Land of the Lost (1991 TV series) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Land of the Lost
Created by	Krofft Entertainment
Starring	Timothy Bottoms Jennifer Drugan Robert Gavin Ed Gale Shannon Day Bobby Porter
Voices of	Danny Mann
Country of origin	USA
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	approx. 0:22 (per episode)
Production company(s)	Krofft Entertainment
Release
Original network	ABC
Original release	September 7, 1991 (1991-09-07) – December 5, 1992 (1992-12-05)

Land of the Lost is an exciting half-hour children's television series that first aired on ABC in the fall of 1991. Later, Nickelodeon showed reruns of the series from 1995 to 1997. Tiger Toys even made toys based on the show, like action figures, dinosaurs, and playsets. There was also an electronic "Crystal Sword" and a board game!

This show was a new version of a popular 1974 series, also called Land of the Lost. The creators, Sid and Marty Krofft, wanted to make a new show with better special effects. This version was also a bit lighter and less focused on just surviving.

Story of the Land of the Lost

The series tells the story of the Porter family: Tom (the dad), Kevin (the son), and Annie (the daughter). They were exploring in their Jeep when it suddenly fell through a time portal. This portal trapped them in a strange, parallel world called the Land of the Lost.

Soon after arriving, they met Christa, a "jungle girl" who came from 1960s San Francisco. Christa had been trapped in this land since she was very young and had grown up all alone. She became a helpful friend to the Porters.

The Porters built a large "treehouse" to live in. It wasn't really in a tree, but it was built between huge logs. They needed a strong home because their tents weren't safe enough from the dangerous dinosaurs. They even set up an alarm system with tin cans around their home to warn them if a scary dinosaur named Scarface came too close.

This strange land is home to intelligent creatures like the chimpanzee-like Pakuni and the lizard-like Sleestaks. Many types of dinosaurs also live there. The Porters became friends with a Paku named Stink and a baby dinosaur named Tasha.

But not everyone was friendly. Three exiled Sleestak criminals, Shung, Keeg, and Nim, were often causing trouble. Shung was their leader and had a powerful Crystal Sword. Another big danger was a one-eyed Tyrannosaurus rex named Scarface. He lived nearby and often chased the family, trying to eat them!

In the second season, a sorceress named Keela appeared. She had real magic powers. Another new character was Namaki, a fish-like human who had been Christa's friend when she was little.

The show ran for 26 episodes over two seasons, with 13 episodes in each season. Some episodes from Season 1 were released on videocassette. However, as of 2020, the series has not been released on DVD or Blu-ray.

Characters in the Land

The Porter Family

• Thomas "Tom" Porter (played by Timothy Bottoms) is the dad and the main character. He is a main character who feels guilty about his family being trapped. He tries hard to find a way back home to San Francisco. Tom is kind and fair, even to those who threaten his family. He is a loving and protective parent.
• Kevin Porter (played by Robert Gavin) is Tom's 16-year-old son. He is pretty relaxed about being stuck in the Land of the Lost and actually starts to like it. Kevin sometimes gets into trouble because he doesn't always see the dangers around him. He likes to think of himself as an adult and sometimes disagrees with his dad. Kevin loves modern things and secretly brought a portable TV, a camcorder, a boom-box, and junk food with him. He dreams of becoming a famous director and records everything with his camcorder. He's also good at fixing things, especially the family's truck. Kevin often explores alone and finds his sister Annie annoying, but he deeply cares about her. He also has a crush on Christa.
• Anamarie "Annie" Porter (played by Jennifer Drugan) is Tom's 11-year-old daughter. She is very smart and understands things quickly for her age. Annie doesn't like being treated like a baby, especially by Kevin. She has learned to take care of herself in this dangerous place. Annie is a vegetarian and takes care of her garden near the treehouse. The sorceress Keela even takes Annie as a student and trusts her with her spellbook. Annie is very protective of Tasha, the baby dinosaur, treating her like family. She also enjoys drawing.

