, but they can also be opened and controlled by Pylon crystal matrix tables and by a matrix table in the Lost City. Time doorways obey a form of temporal energy conservation law; whenever something enters the Land of the Lost via a time doorway, something else must then leave it, though not necessarily at exactly the same time. This aspect was abandoned in the show's third and final season, after new producers took over and the show's mythology was substantially changed.
At least one Pylon periodically travels to other universes, acting as a sort of "interdimensional elevator", triggered by a conjunction of the Land's moons that occurs every three to four years. One of the universes it stops at along the way appears to be the Marshalls' home Earth.
The Marshalls
Rick, Will, and Holly Marshall are the human characters on Land of the Lost.Rick Marshall, his son Will and his young daughter Holly, were rafting on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon when they were caught in "the greatest earthquake ever known." The river was diverted over a cliff, and as the Marshalls' raft plunged over the resulting waterfall they struck a time doorway partway down. Trapped in the Land of the Lost with only the minimal camping equipment they'd had on the raft, they make their camp in a natural cave partway up the face of a cliff they call the High Bluff.
The three of them are from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, though Rick grew up on Ford Street in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and attended Fillmore High there. The Marshalls formerly lived in Harrisville, Indiana. Mrs. Marshall died of unspecified causes when Will and Holly were very young, and neither of them remembers her very clearly. Rick describes her as being headstrong and beautiful, just like Holly, and apparently loved her deeply. Will and Holly frequently suffer bouts of sibling rivalry, though they overcome such issues when the situation becomes difficult enough. Will is the most adventurous of the Marshalls, frequently taking "shortcuts" as an excuse to explore new territory and tampering with Pylons to determine their function. Holly suffers from a fear of heights.
At the beginning of the third season, Rick Marshall unexpectedly returns home via a time doorway in a newly discovered pylon; Will and Holly's uncle Jack Marshall, who had been searching for them for six months by following the same river route along which they'd originally disappeared, experiences another earthquake and falls through a doorway into the Land. At the same time, another earthquake occurs in the Land itself that buries High Bluff along with the Marshalls' equipment and provisions. Therefore, the Marshalls move into a temple near the Lost City instead (not the same as the Builder's Temple).
The series ends without showing the Marshalls' ultimate fate, though there are some ambiguous suggestions of it. In "Elsewhen", an adult version of Holly visits via a time doorway from the future, and in another episode a mysterious "repairman" confidently predicts that the Marshalls will someday escape the Land of the Lost.
An alternate universe version of the Marshalls (who wear clothing that "our" Marshalls lost upon entry into the Land of the Lost, and who did not suffer the loss of their mother) appear in "Split Personality."
It is discovered in the last first-season episode that the Marshalls were their own counterbalance; their death in the Land of the Lost in that episode is what causes the time doorway that drew them there in the first place to open. "Circle" was intended to serve as a "final episode" in the event that the show was not renewed, but since two more seasons were videotaped after this episode depicted their escape (including the seemingly incompatible substitution of Jack for Rick), much debate has ensued in the fan community over exactly what this paradox
Paradox
Similar to Circular reasoning, A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition...
meant for the Marshalls.
In the 2009 movie
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:...
, the three characters are substantially different. Although given names are retained, they are no longer related to each other, and dysfunctional personality traits are added for comic effect.
Jefferson Davis Collie III
Jefferson Davis Collie III is an old and somewhat deranged ConfederateConfederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
man who has been in the Land of the Lost for many decades. He lives in the caves near where the river goes underground, obsessively mining the rich veins of light crystals there. His only companion is a cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
named "Sarah" with which he drives away the occasional group of Sleestak attackers using home-made gunpowder; he reports that Sleestak "taste a whole lot like lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
. But then again, not like lobster, if you know what I mean." Otherwise, his diet seems to consist solely of fish and wild mushrooms. The Marshalls encounter him when they attempt to ride the river out of the Land in the episode "Downstream
Downstream (Land of the Lost)
"Downstream" is the fourth episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Larry Niven and directed by Dennis Steinmetz, it first aired in the United States on September 28, 1974 on NBC...
", but he ultimately returns to his cave rather than face the dinosaurs in the jungle outside. Apparently, Collie is turned to stone by Medusa (see Native Inhabitants section below), appearing in her garden during the third-season episode "Medusa."
