Season Three again saw shifts in the production team, and even more noticeably, in front of the camera. As I understand it, Spencer Milligan couldn’t reach an amicable contract agreement and so he abruptly left the show. With his departure came new lyrics for the opening credits:

Will and Holly Marshall
As the earth beneath them trembled
Lost their father through the door of time
Uncle Jack went searching
And found those kids at last
Looking for a way to escape
From the Land of the Lost

Uncle Jack replaced Ranger Rick, and he was played by Ron Harper, best known to genre fans as astronaut Alan Virdon in the TV series incarnation of “Planet of the Apes.” He was a true uncle, rather than a father – instead of being preachy and bestowing wisdom, he was more often than not a man of action; a guy trying to get things done. I like Ron Harper, and if there’s a reason I’ve got some love for Season Three, much of it’s due to his presence. Would Spencer Milligan’s Rick have been as believable in many of these situations? Likely not. He’d accrued too much info during his time in the Land for these stories to work. In contrast, Uncle Jack was experiencing this madness through fresh eyes, and so he was more accepting.

Behind the scenes, Jon Kubichan and Sam Roeca took over as producer and story editor respectively, and between the two of them, they scripted the majority of the season. Their vision of the series was quite the departure from the two seasons that came before. Nearly everything – including the iconic elements such as the Sleestak, the Pakuni and the ubiquitous dinosaurs – got a major overhaul.

So far in writing this series of pieces I’ve tried to be objective, but in discussing the season opener, “After-Shock,” I feel the need to get a little personal. In the opening scene there’s an earthquake in the Land (an idea that was actually set up late in Season Two), and as Rick is fiddling away in a pylon (we only ever see him from behind), he’s suddenly and presumably whisked away and taken back home…alongside numerous images of rampant destruction across the Land. No matter what Will and Holly discussed afterwards, to a five-year old it came across that he was killed. This piece of television traumatized me, as it just seemed that Rick was ripped away from his children and that he’d died some horrible death. I have no childhood memories of “Land of the Lost” after this episode. Did I just stop watching? Did I block the rest of the season out? Was the general quality of Season Three just plain forgettable? I’ve no idea.

From an adult standpoint, however, “After-Shock” is rather anticlimactic. It’s essentially a rejiggered pilot designed to set up the third season, and in the process change a bunch of shit that had been established in the previous two seasons. Cha-Ka can suddenly speak broken English. The other Pakuni have disappeared along with Rick. Uncle Jack arrives. A fictitious (rather than reality-based) two-headed dinosaur, nicknamed Lulu, crops up in the swamp. High Bluff is destroyed and the Marshalls move into the Temple near the Lost City. Cha-Ka moves in with the Marshalls. The Sleestak have a leader (Jon Locke) who can speak English the Marshalls understand without the aid of the smoke-filled Library of Skulls. And Enik? Well, we’ll get to him in due course. These changes (Lulu aside) reflect the new production team’s vision (for better or worse) to deliver a more efficient series of scripts. Whether or not these scripts are any good is another matter entirely, but ultimately credit must be handed to a vision that wanted to bring something fresh to “Land of the Lost,” given that the previous template had been all but exhausted (as was evidenced by numerous tales in the second season).

Episode 2, “Survival Kit,” introduces the Cro-Magnon character of Malak, played by Richard Kiel, who would go on to play Jaws in the Bond movies “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker.” While “Land of the Lost” offered up its fair share of weak performances over three seasons, none were even close to as dire as Kiel’s. There’s absolutely nothing even remotely convincing about anything he delivers. The Sleestak fear him presumably because he’s taller than they are, and it just simply doesn’t work. As a result the episode can only be considered a failure. Enik shows up and, as the subtitle of this entry declares, is a dick. He’s a dick throughout most the season, too. Some see this as a betrayal of Enik’s character, but I see a guy who’s at the end of his rope, frazzled, and aching to get away from this intolerable place. It doesn’t help matters that Rick Marshall managed to exit the Land of the Lost, while he’s still stuck here dealing with countless species he considers beneath him. And he’s just sick and tired of the Marshalls fucking his shit up, as well as hurt that they’ve not invited him to come live with them in the Temple. This is the only plausible way to read Enik’s behavior throughout the season. Episode 3, “The Orb,” features Will becoming invisible after coming out of a pylon. After Wesley Eure’s coming out this week to AfterElton.com, this installment takes on a whole new meaning. Quite seriously – I’ve all the respect in the world for Mr. Eure for doing so, but when I got to this juncture in the article, I couldn’t help but notice a bizarre parallel after reading the interview. “The Orb” also features a plethora of soundbites for DJ’s who are still remixing the sounds of Dr. Alex Paterson 15 years after he went out of style.

