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

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Writer:

James L. Henderson (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

7 September 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Dinosaur | Prehistoric | Time Travel | Chroma Key | Stop Motion

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

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

(more)

Series Directed by
Bob Lally		(12 episodes, 1974-1975)
Dennis Steinmetz		(11 episodes, 1974)
Gordon Wiles		(8 episodes, 1975)
Joseph L. Scanlan		(7 episodes, 1976)
Rick Bennewitz		(6 episodes, 1976)

Series Writing credits
Dick Morgan		(9 episodes, 1974-1975)
David Gerrold		(5 episodes, 1974)
Jon Kubichan		(5 episodes, 1976)
Larry Niven		(3 episodes, 1974)
Tom Swale		(3 episodes, 1975-1976)
William J. Keenan		(3 episodes, 1975)
Samuel Roeca		(3 episodes, 1976)
Margaret Armen		(2 episodes, 1974-1975)
Joyce Perry		(2 episodes, 1974-1975)
James L. Henderson		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Marty Krofft	....	executive producer / producer (unknown episodes)
Sid Krofft	....	executive producer / producer (unknown episodes)
Jon Kubichan	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Dennis Steinmetz	....	producer (unknown episodes)
Tom Swale	....	associate producer (unknown episodes)
Albert J. Tenzer	....	executive producer (unknown episodes)
Gene Warren	....	associate producer (unknown episodes)
Jim Washburn	....	associate producer (unknown episodes)

Series Original Music by
Jimmie Haskell		(unknown episodes)
Michael Lloyd		(unknown episodes)

Series Cinematography by
Stephen H. Burum		(unknown episodes)

Series Film Editing by
Bill Breshears		(unknown episodes)
Jimmy B. Frazier		(unknown episodes)

Series Art Direction by
Elayne Barbara Ceder		(unknown episodes)
Herman F. Zimmerman		(unknown episodes)

Series Makeup Department
Michael Westmore	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
John Braislin	....	executive in charge of production (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Max Pittman	....	property master (1 episode, 1974)

Series Special Effects by
Ken Speed	....	special effects assistant (1 episode, 1974)
Wah Chang	....	dinosaur model designer (unknown episodes)
Gene Warren	....	stop motion director (unknown episodes)

Series Visual Effects by
Pete Kleinow	....	stop-motion animator (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
David Gerrold	....	story editor (17 episodes, 1974)
Caroljane Rapp	....	associate director (17 episodes, 1974)
Victoria Fromkin	....	linguistics consultant (unknown episodes)
Dick Morgan	....	script editor (unknown episodes)
Samuel Roeca	....	script editor (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions

Distributors

• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974-1977) (1978) (USA) (TV)
• Rhino Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (season 1)
• Rhino Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (season 2)
• Rhino Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)
• Rhino Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD) (season 3)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)

Runtime:

30 min (43 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions

Trivia:

Wesley Eure would often perform songs at the end of several episodes with lyrics pertaining to the lesson learned in the course of the episode.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Cameron Diaz/Green Day (#30.16)" (2005)

Excellent science fiction series

The Land of the Lost was an excellent science fiction series-- especially given that it aired on a Saturday morning. Granted, the third season wasn't as good as the first two, with writers ignoring much of the internal logic that had previously been established, but even the third season was better than much of the Saturday morning fare today.

To clear up some misconceptions about the series, the Marshall family did not travel back in time; they fell through a time doorway which transported them to a small, closed universe, which included, among other things, three moons in the sky. In this small universe, a balance was maintained. In order for anyone to enter, the same number of people had to leave (and vice versa).

The presence of the dinosaurs (one of the attractions of the show for many) may be why people think the Marshalls went to Earth's past. But other features, such as the Lost City and the pylons, which TARDIS-like are bigger on the inside than the outside, are signs of a highly advanced culture; one, which we later learn, built the Land of the Lost. The pylons controlled the environment of the land, and some contained time doorways leading to other dimensions.

Oh, and for the record, the dinosaur named "Alice" is called that because she's an allosaur. It's a nickname.

There was a later version of Land of the Lost in 1992, and while it had better effects and slightly better acting, the original was "Masterpiece Theatre" by comparison. While the original Land of the Lost does have some flaws, it at least had interesting scripts and looked like it was another world; and it had a certain quality to it that the remake-- which was filmed in some park-- lacked.

There are currently eight episodes available on video, with four of them re-released to DVD. Like I said, the Land of the Lost isn't perfect (though many of the eight episodes available are considered among the better ones, especially "The Stranger", "Elsewhen" and my personal favorite, "Circle") but it's better than a lot of the stuff on today.

Rick