All Rise...

Judge Victor Valdivia also went on a routine expedition. In fact, it was so routine that nothing happened.

Editor's Note

Our reviews of Land Of The Lost: The Complete First Season (published August 23rd, 2004) and Land Of The Lost (2009) (published November 2nd, 2009) are also available.

The Charge

Enik: That is not logical. Will Marshall: Now, Enik, if you've been in the Land of the Lost that much longer than we have, you ought to know by now that not everything here is logical. Enik: That is logical.

Opening Statement

For the generation that grew up in the '70s and even part of the '80s, Land of the Lost was an important show. It's entirely possible, of course, that anyone who doesn't fall in that age group simply won't grasp the show's effect on that demographic—all they'll see are lousy special effects and acting that ranges from the wooden to the histrionic. Anyone who digs deeper will recognize that beneath the flaws lies some of the most captivating and unusual writing on TV, especially for what was intended as just a Saturday morning kids' show. Land of the Lost: The Complete Series compiles the entire three-season run of the show and though fans who already own the previous DVD issue of this show can probably pass, anyone else who is interested in surprisingly thoughtful sci-fi writing might find it intriguing.

Facts of the Case

Park Ranger Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan, Sleeper) and his children, Will (Wesley Eure, C.H.O.M.P.S.) and younger sister Holly (Kathy Coleman), are mysteriously caught up in some sort of dimensional vortex and carried away to a place where the laws of time and space do not always apply. In a jungle world orbited by three moons, controlled by crystal-driven machines called Pylons, and populated by dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni' and sinister reptilian humanoids called Sleestak, the Marshalls struggle to survive and find a way back home. Here are the 43 episodes collected on this set:

Disc One
• "Cha-Ka"
The Marshalls meet the little Paku named Cha-Ka (Phil Paley) and a giant T-Rex they name "Grumpy."

• "The Sleestak God"
Will and Holly discover the mysterious lost city but are captured by the Sleestak.

• "Dopey"
Holly attempts to make a pet out of a baby brontosaurus she names "Dopey."

• "Downstream"
The Marshalls attempt to explore a cave but are trapped by the Sleestak and a surviving Civil War veteran (Walker Edmiston, War and Remembrance).

• "Tag Team"
The Marshalls and the Pakuni' team up when they are attacked by dinosaurs.

• "The Stranger"
The Marshalls meet Enik (Edmiston), a mysterious relative of the Sleestak who is not who he appears to be.

Disc Two
• "Album"
A strange gem hypnotizes Will and Holly into believing that the Sleestak are their parents.

• "Skylons"
When Will and Rick accidentally unleash a weather catastrophe, the floating controllers called Skylons could help undo the damage.

• "The Hole"
Rick is caught in a Sleestak trap with a Sleestak who isn't quite what he seems.

• "The Paku Who Came to Dinner"
Holly's new perfume has an unusual effect on Cha-Ka and the other Pakuni', Sa (Sharon Baird) and Ta (Joe A. Giamalva).

• "The Search"
Rick is injured in an experiment and Holly must try to get him back to the cave while Will attempts to enlist Enik to help him save his father.

• "The Possession"
The Pylons emit a mystifying energy field that turns Cha-Ka and Holly into walking zombies.

Disc Three
• "Follow That Dinosaur"
The Marshalls uncover a map made by the first human visitor to the Land of the Lost, but the Sleestak may not let them use it to escape.

• "Stone Soup"
The Pakuni' steal all of the crystals from a Pylon, causing a massive catastrophe.

• "Elsewhen"
When Rick and Will are trapped by the Sleestak, Holly meets a mysterious woman who tells her what she can do to save them.

• "Hurricane"
An astronaut enters the Land of the Lost through a time portal, but he may not be able to escape without the Marshalls' help.

• "Circle"
Enik discovers a paradox: in order for the Marshalls to leave the Land of the Lost, they must reenter it.

Disc Four
• "Tar Pit"
Dopey the baby brontosaurus falls into a tar pit, but every attempt the Marshalls and the Pakuni' make to help him only makes things worse.

• "The Zarn"
A strange alien spacecraft trapped in the Land of the Lost delivers an ominous new visitor: the Zarn.

• "Fair Trade"
When Rick is captured in a Sleestak snare, Will and Holly are forced to make a hard bargain.

• "One of Our Pylons is Missing"
A puzzling hole swallows up everything in sight, including the Marshalls.

• "The Test"
Cha-Ka is forced to steal an allosaurus egg for the Pakuni', and enlists Will and Holly to help him.

• "Gravity Storm"
The Zarn's attempts at repairing his ship cause enormous problems for everyone else in the Land of the Lost.