Episode 4, “Repairman,” is a personal highlight for me, and it might be for you, too, provided you love “Doctor Who.” The Sleestak are once again messing around with a pylon in the hopes of blotting out the sun. Instead they induce solar flares that wreak havoc across the Land. A mysterious English gentleman appears with the intention of setting things right. Blandings (Laurie Main) declares that he’ll only be around until 6 o’clock, and he’s got several gadgets to aid him in his mission, as well as the ability to produce chocolate milkshakes out of thin air. Blandings is if not the Time Lord, most certainly a Time Lord. He’s a mysterious being who appears out of nowhere, speaking in rhymes and riddles and offering up hope to the helpless. He’s not invincible, yet he is a hero. He’s exactly what any given character on “Doctor Who” perceives the Doctor to be. And when his job is done, he disappears with no explanation and without expecting any thanks. If you hated “Love & Monsters,” perhaps “Repairman” will get the job done. If, on the other hand, “Doctor Who” ain’t your cup of tea, then this episode is perhaps the only entry in the entire series to give some hints as to the beings overseeing and controlling the Land of the Lost.

“Medusa,” Episode 5, delivers pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a piece of drama with that title, as well as the worst Medusa makeup you’ve ever seen in your life. Season Three is really hung up on dragging new elements into the Land. Some, like Blandings, work; others, like Malak and Medusa, do not. Holly is seduced by the charms of “Meddie.” Jack and Will must rescue her. This Medusa is stupid, because she wants to also be the Queen from “Snow White,” demonstrated by the fact that she keeps a mirror that talks to her. Guess where this ends up? A bad episode, but as right a time as any to point out how damn good Kathy Coleman is in Season Three. She really is. It’s just a shame she’s given so little to do as the season moves on. Episode 6, “Cornered,” features Will being poisoned by the sting of the tail of Torchy – a dimetrodon who breathes fire(?!). Again, Enik is a massive, duplicitous dick. Oh, and this is the first episode to end with Will singing a song. It’s not that Wesley Eure has a bad singing voice (he did, after all, provide vocals for one of the most memorable TV theme tunes of all time), but come on, this sort of thing has no business being in this series.

Episode 7, “Flying Dutchman,” could have been a masterpiece…had it not included a subplot featuring Kiel’s Malak. Otherwise, it’s a sad, haunting piece of fiction with wonderful atmosphere. If you know nothing about the mythical Flying Dutchman, I won’t ruin it for you; if you do, then you can glean what it’s all about…although it’s got absolutely no business taking place in “Land of the Lost” – like many of the elements introduced in Season Three. Episode 8, “Hot-Air Artist,” is another such example. A dude lands in the Land in his hot-air balloon. Maybe the Marshalls can go back up with him and escape? (At this point, the idea of the Land being a “closed universe,” as was set up in the first season, has clearly been abandoned.) But the guy’s a huckster, and is only interested in taking Cha-Ka with him so he can exploit the little guy as a carnival freak. Perhaps this character should’ve been named Blandings? Episode 9, “Abominable Snowman,” needs no explanation, except that in addition to a Yeti, there’s also a unicorn. Ack. The Snowman in question is just a guy in white furry suit – you will not mistake him for anything more interesting than that.

