History Series / LandOfTheLost1974

[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lt/landlost.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:314:Clockwise from top: Uncle Jack, Holly, Cha-Ka, Will]]

However, none of them contributed to the controversial third and final season, which many fans consider the series's [[JumpTheShark Shark Jumping]] point for losing Rick Marshall and for abandoning much of the internal logic of the series mythology. Even as early as the mid-80's, network reruns of the show were omitting the third season, as did Creator/{{Syfy}} and Chiller in their marathons many years later. For several years, Creator/MeTV reran the show in its entirety (on Saturday mornings, appropriately). Some fans do appreciate at least certain elements of the third season, such as [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Uncle Jack's]] personality or the mysterious "repairman" entity, Blandings.

Although the show is probably best remembered for the bizarre mix of decent stop-motion and [[SpecialEffectsFailure positively awful puppetry]] used to portray the various dinosaurs, it is more notable for the general high quality of its scripts, which were frequently written by "name" ScienceFiction authors. Any given week might showcase a story written by Gerrold (the show's story editor in season one), Ben Bova, Creator/TheodoreSturgeon, Creator/LarryNiven, Creator/NormanSpinrad, Samuel Peeples or D.C. Fontana, all of whom contributed to the [[ContinuityCreep increasingly complex and intriguing mythology]] of the series.

->''Marshall, Will and Holly\\

!!''Land of the Lost'' provides examples of:

* AliensSpeakingEnglish

On a routine expedition\\
Met the greatest earthquake ever known,\\

And plunged them down a thousand feet below,\\
Into the Laaaaaaaaaaaand of the Looooooooooooost \\
The Laaaaaaaaaaaand of the Looooooooooooost''

* EatTheCamera: The roaring Tyrannosaurus at the end of the intro, combined with a FadeOut.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Presumably brought into the Land from prehistoric Earth.

* SmallTaxonomyPools: Has all the stock dinosaurs: ''Tyrannosaurus'', ''Allosaurus'', ''Triceratops'', ''Brontosaurus'', ''Ankylosaurus''... and ''Coelophysis'', oddly enough. ''Pteranodon'', ''Elasmosaurus'', and ''Dimetrodon'' too, although they're not "dinosaurs" per se.

* LyricDissonance: The theme song's a peppy banjo-driven number, with the lyrics talking about the family being caught in a terrifying earthquake, a plunge down a waterfall, and ending up in a prehistoric pocket dimension where [[EverythingTryingToKillYou everything wants them dead]].

* StockDinosaurs: ''Tyrannosaurus'', ''Allosaurus'', ''Triceratops'', ''Brontosaurus'', ''Ankylosaurus''... and ''Coelophysis'', oddly enough. ''Pteranodon'', ''Elasmosaurus'', and ''Dimetrodon'' too, although they're not "dinosaurs" per se.

* AllThereInTheManual: It's never mentioned on the show, but officially, both Rick and Jack Marshall are forest rangers, and the river the family was rafting down in the beginning was the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: Definitely stands out among other Krofft shows; while it features characters trapped in a strange land, trying to get home (like most other Krofft shows), this is much more dramatic, and has a lot more action and adventure, compared to the Kroffts' other, fluffier shows.

* MoralDissonance: In the third season (of course), after High Bluff is destroyed, Jack and the kids brazenly set up housekeeping in a Sleestak temple. They never acknowledge that in doing so, they've finally given the Sleestaks a ''legitimate'' reason to hate them. Later, in "Ancient Guardian," they steal what they think is a Sleestak idol (actually a gizmo for keeping a monster away) without giving it a second thought, and a bunch of the Sleestaks' eggs get eaten by the monster as a result.

* NothingIsScarier: We never see what the Sleestack god looks like.

%%* AliensAndMonsters: The Sleestak.

* StockDinosaurs: Tyrannosaurus, Allosaurus, Triceratops, "Brontosaurus" [[ScienceMarchesOn (the name change to Apatosaurus hadn't happened yet),]] Stegosaurus... and Coelophysis, oddly enough. Pterodactyl and Dimetrodon too, although they're not "dinosaurs" per se.

* TyrannosaurusRex: Grumpy.

[[Series/LandOfTheLost1991 Revived in 1991]] for two seasons; also got a [[Film/LandOfTheLost movie adaptation]] in 2009.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Enik is usually pretty gruff about the Marshalls coming to him for help or advice, complaining that they're interrupting his own research to get home; but he clearly regards them as friends and consistently provides them with the help they need. He's just grouchy about it. He [[CharacterDevelopment mellows toward the Marshalls over the course of the series,]] and is downright friendly by the end of season 2. In the controversial third season, Enik starts acting like a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk for no apparent reason.

* LizardFolk: The Sleestaks.

* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soqjYSehafQ German opening]] of the show, entitled ''Im Land der Saurier" is completely different from the regular one. It would later get reused for the 90's revival.