Customer Reviews

Land of the Lost - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wah Chang and Gene Warren were two VERY famous OSCAR winners for special effects in the original George Pal production of "The Time Machine" in 1960. They also did work on "The Outer Limits" for those that remember that sci-fi show. These legends were called upon once again to work in this landmark television series for kids that was a part of Saturday morning programs meant to stimulate the imagination and entertain. There were also quality writers gathered from Science fiction to write some of the plots that you will see here in this first season of shows. In describing the show it is much like a children's version of a Doctor Who adventure. Short on budget but excellent in imaginative designs and well written plots. So, like Doctor Who, you have to ignore the low budget stage pieces and let your imagination along with the dialog rule how you will judge it. The most interesting and innovative idea are a race of "silurians" known as "The Sleestak". One intelligent version of the Sleestak controls travel through time and we see experiments using "crystals" (ala' George Pal) as a means of power to alter the time universe. As the series progressed the plots became thicker and if you are a fan willing to look beyond the constraints of the program you will find it fascinating. Well recommended for kids and older "kids" too!

While these shows originally aired on Saturday mornings, I never knew about them showing at that time slot - I grew up seeing them re-run after school and during the summers in the afternoons. Of all the shows on television, this was my all time favorite and one of my most fondly remembered.

One thing I really appreciated about these shows even at age 6 when they first aired, was how deep, engaging and non-patronizing they were. These were not simply "kid" shows. This was real in-your-face science fiction at full throttle - where kids were treated with respect. I never felt talked down to as an audience member or as a child watching these shows. They were mentally engaging and it was easy to overlook some of the less-than-stellar effects which were still pretty advanced for their time.

At age 6 I knew that the dinosaurs were claymation. Heck, Grumpy the T-Rex didn't even have a throat and he had a mouth more like Kermit the Frog than a menacing dino - but I didn't care. The sound effects, the music, the eyes - all gave me the creeps.

The show's premise is utterly brilliant: a family is on a camping expedition and has all their camping gear above their raft as they paddle "high on the rapids." An earthquake hits and they plummet down a waterfall to certain death only to find they have somehow entered a time-door of sorts to another time and dimension where even the weather and gravity are artifically controlled, dinosaurs run amok and the veggies are freakin' huge.

Rick Marshall, his son Will and daughter Holly are alone in this utter wilderness with no telephone, no TV, no toilets... somehow they manage to survive for years without threadbare or stained/ripped clothes and even find time make friends with the natives and learn the Pakuni language.

It's not just a 1970s Jurassic Park, either - there are all sorts of weird things going on - the half-insect/half-lizard "men" known as the Sleestak are second only to the Tiki god in "Trilogy of Terror" on the fear meter. Their eerie hisses made my heart go a flutter. There are exploding crystals, astronauts parachuting in, all sorts of interestingly whacky sci-fi stuff.

The acting of Spencer Milligan, Kathy Coleman and Wesley Eure cannot be overstated. Their unique abilities to be believable made the show believable. Were there cheesy scenes? You bet! A bit over acting here & there? Yes! BUT - this was a believable family doing the best to stay sane in an insane environment.

The DVD has commentaries from the stars that will have you holding your gut laughing. An interview with the now adult Kathy Coleman and Wesley Eure is awesome. They loved working on the show and cherish the memories as much as those of us who grew up watching the series. The back stories on what went on behind the scenes as well as their take on certain themes and characters is utterly priceless.

For decades, I have pined for this show and whenever I've run into 30-somethings and the topic of this show would come up, I have always heard the comments of either "I LOVED THAT SHOW!" or "Those Sleestak scared the pee out of me!" or both.

The show was so well thought out. Professional voice talent went into the masked/make-uped characters. A linguist from UCLA invented the Pakuni language to make it grammatical and believable. Basketball stars of the 70s played the Sleestak... and the best sci-fi writers of the era wrote for the show, including D.C. Fontana and Walter Koenig.