“Timestop,” Episode 10, is the one episode of the season that will take you back to classic “Land of the Lost.” (Funny, no?) It’s the story of a crystal that everyone covets, and of time going backwards, and of Enik being a dickhead of massive proportions. Good stuff written by Tom Swale, who had been a producer in Season Two. Surprising it slipped through the cracks and got made at all. Episode 11, “Ancient Guardian,” sees the Marshalls messing with a Sleestak-shaped totem that they should absolutely walk away from. “Hey! This looks cool! (Even though we hate these guys.) Let’s decorate our front porch with it!” The Abominable Snowman returns, and we ask why? Still, the twist at the end isn’t altogether terrible. Episode 12, “Scarab,” features a possessed Cha-Ka. In this episode, Enik is not the dick – Cha-Ka is! And it’s quite amusing, all things considered, but then again we’re nearing the end of the entire saga, so we’re easily amused.

So how does “Land of the Lost” end? With one of the most uninspiring episodes of the entire series, Episode 13, “Medicine Man” – a simple morality tale featuring an Indian (Ned Romero) and a soldier (Gregory Walcott) who must figure out how to get along. That’s it kids. That’s the end of the ‘70s incarnation of “Land of the Lost”: the entire shebang is completely and totally unresolved. The Marshalls are seemingly stuck in the Land for eternity. Enik doesn’t even get a chance to redeem himself. (Actually, it really ends with Wesley Eure singing another one of those damned songs!)

It’s been a long week, folks, and recapping 43 episodes of a series that most consider a joke at best hasn’t been easy…and I’ve completely failed to give Season Three its due, which is what I set out to accomplish here. Let’s try to fix that. Regardless of what I’ve said about Season Three above, what I like about this season, as opposed to Season Two, is that it’s full of possibilities – no matter how silly or uninspiring they may be. Most of it really doesn’t work, but rather than lodge cannonballs at the creative minds behind this stuff, I think it really shows how limited, as a concept, “Land of the Lost” really was. The reality is that David Gerrold pretty much said all that needed to be said with these ideas in Season One – most everything that came after was redundant, and even the few tales after that that did stand out weren’t special enough to warrant whole seasons being built around them. Yet “Land of the Lost” was total benchmark ‘70s television, and the fact that it lasted three seasons no doubt contributed to that perception. The ideas and imagery it presented have stood the test of time, and today we’re seeing a major Hollywood studio spending upwards of a $100 million based on these ideas. Nostalgia’s a funny thing, eh? Now if they can only pull off some kind of “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters” movie, they’ll have my eternal respect…well, as long as it doesn’t involve Will Ferrell, anyway.

All that said, any amount of money that can be made by this movie must be positive for “Land of the Lost” as a brand name, and if the movie does well, you never know what the future might hold. Personally, I’d like to see the movie do so well that somebody decides to greenlight a new version of the series for Sci Fi, which would be the obvious network for it to end up on (indeed, Sci Fi has even been running “Land of the Lost” marathons as of late). I mean, really, how many steps away from “Primeval” – an enormous success for ITV in England, as well as here in the States on BBC America – is a serious version of this concept? So if you’re a fan of the series, don’t be so quick to skip the movie, simply because it isn’t what you envisioned. Grab some friends and a few beers and head out to the movie theatre this weekend, because the future of “Land of the Lost” probably rests in the obnoxious antics of Will Ferrell. (That is, admittedly, a sentence I never in my life thought I’d have to type.)

Now back to your regularly scheduled breakdown of Season Two of “Land of the Lost…”

David Gerrold left the series after the first season, and so a new story editor was hired in the form of Dick Morgan, who’d written such Season One offerings as “Album” and “Follow That Dinosaur.” Clearly Morgan had a lot of respect for what Gerrold had laid down, but it seems that he perhaps didn’t have a big vision of his own. (In all fairness, this is an unfair supposition on my part; as with any TV show there are many fingers in the pie, and who’s to say who’s to blame?) Part of the problem with Season Two is that it frequently tries to expand on ideas from the first season, often without success. This isn’t to say that the season isn’t any good; in fact, you’ve got to be a bit obsessive about the show in order to notice a big difference from the first season…but, then again, that’s why I’m here sharing my insights with anyone who cares to listen.

