The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
The opening theme song to the series pretty much tells it all:
Marshall, Will, and Holly
On a routine expedition
Met the greatest earthquake ever known.
High on the rapids
It struck their tiny raft.
And plunged them down a thousand feet below.
To the Land of the Lost.
Basically, a family of three–Rick Marshall along with his teen-aged son Will and pre-teen daughter Holly–fall through a dimensional doorway that leads to a planet in another universe inhabited by dinosaurs and the remnants of an ancient civilization. They must find a way to survive in this dangerous land while also looking for a means to return to Earth.
Aired: NBC, 1974-76, 3 Seasons Totaling 43 Episodes
Starring: Spencer Milligan, Wesley Eure, Kathy Coleman, Phillip Paley, Walker Edmiston, Ron Harper
Developed By: Sid & Marty Krofft (Creators/Executive Producers), David Gerrold
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Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
This series showed up on the Saturday morning schedule at a time when Prime Time did not have much to offer in the way of sci fi and fantasy shows (more on that at this link), and it offered an interesting genre entry that appealed to more than just young viewers. Kids’ show veterans Sid & Marty Krofft (H.R. Pufnstuf, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters) came up with the basic concept and brought on former Star Trek writer David Gerrold (“The Trouble with Tribbles”) to develop it and turn it into a series.
Gerrold decided to take a serious approach to the show, leaning into its sci fi elements and building out the setting to give it many story possibilities. He added the pylons, the Sleestak, the circular universe, and more, and he brought on sci fi writers to pen the scripts. In addition, the creative team came up with an entire language for the Pakuni tribe, and viewers would learn that as the series unfolded.
The show did suffer from a Saturday morning budget, which led to poor production quality (though they did a decent job with the dinosaur stop-motion), stilted directing, and less-than-spectacular acting. But that was expected from this type of series, and the stories and developing arc helped it rise above its limitations. The third season also proved to be a disappointment after cast shakeups, but overall, Land of the Lost made an impression on the genre and would be remembered long after its initial run. The show definitely has plenty of warts, but it established a legacy for itself and certainly deserves to be counted among the all-time genre greats. (Read of more about the show at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Argument Against:
Does Land of the Lost count as one of the greatest sci fi and fantasy TV shows of all time? Watch one episode—even one of the better ones—and then answer that question. The production for this show was so cheesy and the acting was so bad (particularly Holly’s incessant whining) that a modern viewer would have a hard time sitting through it, even though the episodes only run about 25 minutes. Sure, there was more substance than the average Saturday morning show, and in the 1970s, sci fi fans—starved for any sort of genre entry on the tube—might have given it some leeway. But this one just does not hold up. It is certainly ripe for a reboot that follows the same premise but adds more dollars to the production. But the original falls short on too many levels and fails to even count as a Top 100 genre series.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
As mentioned above, the broadcast networks did not have much to offer in the way of sci fi in Prime Time in 1974, and as a young genre fan at that time, I tuned in for Land of the Lost when it first premiered. Even at that early age, I acknowledged the poor production values of the show, but I had been watching cheesy sci fi for years by that point and still loving it. And it had dinosaurs, and those looked pretty cool. I was hooked, and I watched this one all the way through during its original run.
As it went through years of repeats, I continued to watch it, and I started to appreciate the world that the show developed and the sci fi elements it regularly incorporated. Sure, Land of the Lost was super cheesy, but it still respected the intelligence of its viewers, and it introduced all sorts of interesting mysteries to its world that drew in those who were paying attention. In some ways, it was a precursor to Lost, even if it wasn’t really trying to tell an overarching story (and it did end without much of a conclusion).
I admit that it is hard to watch this one these days because of the poor production, but over the past year I did a rewatch from start to finish and found that it held up better than I expected. The first two seasons are definitely the best, and you do have to give it a lot of leeway. But this show made an impression at the time it aired and has been remembered for many years since, so it certainly deserves consideration among the all-time sci fi TV greats.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, but not Blu-ray yet (with those sfx, what’s the point?). The DVDs have gone out of print, but they are still available from third-party sellers (and the prices appear to be going up). The entire series is streaming for free (with ads) on the Sid & Morty Kroft channel on Cineverse.com. It is also streaming for free (with ads) on The Roku Channel and Fawesome.TV.
Do you consider Land of the Lost to be one of the greatest sci fi TV shows of all time or is it just too dated and cheesy? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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