Collie was played by Walker Edmiston
Walker 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 same actor who later played Enik the Altrusian. The original script for "Downstream" called for him to have a rifle, but concerns over young viewers being inspired to play with firearms resulted in its substitution with a cannon.
Rani
"Rani" (Erica Hagen) is actually an adult version of Holly from an unspecified point in the future. In "Elsewhen" she arrives through an open time doorway in Enik's cave to give aid to her younger self after Holly runs off and leaves her family in one of the lower caverns. She appears to be in her early to mid-20s, with shoulder-length blonde hair and wears a simple yet elegant gown made from a pale blue fabric. Around her neck, she wears a pendant with a large blue crystal set into it with smaller yellow crystals framing it. She offers three identical pendants to her younger self which "work like walkie-talkies" and will allow her to communicate with other wearers over long distance. She has a scar on the inside of her right arm which she received "while helping her brother out of a difficult situation". She convinces Holly that her family sees her as "the baby of the family" and are therefore overprotective of her and that she needs to help them any way she can. She also confesses with great sadness that "they won't always be there". Rani also tells her that in order to help them she must overcome her fear of heights by looking at the earth. Holly finally realizes who she is after she receives a fresh scar identical to Rani's while fighting the Sleestak "god" in order to buy time for her father to haul an injured Will up and out of the pit. She also claims that "Rani" was her secret name for herself that no one else knew about. Rani says that she is proof that her family can escape the Land one day and disappears through the open doorway.Peter Koenig and Harry Potts
Peter Koenig was a private in General George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
's Revolutionary Army
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
who arrived in the Land of the Lost some time prior to the Marshalls. Koenig and his companion Harry Potts explored the Land extensively in search of a way back to Earth.
When the Marshalls first arrive, they discover a stone pillar in the jungle where Koenig had written "Beware of Sleestak" with chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
. The Marshalls only learn much later who had been responsible for this warning, when they discovered Koenig's journal. Koenig claims to have dubbed the Sleestak thus in honor of Major Joshua Sleestak. Koenig claims in his journal to have taught the Pakuni a few English words.
Koenig met his death when he followed Potts' path into the Lost City. Koenig went into the third entrance, "where the pillars end," which eventually led through a narrow passageway into the "Devil's Cauldron." This was a lava chamber, with a narrow ledge, where he became trapped when the lava level rose, reviving the Sleestak. He preferred to await death in the lava chamber, rather than facing the Sleestak who had gathered outside the chamber to catch him. The Marshalls find Koenig's skeleton in the chamber and narrowly escape a similar fate.
Beauregard Jackson
Beauregard Jackson (Ron MasakRon Masak
Ron Masak is an American actor. He began on stage and much of his work is in theater. His first screen role was as the Harmonica Man in "The Purple Testament," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1960...
) of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
is a hypersonic
Hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
glider
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
pilot from 20 years in Earth's future relative to when the Marshalls became trapped in the Land of the Lost. As shown in the episode "Hurricane", he becomes briefly trapped in the Land of the Lost when Will, tinkering with the crystal matrix table in a Pylon located high on a mountain, causes a time doorway to open high above the ground. Jackson's glider was re-entering Earth's atmosphere over Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, returning from a routine transit between Phoenix Port and Space Station 5. His glider's tail is suddenly severed, and the next thing he knows he is hanging from a tree by his parachute. With the help of the Marshalls, Jackson soon manages to return via the same time doorway, but the Marshalls cannot follow since Earth's end of the time doorway is 15 miles above the ground and there is only one parachute.
However, in the original script Jackson makes an offhand remark about Texas being its own country prompting a suspicious Rick to compare the currency in his wallet with Jackson's. He discovers that not only is Jackson from the future but from an alternate timeline, where Texas was not part of the United States and oil (not gold) is the standard.
The Zarn
The Zarn, (portrayed by Van Snowden and voiced by 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...
), is introduced in the eponymous second-season episode. The Zarn is a humanoid alien who is invisible except for white spots of light scattered over his surface; he doesn't even leave footprints when he walks on soft soil. His starship became trapped in the Land of the Lost while traveling through hyperspace
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
. The Zarn has powerful psionic abilities, able to read minds at a great distance and telekinetically levitate objects. However, this powerful telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
is also the Zarn's greatest weakness; intense, angry emotions in people nearby cause the Zarn great pain, and the spots of light on his invisible body turn red in reaction.