Visitors to the Land

• Christa (played by Shannon Day) is a beautiful "cave-girl" who, like the Porters, is from Earth. She was born in Chicago but her family got trapped in the Land of the Lost years ago. She became separated from them during a storm and grew up mostly alone. Christa is very independent and feels at home in the jungle. She knows a lot about the land, its creatures, and useful plants, which helps the Porters. She speaks the Pakuni language and often greets her friends with "Acuba Ne," meaning both "hello" and "goodbye." She is like an older sister to Annie and Kevin likes her a lot. Christa can also make a special yell, like Tarzan, that calms some animals.
• Sir Balen (played by Bobby Jacoby) is a young squire who pretends to be a knight from King Arthur's time. He accidentally ends up in the Land of the Lost through a blue swirling fog. He helps Christa and causes a bit of jealousy with Kevin.
• Keela (played by Adilah Barnes) is a sorceress from another time. She was sent to the Land of the Lost because she didn't use her magic to help someone named Magas. She is good at magic but can't send the Porters or herself home. The Porters helped her defeat Magas. Keela trusts the Porters and even lets Annie learn some magic from her.
• Magas (portrayed by Ed Gale) is a short, mean sorcerer. Keela turned him into a one-eyed, dinosaur-like beast because he was heartless. He slowly got his powers back and tried to find Keela.
• Siren (played by Marta DuBois) was once a beautiful woman who cared more about her looks than her family. She was sent to the Land of the Lost and used her music to trick Tom by appearing as his late wife, Natasha.
• Simon Cardenas (played by Danny Gonzalez) is a teenage time-traveler from the year 2062. He accidentally lands in the Land of the Lost after a crash. He wears a special suit and uses "futuristic slang".
• Cy, also known as the Myzarian Cyborg, is a huge, intelligent robot from another planet. He got trapped in the Land of the Lost after crashing with another time traveler. He is very strong, even stronger than Scarface. He has special vision and senses, but he gets tired easily in the Land's air. He lives in a cave with traps that can make humans lose their memory.

Native Inhabitants: Dinosaurs and Other Creatures

The Land of the Lost is full of dinosaurs and other creatures. You might see an iguana or a spitting viper called a "shika" that can temporarily blind people. Termites are also found there.

• Princess is a Triceratops with a broken right horn. Christa and Stink sometimes ride her.
• Spike is a Stegosaurus who sometimes fights with Scarface.
• Tasha's mother, a Parasaurolophus, was killed by Scarface. Another one, called Momma TwoLegs, appears often.
• Big Guy is an Apatosaurus (called Brontosaurus in the show). He is very large and often eats plants near the Porters' home. He once helped Annie and saved Tasha from the Sleestaks.
• Pteranodon (called Pterodactyl in the show) are flying creatures that sometimes try to attack Kevin or steal the Porters' things.
• At the beach, there are dangerous sea creatures, like a dolphin-sized cymbospondylus. There's also a creature with tentacles in an oil pool.
• Kevin calls some creatures "Prehistoric Pitbulls" (maybe dire wolves), also known as "makani," that chase him. Smilodon (saber-toothed cat) bones have also been found.

Tasha, the Baby Dinosaur

One of the most important dinosaurs in the show is Tasha, an orphaned baby Parasaurolophus (played by Ed Gale, voiced by Danny Mann). After Scarface killed her mother, Annie rescued Tasha's egg. When Tasha hatched, she saw Kevin first, but she treats Annie as her mother. Tasha lives with the Porters like a pet. She is very smart for a dinosaur and can communicate with humans using her body language and sounds. She can even understand commands and pick up items. For a short time, Keela gave Tasha the ability to speak! Tasha loves to eat, especially melons.

Scarface, the Tyrannosaurus Rex

A Tyrannosaurus named Scarface lives near the Porters' home. He has a scar over his right eye, which is why they call him Scarface. This scar makes him blind in that eye, which can be an advantage for his prey. Scarface is one of the biggest threats to the Porters because he often tries to attack their treehouse.

