Land of the Lost – CliqueClack (for the older) kids

Now that Land of the Lost has premiered on the big screen (and subsequently tanked on the big screen), I thought this would be a good time to talk about the Sid & Marty Kroftt original that started this all. Because, in the pantheon of Saturday morning programming, Land of the Lost holds a special place in many people’s hearts and minds. So special that their unhappiness with the new Will Ferrell product is being displayed with closed wallets.

Premiering on NBC in 1974, Land of the Lost offered many of the trademarks of your typical Kroftt production. A character, or characters, are whisked away into an unknown land/universe/reality where strange and wonderful creatures live. While intrigued by all that surrounds them, all these characters want to do is go home. Unfortunately, the tyrant/dictator/witch who currently rules the land with an iron fist deflects the characters’ chances of going home at every turn. This angers the characters, who make it their life’s work to make the evil ruler’s life a living hell.

There were some slight differences to this staid concept. Instead of one person being in peril – usually a clean-shaven teenage boy who, in typical 70s fashion, wanders off on his own – Land of the Lost featured a family in trouble: the strong-willed Rick Marshall, his clean-faced teen-aged son Will, and his pig-tailed sister Holly. Another difference was the location of the series. Instead of a land filled with signing flowers and talking hats, the area where the Marshall’s landed was rocky and barren.

Then there were the bad guys. Rather than going for comedy like H.R. Pufnstuff’s Witchiepoo or Lidsville’s Horatio HooDoo, the villains of Land of the Lost were dark, serious, and downright scary. Particularly the Sleestaks, the hissing, lizard-like aliens who constantly gave Marshall, Will and Holly trouble. They also gave many viewers of the show nightmares that last to this day.

The biggest difference between Land of the Lost and other Kroftt productions was a continuing storyline. In shows like Pufnstuff and Lidsville, the goal of getting the hell out of their personal nightmare was sort of pushed aside while the particular clean-shaven teenage boy tried to help out his newfound friends. In Land, the race to get back to the real world was prominent in the storyline and was even serialized from episode to episode. Even when one plot seemed to be standalone, there was always one small clue that propelled the Marshalls that much closer to leaving. Some say that the way Land of the Lost told its story was an influence for today’s megahit Lost.

Land of the Lost lasted for three seasons on NBC (though it continued in repeats for years afterward). It was probably the only Kroftt production that featured a member of the cast actually escaping their natural prison (that would be Spencer Milligan, who played Rick Marshall and ‘escaped’ for financial reasons). It was also the only Kroftt production to be remade, quite successfully, for another generation of Saturday morning viewers in the 90’s. That version of Land of the Lost aired on ABC and lasted for two seasons.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqhof8OvyAI

Sure, the special effects were cheesy and the acting wasn’t always up to award-winning standards, but the original Land of the Lost was simple and fun, as well. Most likely it will be this version, rather than the effects-laden, big star movie, that will be remembered in generations to come.

Clacked by Richard Keller
on Jun 11, 2009 @ 12:00 EST5EDT