The Zarn is apparently a researcher of some kind whose mission involved the study of other intelligent species before he became trapped in the Land. Since the Zarn is very sensitive to others' emotions, he creates android "research assistants" to interact with them, programming them from the memories of people he has scanned. The androids are totally convincing although their hands are cold to the touch. They have histories that incorporate great amounts of detail based on the knowledge of the scanned subject, to an eerie and suspicious degree. When the Marshalls first encounter the Zarn he creates an android named Sharon who is based on Rick Marshall's memories, such that she claims to have grown up in the same town as him, gone to the same school, and have the same interests. The excessive coincidences eventually give Sharon away, however, at which point the Zarn causes her to self-destruct.
The Zarn also has a "combat" robot that he named Fred, a 10-foot-tall dinosaur-like armless biped robot with a tail, a long neck and beaked head with glowing eyes. Fred is very strong, but fairly slow. Rick and Will destroy Fred by luring it to a mountain top during a lightning storm. The model for Fred was a metal armature used by special effects artist Wah Chang
Wah Chang
Wah Ming Chang was a Chinese American designer, sculptor, and artist. He is known primarily for his sculpture and the props he designed for Star Trek , including the tricorder, and communicator...
to animate Junior the dinosaur, sans "flesh."
The Zarn is extremely overconfident, arrogant, and certain of his superior knowledge, even when it actually has holes. The Zarn is also quite petty, using telekinesis to play tricks on people he dislikes and to sow discord. He claims this behavior is "research". He frequently mocks people by "speaking" telepathically in the voices of people they know, saying hurtful things dredged from their memories. At one point the Zarn claimed that the emotion of pity
Pity
Pity originally means feeling for others, particularly feelings of sadness or sorrow, and was once used in a comparable sense to the more modern words "sympathy" and "empathy"...
was the most painful one for him to be exposed to, so perhaps some of this behavior is intended to prevent that. The Zarn also appears in "The Babysitter", wherein he disparages various emotions he claims to have given up a thousand years before.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Zarn (voiced by Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
) is a red-skinned Altrusian who was murdered by Enik while relaying a future message for any unfortunate soul whom he tricks into aiding him. Though Enik uses the first part of the holographic message, Holly uncovers the full message by accident along with the Zarn's skeleton.
William Blandings
Blandings (Laurie MainLaurie Main
Laurence "Laurie" Main is an English former actor. Although Main appeared in many films and television series since the 1950s, he is perhaps best known for hosting and narrating the children's series Welcome to Pooh Corner, which aired on The Disney Channel during the 1980s.His television guest...
) is a mysterious figure who appears to the Marshalls as a pudgy, balding man in his late 40s with a British accent. He claims to be a "repairman" for the sun (although probably just the Sun pylon) and carries an umbrella and a valise with him. Although apparently human, Blandings displays considerable - nearly clairvoyant - knowledge about both the Marshalls and the Land of the Lost and the implements he carries with him are anything but ordinary. His umbrella acts something like an air conditioner keeping himself and Uncle Jack cool during the sweltering heat of increasing solar flare activity. Much like the pylons, his valise appears extradimensional in nature and from it Blandings can produce anything he wants. He also carries an amulet which produces a forcefield which he uses to repel the Sleestak. Although a formidable being, Blandings offers hints that he was sent by and actually serves a higher power.
Malak
Malak (Richard KielRichard Kiel
Richard 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...
), the self-proclaimed "God of the Cro-Magnon", is a bit of a cypher. For a Cro-Magnon, he is quite evolved and possesses knowledge more on a Bronze Age level as he carries a sword, knows what a ship is, and has the ability to divert an underground river into the Sleestak egg caves if they don't pay tribute. In addition, he speaks fluent English and fully understands the concept of time travel as he asks Jack what age and time he comes from. He also claims to be "King of the Teutons". While his true origins and title (if any) remain unknown, what is clear is that Malak is an opportunistic barbarian who is not above lying, stealing, threatening, or bullying people to get what he wants. How and when he came to the Land of the Lost is never revealed.
Native inhabitants
The Land of the LostLand of the Lost (1974 TV series)
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....