On the other hand, Season Two doesn’t feel quite as compartmentalized as the first, which routinely shifted from Pakuni to dinosaur to Sleestak to Pylon story. Instead, Season Two does a much better job of mixing up all the elements of the series, and the various scenarios have a touch more realism about them, as all these elements should be bumping against one another on a regular basis. Further, while “Land of the Lost” is never in any danger of winning any acting awards, Kathy Coleman is considerably better here than she was in the first season, which, with a cast this small, makes a big difference. Coleman isn’t anywhere near as whiny and bratty as she was in her freshman year, which gives the show an overall slightly more mature vibe.

Nevertheless, the season gets off to a very weak start with “Tar Pit,” in which Dopey, the baby brontosaurus, gets stuck in a tar pit, and the Marshalls and the Pakuni must band together to get the little guy out. As you might guess, they do, because the only thing that could possibly scar a child more than a lurking Sleestak at this point is the death of a baby dinosaur. Episode 2, “The Zarn,” is a hell of a lot more promising, and introduces Season Two’s most potentially fascinating creation. (The episode is written by Morgan – just want to give the man some credit by mentioning that.) If the last time you watched “Land of the Lost” was when you were a kid, alongside your memories of Sleestak and dinosaurs and Pakuni, there’s no doubt another image from the show nestled in the deep recesses of your mind, and that’s The Zarn, a silver, glittery alien whom Rick and Will meet in the Mist Marsh – a triumph of an atmospheric set built for the new season. The Zarn (played by Van Snowden, but voiced by Marvin Miller) has seemingly ended up in the Land in his weird spaceship, which is like a giant maze of lights – it’s amazing Rick and Will can even find their way out. Also onboard the ship is a total ‘70s babe named Sharon (Brooke Bundy) who just so happens to have grown up in the same town and went to the same high school and lived on the same street as Rick, although he’s never seen her before. Holly and Will sense that she’s just a tad too perfect, but Marshall’s too busy getting a hard on…and, really, can you blame the guy? The Zarn is not necessarily evil, but rather a super-intelligent being bent on studying whatever comes his way, and no doubt the Marshalls are some pretty good pickings in a place that is lean on such offerings. Further, the guy is absolutely repelled by human emotion, as it sends him into quite the tizz. (It’s unfortunate that the Zarn and Enik never cross paths during the course of the season.) “The Zarn” is a good episode, and it certainly seems that Season Two is on the right track.

For the first time in the season, the Sleestak, as well as Enik, return for Episode 3, “Fair Trade,” in which Rick tumbles into a trap meant for a pig which the Sleestak wanted for dinner. Now Rick could end up as the main course unless Will and Holly can get a pig to the Sleestak before nightfall. Not a particularly great episode, yet actually rather witty at times, and Scutter McKay, who plays the Paku Ta, actually does some pretty decent work here and throughout the season in general. His Ta (unlike the actor who played him in Season One) brings some much needed humor to the Pakuni concept, and often manages to make the character fairly interesting (given what he has to work with, anyway). Episode 4, “One of Our Pylons is Missing,” is a problematic story, as it introduces a major new aspect of the Land (its “energy source”), but fails to give any real reason for the goings-on. Instead of providing a story, the episode wants to get by on weirdness alone and really fails to deliver any kind of cohesive third act. When I accuse this season of lacking a vision, it’s precisely because of fare like this. Episode 5, “The Test,” is a Cha-Ka story that sees the ape having to steal an allosaurus egg to prove his manhood. The egg eventually hatches, and cuteness ensues. Episode 6, “Gravity Storm” sees the return of The Zarn, as well as introduces his pet robot dinosaur. The title refers to literal moments when the gravity in the Land temporarily increases, and the Marshalls must investigate. Again, there’s not much to see here and the episode feels like it’s in search of a grand idea that it can’t quite deliver. By no means a season low point, but after The Zarn’s intriguing introduction, one would have liked to have seen his character expanded into a more, rather than less, interesting direction.

