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Land of the Lost (1974)
(To order
this DVD, click on the box art above)
The Film : NOT
to be confused with its flawed, 1990's "remake," this was a
sci-fi show like no other...and it was originally shown on Saturday
Mornings! "Land of the Lost," for many members of Generation X,
is a classic moment in children's television entertainment; a time when,
unlike many other kiddie shows, a program was intelligent enough to not
talk down to kids, as much as broaden their horizons. I doubt any 1970's
series so perfectly handled the blend of humorous entertainment, and intelligently
written science fiction. If there is such a show, I can't think of one
right now...
The series involved a family of campers
--Marshall, Will, and Holly-- who fall down an unexpected waterfall during
a routine rafting trip. This was no ordinary waterfall, however, and was
in fact an accidental hole in time and space, sending them into a world
they nickname "The Land of the Lost." This world has a peculiar
blend of high-technology pylons, an ancient Lost City, and even dinosaurs.
How the trio will get back home is a big mystery...presuming they can even
survive.
Each episode was an exploration of this new
world, via some rather intriguing sets. Among such episodes are the ones
included on Volumes 1 and 2 of the collection reviewed here (which are
both included, on the DVD). "The Stranger" introduces a
friendly, intelligent Sleestack named Enik, who may or may not be from the
distant future. Enik returns in another included episode, "The
Search," when Enik delays his time travel experiments long enough to
help the Marshalls one more time. "Tag Team" involves one of the
many episodes involving one of the cave-men type characters of the series,
Cha-Ka, as he is caught stealing the Marshall's food. Cha-Ka also appears
in "The Paku Who Came to Dinner," when he decides to visit the
Marshall's cave, yet loves their cooked food so much, he refuses to leave!
Among these is a well collated taste of the series unique blend of action
and humor.
It's the writers that make a sci-fi show work, and this mere Saturday
morning show, had some of the best. David Gerrold, best known for the
Tribbles episode of Star Trek, wrote a few episodes, and was also story
editor. Other episodes were written by classic sci-fi writers like Dorothy
"D.C." Fontana. With their help, this was no mere "time
warp to the days of dinosaurs" show. This was a parallel dimension,
with a background story for sleestacks (corrupted aliens who were once,
actually, a very intelligent race), skylons (the obelisks that control
this warp in space, as well as this world's weather conditions), and on
and on. This was a good reason to watch Saturday morning shows in the
early 1970's, and few such shows have had such unique quality since.
If there's any gripe to be had for this
4-episode collection, it's that there aren't more episodes. Rhino video
released volumes 3 and 4 of their Land of the Lost videos, though this DVD
was released only when they had collated the first two. If you wish to see
"Elsewhen," by D.C. Fontana, you will need to see it on VHS.
Likewise for the episode when they all got to go home (which oddly was not
the series finale; go figure). However, there are still enough reasons to
buy the DVD, even if it is a mere 4 episodes. If you don't believe me,
just read the next section, about the bonus materials...
The DVD :
It is a true testament to any Collection DVD's power, to actually offer
extras for a film made pre-video-craze. Many times, even for 1980's films,
offering a behind-the-scenes featurette is as simple as digitizing a TV
special offered about the film at the time it was released. However, in a
time when few such specials were offered --especially for TV shows
themselves-- what can be offered on a DVD's "extras"...? As it
turns out, quite a bit!
For starters, there are cast interviews.
This includes a 14 minute simultaneous interview with Phillip
"Cha-Ka" Paley, and Kathy "Holly" Coleman. This ???
minute interview has them giving lots of intriguing anecdotes, including
how cool it was to work on such a large set, that included its own caves,
and even a "swimming pool." People will particularly be
intrigued at how these two cast members look today, with this probably
being the first time Paley has been seen sans make-up, and also the first
time Coleman has been seen as a brunette. In case you were wondering,
Coleman grew up to have two boys, who were 19 and 17 at the time this
interview was taped, and they brag about her to their friends all the
time. Their favorite episodes are also mentioned, which for Coleman was
"Elsewhen" (when a "georgeous" blonde was hired to act
as Holly from the future), and for Paley was "the episode with the
fish" (which is an anecdote too long to explain here). In short, a
nice "extra" for the DVD.
There's also an interview with Sid &
Marty Krofft, themselves. In a room filled with Krofft memorabilia (fans
of eBay would pay big money for the stuff shown in this room), they talk
about the trials of getting the show on the air at all! At one point,
Marty Krofft mentions how he once visited "Compact Video," who
were responsible for merging the live-action video with the stop-motion
dinosaurs. He remembers coming in one night at 2 in the morning, where
"they had the projector on the ground in about 12,000 pieces, trying
to figure out how to do this! I said, 'Okay, this show isn't getting on
the air!" He feels, though, that the engineers later felt great that
they had really pulled it off. This is one of many anecdotes, each of
which is worthwhile to hear. I must say, however, that the interview was
done with a little bit of background noise (which, in some better sound
systems, may be either amusing or annoying), though such amateurishness of
the interview is part of its charm.
(Click
this box cover, to order the DVD!)
 For the VHS
versions, Click The Following Links:
Land of the Lost, Volume 1 (The Stranger, Tag Team)
Land of the Lost, Volume 2 (The Search, The Paku Who Came to Dinner)
Land of the Lost Vol. 3
(Elsewhen, Split Personality)
Land of the Lost, Volume 4 (Circle, The
Zarn)
...buyers of the DVD (which includes V1 & 2) can save themselves
money by buying :
Land of the Lost Twin Pack (Vols. 3 & 4)
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed product, are created by Techtite,
copyright 2001; all rights reserved. Miniature
photo of DVD box cover, and references from the TV show, are owned by
the respective copyright
holders, and are used here only for the purpose of review. They are
not meant to represent any affiliation with Techtite and the distributors of
this DVD. For further
"legalese" & disclaimers, click
here... |
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