Album (Land of the Lost)

Last updated
"Album"
Land of the Lost episode
LandoftheLost107.png
Rick (right) and the children face Rick's impostor (left) at the pit of the Sleestak god
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 7
Directed by Bob Lally
Written byDick Morgan
Original air dateOctober 19, 1974 (1974-10-19)
Guest appearance
Erica Hagen
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Stranger"
Next 
"Skylons"
List of episodes

"Album" is the seventh episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost . Written by Dick Morgan and directed by Bob Lally, it was first broadcast in the United States on October 19, 1974, on NBC. The episode guest stars Erica Hagen.

Contents

Plot

Will awakens in the early morning to a high-pitched whirring sound which fills the jungle, but eventually it goes away, and only he can hear it. Holly sees that a creature has been breaking into their stores, so at Rick's suggestion she starts to build a trap and Will goes to weed the garden.

Outside, he again hears the sound and this time follows it to the Lost City, momentarily distracted when the city's ruling Allosaurus. Within, he enters a chamber with a matrix table filled with colored stones instead of crystals. On the ground is a pulsating blue crystal that attracts his attention. Picking it up, he sees his mother (Erica Hagen) materialize in a cloud of mist. Afterwards, he returns to High Bluff but does not speak of his encounter.

The next day, Holly's trap has not worked and Will again hears the sound. Holly hears it briefly as well, but dismisses it. Will is then summoned by the emanation to the Lost City but this time Holly follows him. In the chamber, Will again witnesses the image of his mother while holding a blue stone. His mother calls for him, but he is interrupted by Holly, who sees nothing until she touches the blue crystal as well. Holding it together, they are both beckoned by their mother to "come home", but then she quickly adds, "Too late. Come tomorrow. Don't tell." Will explains to Holly that he wants to tell Rick about his discovery but for some reason he is unable to. Holly replies that she will tell their father if he does not and Will sincerely hopes that she can. Will theorizes that they were looking through a time doorway that is open to a period when she was still alive. When Holly asks why her image is not very clear, her brother suggests that it might be because they do not remember her very well. With that, the two siblings, clearly heartbroken, return to High Bluff together.

The next morning the trap has failed again, but both Will and Holly display utter disinterest, and when Rick pries into the issue, Will yells at him and leaves. He returns to apologize for snapping at Rick and while Rick says that he understands, he suspects something. The next evening, Will and Holly again hear the sound and are drawn to the Lost City. Rick secretly follows them. Inside, the phantom of their mother again beckons them, this time accompanied by their father, dressed in a suit. They follow him and he leads them deeper into the tunnels. As they walk, his appearance occasionally flickers to that of a Sleestak from the viewpoint of the audience.

Rick finds another pulsing blue crystal and sees an illusion of his children cheerfully asking them to follow them and see what they have discovered. However, Rick is not easily deceived and angrily smashes the crystal onto the floor and exploded. Immediately, the image disappears and he sees a Sleestak in the tunnel that appeared to be one of the time doorways. Realizing that his children are in great danger, he destroys the false matrix and chases after the Sleestak. He finds his children being led to the Sleestak god, and takes the blue stone from them immediately breaking the hypnotic spell. Rick shatters the crystal, knocking one Sleestak into the pit and grapples with another finally tossing it in as well. They escape the city and return to High Bluff.

Rick surmises that the blue stones allow people to see what they love the most by exerting "some form of hypnosis". Holly dismantles her trap, saying it reminds her too much of the trap into which they were nearly caught.

Reception

The online review site Premium Hollywood described "Album" in 2009 as a "tight installment" that shows how "twisted" the Sleestak can be. [1]

The film historian Hal Erickson criticized the episode for its inconsistent explanation of the powers of the fourth dimensional nodes. According to Erickson, the episode probably inspired the episode "Dreammaker" from the 1991 series. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Land of the Lost</i> (1974 TV series) 1974-1976 American childrens television series

Land of the Lost is a children's adventure television series created by David Gerrold and produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, who co-developed the series with Allan Foshko. It is a live-action show mixed with stop-motion animated dinosaurs, originally aired on Saturday mornings from 1974 to 1976, on the NBC television network. CBS used it as a summer replacement series from 22 June – 28 December 1985 and 20 June – 5 September 1987. It has since become a 1970s American cult classic. Krofft Productions remade the series in 1991, and adapted it into a feature film in 2009.

<i>Land of the Lost</i> (1991 TV series) American TV series or program

Land of the Lost is a half-hour Saturday-morning children's television series that debuted on ABC in the fall of 1991, a remake of the original series of the same name which ran from 1974 to 1976. Re-runs were later picked up by Nickelodeon from 1995 to 1997. Tiger Toys received the license to produce a toyline based on the series, which included regular and "talking" action figures, several dinosaurs and playsets, an electronic "Crystal Sword", as well as an electronic LCD game and a board game.