When people speak of Sid and Marty Krofft shows being full of subversive drug references, fare like Episode 7, “The Longest Day,” goes a long way toward making a valid case for the prosecution. When a pylon screws up and leaves the sun permanently stuck in the sky, the Sleestak begin to worry. A vision tells them that Rick Marshall is the cause. They bring him before the Library of Skulls, where the smoke is so thick, it’ll remind you of The Circle scenes in “That 70s Show.” Suddenly Rick can hear the Sleestak speak and he begins having all sorts of bizarre hallucinations, such as Holly as a proper English girl, and Will as what looks like a Canadian Mountie. Further, Spencer Milligan unquestionably plays the material as if he is stoned out of his gourd. If it all weren’t so strange, it might be funny, and there’s a great moment when a clearly high Marshall uses stoner logic to convince the Sleestak that they’ve perhaps, for generations, been using the Library’s wisdom incorrectly. Whether or not this is actually a “great” episode is debatable, but it is certainly one you will never forget. See it with a bud. Episode 8, “The Pylon Express,” also has its fair share of weirdness, and yet it has far more in common with Episode 4 than Episode 7. It’s another pylon story in search of a meaning, that – worst of all – seemingly presents the Marshalls with a clear cut way out of the Land of the Lost, and they don’t take it!

Episode 9, “A Nice Day” is tedious filler material that sees Holly’s life in jeopardy due to a dangerous plant, and Ta may be able to help. If it’s not already obvious, Season Two is heavy on Pakuni, yet light on Sleestak, which would be a deal breaker had the production team not found somewhat more interesting ways to utilize the Pakuni. Nevertheless, it’s very easy to find yourself disappointed by the general lack of all things ‘Stak in this season. “Baby Sitter” sees the third and final appearance of The Zarn, although he isn’t used much better here than he was the last time. At this point, he’s reduced to being little more than an intergalactic shit disturber by causing problems amongst the Pakuni, and Holly must step in and help out. One thing that becomes increasingly clear with this season is that there’s far more of an emphasis on humor than there was in the first. (One wonders if this was the result of some order that came down from the top.)

The final three episodes of the season see the show heading back into stranger territories. Episode 11, “The Musician,” sees the Marshalls, along with Cha-Ka, exploring the deserted Temple area of the Lost City, and encountering a new force with which to reckon. Yet another installment that’s heavy on weirdness, but light on reason, however what happens to Cha-Ka may be a possible explanation for his sudden grasp of English in Season Three (this is his final appearance for the season). In any case, keep an eye out for Phillip Paley sans his Paku makeup in the episode’s “climax,” such as it is. Episode 12, “Split Personality,” is unquestionably a season highlight, filled with a number of creepy images, most notably alternate versions of Rick and Will stuck in a wall. (No doubt you remember this one from your childhood.) The episode is a fine example of what can be done with unanswered mysteries in “Land of the Lost.” The piece never feels convoluted – just dark and strange sci-fi, and precisely the sort of thing this show is at its best tackling. The season finale is called “Blackout,” and it’s something of a sequel/companion piece to “The Longest Day.” Instead of the sun getting stuck, this time it’s one of the moons, and the Land shifts to a permanent night shift. Of course this time the Sleetsak are behind it, thinking that it will allow them greater access to the “sacred Altrusian moth,” but Enik realizes the folly of their thinking, and enlists Rick’s help to make things right. By no means as interesting as its predecessor, there’s still a lot to like in the episode, particularly Enik’s witty banter with the Sleestak.

Come back to Premium Hollywood on Friday for the final entry in this series, and find out what happens after Rick Marshall returns home at the beginning of “Land of the Lost”: Season Three!

Click to buy “Land of the Lost: The Complete Series”.

Click to buy the limited-edition lunchbox edition of “Land of the Lost: The Complete Series”.

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.

While the Krofft brothers were behind the basic idea of the show, David Gerrold (famous for writing the “Star Trek” tale “The Trouble with Tribbles”) was hired as the show’s story editor, and it became his job to flesh out and create the entire universe for the series, a task which he accomplished admirably. (One wonders if the job had been given to someone else, how much less a series it might have been.) Gerrold took the entire premise very seriously, enlisting the creative juices of such sci-fi writers as D.C. Fontana, Ben Bova, and Larry Niven to write episodes for the first season. While the special effects are often times silly by today’s standards, this stuff was pretty cutting edge for Saturday morning TV fare in 1974, particularly the stop-motion animation of the dinosaurs, which isn’t quite up to the level of Ray Harryhausen, yet still managed to capture the imaginations of a generation of young dino-enthusiasts. Aside from the stop-motion footage, the show is shot on videotape…which, as we all know, is often considered the mark of bad drama. But I certainly don’t feel that way, and if it’s something you can get past, you’ll likely find quite a bit to enjoy within the 17 episode first season of this series.