's megafauna
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, megafauna are "giant", "very large" or "large" animals. The most common thresholds used are or...
consists primarily of dinosaurs; species noted included Coelophysis
Coelophysis
Coelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
, Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
, Allosaurus
Allosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
, Triceratops
Triceratops
Triceratops is a genus of herbivorous ceratopsid dinosaur which lived during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period, around 68 to 65 million years ago in what is now North America. It was one of the last dinosaur genera to appear before the great Cretaceous–Paleogene...
, Apatosaurus
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...
(described in the series as 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...
), and Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Pteranodon , from the Late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present day Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Wyoming, and South Dakota, was one of the largest pterosaur genera and had a maximum wingspan of over...
. There are also iguanas, wild blue and red pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, pink and blue chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
-like birds, fish, rhinoceros, skunk, goats, guenia pigs, large beetles (called "Tula" by Enik), bamboo, and giant varieties of modern berries and vegetables. It is unknown whether they were placed here by the Altrusians or if they came to the Land of the Lost accidentally. Rick suggests that the plants grow unusually large due to the nature of the soil. There were also a number of species that did not appear closely related to known Earth life: the aforementioned Sleestak, a large venus-flytrap
Venus Flytrap
The Venus Flytrap , Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces...
-like plant capable of consuming prey the size of a large rodent using a paralytic poison, a two-headed Elasmosaurus
Elasmosaurus
Elasmosaurus + σαυρος sauros 'lizard') is a genus of plesiosaur with an extremely long neck that lived in the Late Cretaceous period , 80.5 million years ago.-Description:...
-like creature (LuLu), and a fire-breathing Dimetrodon
Dimetrodon
Dimetrodon was a predatory synapsid genus that flourished during the Permian period, living between 280–265 million years ago ....
-like creature (Torchy).
Several dinosaurs that the Marshalls encountered frequently were given names, for example, Spike, for at least two Triceratops; Spot, for many Coelophysis; and Dopey, the baby Brontosaurus that they sometimes used as a pack animal
Pack animal
A pack animal or beast of burden is a working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back; the term may be applied to either an individual animal or a species so employed...
, along with his adopted mother, Emily (who, according to Gerrold, was named after Emily Bronte
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
).
It should be noted that LuLu and Torchy both appear in the third season of the series, the former as a result of a earthquake that brought her to the surface. Both monsters came into the show as the result when the consistency and style of the series' writing appeared to suffer a significant change; one episode in the third season also features the legendary Greek
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
, for example. Another species that made an appearance in the third season was a Yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
-like creature called Tappa and a similar creature named Kona, as well as a unicorn-pony called a Toe-Ki that lives high in the mountains, prevented from descending into the jungle by a guardian statue left behind by the Altrusians.
The 2009 movie incarnation included not only some of the dinosaurs in the original series, but also Velociraptors
Dromaeosauridae
Dromaeosauridae is a family of bird-like theropod dinosaurs. They were small- to medium-sized feathered carnivores that flourished in the Cretaceous Period. The name Dromaeosauridae means 'running lizards', from Greek dromeus meaning 'runner' and sauros meaning 'lizard'...
, Compsognathus
Compsognathus
Compsognathus was a small, bipedal, carnivorous theropod dinosaur. The animal was the size of a turkey and lived around 150 million years ago, the early Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic Period, in what is now Europe. Paleontologists have found two well-preserved fossils, one in Germany...
and a giant crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
.
Grumpy
A TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
, Grumpy was first of the Dinosaurs the Marshall family encountered, occasionally chasing them to High Bluff, being tall enough to look inside as the Marshalls ram a sharpened log they called the "flyswatter" into Grumpy's open mouth and drive him away. Holly speculates that Grumpy continued to return due to the large quantities of a ground-hugging fern-like plant she dubs "dinosaur nip" that grows in the area.
The 2009 movie incarnation of Grumpy, like the other dinosaurs, makes a meal of any unfortunate human who ends up in the Land of the Lost. Grumpy seems to have a vendetta against Marshall due to him insulting his intelligence, and focuses all attention on him alone allowing Will, Holly, and Cha-ka to seek cover. In their final battle Grumpy ingests Rick who then passes through his intestinal tract dislodging a blockage calming Grumpy and endearing Rick to him to the point that Grumpy saves Will, Cha-ka, Holly, from swarming Sleestak allowing them to escape into the pylon in chase of Enik.