• "The Longest Day"
The Pylon controlling the sun breaks down, causing the Sleestak to accuse Rick of sabotage.

Disc Five
• "The Pylon Express"
Rick and Will explore a new Pylon but are trapped inside, leaving Holly as their only hope for rescue.

• "A Nice Day"
Holly is accidentally poisoned by a plant, and only Ta can provide the antidote.

• "The Babysitter"
Ta blames Cha-Ka for a series of pranks, but Cha-Ka may not be the one to blame.

• "The Musician"
The Marshalls discover a new creature while searching through the Lost City of the Sleestak.

• "Split Personality"
An earthquake provokes a new energy creature that looks and acts like Holly.

• "Blackout"
The Sleestak embark on a misguided plan to leave the Land of the Lost in perpetual darkness, and only Enik and Rick can stop them.

Disc Six
• "After-Shock"
A massive earthquake causes Rick to leave the Land of the Lost, but he is replaced by Uncle Jack (Ron Harper, 87th Precinct).

• "Survival Kit"
Holly is stricken with a deadly fever, but the Sleestak have stolen the Marshalls' medical supplies to pay tribute to Malak the Cro-Magnon (Richard Kiel, The Spy Who Loved Me).

• "The Orb"
A peculiar orb turns Will invisible, allowing him to form an uneasy alliance with Enik as they both try to stop the Sleestak from a disastrous plan.

• "Repairman"
Solar flares threaten to destroy the Land of the Lost, until a strange Englishman arrives to help solve the problem.

• "Medusa"
Holly accidentally discovers the garden of a curious woman who loves caring for peculiar stone statues.

• "Cornered"
When Will is poisoned by a fire-breathing creature, Enik drives a hard bargain with the family for help.

Disc Seven
• "Flying Dutchman"
The Marshalls discover a strange ship that could lead them out of the Land of the Lost.

• "Hot-Air Artist"
A balloonist arrives at the Land of the Lost, and takes an unusual interest in Cha-Ka.

• "Abominable Snowman"
Cha-Ka and Holly enter the snow-covered mountains and encounter a terrifying creature.

• "Timestop"
Cha-Ka is trapped in a deadly predicament and only Enik's time-reversing abilities can save him

• "Ancient Guardian"
The Marshalls disturb an ancient Sleestak totem that is far more important than it appears to be.

• "Scarab"
Cha-Ka is stung by a beautiful beetle and is driven mad, causing the Sleestak to threaten Will's life.

• "Medicine Man"
Two warring humans enter the Land of the Lost, and the Marshalls may wind up paying the price.

The Evidence

It's a shame that Land of the Lost has, for the most part, become some sort of campy pop-culture punchline, especially epitomized by the thought of the show being remade as, of all things, a Will Ferrell comedy. Much of that, of course, is due to the fact that visually, the show has definitely not aged well. The shoestring budget meant that the sets and special effects were, to put it generously, crude. The cast was appealing but not overly talented, combining Coleman's endearing inexperience with Milligan's and Eure's hamminess. Most of all, there was often a frequent clash between the producers' need to dumb the show down for kids and the writers' desire to tell interesting stories. That's one of the main reasons that the show went through no less than three different creative teams, one for each season. Nonetheless, while that did tend to sometimes undermine the overall quality of the series and result in characters and premises being abandoned, the best moments of writing were so strong that people still remember the show affectionately so many years later in spite of the cheap effects and clumsy acting.

Much of the reason for Land of the Lost being so well-remembered is due to the first season's writers and showrunner. While producers Sid and Marty Krofft (H.R. Pufnstuf) came up with an idea for a show that blended monsters, dinosaurs, time travel, and science fiction, by their own admission they didn't really have a story or characters—just a vague premise. It was David Gerrold, the writer of the famous Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," who really came up with most of the lasting ideas behind the show. Gerrold, acting as the show's head writer, wrote most of the first season's best episodes, but even more importantly, brought in some of the most respected sci-fi writers of the genre to write others. That's how writers like Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Wina Sturgeon, Norman Spinrad, and D.C. Fontana (another Trek vet) were credited with scripts. Even Trek cast member Walter Koenig (Chekov) got into the act, writing the episode "The Stranger," which introduced one of the series' most beloved characters: Enik the Altrusian. The writers' efforts resulted in some surprisingly thoughtful and emotional moments for what was intended as just a kid's show. "Follow That Dinosaur," for instance, which tells the story of the first human who arrived at the Land of the Lost and named the Sleestak, is far more poignant than one might expect. Similarly, the revelation about what Enik's true nature is in "The Stranger" is more complex and unusual than most sci-fi shows on TV would have allowed. In many ways, for all that Land of the Lost sometimes suffered from clunky dialogue and unintentionally amusing visuals, it was arguably the real descendant to the Star Trek legacy of intelligent sci-fi TV more than any other show until Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In the second season, Gerrold and most of his Trek cronies were gone, although Theodore Sturgeon did contribute one solid script, "The Pylon Express." Donald F. Glut (Masters of the Universe) also wrote one of his first scripts, "Blackout," which was one of the best of the season. For this season, new showrunner Dick Morgan introduced a raft of new characters, including the duplicitous light creature the Zarn and the sonic manipulator called the Musician. These were interesting ideas hampered by the show's crude effects. Also, because Morgan left at the end of this season, these creatures were completely abandoned in the third season, leaving their mysteries unexplained. Still, though this season isn't up to the level of the first, with a higher ratio of clinker episodes (particularly the ones devoted to the Pakuni'—a little of them goes a very long way), it still contains some very good moments. The best episode, "The Zarn," is especially affecting. Not only does it introduce a suitably interesting antagonist, it addresses an unusual idea for the show: the effect that the family's isolation has on Rick, the adult. Here, Land of the Lost proves that it's more about characterization than cheap action and flash.