All that said, Season One begins in about as lackluster a manner as anything I’ve ever seen; it would be very easy to give up on this show after only a few episodes. The first five installments are mostly interested in introducing the various elements of the series, and how the Marshalls will relate to all these elements over the long haul. Episode 1, “Cha-Ka,” introduces the family, and thus the viewer, to dinosaurs, the ape-like Pakuni, and (briefly) the mysterious pylons. It’s really a very boring start for the series, as Cha-Ka (Philip Paley) and his Pakuni brethren are one of the show’s least engaging elements, yet we can’t fault the series for not attempting to scare the bejeezus out of 7 year olds coming right out of the gate; this was a very safe and probably smart jumping off point for the show. It’s also noteworthy that the series begins with the Marshalls having been in the Land of the Lost for what appears to be at least one night; the opening credits take care of explaining how they came to be there. (This was specifically mentioned, as I’ll be coming back to it later.) Episode 2, “The Sleestak God,” as you might surmise, introduces the humanoid lizard foes that will plague the Marshall family for their entire stay in this otherworldly dimension…and it’s always worth reiterating that this show does not take place in Earth’s past, as many seem to think it does. Again, not much happens here; the Sleestak capture Will and Holly, and Rick and Cha-Ka must rescue them. Regardless, there’s no question that the Sleestak make a big impression right off the bat. These bastards – along with their bizarre caves and unseen God – are creepy as hell. (There’s a reason the basic Sleestak design has been retained for the new movie – it works.)

Episodes 3 and 5, “Dopey” and “Tag Team” are both straight-up dino tales, while Episode 4, “Downstream,” at least begins to offer us a peek into how complex this series could become. After an encounter with another man trapped in the Land – a Confederate solider living in a cave who regularly consumes “mushroom tea” (kid’s TV in the 70s – ain’t nothing else like it) – the Marshalls learn exactly how difficult it may be to escape from the Land.

Finally we get to Episode 6, “The Stranger,” written by no less than Walter “Chekov” Koenig. “The Stranger” is when “Land of the Lost” really begins to take off, and it becomes glaringly obvious that this is far more than just a kid’s show. The episode introduces the character of Enik the Altrusian (Walker Edmiston, who also played the aforementioned Confederate soldier). Looking similar to a Sleestak – yet shorter and clothed – Enik is clearly the first intelligent lifeform the Marshalls have encountered. Claiming to be from the future, Enik has also fallen through the time doorway, and having encountered the Sleestak, he has deduced that they must be his ancestors. He has ideas about how to get home, thanks to a device called a Mageti, and may be able to help the Marshalls return as well. What follows is part sci-fi and part morality play. There are some really hefty ideas on display in this half hour – stuff that puts most adult shows to shame in the thinking department. Delivering what’s probably the best acting job in the entire series – from within a cumbersome costume, no less – Edmiston is a huge coup for the series. He plays Enik with such pomposity and intellect that his mere introduction couldn’t help but alter the feel and direction of the show.

“The Stranger” is followed by a string of tight installments: “Album,” “Skylons,” and “The Hole.” “Album” sees the Sleestak ensnaring Will and Holly in such a twisted, hallucinatory trap that it indicates they’re perhaps not quite as primitive as they usually act. “Skylons” further opens up the world of the pylons, the peculiar, pyramid-like structures dotted around the Land of the Lost. Do they hold the key to getting home, or do they just cause more headaches for the Marshalls? (Usually the latter.) “The Hole” again expands on the world of the Sleestak when Rick finds himself trapped in the bottom of the Sleestak pit with a Sleestak – only this one can not only talk, but has a name – S’Latch. Man and ‘Stak must join together to escape before they’re devoured by the always unseen Sleestak God. Of course, the series can’t possibly maintain the intense momentum, and Episode 10, “The Paku Who Came to Dinner,” is yet another banal Cha-Ka episode, offering up very little that’s either dramatic or interesting, and yet there can be no doubt than when the show aired back in ’74, legions of little girls probably thought Cha-Ka was just adorable, and so the show must occasionally throw an easy-to-chew bone at the audience. The fact that “Land of the Lost” can veer back and forth between such wildly different types of storytelling is actually something of a testament to its strength as a series that’s potentially reaching out to a very wide audience.