<i>Noozles</i> Television series

Noozles, also known as The Wondrous Koala Blinky, is a 26-episode anime by Nippon Animation Company that was originally released in Japan in 1984. It depicts the adventures of a 12-year-old girl named Sandy and her koala friends, Blinky and Pinky, who are from the extra-dimensional realm of Koalawalla Land.

<i>Panic in Year Zero!</i> 1962 film by Ray Milland

Panic in Year Zero! is a 1962 American black-and-white survival science fiction film from American International Pictures. It was produced by Arnold Houghland and Lou Rusoff, directed by Ray Milland, who also stars with Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon, Mary Mitchel, and Joan Freeman. The original music score was composed by Les Baxter. The screenplay was written by John Morton and Jay Simms. The film was released by AIP in 1962 as a double feature with Tales of Terror.

"Heart of Stone" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and originally aired on February 6, 1995 in broadcast syndication. The story was written by Ira Steven Behr and Robert Hewitt Wolfe, while the episode was directed by Alexander Singer and the score was created by David Bell.

<i>Land of the Lost</i> (film) 2009 film by Brad Silberling

Land of the Lost is a 2009 American science fiction adventure comedy film directed by Brad Silberling, written by Chris Henchy and Dennis McNicholas and starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride and Anna Friel, loosely based on the 1974 Sid and Marty Krofft television series of the same name. The film was theatrically released on June 5, 2009 by Universal Pictures.

<i>The Sky Ranger</i> (1921 film) 1921 film

The Sky Ranger is a 1921 American 15-episode/chapter silent film serial. Directed by George B. Seitz who also starred with June Caprice, the film serial was an adventure film with locales as exotic as Tibet. The plot staple of an inventor of aviation technology having to contend with conspirators who wish to steal the invention, often appeared in aviation films. The Sky Ranger is considered to be lost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cha-Ka</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Land of the Lost

"Cha-Ka" is the first episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by David Gerrold and directed by Dennis Steinmetz, it first aired in the United States on September 7, 1974, on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sleestak God</span> 2nd episode of the 1st season of Land of the Lost

"The Sleestak God" is the second episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by David Gerrold and directed by Dennis Steinmetz, it first aired in the United States on September 14, 1974 on NBC.

Dopey (<i>Land of the Lost</i>) 3rd episode of the 1st season of Land of the Lost

"Dopey" is the third episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Margaret Armen and directed by Dennis Steinmetz, it first aired in the United States on September 21, 1974 on NBC.

Downstream (<i>Land of the Lost</i>) 4th episode of the 1st season of Land of the Lost

"Downstream" is the fourth episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Larry Niven and directed by Dennis Steinmetz, it first aired in the United States on September 28, 1974 on NBC. The episode guest stars Walker Edmiston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skylons</span> 8th episode of the 1st season of Land of the Lost

"Skylons" is the eighth episode of the first season of the 1974 American television series Land of the Lost. Written by Dick Morgan and directed by Bob Lally, it first aired in the United States on October 26, 1974 on NBC.

Since its debut in 1981, the Indiana Jones franchise has become part of American popular culture. References have been made in television series, movies, music and other material since the original film was released.

Prom (<i>The Secret Circle</i>) 21st episode of the 1st season of The Secret Circle

"Prom" is the 21st episode of the first season of the CW television series The Secret Circle, and the series' 21st episode overall. It was aired on May 3, 2012. The episode was written by Holly Henderson & Don Whitehead and it was directed by Alex Zakrzewski.

"Handle with Care" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the American series The Vampire Diaries and the series' 95th episode overall. "Handle with Care" was originally aired on November 7, 2013, on The CW. The episode was written by Caroline Dries and Holly Brix and directed by Jeffrey Hunt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Chambler</span> Fictional character

Tara Chambler is a fictional character from the horror drama television series The Walking Dead, which is based on the comic book series of the same name. The character made her debut in the 2011 novel The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor, based on The Walking Dead comic books, under the name Tara Chalmers. In the television series, Tara was portrayed by Alanna Masterson. She was the first character who identified as LGBT to be introduced in the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul "Jesus" Monroe</span> Fictional character

"Jesus" is a fictional character from the comic book series The Walking Dead, as well as the television series of the same name, where he is portrayed by Tom Payne.

References

  1. Ruediger, Ross (June 1, 2009). "Land of the Lost – Season One: "It's Not Just for Kids Anymore"". Premium Hollywood. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
  2. Erickson, Hal (1998). Sid and Marty Krofft: A Critical Study of Saturday Morning Children's Television, 1969-1993. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 130–131. ISBN   0-7864-0518-X . Retrieved October 27, 2022 via Google Books.