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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr
enik1138
-at-popapostle-dot-com

Land of the Lost: Gravity Storm "Gravity Storm"
Written by Dick Morgan
Directed by Bob Lally
Original airdate: October
11, 1975

This page last updated 5/30/2020

The Land of the Lost suffers severe gravity fluctuations.

Read the complete story summary by Nels Olsen

Didja Know?

The special features on the Land of the Lost season two DVD set state that Zarn's robot, Fred, is actually the skeleton/frame of the Spot stop-motion dinosaur model. But, to me, it looks more like a frame for Junior instead.
Fred

Didja Notice?

Like in "Musician" we see the Pakuni turning to the Marshalls for answers when the gravity storms strike the Land.

Will remarks that the last time everything went crazy, it was because he and Holly were messing around with the weather pylons. Presumably, he is referring to events in "Hurricane" (or, possibly, the earlier "Skylons").

At 8:46 on the DVD, on the left side of the screen, you can see the edge of the jungle set, a 2x4 propping up the set wall, and the top of a truncated tree prop.
jungle set

When Holly sprains her ankle, Rick and Will must get Ta and Sa to help Cha-ka take Holly back to High Bluff. While Cha-ka is always willing to help, Will worries that Ta and Sa won't be willing and Rick remarks, "Well, we'll just find out if Ta ever read Tom Sawyer." This is a reference to Mark Twain's 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. More specifically, Rick is referring to an incident in the book where Tom uses reverse psychology to convince the other neighborhood children what fun he's having painting his aunt's fence and they trade him various trinkets to get turns painting the fence for him.

At 11:38, 19:12, and 21:20 on the DVD, you can see the edge of the "stormy sky" matte background on the left-hand side of the screen.
stormy sky

How did Zarn come up with the name Fred for his robot? Was it plucked out of Rick or Will's mind? Given how Zarn likes to play mind games, perhaps Fred was someone who had bullied Rick as a youth?

I really like the music in the final scene as Rick and Will look back on Zarn's crushed lightship and regret the action they had to take to stop Zarn's ill-advised attempt to power his way out of the Land. Not sure of the instrument (a clarinet maybe?) but it is a sad strain, simple but effective. Listen: I Guess We Won.wav

Pakuni translations
Time on DVD Pakuni English
2:08 Ta says, "Nooo, abi. Ku agiga." Nooo=no, ku=go. "Abi" and "agiga" are not in any known glossary.
2:10 Cha-ka says, "Sa aguga?" "Sa aguga" is unknown but probably means "this one" or "that one."
2:12 Ta says, "Nooo, nooo! Ku agiga." "No, no! Go (agiga)." "Agiga" is unknown.
2:16 Cha-ka says, "Oh, sa aguga." "Sa aguga" is unknown but probably means "this one" or "that one."
2:17 Ta says, "Nooo...abu roca. Misa ku agiga. Ku agiga!" "No...child (roca). (Misa) go (agiga)." "Roca", "misa" and "agiga" are not in any known glossary.
3:58 Ta says, "Ye dar un onam!" "You (dar un) food!" "Dar un" is unknown.
4:00 Cha-ka says, "Me?!" "Me?!"
4:01 Ta says, "Ye!" "You!"
4:02 Cha-ka says, "Me nooo dar un onam! Nefi onam!" "I not (dar un) food! Nothing food!" "Dar un" is unknown.
6:32 Ta, Sa and Cha-ka babbling all at once: "Amurani!" "Friends!" Ta also says something unintelligible to Rick over the babble.
6:33 Ta says, "Paku un apu, amurani?" amurani=friends. "Un apu" is unknown but Rick later seems to translate it as Ta asking "what is making them feel so heavy?"
6:42 Cha-ka says, "Sa efi oganza besasa! Sa efi oganza besasa!" "What is the big magic? What is the big magic?"
6:50 Ta says, "Paku un apu, amurani?" amurani=friends. "Un apu" is unknown but Rick seems to translate it as Ta asking "what is making them feel so heavy?"
7:06 Cha-ka says, "Marasharra un ban ma sa opari." Marasharra=Marshall, ban=paint, sa opari=why. "Un" and "ma" are unknown. I don't know why "paint" would be in this sentence, but from the context, the sentence would seem to mean "Marshall does not know why."
7:10 Ta says, "Marasharra un sa opari?" "Marshall does not know why?"
7:13 Cha-ka says, "Marasharra un sa opari!" "Marshall does not know why."
9:50 Rick says, "Cha-ka...Marasharra, Wira sa opari oganza besasa." "Cha-ka...Marshall, Will know the big magic."
10:04 Rick says, "Cha-ka...Wira sa oganza besasa. Marasharra sa oganza besasa. Cha-ka oganza besasa." "Cha-ka...Will knows big magic. Marshall knows big magic. Cha-ka big magic."
10:14 Ta says, "Ta oganza besasa." "Ta big magic."
10:17 Rick says, "Cha-ka oganza besasa." "Cha-ka big magic."
10:20 Ta says, "Ta oganza besasa." "Ta big magic."
10:31 Ta says, "Ta oganza besasa!" "Ta big magic!"
10:53 Rick says, "Cha-ka oganza besasa." "Cha-ka big magic."
10:56 Cha-ka says, "Cha-ka oganza..." "Cha-ka magic..."
11:00 Ta says, "Ta oganza besasa." "Ta big magic."
11:17 Cha-ka says, "Cha-ka nooo oganza besasa?" "Cha-ka no big magic?"
11:19 Ta says, "Ta oganza besasa!" "Ta big magic!"

Memorable Dialog

wet your pots.wav
one of those rides.wav
last time everything went crazy.wav
busier than the switchboard.wav
there are the skylons.wav
up to something.wav
Tom Sawyer.wav
do I frighten you?.wav
liar, liar.wav
reading your mind.wav
tell us what you're doing.wav
no whispering.wav
great problems.wav
I'm leaving.wav
leave through a time door.wav
it cannot hold me.wav
release me.wav
talk to Fred.wav
say hello.wav
emotional chicken pox.wav
break it in half.wav
am I still alive?.wav
look at my ship.wav

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