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Episode Studies by Clayton Barr enik1138-at-popapostle-dot-com |
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"Cha-Ka" Written by David Gerrold Directed by Dennis Steinmetz Finding themselves trapped in a strange, pre-historic world, Rick Marshall and his children Will and Holly encounter the Pakuni, a race of ape men. Read the complete story summary by Nels Olsen Didja Notice? The Pakuni have their ears set higher and further back than humans. One of the first things Will and Holly do to show friendship to Cha-ka (after rescuing him from Grumpy, of course) is to offer him water. Several times thereafter, in this episode and the next, Cha-ka asks for water. Was he really that thirsty all the time? This is a tactic often used by young children, asking for a repeated small gesture of kindness, to increase a bond with a new person in their lives.
Notes from the audio commentary by Sid and Marty Krofft While it has become somewhat well-known that Sid presented a collage-style book of photos and illustrations cut from books and magazines to NBC to give an idea of what the show would be like, Sid reveals here the book was put together by Land of the Lost co-creator, Allan Foshko. Land of the Lost was equalling prime-time ratings when it started airing on Saturday mornings. When they started shooting the first season they had problems figuring out how to marry the stop-motion film with the video-taped live action. This was due to the fact that video was shot at 30 frames/second while film was shot at 24 frames/second. They finally developed a process to achieve it (according to Sid, it was Disney studios who helped them out!). A pool made to like it was made from rock that was used in the premiere of Krofft's Donny and Marie Show was later re-used on the set of Land of the Lost. I assume this was the water hole, seen most prominently in "Circle" when the Marshalls went swimming. Notes from the audio commentary by David Gerrold The High Bluff interior is a redress of the Sigmund and the Sea Monsters set. An occasional minor point of contention among fans is cleared up (sort of) when Gerrold reveals that Ta and Sa were not intended to be Cha-ka's parents. Gerrold says he deliberately wanted their relationship left vague, but he thought of them more as Cha-ka's older brother and sister. Memorable Dialog Isn't he cute.mp3 Name him spot.mp3 So Grumpy.mp3 He's a Paku.mp3 The size of a walnut.mp3 Let's get the flyswatter.mp3 It's not his fault.mp3 I'm learning Pakuni.mp3 Put Cha-ka in the basket.mp3 Keep him.mp3 Happy to see Grumpy.mp3 People, Places and Things (Provided by Michael Taylor) Back to Episode Studies
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