The new Land of the Lost movie is being released today. It’s a parody of the 1974 series and stars Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, and Jorma Taccone. Though the tone is very different, the film does incorporate a lot of elements from the original TV show. The dreaded Sleestaks, monkey-boy Cha-Ka, and Grumpy the dinosaur are all along for the ride. Unfortunately, some other familiar faces from the TV show didn’t make it to the big screen.
The original Land of the Lost TV series stars Spencer Milligan, Wesley Eure, Kathy Coleman, Ron Harper, and Philip Paley as Cha-Ka. It ran on Saturday mornings and revolves around an explorer father and his two children who find themselves transported to a strange alternate universe. The show ran for just three seasons and only 43 episodes were produced.
The show became so popular in syndication that a new version was created in 1991. It stars Timothy Bottoms, Jenny Drugan, Robert Gavin, Ed Gale, Danny Mann, Shannon Day, and Bobby Porter. It wasn’t nearly as popular but lasted two seasons and 26 episodes.