However, most fans consider the show's third season to be its weakest, and when comparing those episodes with the ones from previous seasons, it's hard to disagree. Milligan left before this season began and was replaced by Ron Harper, playing the kids' Uncle Jack, in a plot contrivance that really doesn't make sense. Many of the show's previously introduced characters were either abandoned or changed significantly. Cha-ka became the only Pakuni' and Enik turned from a cold but reliable fellow traveler into a selfish jerk. Even worse, new showrunner Jon Kubichan emphasized the action and effects, never the show's strong suit, over the writing and characterization. This was especially evident in all the new characters introduced this season, such as the Medusa, the Abominable Snowman, and Malak the Cro-Magnon. Not only are these characters all rather silly, but they all take away valuable screen time that could have been used to flesh out some of the interesting characters previously established. Also, viewers should not expect any kind of closure to the series; the last episode, "Medicine Man," concerns warring human visitors to the Land of the Lost and barely has much to do with the Marshalls at all. There are still some good bits and pieces here and there but overall, it's obvious that the show simply could not have survived after this season.

So definitely, each season has its distinct strengths and in compiling all three seasons into this set, Universal has indeed done viewers a favor, allowing them to compare and contrast the differing styles and pick out their favorite episodes. However, this is not nearly as comprehensive a set as it could have been. The show was previously issued on DVD in 2003 by Rhino, in individual season sets that came packed with extras, but those are now out of print. The audio and video quality on this new issue is identical to the previous one. It's cheap 1970s fullscreen videotape with a stereo mix, so it's not visually dazzling in the slightest. The video is grainy and tinged rather heavily with red, and there are a few video glitches and distortions scattered throughout. This is probably as good as it can look and sound, so remastering probably isn't going to help much. At least the limited edition of this set comes encased in a replica of a 1970s lunchbox with scenes from the show painted throughout, making this package something of an improvement from the previous issue in that regard.

Where fans will really be disappointed is that not one of the previously issued extras from the Rhino sets has been ported over for this version. None of the commentaries by cast and writers, none of the extensive interviews, none of the text-based extras or exhaustive liner notes. Apart from the lunchbox, this is actually a meager package. The only extra is a new featurette (9:10) in which Brad Silberling, the director of the new movie version of the show, chats with Sid and Marty Krofft. It's a lightweight puff piece that says little about either the show or the movie. Fans who want some real information about the show will either have to search online sites or try to track down the Rhino sets. It's deeply disappointing that Universal didn't make the effort to license the Rhino extras or even commission some new ones that are more than EPK fluff. For all its flaws, this show deserves much better than that.

Closing Statement

If you already own the previous Rhino DVD issues, there's not much reason to buy this set unless you really want the lunchbox packaging. In fact, fans who already know and love the show should really hold out for the Rhino sets, as they represent better value for money. Anyone else might want to preview a few discs first, especially from the first season. There are elements of the show that seem hokey by today's standards, but if you're willing to overlook them and not approach the show as pure camp, you'll find some impressively sharp writing and characterization. Universal should have done better in compiling this set's extras, but at least it's good to have the original Land of the Lost available again.

The Verdict

Land of the Lost: The Complete Series is found not guilty through clever writing, although the court does concede that the execution isn't always top-notch. Universal, however, is found guilty of not putting enough effort into this collection.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Land Of The Lost: The Complete Series a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.

Share This Review

Follow DVD Verdict

Other Reviews You Might Enjoy

• Babylon 5: The Movie Collection
• Dune: Extended Edition
• Maggie And The Ferocious Beast: Puzzles And Picnics
• Farscape: Season 3, Collection 1