Things quickly get back on track with “The Search,” which sees the return of Enik. Will must seek out the Altrusian’s help when Rick is left paralyzed after messing around with crap he does not understand, and once again Enik is less than pleased to have to deal with the inconvenience of the Marshalls. “The Possession” and “Follow That Dinosaur” both keep the pace being pylon and Sleestak stories respectively. The latter features the lizard men at their creepiest – awakening from hibernation – as well as offering up an excellent backstory about two other men who were once trapped in the Land of the Lost. Then we are once again back to a silly Cha-Ka story, “Stone Soup,” for Episode 14. (There’s almost a pattern to the way the season is structured if you’re paying attention.)

As we get nearer to the end of the season, up pops “Elsewhen,” written by D.C. Fontana, a very good Holly story, in which a beautiful blond woman, Rani (Erica Hagen, who’d previously played the deceased Marshall matriarch in a vision in “Album”), appears to the youngest Marshall and helps her to save her father and brother. The story’s a little cheesy, and probably not quite as brilliant as it thinks it is, though it’s often considered quite the fan favorite and Gerrold once said that he thought it might be the best entry of the entire season. The penultimate episode, “Hurricane,” sees the Marshalls once again messing around with the skylons/pylons and this time yet another human – an astronaut played by character actor Ron Masak – is dragged into the Land of the Lost. While this was quite a novelty for Season One, these types of stories would eventually become more of the norm in later seasons, and it isn’t difficult to see why: there are ultimately only so many things that you can do with dinosaurs, crystal tables, and monkey men in a series of this type, and I think really, as Season One moves along, it becomes more and more evident that there are a finite number of tales to tell with the elements Gerrold set up. Make no mistake, the season does a fantastic job of exploring and exploiting the ideas set up in the first half dozen episodes, but if a Season Two was going to happen, perhaps a few new elements were going to have to be brought into the mix.

Of course nobody really knew if there was going to be a Season Two, and Gerrold, tired of seeing shows finish up without definitive endings, decided to give “Land of the Lost” just that with Episode 17, “Circle.” Once again an out of this world hodge-podge mixture of sci-fi, the story sees Enik messing around with the time doorway, only to find that it is “stuck” on a loop of the Marshalls going over the waterfall. He explains that they can finally go home, as long as the three Marshalls caught in the loop come through after their departure. Of course, in true Enik fashion, this is all done out of self-interest, as the doorway is useless to him until the Marshalls go through it. And so Marshall, Will and Holly return home, and the entire story starts over with the Marshall family that was stuck in the loop entering the Land of the Lost and taking the place of the Marshalls who exited. Further, the last few minutes of the tale actually show the Marshalls arriving in the Land, and moving into High Bluff, and thus providing viewers with the intro they were denied in the first episode. When Episode 17 is over, you just simply put Episode One on after it and start the entire cycle over again (hence the title of the episode). I’m pretty sure this concept made my head explode when I was a kid, and Gerrold didn’t do the series itself any favors with this installment, since it must be ignored to be able to move on to Season Two. Yet had there never been a Season Two, it would today be looked back on as one hell of a series finale. Indeed, it’s almost unfortunate the next two seasons exist so as to prevent it from being the last word on “Land of the Lost.”

Be sure to come back to Premium Hollywood on Wednesday for a breakdown of “Land of the Lost”: Season Two!

Click to buy “Land of the Lost: The Complete Series”.

Click to buy the limited-edition lunchbox edition of “Land of the Lost: The Complete Series”.