The commentaries are a hoot, and priceless in my own estimation. I love this DVD set! I had gotten the VHS version of the shows, but quickly replaced them when this DVD set came out with the commentaries and interviews with the cast. The only thing I'd like to see would be out-takes, home movies and period photos of the cast out of make up, etc. Other than that, flawless - a fantastic job by Rhino - God bless them one and all. I cannot say enough how much joy and nostalgia these shows have brought into my home.

Alright, everybody sing along now:

Marshal, Will and Holly
on a routine expedition,
met the greatest earthquake
ever known...

High on a rapid,
it struck their tiny raft (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!)
and plunged them down a thousand feet below...

To the Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand of the Lost Lost Lost...

I have been waiting for this DVD for almost 30 years and now I will get to relive my ritual Saturday mornings as a kid!!! Live-Action Saturday morning shows in the 70's ruled!!! Now we just need to get the Filmation shows on DVD like Ark II, Shazaam! and Mighty Isis, Space Academy and Jason of Star Command!!!

Get out your sleeping bags and a box of Quisp cereal and throw a big Saturday Morning slumber party because the ultimate Saturday Mornings are back once again!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!

This set gives us "old folks" the nostalgia we've been waiting for. It took me only 2 days to view this DVD set and let me tell you, it brings back the memories.
Alhtough the series FX seem "cheesy", they still don't hamper the rememberance of the episodes. Those of us that grew up with it will see through it. My 8-year old son loves it and wants more.
This series will always have a place in my family and I recommend it to yours because, yes it was somewhat scary in it's time but they use some good morals that still hold water to this day.
I recommend this DVD to all "old school" LOTL fans.

I can't believe this was released on dvd. This was probably my favorite saturday morning show as a kid and I never thought I would ever see it again. I think the releasing of all these old shows on dvd sets that has been happening in recent years was the best idea the dvd industry has ever done.

Land of the lost was a classic show. For its day, the special effects were great and as far as the story's, even kids shows of today can't match them. I am 36 now and I was probably about 7 or 8 when I watched them and watching them now, I still enjoy them. The stories were very well written for a saturday afternoon kids show. No matter what I was doing on saturday morning, I had to be in to watch Land of the Lost!! The set itself is very well done! The menu animations and extras are first rate, better than most that are made for motion picture dvd releases. The picture transfer quality for a 30 year old show is amazing. Overall one of the best sets released this year!! If you remember this show as a kid, you will not be disapointed in this purchase. A great addition to any persons dvd set collection!

From September 1974 to November 1976 countless young Saturday morning viewers (myself included) of the 70s were spellbound by the innovative live-action series Land of the Lost. Created and produced by puppeteer brothers Sid & Marty Krofft, the show was about a forest ranger and his two children who fall through a time portal and find themselves in a prehistoric world. Ranger Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan), his son Will (Wesley Eure) and daughter Holly (Kathy Coleman) encounter dinosaurs (aptly named "Grumpy," "Dopey," and "Big Alice") and Cha-ka (Philip Paley) and his apelike race the Paku. But most memorable from LOTL (just ask any fan of the show) were the Sleestaks, a lumbering, hissing race of reptilian creatures, who were performed by Dave Greenwood, John Lambert and Bill Laimbeer (of Detroit Pistons fame).

As impressive as the special effects were back in the 70s, today they are considered as primitive as the dinosaurs that appear in the Land of the Lost itself. But don't be surprised if you find yourself appreciating the Ray Harryhausen-like techniques & effects and those surreal backgrounds, as it is very painstaking work with an end result that is uniquely satisfying. The cast was solid and gave strong performances. It's uncanny how the show puts the viewer in the Land of the Lost, which I've always regarded as "the ultimate camping trip." From the Marshall's cool above-ground, above-danger cave and their mirror "communicators," to their day-to-day adventures in the prehistoric world, the show was in a class by itself to which the inferior 90s Land of the Lost update paled in comparison.

