If there’s one thing the upcoming “Land of the Lost” movie can be counted on to do, it’s generate some long overdue interest in the classic Sid and Marty Krofft series upon which it’s based. Viewers of the new film, starring Will Ferrell, will largely be made up of two groups: those who watched the show back in the seventies, and those who have no idea the movie is even based on a TV show. With a sweet new “Complete Series” box set currently in stores, there’s no better time than now to look back at the show that began scarring many a young psyche when it was unveiled in 1974.
The Kroffts unleashed all manner of trippy live action television fare on Saturday morning viewers back in the ‘70s, but the majority of their output was campy and comical. “Land of the Lost” really stood apart from most of their other productions with its far more serious themes and dramatic approach. The first season of “Land of the Lost” is oftentimes seriously thought-provoking science fiction, wrapped around a fair amount of fatherly advice, sibling friction, and heaping helpings of action & adventure and thrills & chills. Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) and his teenage children Will (Wesley Eure) and Holly (Kathy Coleman) are, as the famous theme song goes, on a routine expedition when they go over a waterfall and end up in a strange place populated by dinosaurs, monkey people, and a slew of lizard men that gave a generation of kids nightmares that lasted for years.
It’s been two days of steady announcements for fans of both “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood.” Yesterday came the news that instead of Sci Fi airing the latest episodes of “Who,” BBC America would instead be premiering the final five David Tennant adventures beginning in June with “The Next Doctor,” and then July will see the premiere of “Planet of the Dead.” Granted, it’s a shame that BBC America isn’t in as many homes as Sci Fi, but isn’t BBCA really the proper place for the Doctor?
This morning the BBC issued a press release naming the newest companion to travel with the Time Lord. Her name is Karen Gillan, and she’s Scottish and all of 21 years old. She’ll be time travelling with new Doctor Matt Smith when Season Five gets under way in 2010.
Incoming head honcho Steven Moffat had this to say about Gillan: “We saw some amazing actresses for this part, but when Karen came through the door the game was up. Funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too.”
And last, but certainly not least, the latest trailer – clocking in at just over 2 minutes – for “Torchwood: Children of Earth” has been unveiled. It’s still so difficult to tell anything about this miniseries. Will it rock, or will it just roll? Will the ante be upped, or will it flail around on the ground? Chances are this thing’s going to be a solid five hours of entertainment, based simply on the quality of the first two seasons, and yet the whole “kid” thing seems like a huge gamble for this series. Fingers crossed! Take a gander for yourself:
With each new “Dallas” release, I expect the show to finally start sucking, and this was the first set where it seemed like that might actually be the case. Picking up (as soaps are wont to do) where we left off, Pam has been burnt to a crisp in a fiery explosion, because Victoria Principal wanted off the show. But Pam lives – bandaged up and looking an awful lot like Karloff’s Mummy, inert in a hospital bed. Why not just kill her, fer chrissakes? Apparently, after the dream season fiasco, the producers were simply not going to kill off a major player for good, and the first third of the season revolves around this nonsense. Will she live or won’t she? What will she look like beneath the bandages? Will Bobby ever let little Christopher see his mummy again? Is it possible Victoria isn’t gone after all? The first ten or so episodes of the thirty presented here are some of the silliest “Dallas” I’ve ever seen. (Even the producers seem to think it’s all a joke – one of the episodes is actually titled “Mummy’s Revenge.”)
Alongside the Pam drama, the show also presents a lengthy plotline involving Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) meeting an old drunk named Dandy (Bert Remsen) who reminds him of his father, Digger. This tediously goes on and on and on, until it reaches a logical conclusion, which in turn leads to a scene between Barnes and Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) that’s one of the most pivotal, moving scenes in the entire series. No, it doesn’t justify hours of watching Cliff hanging with an old drunk, but it does make some sense of it all. It’s somewhere around this point that the season gets back on track and turns into some pretty decent “Dallas.”
Also at the end of Season 10, J.R. (Larry Hagman) lost Ewing Oil completely, thanks to the government and Jeremy Wendell (William Smithers), the head of Westar. He spends all of Season 11 deviously plotting to get it back, and it’s a major highlight to watch this unfold, one sleazy step at a time. There doesn’t seem to be anything J.R. won’t do, or anyone he won’t trample, in order to get his daddy’s company back. As is usually the case, J.R.’s antics keep the series centered, regardless of how numbing some of the proceedings may be. At the same time, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) is busy furthering her lingerie company with the help of high-powered business consultant Nicholas Pearce (Jack Scalia). For the first half of the season, Pearce is one of the most grating, annoying characters ever seen on this series…and then he suddenly becomes hugely likable, with a pretty damn interesting backstory as well. It’s one of the coolest “Dallas” flip-flops I’ve ever experienced.