Big Alice
An AllosaurusAllosaurus
Allosaurus is a genus of large theropod dinosaur that lived 155 to 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period . The name Allosaurus means "different lizard". It is derived from the Greek /allos and /sauros...
, Big Alice dwells around the Lost City and is referred to by the Sleestaks as "Selima", meaning "Protector" in their language due to her role in keeping predators away from their eggs. She even tangled with Grumpy on occasion whenever he trespasses on her territory. She also had her own egg that hatched into her son Junior.
The 2009 movie incarnation of Big Alice made a minor appearance, attacking Marshall at the desert before ingesting a tank of liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
that causes her to explode.
Pakuni
Pakuni (singular: Paku, though this usage is not consistently obeyed) are a species of small ape-like humanoids, possibly meant to be aliens," ground-dwelling and bipedal, but not fully upright in posture. They are primarily herbivores, though they do occasionally eat small animals (an iguanaIguana
Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
-like lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
in the episode "Stone Soup", for example). They know how to create fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
using flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
s, and manufacture simple tools such as the sharpened sticks they use as defensive weapons. Pakuni display significant skill with representational art and have superstitious rituals that usually include chanting but they do not appear to understand music. They live in small family groups that construct strong bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
enclosures as shelters. The family groups are territorial but they are quite capable of forming alliances and friendships with neighbors when resources are plentiful and they understand the concept of trade. Young Pakuni undergo a rite of adulthood in which they must steal the egg of a large predatory dinosaur to prove their worth.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Pakuni resemble their original series selves, yet live in greater numbers. The females of Cha-Ka's tribe resemble scantily-clad human females, although Cha-Ka claimed that all the female Paku were ugly.
The Paku language is relatively primitive. It was created for the show by the linguist
Linguistics
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...
, and is similar to the Kwa languages
Kwa languages
The Kwa languages, often specified as New Kwa, are a proposed but as-yet-undemonstrated family of languages spoken in the south-eastern part of Côte d'Ivoire, across southern Ghana, and in central Togo...
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:...
. It has regular ante-penultimate stress
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense.The stress placed...
, homorganic nasals
Nasal consonant
A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :...
, nasalization
Nasal vowel
A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through nose as well as the mouth. By contrast, oral vowels are ordinary vowels without this nasalisation...
of vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s before nasals, and deletion of final vowels before vowel initial suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
es. The language eventually had about 200 words; "Pakuni" simply means "people" in this language.
Cha-Ka
One of Pakuni to appear in the series, Cha-Ka (Phillip Paley) is the most favorably disposed toward the Marshalls. In the first episode the Marshalls rescue him from "Grumpy" the TyrannosaurusTyrannosaurus
Tyrannosaurus meaning "tyrant," and sauros meaning "lizard") is a genus of coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. The species Tyrannosaurus rex , commonly abbreviated to T. rex, is a fixture in popular culture. It lived throughout what is now western North America, with a much wider range than other...
and splint
Splint
Splint may refer to:* Splint , a medical device for the immobilization of limbs or spine* Splint , a device for checking computer programs...
ed Cha-Ka's broken leg. Subsequently, Cha-Ka forms a close friendship with the family and with Holly in particular, helping them whenever possible and occasionally visits the Marshalls in their cave in High Bluff. Much of Cha-Ka's moments range from his attempt to undergo the rite of adulthood to facing a mysterious being who saw him worthy of advancing on a intellectual level, resulting with him gaining the ability to speak near perfect English, play an alto recorder-like wind-instrument, walk and run upright, and learn to make fire by Season 3. After being separated from Ta and Sa after the earthquake that marks the beginning of season three, Cha-Ka moves in with the Marshalls at the temple.
The 2009 movie incarnation of Cha-Ka (or Chaka) is a Pakuni prince under a death sentence for immoral behavior, who is rescued by Marshall and company seconds before he would have been executed. Chaka follows them for the rest of the movie and even brings Will to his homeland at the end of the movie. Chaka's accomplishments in the film include stealing Marshall's wallet, introducing Marshall, Holly and Will to an edible narcotic fruit, and helping them get the amplifier back from a nest full of hatching pterodactyls.
