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"Something's Watching"
Written by Len Janson and Chuck Menville
Directed by John Strysik
Original airdate: September 14, 1991 |
The Porters meet two
intelligent denizens of their new world.
Didja Know?
The Pakuni language spoken in this and other
episodes of LOTL90 is made up partly of words from LOTL70 and
partly original words created for this series.
Bobby Porter, who plays Stink, was also the stunt
coordinator for the series. He has acted and performed stunts in
a wide range of movies and TV shows. Besides Stink, you may have
seen him as Lucifer on the original
Battlestar Galactica
and another ape creature, Cornelius in Battle for the Planet
of the Apes. |
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Stink and
Cornelius...separated at birth? |
Didja Notice?
Tom is reading a paperback book at the beginning of the episode.
He has the front cover and preceding pages folded back, so we
can't read the title.
At 1:31 and 1:40 in the episode, as Kevin is being chased up a
tree by the makani (some kind of prehistoric wolves), it sure
looks like one of them bites onto his untucked shirt!
Christa the jungle girl is introduced in this episode. Christa
is undeniably attractive. But just how is
she able to keep her hair permed and body dipilatated in the Land of
the Lost?
At 12:29 in the episode, Stink is seen eating something from the
branch of a pine or cedar tree. It can't be seen whether he's
eating needles or berries or insects.
It appears that not only has Christa learned to speak Pakuni,
but Stink has learned to speak a fair amount of English from
her.
As Kevin drives the Jeep through the desert area with Christa, it
almost appears to be driving over some dirt roads. Perhaps the
roads are remnants of the defunct Sleestak civilization we will
learn about in "Shung the Terrible"?
The rocky desert area where Kevin and Christa gather an herb to
treat Tom's osongi bite appears to be
Vasquez Rocks, a Los Angeles county park which has been seen
in numerous Hollywood productions since the silent film era. It
is, perhaps, most recognized as the off-world setting of the
"Arena" episode of Star Trek in which Captain Kirk fought the
reptilian Gorn. The Gorn itself may have been an inspiration for
the Sleestak.
Watch the pterodactyl in this episode (and throughout LOTL90);
they are really able to turn on a dime in mid-flight!
As
Annie and Stink wait for Kevin and Christa to return with the
medicine, night falls and we see that they have a campfire going
to keep away the makani. Were there matches or a lighter in the
Porters' pack? Or did Stink make the fire for them with flint or
sticks?
While under the fever of the osongi bite, at one point Tom
deliriously sits up and says, "Annie. Kevin. Get in the car.
We're going camping. We're going to the cabin." Is this a
reference to the vacation the Porters were on when they got trapped in the Land? It seems to imply that Tom
owns a cabin somewhere in a backwoods environment.
At 19:53 in the episode, it seems that Tasha swats away a makani
with her tail. But the blurry image of the swat shows a tail that is
much longer than Tasha's. Her actual stubby tail is not of much
use for swatting at all.
At the end of the episode, Tom indicates that he and his family
are from San Francisco.
Pakuni translations |
Time in
episode |
Pakuni |
English |
11:13 |
Christa and
Stink say "osongi." |
An osongi is a
type of poisonous lizard found in the Land; it looks similar to
an iguana. |
11:33 |
Christa says, "Miyog.
Miyog." |
"Miyog" means
"far" or "too far". |
13:34 |
Christa says, "Nass!
Nass!" |
"Stop! Stop!" |
14:37 |
Stink says,
"osu." |
water |
15:41 |
Christa says
"coomazumazee." |
pterodactyl |
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Christa says, "Misan." |
This word is
unknown, but Christa is pointing at a pterodactyl nest
containing eggs as she says it. |
17:05 |
Stink says
"makani." |
Makani are a
type of prehistoric wolf found in the Land. |
17:55 |
Christa says, "Coomazumazee." |
"Pterodactyl." |
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Christa says,
"Ayo." |
"Yes."
The word "ayo" is similar to the
word "yoo" which means "yes" in LOTL70. Perhaps there
are similar but different dialects of the Pakuni
language. |
19:26 |
Stink says
"makani." |
Makani are a type of prehistoric wolf found in the Land. |
Unanswered Questions
Christa is able to make a howling sound that scares off
creatures of the Land. Is the sound a mimic of something else in
the Land we have not seen?
Memorable Dialog
what kind of howl.wav
nerves of steel.wav
bigfeet.wav
know the way out.wav
died and gone to heaven.wav
my language.wav
I, Stink.wav
howl.wav
Godzilla.wav
San Francisco.wav
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Episode Studies
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