"Follow That Dinosaur"
Written by Dick Morgan
Directed by Dennis Steinmetz
The Marshalls discover the journal of a human who was
once trapped in the Land of the Lost.
Read the complete story summary by Nels Olsen
Didja Notice?
Why is this episode called "Follow That Dinosaur?" They don't
follow any dinosaurs. In fact, a dinosaur, Grumpy, follows them
across the stone bridge of the crevasse to the Lost City.
The dummy left behind by Private Konik is stuffed with dinosaur
nip...and except for having turned a dark color over time it's
still inside. Might that suggest that it wasn't too long ago
that Konik was in the Land? And yet when the Marshalls find the
cave in the Lost City they see gourds and a blanket that look
like they've been sitting a long time and, eventually, the
Marshalls find the decayed, skeletal remains of Konik and Harry
Potts.
Konik's journal says that he taught some of the "monkey people"
some English words. Obviously referring to the Pakuni, but what
Pakuni? Ta, Sa and Cha-ka don't seem to have known any English
words until they met the Marshalls.
Before heading to the Lost City to track Konik and Harry Potts,
Rick says the Sleestak dormant season is almost over. How does
he know? How many "seasons" could have gone by already in the
short time they've been there?
The Marshalls don't seem to be as concerned about leaving
messages to help future castaways in the Land as Private Konik
was. They even throw away his dummy!
Grumpy almost falls into the crevasse after crossing it. That
would have been quite an end to a great villain.
The actors in the Sleestak costumes have a hard time standing
stock-still as the dormant Sleestak. You can see their bodies
and arms swaying slightly.
At 18:31 on the DVD you can see the ground "squishing" down
under Rick's weight as he crawls through the tunnel. The floor
of the set piece must have been padding covered with dirt.
During their fight, Grumpy and Alice knock down one of the
pillars outside the Lost City.