The release of the new Will Ferrell movie naturally had me thinking of the original Land of the Lost television show from my childhood. So, when I saw that the Sci-Fi Channel was showing a marathon, I briefly popped over for a chuckle — and the show seemed much deeper than the one I remembered.
I remembered the Sleestaks, of course — vividly — but I did not remember Enik the Altrusian — the “good” Sleestak. In fact, I did not remember most of the science-fiction elements of the show.
Anyway, Enik’s philosophical discussion with the Sleestaks in the Library of Skulls segued into some truly terrible special effects and ham-acting from the older brother character, so I changed channels, unable to take it — but when I did a little reading, I was shocked to find out that the show’s writing had quite a pedigree:
A number of well-respected writers in the science fiction field contributed scripts to the series, including Larry Niven, Theodore Sturgeon, Ben Bova, and Norman Spinrad, and a number of people involved with Star Trek, such as Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana, Walter Koenig, and David Gerrold. Gerrold, Niven, and Fontana also contributed commentaries to the DVD of the first season.
The next day, when Chiller, a station I didn’t even know I had, was playing its own marathon of the show, I gave it a second chance and recorded a few episodes. (I’ve since found the first season on Hulu.)
The special effects and production values are awful, as is most of the acting — so awful that it’s hard to recognize the writing underneath it all, but if you do, you might enjoy an Altrusian epic:
The series moved along, more memorably than anything else seen on kids’ TV, but did not rise to genius level until the sixth episode. “The Stranger” was written by Walter Koenig and not only introduced Enik and explained some of the background of the show, but also worked beautifully as a morality play. Enik criticizes the Marshalls for being creatures of emotion and not logic, the same flaw that destroyed his race. Will steals the magetti, a device Enik claims will help him get home, in a bout of selfishness that seems to prove the Altrusian’s point about humans until Enik uses his mind powers to force the humans to confront their fears. When Rick forces Enik to own up to his own inadequacies of passion and morality, it is a humbling moment for both the principals and the audience, and Spencer Milligan’s performance is flawless, easily making up for the inadequacies of his young co-stars. It’s a shame Koenig did not write for the show again.
Enik only appeared twice more in the season and the Marshalls took their time exploring their world.
I semi-recommend the following episodes: The Stranger, The Hole, The Search, and Circle.