The first season comprises of 17 episodes, one of which ("The Stranger") was written by Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov from "Star Trek"). Rhino Video's previous 4-episode Land of the Lost DVD featured nice picture quality (for an early 70s print), 2.0 mono mix and 2 extras: an interview with the Krofft brothers themselves, and a 'look back' with Kathy Coleman (Holly) and Philip Paley (Cha-Ka), so as far as treatment and extras go you should expect no less for this long-awaited classic collection. Pour yourself a bowl of your favorite cereal, get lost in Land of the Lost and enjoy!

I can't say how thrilled I am to see the Land of the Lost FINALLY coming out. I eagerly waited each Saturday morning for it to come on. It was magical, it was fun, it was one of my favorite shows. What on earth has happened to Saturday morning programming for kids? It's awful nowadays! We had it so good growing up.
I can't wait to see this show again.

Utterly remarkable! I knew there was a reason I loved this series so much when I was a kid--the writers! Theodore Sturgeon, D.C. Fontana (from Star Trek NG), David "The Trouble with Tribbles" Gerrold, Ben Bova, and the incomparable Larry "Ringworld" Niven. It's amazing that a kids show in the early 70s was able to round up THE biggest heavyweights in sci-fi.

I used to go to sleep at night on Friday as a little kid and dream about waking up in The Land of the Lost. Exploration, adventure, dinosaurs, space travel, dimensional doorways! Shoot! I'd go there now if I could!

I just don't care about the ancient special effects (they were cutting edge at the time). They are campy but the script is good enough to take you there and make you believe. The writers carry the show. It is pure brilliance. Furthermore, it is pretty grown up for kids. For instance. . .

In "Hurricane" the family and a stranded astronaut look through binoculars to a distant mountain top and see. . .themselves! They've looked "around the world" in the closed universe that is The Land of the Lost! Blew my mind as a six year old!

In "Album" the kids meet up with what appears to be their mother. But their mom died a few years earlier!

I'm waiting for the episode where Holly gets caught in a pylon that takes her to all the worlds with pylon dimensional doorways. She comes across Earth and can step right out of the pylon and back home again. She refrains because her dad and Will aren't with her. She's so close a frisbee flys into the pylon just before the door closes. She brings back a souvenir from home. Maybe in the season 2 DVD set?

The picture quality is great. The interface is fun, and the extras are excellent. Get your Coco Pebbles and your pyjammas on for the full effect!

At long last, the first season of LOTL has come out on DVD, and has been given a first-class treatment by Rhino. Even when viewing the disks on a PS2, the video and audio quality are superb for a thirty-year old television series.

As one of the most intelligent and intriguing Saturday morning series ever produced, the quality of episodes alone make this set worthy of purchase. But the three disks are full of many wonderful extras, including interviews with and commentaries by such luminaries of science fiction as Larry Niven, David Gerrold, Walter Koenig and Dorothy Fontana, as well as comments by the Krofft brothers, Wesley Eure (Will), and Kathy Coleman (Holly). Hopefully Spencer Milligan (Rick Marshall) will be interviewed for the upcoming second season set.

A superb release that all LOTL fans will appreciate. If you miss the Sleestak, Pakuni, and Skylons of your childhood (or want to introduce them to your own children) go out and buy this set now...you won't regret it!

LOTL was my favorite Saturday morning show that came on back in the early-mid 70's. Along with all the cartoons, and all the other live action shows like Shazam, Isis, ARK, and a few others. I have been waiting 30 years for this to come to VHS, now better yet on DVD. I am 38, soon to be 39 this year, and I have very fond memories of LOTL. Sure, the acting is campy, the effects are really not that good, but you got to remember, it was the 70's, and it was done on a gudget. We may be older now, and all grown up, and we may perceive the show a little bit differently then we did when we were kids, but you have to admit, LOTL is timeless Saturday Morning tv at its best.