Ta and Sa
The two older Pakuni who look after Cha-Ka and boss him around. The exact familial relationship between these Pakuni is never explicitly stated (Gerrold deliberately left the relationship vague but describes Ta and Sa as being more akin to Cha-Ka's elder siblings rather than parents). Ta (Joe Giamalva in Season 1 and Scutter McKay in Season 2) is a domineering, egotistical and a treacherous Paku (Gerrold referred to Ta as a "small, furry Hitler" in his script)who never comes to trust the Marshalls. He can be bargained with, however, and although he usually attempts to cheat the Marshalls it is not particularly difficult to see through the trick. Sa (Sharon BairdSharon Baird
Sharon 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...
) occasionally seems to be a moderating influence on Ta, but for the most part serves as a follower. Ta is sometimes considered to be the "alpha" Paku or a "witch doctor". He has knowledge of some of the workings of the Land of the Lost, which he disguises with a clever use of herbs and phony chanting and dancing to make it appear that he controls them. For example, he understands that the "Pylon Express" only opens when the three moons are aligned and so times his own "opening ritual" to coincide with that, and he knows that the effects of the poison from the carnivorous plant are only temporary and so hurries to sell the Marshalls a "cure" before it wears off on its own. Both Ta and Sa get separated from Cha-Ka during the earthquake that marks the beginning of season three and were not seen there after, though it was mentioned their tracks were seen "ending at a dead-end cliff-face and disapearing" by Will in Season 3, Episode 8.
- Although never referenced within the series itself, the pilot script refers to the Pakuni's full names as "Cha-Ka-Ta" and "Cha-Ka-Sa" but shortens them to "Ta" and "Sa" for the sake of brevity. The youngest Paku was just called "Cha-Ka" because he lacked identity with his tribe until such time as he earned his name. Originally, there was also a fourth Paku named "Cha-Ka-Ra" but "Ra" was dropped from the story during pre-production.
Sleestak
Sleestaks are devolved, green humanoids with both reptilian and insectInsect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
oid features; they have scaly skin with frills around the neck, bulbous unblinking eyes, pincer-like hands, stubby tails, and a single blunt horn on top of the head, and bear a resemblance to the hypothetical "Dinosauroid". Sleestaks often communicate with a hissing sound that rarely changes in characteristics. However, like their Altrusian ancestors, they possess some rudimentary form of telepathy as well. Sleestaks are more sophisticated than Pakuni and are able to manufacture crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...
s, rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
, nets, periscopes and other relatively advanced technologies. Sleestak are typically equipped with a crossbow and a quiver full of metal bolts which hang from their waist. The Sleestak have a current population of about 7,000 according to the Library of Skulls, but there were only three Sleestak costumes available for the show's production, which sometimes required creative editing to create the illusion that they were that numerous.
Sleestaks live in the Lost City, an underground tunnel complex originally constructed by the Altrusians. They hate bright light and rarely venture out during the day. Sleestaks also have a "hibernation
Hibernation
Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...
season" during which they cocoon themselves into rocky alcoves using some sort of webbing; cool air keeps them in hibernation, and the heat from lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
in a pool that the character Peter Koenig (see below) dubbed "Devil's Cauldron" inside the caverns of the Lost City revives them again on a regular schedule. The Sleestaks are very defensive of the Lost City. They know that their ancestors built it, but do not know how or why. They have occasionally tried exploring beyond the chasm that separates the Lost City from the rest of the Land, but their expeditions generally do not return; they consider the City to be their only refuge. However, after the earthquake at the beginning of season 3 the Sleestaks are afraid and try to kick the Marshalls out of the temple. Fortunately, Jack gets the door shut and the Sleestaks are trapped outside.
The Sleestaks have encountered many other humans who have become trapped in the Land of the Lost before the Marshalls arrive, and regard humans as a terrible threat; they attempt to capture and sacrifice humans to their god (an unseen beast who dwells in a smoky pit) at every opportunity.
- According to Dave Gerrold's DVD commentary for "The Sleestak God", the "god" was originally intended as a running gag with it being this loud, mysterious, hungry beast that no one ever sees ultimately revealing as something much smaller (but no less voracious) than it sounded. Had Gerrold remained on-staff as part of Season 2, viewers would have discovered that the god was actually the Sleestak Queen.