In other news, Bobby (Patrick Duffy) finds potential love – not once but twice – after losing Pam, as well as going after something J.R. covets dearly. Clayton (Howard Keel) falls in love with a painting, and Bel Geddes gets to play a ridiculous drunk scene that must be seen to be believed. Ray (Steve Kanaly) and Jenna (Priscilla Presley) finally tie the knot, which leads to endless problems for the couple, including Charlie (Shalane McCall) acting up at school and messing around with a boy – but not just any boy. No, the object of Charlie’s teenage lust in no less than Brad Pitt! He’s got maybe one scene in each of four episodes, and has very little to do, but nevertheless it’s freakin’ Brad Pitt, some 20 years before he became an Inglourious Basterd.
And just in case anyone might think the show is becoming less and less “Dallas” with each passing season, in the penultimate episode, “Things Ain’t Goin’ So Good at Southfork Again,” Lucy (Charlene Tilton) returns to the fold after a three season absence. And she is lookin’ mighty fine.
Despite the fact that “Donnie Darko” was one of the most imaginative, bold, exciting and talked about cult films of the last ten years, nobody really asked for a sequel. It was just that kind of movie – it said everything that it needed to say in one sitting. Heck, even Richard Kelly’s director’s cut that came around a few years later felt pretty superfluous. Nevertheless, the bean counters have won again, and so we have “S. Darko,” which is made by an entirely new set of creative folk yet stars Daveigh Chase, who played Donnie’s little sister, Samantha, in the original. Taking place seven years after the events of “Donnie Darko,” the sequel sees Samantha and her friend Corey (Briana Evigan, daughter of Greg) taking a road trip cross country, only to have their car break down in a crappy little town. There, all manner of weirdness surrounds them, most of it ripped directly from the original film. Tangent universes? Check. Roberta Sparrow’s time travel book? Check. Evil bunny mask? Check. A perverted motivational speaker? Check. Funny thing is, “S. Darko” finds absolutely nothing fresh or new to do with any of these ideas.
The movie is so reliant on the mythology set up in the original that it would make absolutely no sense if you haven’t seen the original, and yet because it brings nothing new to the table, fans of the original are bound to find it little more than a pointless exercise in commerce. It’s a shame about the screenplay, because most of the actors turn in pretty good performances, especially Evigan, whom I look forward to seeing more of in the future. Director Chris Fisher knows his way around the camera as well, and there are some really pretty pictures on display. And certainly any movie featuring music from The Cocteau Twins, Catherine Wheel and Dead Can Dance can’t be all bad, but it just so happens this one isn’t very good, either.
As my colleague Will Harris pointed out, these two discs are nothing more than a shameless attempt to “wring a few more bucks off the old series in the wake of the new movie.” Well, of course they are, and Paramount has never been above repackaging this series ad infinitum. But it’s worth mentioning that, for some people, a little “Trek” can go a long way, and if you fall into such a category, then you’re the consumer Paramount is reaching for. With only 4 episodes per disc, these are an affordably-priced and time efficient alternative to the rather expensive and lengthy season box sets.
Further, perhaps you’re new to the “Trek” fold thanks to J.J. Abrams’ movie? If so, two of the episodes featured here were supposed inspirations for the new flick: “Balance of Terror” from the Original Series disc, which introduced the Romulans, and “Yesterday’s Enterprise” from the Next Generation disc, which features an alternate timeline scenario. Both are fine examples of great “Trek.” Of course they’d better be, given the “Best of” label.
Rounding things out on the TOS disc are “The City on the Edge of Forever,” a time travel story long considered a sparkling jewel in the “Trek” crown; the humorous classic “The Trouble with Tribbles”; and “Amok Time,” which sees Kirk and Spock beating the crap out of one another. Also on the TNG disc are “The Best of Both Worlds (Part 1 & 2),” which features a dazzlingly intense encounter with the creepy Borg, and “The Measure of a Man,” a Data-centric story that wouldn’t have been my first choice to represent the TNG series in this context.
