Land of the Lost: The Paku Who Came to Dinner

Land of the Lost
"The Paku Who Came to Dinner"
Written by Barry Blitzer
Directed by Bob Lally
Original airdate: November 9, 1974

The Pakuni are attracted to Holly’s perfume.

Read the complete story summary by Nels Olsen

Didja Know?

The title of this episode is likely inspried by the 1939 play and 1942 film The Man Who Came to Dinner.

Didja Notice?

At 2:29 on the DVD there is a pretty good stop-motion effect of Grumpy drinking from the swamp, with water dribbling from his mouth when he lifts his head.

For some reason the Pakuni appear extremely tired when they appear on the scene at 3:47 on the DVD. What have they been doing? Perhaps they had been searching unsuccessfully all day for food and that is why Cha-ka decides to invite himself to High Bluff for dinner. Yet, it seems there is plenty of fruits and vegetables available growing wild in the Land.

Why do the Marshalls always gather so many of the oversized fruits and vegetables at once? One would feed them all quite easily for a meal.

As Holly protests being held in the Pakuni compound by Ta and Sa, she asks them, "Haven't you ever heard of the Geneva Convention?" The Geneva Conventions are a set of protocols signed by members of the United Nations establishing the rules of war and treatment of prisoners taken in battle; not quite the same as what happened to Holly.

After she's been captured and taken to the Pakuni compound, Holly says "this has been fun, fellas" to Ta and Sa. And in "Tag Team" Rick refers to them as "you guys". But isn't Sa a female?

When Grumpy steps on the wall of the Pakuni compound, it reminds me of a scene from a Godzilla movie.

There's some fun animation during Grumpy's invasion of the Pakuni compound. His eyes dart around as he takes in the interior of the compound, searching for the smell and his tail swishes around like a mischievous cat's. At 20:35 on the DVD, Grumpy's eyeball performs a goofy-looking move, making a complete rotation around it's socket! What, is Holly's perfume made of...dinosaur nip?

Is it just me, or does the Pakuni compound not seem like it's located in a very safe spot if it's meant to keep out creatures such as Grumpy?

Pakuni translations
Time on DVD	Pakuni	English
4:50	Cha-ka says "Ting."	"Push."
5:23	Holly says "amarani"	"friends"
6:38	Cha-ka says "dinda" and "me ji"	"eat" and "please"
7:31	Cha-ka says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell"
8:00	Will says "me ji"	"please"
8:10	Cha-ka says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell"
8:31	Holly says "me ji"	"please"
8:54	Cha-ka says "me ji"	"please"
12:23	Ta says "Cha-ka, ye ba."	"Cha-ka, you come."
12:24	Sa says "Ye ba meni"	"Come to us."
12:25	Ta says "Ye ba."	"You come."
14:00	Ta says "Yumani."	"Humans."
14:09	Ta says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell."
14:10	Sa says "Yo, omo wesasa."	"Yes, smells very good."
14:13	Ta says "Wesa. Wesa. Omo wesa."	"Good. Good. Good smell."
14:19	Ta says "Ye ba."	"You come."
14:24	Ta says "Ye ba, yumani."	"You come, human." Actually "yumani" is plural, but Holly is the only human there.
14:36	Holly says "me ji"	"please"
14:38	Ta says "Ye che yumani!"	"You chase humans." It seems like this should be more like "You go, human."
14:42	Ta says "Sa efi ye de."	"What are you doing?"
14:45	Ta says "Ye en ku."	"You don't go." "En" is not in any known glossary but in the context of the scene it may mean "do not".
14:51	Ta says "Ye ba ya meni. Omo wesa."	"You come with us. Good smell." I don't what "ya" means.
14:57	Ta says "Sa efi ye de."	"What are you doing?"
14:59	Ta says "Ye ba, yumani."	"You come, human."
15:16	Ta says "Fusachi! Fuscahi!"	"Quickly! Quickly!"
15:24	Ta says "Omo wesa!"	"Good smell!"
15:34	Ta and Sa say "Akingo!"	"Grumpy!"
16:12	Ta says "Ye ba."	"You come."
16:27	Cha-ka says "Me ji?"	"Please?"
17:17	Cha-ka says "Akingo! Akingo!"	"Grumpy! Grumpy!"
19:05	Ta says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell."
19:10	Sa says "Tiri."	"Quiet."
19:24	Ta says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell."
19:25	Sa says "Yes, omo wesasa."	"Yes, very good smell."
20:02	Sa says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell."
20:03	Cha-ka says "Omo wesasa."	"Very good smell."
20:26	Sa says "Akingo!"	"Grumpy!"
20:28	Cha-ka says "Ari, ye ba!"	"Holly, you come!"
20:43	Ta says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell."
21:13	Cha-ka says "Omo wesa."	"Good smell."
21:31	Cha-ka says "Ye en ku."	"You don't go." "En" is not in any known glossary but in the context of the scene it may mean "do not".
21:35	Cha-ka says "Ewoya."	"Flower."

Notes from the audio commentary by Phillip Paley

Phillip's name is spelled wrong (Philip) during the opening credits of the first season.

Phillip mentions that Bob Lally was their favorite director.

While it is well-known that Phillip was the youngest person to ever achieve a black belt in karate at the time (at the age of 9) he reveals that he was also a Gerber baby on TV commercials.

Along with the other Pakuni actors Sharon Baird and Joe Giamalva, Phillip went to the zoo to study primate behavior for their roles.

As the shooting season wore on, the Cha-ka costume started to wear out. As the costume hair and fabric got thinner Kathy Coleman used to tease Phillip that his underwear was visible through the costume.

Memorable Dialog

oh, fat rats.wav
Cha-ka laughs.wav
kissed him.wav
chocolate malt.wav
company for dinner.wav
Chicken a la Marshall.wav
night light.wav
the nice thing about Grumpy.wav
two things to remember.wav
you like the way I smell.wav

People, Places and Things (Provided by Michael Taylor)

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