Land of the Lost: The Complete Series

For 35 years, Sid and Marty Krofft's Land of the Lost has held a special place in the hearts of all who were first enchanted by this live-action adventure series when it premiered on NBC in 1974. Ranger and widower Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) is on a “routine expedition” with his teenage son Will (Wesley Eure) and younger daughter Holly (Kathy Coleman) when “the greatest earthquake ever known” plunges their raft down a long waterfall into…you guessed it, the Land of the Lost—a prehistoric, inter-dimensional wonderland of tempting delights and deadly menace. The series boasts a friendly if occasionally troublesome pet dinosaur (plus some not-so-friendly T-Rexes lurking about), the slightly ape-like young Cha-ka of the prehistoric Pakuni people, a time traveler named Enik, and, of course, the hissing, slow-stalking reptilian villains, the Sleestaks. With its mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and kid-vid horror, Land of the Lost posted a promising first season, with some of the teleplays penned by established sci-fi writers, but over the course of its 43-episode run, the series also suffered from the volatile nature of TV production (including Milligan's eventual departure and replacement by Ron Harper as “Uncle Jack”), and the subsequent second and third seasons were exercises in diminishing returns (the last episode aired in 1976). Yet, with its combination of timeless life-lessons and cheesy low-budget thrills, Land of the Lost retained a loyal nostalgic-cult following (although that didn't translate into box-office success for 2009's ill-fated big-screen remake starring Will Ferrell). This no-frills release (which is also available in a limited collector's edition with the DVDs packaged in an exact replica of a Land of the Lost tin-metal lunchbox from 1974 for $69.98) is completely devoid of the bonus features appearing on the series sets released on the Rhino label between 2004-05. In fact, the sole extra here is a nine-minute featurette promoting the Ferrell movie while offering a brief retrospective look at the original series. Sure to appeal to nostalgic baby boomers, this is recommended, overall, for larger TV collections. (J. Shannon)