My Land of the Lost Re-boot
Dec. 12th, 2009 03:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreThe other day on the road i started thinking about that classic of Saturday morning kid shows, Land of the Lost. I loved that show, and am not surprised to see that several very good SF writers were involved in it's creation. Land of the Lost details the adventures of the Marshall family (father Rick, his son Will, and younger daughter Holly) who are trapped in an alternate universe inhabited by dinosaurs, a primate-type people called Pakuni, and aggressive humanoid/lizard creatures called Sleestak. The episode storylines focus on the family's efforts to survive and find a way back to their own world, but the exploration of the exotic features of the Land of the Lost is also an ongoing part of the story. It was a great lost world adventure with no budget. It also featured some great weird technology (the pylons, the Heart, the Sleestak and their Libray of Skulls) and really needed a better budget and format.
Which makes me think a Babylon 5 -like five season arc would be perfect.
Season 1: A(r)rival
The Marshalls (less mom, who is at home) are caught in a massive earthquake while rafting. They are pulled into a crevise and plunge down what a huge waterfall to what seems to be a certain death. But they wake up, safe, with all their gear. Thing things get strange. Most of the first season will be spent learning about the Land. Discovering the Lost City, the Pylons, and how to use the crystal tables. Early encounters with the Sleestak. And indications that they are being watched by someone intelligent. season ends with the family being captured by Sleestak, and saved by Enik.
Season 2: Ripples in the Sand
Enik reveals that the Land was created as a sort of bolthole and research facility by the Altrusians - his people. He worked on the early design for the dimensional breeching equipment. He has no idea how he got here, and blames the human family for destroy his last attempt at escaping. Evidence mounts that the Land is unstable, possibly failing.The two main themes of this season are winning the trust of the Pakuni hominids and the balancing act with Enik. The seasonal final has the entire land rocked by a massive explosion as something crashes into the Mist Swamp.
Season 3: The Lonely
The new arrival is the Zarn, a powerful psionic being with immense powers of telepathy and telekinesis. Through the season we learn that he is actually what humanity will eventually evolve into. The Zarn is from several million years ahead of the normal "operating range" of the Land. This causes Enik to become ever more paranoid and he decides that the only way to escape is to kill the "random elements" - the Marhsalls. Zarn is only interested in leaving. His ship serves as an amplifier for his TK abilities. The effects of his attempts to fire up the drive are striking, to say the least. This is where we have a vital moment. Holly Marshall, running from the Sleestak, finds herself in the Builder Temple as the Zarn fires up his drive. She suddenly sees the temple as fully restored. In it she sees a woman she mistakes for her mother. The woman says that she isn't her mother, but warns her "The time will come soon when you will need to make a choice. Be ready for it." Zarn's drive fails and the vision goes away. We end the season with Enik gaining control of the Sleestak by promising to kill the sun, and allowing them to run wild. The ongoing them in this season is isolation. The family is stressed, Enik is the only one of his kind, and the Zarn doesn't even relate well with biological entities.
Season 4: The Long Shadow
Enik, now quite insane, manages to dim the Land's sun to the point where the Sleestak can roam freely. The humans need to convince the Pukani to fight. They do, and we get several episodes of battle. During one foray into the Lost City, Holly finds a bracelet set with crystals. She remembers this from the vision she had of the woman in the Builders Temple. The Land is clearly out of control, bringing in people and things from all across time. It becomes obvious that the control panel in the Builder Temple is the key. Our three-part climax has the heroes battling their way in, and Holly realizing that she has to make her choice now. She dons the bracelet and takes control of the Land. She can no longer leave the Builders Temple.
Season 5: gnioG eB tsuM I ,olleH
Normality begins to return to the Land, except for the Zarn. Still trapped, he tries various plots to get control away from Holly, escape, or just blow everything up in frustration. Not sure how I'd resolve this one yet. But at the end, Holly tells her father and brother that she has enable them to return to normal time. But she must remain as the keeper of the land. The last scene is her using the matrix board to start the events that brought her here.
