Land of the Lost
Series, 1974, The '70s and early '80s, Set in A land of dinosaurs
Land of the Lost is #1 of 16 in release order and #1 of 16 in chronological order in the NBC Saturday Morning Cartoons.
The story
Rick Marshall and his children Will and Holly are on a weekend expedition rafting down a river when an enormous earthquake diverts them to an eclectic alien world inhabited by dinosaurs, chimpanzee-like cavemen called Pakuni, and aggressive, humanoid lizard creatures called Sleestak.
Land of the Lost recap
Land of the Lost (1974) strands a father and his two children in a strange world of dinosaurs and hostile Sleestak after a waterfall plunge on a camping trip. Sid and Marty Krofft produced it for NBC, combining live action with stop-motion dinosaurs. Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) and his children Will (Wesley Eure) and Holly (Kathy Coleman) make a home in a cave, keep clear of a Tyrannosaurus they call Grumpy and befriend Cha-Ka (Phillip Paley), a young Pakuni; Holly treats a tame young brontosaurus, Dopey, as a pet. The reptilian Sleestak are a constant threat, while Enik (Walker Edmiston), a castaway Altrusian, sometimes helps the family. Their aim throughout is to find a way home. Science-fiction writers including Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon, Ben Bova and Norman Spinrad wrote scripts, along with Star Trek writers D.C. Fontana, Walter Koenig and David Gerrold, the uncredited first-season story editor. Milligan left before season 3 in a dispute over pay; in "After Shock" an earthquake opens a pathway that returns Rick to Earth alone and brings in his brother Jack (Ron Harper). The show ran three seasons and 43 episodes, from September 7, 1974, to December 4, 1976.
Land of the Lost ending explained
Land of the Lost ends with "Medicine Man", aired December 4, 1976, in which the Marshalls persuade Lone Wolf of the Nez Perce and Captain Diggs of the U.S. Cavalry that they must work together to survive and perhaps get back to 1877. It was not written as a finale, and Will, Holly and Jack are never shown escaping the Land. A remake ran for two seasons from 1991, a 2009 comedy film starred Will Ferrell, and Netflix and Legendary were reported in 2025 to be developing a new version.
Where to watch Land of the Lost
Land of the Lost is streaming on Prime Video, Philo, Hoopla, Fawesome, Cineverse, and Midnight Pulp in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.1/10
Where it fits
- Release order: first, before Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.
- Chronological order: first, before Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.
Cast
- Spencer Milligan as Rick Marshall
- Wesley Eure as Will Marshall
- Philip Paley as Cha-Ka
- Kathy Coleman as Holly Marshall
- Walker Edmiston as Enik
- Walker Edmiston
- Brooke Bundy
- Marvin Miller
Created by Marty Krofft, Sid Krofft, Alan Foshko.