When the matrix table falls over during the quake, you can see
the set piece's power cord in the right of frame. And, as the
camera jiggles to simulate the jarring of the quake, you can see
the edge of the pylon set on the left of frame. Also notice that
the pylon interior no longer appears pitch black and has
discernible dimensions.
 |
 |
Matrix table power
cord on right |
Edge of pylon set on left |
The scenes of the falling rock in the mountains, splitting earth,
and falling trees that occur during the quake are recycled from
"Gravity
Storm".
After losing their father through the time-doorway, Will seems
to say, "With the pylon in the matrix table smashed, we can't
bring him back and we can't follow him." Wesley Eure must have
flubbed the line slightly; he should have said "...the matrix
table in the pylon..."
Will acts as if nothing is recoverable from the buried cave at
High Bluff. But they don't really get close enough to see that
for sure. Plus, you can see that the natural "window" of their
cave still appears to be open. Though it might be difficult, someone could probably climb up or down to the window and
salvage the supplies inside. It seems to me that, once they were
sure the after-shocks had subsided, Jack would insist on
checking it out.

Realizing they need a new place to live, Cha-ka suggests he'd
like to live in a tree, but Will and Holly note that a treehouse
would not be very secure considering the types of threats in the
Land like Grumpy and the Sleestak. Kind of ironic that in
LOTL90
the Porter family decides to live in a treehouse! Of course,
according to the series bible of LOTL90, Tom Porter was an
architect, so presumably was able to design a strong and secure
treehouse (notice that while it was constantly referred to as a
treehouse, it is not actually built in a tree but on
top of four tree trunk support posts secured into the ground).

I like how, throughout this episode, Will rises to the occasion
of being the elder after the loss of Rick. He really assumes
command and attempts to honorably fill his father's shoes. He
does, however, seem relieved to relinquish the responsibility
when Uncle Jack shows up.
Jack says he's been looking for the missing Marshalls for 6
months, ever since they disappeared. We get no indication though
of how much time has passed in the Land while Jack was
searching.
Apparently Holly has decided that Lulu is female, saying, "Be
glad she's near-sighted."
Jack mentions that he's a "pretty good engineer." Does he mean
professionally or as a hobby? The episodes were never specific
about his occupation and I've never heard of a revised series
bible for the third season that might reveal these types of
details.
Is it just me or does the upper right corner of the
temple doorway appear to have been scorched by flame? Was
there a large fire in the temple at some time in the past?
(Although the rest of the interior/exterior of the temple does
not appear that way.)

Jack mentions that it's almost sundown and then, given what he's
seen so far, asks, "The sun does go down here, doesn't it?" to
which Will answers, "Most of the time." Jack seems to take that
as a joke, but Will must have been thinking of the events of
"The
Longest Day".
Unanswered Questions
When did the Marshalls first discover the Old Temple of which
they make a home in this episode? It does not appear to be part
of the temple previously seen in the second season. That temple
appeared to be of humanoid origin while this one appears
decidedly Altrusian in structure and design; the
temple doors even have the same "sun symbol" on them as that
above the Lost City entrance.
Will tells Jack that the Sleestak leader is the only one "...who
can talk...at least to us." When did the Marshalls first meet
the Sleestak leader? There has previously been no indication of
a single leader. How can this leader speak to the Marshalls? Is
it true speech or telepathy like Enik uses? Is he a throwback to
the Altrusians like S'latch (he doesn't seem intelligent enough
to be)? Or does the necklace worn by the leader enable him to
speak telepathically?
What happened to the other Pakuni? Cha-ka says he was separated from
them by a split in the ground during the quake...but how long
could that split have possibly been? Couldn't they just walk
around back to solid ground and reunite? And even if they
couldn't do that, they could walk to their opposite ends of the
valley and eventually meet due to the closed universe nature of
the Land. But then, later episodes this season seem to show the
Land as not a closed universe; did something change to "open up"
the world of the Land of the Lost between seasons two and three?
Notes from the Audio Commentary by Ron Harper
Ron reveals that third season producer Jon Kubichan played Rick
Marshall in the opening sequence as Rick manipulates the matrix
table and falls through the time doorway.
Land of the Lost was his daughter's favorite of all the
shows he did.
Ron attended the bar mitzvah of Phillip Paley.
Ron says he enjoyed the stories on LOTL more than the ones on
his previous series, Planet of the Apes. POTA, he says, became
formulaic, always resulting in one of the three main characters
being captured by the enemy and requiring rescue by the other
two.
Ron points out something I hadn't noticed before. Holly calls
his character Uncle Jack, but Will just refers to him as Jack.
It makes sense that the older (and male) Will would be more
comfortable skipping the affectionate title.
Memorable Dialog
you know
Dad.wav
he's
gone home.wav
we can't follow him.wav
someone on the outside.wav
what other damage.wav
no
more Pakuni.wav
Pakuni on one side, Cha-ka on other side.wav
we'll be our own family.wav
Cha-ka no like monster.wav
Cha-ka
hungry.wav
everything's gone.wav
live in
tree.wav
I thought I saw something fall.wav
after-shocks.wav
Cha-ka climb tree.wav
one lu for each head.wav
it's a
raft.wav
maybe Dad did come back.wav
it's
Uncle Jack.wav
I thought I'd never find you.wav
ever since you disappeared.wav
you came to the Land of the Lost the same way.wav
we're glad you're here.wav
Cha-ka like Jack.wav
I'm a pretty good engineer.wav
what is she so angry about.wav
there goes the neighborhood.wav
house-hunting.wav
same to
you.wav
new
quarters.wav
just about sundown.wav
worth their weight in gold.wav
Sleestak
time.wav
you didn't tell me they were so ugly.wav
the Sleestak leader.wav
give us the temple.wav
go back to your tunnels.wav
home
sweet home.wav
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Episode Studies