What do y'all think?
Which makes me think a Babylon 5 -like five season arc would be perfect.
Season 1: A(r)rival
The Marshalls (less mom, who is at home) are caught in a massive earthquake while rafting. They are pulled into a crevise and plunge down what a huge waterfall to what seems to be a certain death. But they wake up, safe, with all their gear. Thing things get strange. Most of the first season will be spent learning about the Land. Discovering the Lost City, the Pylons, and how to use the crystal tables. Early encounters with the Sleestak. And indications that they are being watched by someone intelligent. season ends with the family being captured by Sleestak, and saved by Enik.
Season 2: Ripples in the Sand
Enik reveals that the Land was created as a sort of bolthole and research facility by the Altrusians - his people. He worked on the early design for the dimensional breeching equipment. He has no idea how he got here, and blames the human family for destroy his last attempt at escaping. Evidence mounts that the Land is unstable, possibly failing.The two main themes of this season are winning the trust of the Pakuni hominids and the balancing act with Enik. The seasonal final has the entire land rocked by a massive explosion as something crashes into the Mist Swamp.
Season 3: The Lonely
The new arrival is the Zarn, a powerful psionic being with immense powers of telepathy and telekinesis. Through the season we learn that he is actually what humanity will eventually evolve into. The Zarn is from several million years ahead of the normal "operating range" of the Land. This causes Enik to become ever more paranoid and he decides that the only way to escape is to kill the "random elements" - the Marhsalls. Zarn is only interested in leaving. His ship serves as an amplifier for his TK abilities. The effects of his attempts to fire up the drive are striking, to say the least. This is where we have a vital moment. Holly Marshall, running from the Sleestak, finds herself in the Builder Temple as the Zarn fires up his drive. She suddenly sees the temple as fully restored. In it she sees a woman she mistakes for her mother. The woman says that she isn't her mother, but warns her "The time will come soon when you will need to make a choice. Be ready for it." Zarn's drive fails and the vision goes away. We end the season with Enik gaining control of the Sleestak by promising to kill the sun, and allowing them to run wild. The ongoing them in this season is isolation. The family is stressed, Enik is the only one of his kind, and the Zarn doesn't even relate well with biological entities.
Season 4: The Long Shadow
Enik, now quite insane, manages to dim the Land's sun to the point where the Sleestak can roam freely. The humans need to convince the Pukani to fight. They do, and we get several episodes of battle. During one foray into the Lost City, Holly finds a bracelet set with crystals. She remembers this from the vision she had of the woman in the Builders Temple. The Land is clearly out of control, bringing in people and things from all across time. It becomes obvious that the control panel in the Builder Temple is the key. Our three-part climax has the heroes battling their way in, and Holly realizing that she has to make her choice now. She dons the bracelet and takes control of the Land. She can no longer leave the Builders Temple.
Season 5: gnioG eB tsuM I ,olleH
Normality begins to return to the Land, except for the Zarn. Still trapped, he tries various plots to get control away from Holly, escape, or just blow everything up in frustration. Not sure how I'd resolve this one yet. But at the end, Holly tells her father and brother that she has enable them to return to normal time. But she must remain as the keeper of the land. The last scene is her using the matrix board to start the events that brought her here.
What do y'all think?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 00:41 (UTC)Other than that, a fine outline.
no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 01:24 (UTC)Maybe, in this version, so that Holly would think that she was seeing her mother, have Rick explain that their mother vanished for a few days, mysteriously, before being found by the police, in the woods several miles away from home. Dying a few days later, she was never able to relate what really happened to her.
A thought1
no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 04:22 (UTC)(That's one of my favorite random bits of trivia about a sports star - Bill Laimbeer was a high-school Sleestak.)
no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 08:30 (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 04:36 (UTC)no subject
Date: 13 Dec 2009 23:51 (UTC)