|
Land of the Lost
"Follow That Dinosaur"
Written by Dick Morgan
Directed by Dennis Steinmetz
Original airdate: November
30, 1974 |
The Marshalls discover the journal of a human who was
once trapped in the Land of the Lost.
Read the complete story summary by Nels Olsen
Didja Notice?
Why is this episode called "Follow That Dinosaur?" They don't
follow any dinosaurs. In fact, a dinosaur, Grumpy, follows them
across the stone bridge of the crevasse to the Lost City.
Holly refers to dinosaur nip as "ferns". The analogous catnip is
not a member of the fern family.
The dummy left behind by Private Konik is stuffed with dinosaur
nip...and except for having turned a dark color over time, it's
still inside. Might that suggest that it wasn't too long ago
that Konik was in the Land? And yet when the Marshalls find the
cave in the Lost City they see gourds and a blanket that look
like they've been sitting a long time and, eventually, the
Marshalls find the decayed, skeletal remains of Konik and Harry
Potts.
At 6:54 on the DVD, the cliffside Will and Holly are at near the
gorge appears to be a reuse of the High Bluff miniature! Notice
the "window" of the Marshalls' cave can be seen on the left edge
of the screen.
The portion of the gorge where Will and Holly toss in the
dinosaur nip is the same area where they and Cha-ka were trapped
on a ledge in "Tag Team".
Konik's journal says that he taught some of the "monkey people"
some English words. Obviously referring to the Pakuni, but what
Pakuni? Ta, Sa, and Cha-ka don't seem to have known any English
words until they met the Marshalls.
Before heading to the Lost City to track Konik and Harry Potts,
Rick says the Sleestak dormant season is almost over. How does
he know? How many "seasons" could have gone by already in the
short time they've been there?
The Marshalls don't seem to be as concerned about leaving
messages to help future castaways in the Land as Private Konik
was. They even throw away his dummy!
Grumpy almost falls into the crevasse after crossing it. That
would have been quite an end to a great villain.
The actors in the Sleestak costumes have a hard time standing
stock-still as the dormant Sleestak. You can see their bodies
and arms swaying slightly.
Private Konik refers to the lava pit as the Devil's Cauldron.
At 18:31 on the DVD you can see the ground "squishing" down
under Rick's weight as he crawls through the tunnel. The floor
of the set piece must have been padding covered with dirt. At
about 19:50, the whole tunnel set piece seems to jiggle as the
Marshalls rapidly crawl through in an attempt to escape before
the Sleestak awaken from their dormant season as the lava in the
Devil's Cauldron rises.
During their fight, Grumpy and Alice knock down one of the
pillars outside the Lost City. But the same pillar is still seen
standing later in this episode (and in later episodes)!
Konik signs the end of his journal as a private in General
Washington's revolutionary army.
Washington was a general and hero of the Continental Army during
the American Revolution and the first President of the United
States.