Altrusian moths are considered sacred by the Sleestak and required for fertilization of their eggs. The Sleestak hunt them when they emerge during the night. In "Blackout", the Sleestaks scheme to cause perpetual night by disabling a second clock pylon, allowing them to capture the Altrusian moths. The Sleestak plan to devour large quantities of the moths so that in one thousand hours, a thousand new Sleestak will be born allowing them to resume control over the Land of the Lost. Unfortunately for the Sleestak (but fortunately for the Marshalls), the cold of the long night also begins killing the moths.
(According to Wina Sturgeon's original story for "The Hole", the Sleestak ate bugs as a regular part of their diet and used a special drill attachment for their crossbow bolts to dig them out of trees)
Sleestak eggs are gestated in a communal hatchery. The Sleestaks capture live animals and tie them up there, leaving them for the young to feed on when they hatch. Occasionally, a Sleestak will be hatched that is a "throwback" to their Altrusian ancestors, being born with greater intelligence and with an innate knowledge of Altrusian history and technology—though not, for some reason, knowledge of the pylons or matrix operation. The other Sleestaks regard these throwbacks as a threat, and so they are also sacrificed to the Sleestak god when detected. One such throwback, named S'latch, is encountered by the Marshalls in the episode "The Hole", but S'latch is never seen again thereafter.
- S'latch was to have returned in an unproduced script called "The Littlest Sleestak" in which he comes to claim a juvenile Sleestak that the Marshalls had adopted after unknowingly taking home several of their eggs. However, the little one (now referred to as "Speaks-To-Meat" by the other Sleestak) is considered "tainted" by human contact and thus deemed unfit.
The Sleestak are governed by both a Council and a Leader. The Sleestak Leader wears a distinctive pendant and Enik occasionally negotiates with him as in the episode "Fair Trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
". The Council often consults the "Library of Skulls" where several skulls belonging to their ancient ancestors are somehow able to communicate with them and dispense advice. These skulls seem to be from the era when the Altrusians were devolving into the Sleestaks, as they are still quite intelligent and capable of speech, but are also very hostile and warlike (at least in the third season).
The Pakuni word for Sleestak is "Sarisataka".
Ex-Detroit Piston and current WNBA coach Bill Laimbeer
Bill Laimbeer
William "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...
played a Sleestak before attending Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. He was a Palos Verdes High School
Palos Verdes High School
Palos Verdes High School is one of three public high schools on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California, USA...
student, and the show raided their basketball team for tall people to play Sleestaks.
Though only three appear in the 1991 TV series, the Sleestaks are made to be more reptilian in nature and just as violent.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Sleestaks resemble their original series selves, yet can open their mouths wide to reveal two sets of teeth. Made to be more feral in nature and able to venture in daylight, the Sleestaks answer to either the Library of Skulls, what remained of the Altrusians, or Enik while he possessed the crystal to control them. The Sleestaks also have a high reproductive rate and sex drive and are able to lay a large number of eggs.
Altrusians
The ancestors and descendants of Modern Sleestak were the Altrusians. Their civilization fell, and will rise again in a continuous time-loop approximately 1,000 years earlier and later. The Sleestak sometimes use the term "Altrusian" to refer to themselves and sometimes to refer only to the true Altrusians. Physically, the Altrusians were similar to Sleestak, with the former marked by a shorter stature, an extra finger on each hand, and a golden yellow skin tone. Intellectually they were very different, however. The Altrusians possessed advanced psionic technologies based on light crystals and understood a great deal about the operation of the Land of the Lost. They strove for calm emotionlessness and as a result could be both cooperative and quite callous.One Altrusian, named Enik, is a recurring character in the series, introduced in the episode "The Stranger
The Stranger (Land of the Lost)
"The Stranger" is the sixth episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Walter Koenig and directed by Bob Lally, it first aired in the United States on October 12, 1974 on NBC...