Scarface is dangerous to everyone, even the Sleestaks. When Cy, the cyborg, arrived, people thought he killed Scarface, but Scarface was just unconscious and healed himself with mud. He also quickly recovered after being hit by a "light gun" found by Kevin and Stink.

Pakuni, the Hairy Humanoids

Pakuni are a tribe of hairy, human-like primates who live in the Land. They look a bit different from how they appeared in the original 1974 series.

• Stink (played by Bobby Porter) is a Paku, similar to Cha-Ka from the original show. His parents died when he was young. He met Christa when she was a little girl, and they became close friends. Stink is very smart and knows a lot about plants and animals. He quickly learns modern words and habits from his human friends. Stink has sharp senses, is very agile, and has a funny sense of humor. He is very close to Annie and also friends with Kevin. Stink loves bananas and suinaku fruit, but he is afraid of termites.
• Opah (played by Jonas Moscartolo) is an elderly, grey-haired Paku and Stink's grandfather. Opah taught Stink almost everything he knows about the Land. He has a flute that can "charm" Scarface and other beasts, and he passes this knowledge to Stink before he leaves. Opah also showed the Porters how to get special sap from trees to fuel their truck.

Sleestaks, the Lizard People

Sleestaks are intelligent, reptilian humanoids. They were once very advanced, but their own pollution forced them to live in caves to avoid the dinosaurs. The Sleestaks seen in the show are criminals who were sent to the surface world as punishment. They eat almost anything and often threaten to eat the Porters. This group of three Sleestaks lives in an old, abandoned temple. They survive because of Shung's powerful crystal. Their blood is green.

• Shung (played by Tom Allard) is the leader of the Sleestak criminals. He is very proud and thinks he is better than everyone else. He believes he rules the Land of the Lost and everything in it. Shung is strong and clever, but also lazy. He often sends Nim and Keeg to do his work. He uses a powerful crystal that gives him amazing powers, like moving things with his mind and controlling other minds. But this power slowly makes him mean. If he is separated from his crystal, he becomes weak. Christa destroys his crystal, but Shung later learns some spells from Keela's spellbook. Shung often gives nicknames to those he thinks are not as good as him, like calling his helpers "Wartsnippers" and Kevin "Quickmouth."
• Nim and Keeg (played by R.C. Tass and Brian Williams/Ross Kramer and Bret Davidson) are Shung's helpers. Nim seems smarter and can remember spells. Keeg seems less smart but is a strong fighter and good at tracking. They both try to please Shung, but their efforts are rarely noticed.

Other Characters

• Namaki (played by Tom Allard) is a strange, fish-like humanoid who lives in a hut on a beach. Years ago, he helped Christa's family build a raft. He is afraid to cross the ocean because of storms and dangerous sea creatures. Namaki cannot hear music. He doesn't like dinosaurs because of a scar he got, but he learns to like Tasha after an adventure with the Siren.

Features of the Land

The Land of the Lost is in a completely different dimension. It looks like prehistoric Earth but has three moons. The area where the Porters live is a tropical jungle, but there's also a huge desert far away.

Crystals and Their Powers

This world has special quartz-like crystals found in caves. The Sleestaks often force Pakuni to dig for these crystals, which can be used as an energy source. In one episode, Kevin finds a huge crystal that pulsates and pulls him towards it. Tom thinks the Sleestaks used these giant crystals to power their underground cities. Smaller crystals can be used like "batteries" for flashlights and other devices.

When many small crystals are placed together in a certain way, they become very powerful. The Porters find a group of crystals hidden in a stone carving in a cave. This special setup can create very realistic illusions that seem real, but they are actually traps. Tom believes the Sleestaks built it as a psychic weapon.

Dimensional Gates: Portals to Other Worlds

These are often blue, swirling mists, but sometimes they are green. They are portals that lead to other worlds and times. They seem to appear randomly, often after earthquakes, and only stay open for a few moments. They are also accompanied by sudden winds. The Porters can track these gates using their portable TV because they cause electromagnetic interference. Tom Porter believes these gates might be their way home, even though he doesn't know where or when they will lead.

Episodes

Season 1 (1991)

Season 2 (1992)