". He travels to the current time accidentally via a time doorway. He initially believes himself to be in the distant past, but upon discovering the ruins of the Lost City, he theorizes that his people degenerated into modern Sleestak when they failed to control their hate and anger. Rick Marshall speculates that it was not the presence of hate that doomed the Altrusians, but rather the absence of compassion; Enik considers this to be a cogent argument and plans to return to his people to warn them of this flaw in their philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Altrusians have a very strict — but self-serving — code of honor; they cannot allow others to show more self-control or make greater personal sacrifices than themselves. One can thus shame them into making sacrifices. In "The Search", Will (unintentionally) convinces Enik to pass up a chance to return to his own time by first passing up an opportunity of his own to return to Earth. Enik also claims that Altrusians are incapable of lying although clearly they can "bend" the truth (or not give full disclosure of all facts) if it's in their best interest to do so. In fact, it appears that Altrusians seldom do anything that does not benefit them in some way. While Enik told Jack Marshall that he grasped the concept of morality, he concluded that it was "not logical". Also handed down from the Altrusians was the concept of "Altrusian grace." This meant that someone (including a human) who helped a Sleestak would be allowed safe passage to and from the Library of Skulls to ask the Index Skull a single question.
The 2009 movie incarnation of the Altrusians resemble their original series selves, yet without their tunics (in the film, such a tunic is considered the mark of a criminal). All of the Altrusians are killed by Enik, producing the Library of Skulls.
Enik
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...
) introduced in the episode "The Stranger
The Stranger (Land of the Lost)
"The Stranger" is the sixth episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Walter Koenig and directed by Bob Lally, it first aired in the United States on October 12, 1974 on NBC...
", is one of the original Altrusian inhabitants from before their civilization fell, though he initially believes himself to be trapped in the Altrusians' pre-civilized period. However, he too fell through a time doorway to become trapped in the current era of the Land of the Lost. He introduced himself as being one of the "keepers of the time portals" although it's unclear if he is referring to a select number of Altrusians tasked with that responsibility or his entire race. As such, he is equipped with a piece of Altrusian technology called a Magetti, a large crystal suspended in a tetrahedral frame that Enik describes as a "divining rod" that can be used to locate and fix dimensional doorways, determining where and when they would open. The Magetti has a self-destruct mechanism that is triggered when its user experiences sufficiently-strong hostile emotions; this is a built-in safeguard to prevent it from falling into violent hands. Will Marshall inadvertently destroys it and forces Enik to rely on a different and less-suitable device (a "companion piece" to the Magetti that is worn around his neck as a pendant) to continue his efforts to return to his own time and warn his people of their fate.
Enik is quite contemptuous of the current state of the Sleestaks since the fall of the Altrusian civilization, though he feels compelled to aid them because they are his future, albeit contemptible. The Sleestaks return the contempt, referring to him as "the dwarf", and fear that he intends to seize power over them. He is equipped with a bracelet of red crystals he can use to cause beings to be overcome by hallucinations of their greatest fear, so the Sleestaks generally give Enik a wide berth. He spends much of his time during the series in the Lost City, working with a matrix table there attempting to open a time doorway home.
In addition to his shorter stature and different skin coloration, Enik is distinguished from the Sleestak in that he wears a distinctive red garment (Sleestak do not wear clothing). This garment was added to his costume when the wetsuit Enik's skin was crafted from shrank after rubber scales were glued to it, requiring slits to be cut across the front in order for Walker Edmiston to fit inside.
A being resembling Enik, suggesting that his appearance is typical of Altrusians - or possibly Enik himself - was seen in what is presumably the Lost City from the time of the Altrusians.
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:...
, the scriptwriter of "The Stranger", originally named this character "Eneg", in honor of Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
. As noted in an audio commentary on the DVD, the spelling was changed to Enik (reverse of the Greek root word for "cinema") by David Gerrold, before the episode "The Stranger" was taped.
Many episodes refer to or take place in Enik's cave, which contains a time doorway and lies near the Sleestak god's pit, and is accessible through the central of the three entrances into the Lost City. Enik also appears in other episodes, including "The Search", "Circle", "Fair Trade" and "Blackout."
The 2009 movie incarnation of Enik (John Boylan) is the principal villain, committing the genocide of his people before being imprisoned for ten millennia, donning the tunic which symbolizes his deceit. Possessing a crystal, Enik can control the Sleestaks and he intended to use them to invade other dimensions. With Marshall's unwitting assistance, he nearly succeeded in making the Earth the first of his targets. But in the end, Enik's plan is thwarted as he is last seen being chased off by the Sleestaks upon losing his means to control them.
See also
- Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)Land of the Lost (1974 TV series)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....
, the original children's television series created by Sid and Marty KrofftSid and Marty KrofftSid 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....
- List of Land of the Lost episodes
- 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 1991 remake of the 1974 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