Sharon Baird Movies

This drama follows an unlikely "ratboy" (S.L. Baird) after he is discovered living in a makeshift shelter in a garbage dump. Along comes Nikki Morrison (Sondra Locke, also the director) who meets the half-rodent, half-human creature and takes him over. She talks to a Hollywood producer and holds forth about him on a television talk show but when she brings ratboy to a press conference, he bolts for freedom -- enough is enough. The garbage dump was better. From that point onward, Nikki begins to change her mind about her treatment of the misbegotten creature and he develops an ambivalent feeling for her. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The fourth Saturday morning TV series produced by puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft, Land of the Lost was far more serious in tone than their earlier efforts (H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, and Lidsville), and far more ambitious. While embarked upon an expedition of the Colorado River, camp ranger/explorer Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) and his children Will (Wesley Eure) and Holly (Kathleen Coleman) plunge over a waterfall and into a time vortex. They emerge in a faraway planet called Altrusia, a primitive land that had somehow become a gathering place for beings of various other time periods. The Marshalls were now surrounded by a frightening array of Paleozoic dinosaurs, a Cenozoic-era family of monkey-like humans called the Paku, and the fearsome, seven-foot-tall Sleestak, who resembled a cross between beast and insect. Also residing in Altrusia was Enik (Walter Edmiston), a superintelligent being who at first glance appeared to have come from the future, but was actually an antecedent of the Sleestak, who had devolved from a once highly advanced civilization. The resourceful Marshalls managed to carve out a new home for themselves in this land of the lost, and to befriend the Paku, who spoke in a bizarre language called Pakuni (developed for the series by Dr. Victoria Fromkin, head of the UCLA Department of Linguistics).

Though somewhat crude-looking by 21st century standards, the special effects on Land of the Lost, combining back projection, stop-motion animation, and puppetry, was quite impressive in its time, and is still nothing to be ashamed of when seen today. Also, during the first two seasons, the scriptwork maintained a lofty Star Trek-like level, thanks to the input of such eminent sci-fi/fantasy writers as David Gerrold, Larry Niven, Ben Bova, D.C. Fontana, and Theodore Sturgeon. Debuting September 7, 1974, Land of the Lost soon emerged as NBC's most successful and popular live-action Saturday morning series. This may explain why it was the Kroffts' longest-running children's TV program, ultimately lasting three seasons and 43 half-hour episodes.

That said, it must be admitted that the series' first two episodes were more impressive than its third year on the air. For season three, several changes were imposed, not least of which was the removal of Spencer Milligan as Rick Marshall. It was explained that, during an earthquake that destroyed the Marshalls' mountain living quarters, Rick was sucked through another time portal and vanished, never to return. By an astonishing coincidence, another member of the Marshall family, Will and Holly's Uncle Jack (Ron Harper), had fallen into still another time portal while searching for his lost family members and was deposited in Altrusia! While this incredible set of circumstance was hard enough to swallow, even more problematic was the fact that the Marshalls were suddenly being visited by a wide variety of misplaced persons and creatures who came and went through additional portals with the greatest of ease -- even though the Marshalls themselves were never able to find a means of escape! Thus, whereas the first two seasons of Land of the Lost was very Star Trek-ish in its approach, season three took on the juvenile trappings of Lost in Space. After finishing its NBC run on September 4, 1978, Land of the Lost entered the realm of rerun syndication. The original episodes were rebroadcast by CBS in 1985 and 1987; in 1991, a brand-new version of Land of the Lost, with a completely different cast, began a two-year run on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ranger Rick Marshall (Spencer Milligan) and his children Will (Wesley Eure) and Holly (Kathleen Coleman) have already been sucked into a vortex at the bottom of a Colorado River waterfall, and have emerged in the primitive "alternate planet" Altrusia, as Land of the Lost begins its first season. Using their well-developed survival skills, the Marshalls manage to establish living quarters in a cave on a high bluff, and have fashioned the tools, weaponry and furniture necessary for survival. They have also met and tentatively befriended Cha-Ka (Phillip Paley), Ta (Joe A. Giamalva), and Sa (Sharon Baird), a family of monkey-like humans from the Cenozoic era Paku Tribe, who speak a strange but eminently logical tongue called Pakuni. Additionally, Rick and his kids have come to realize that some of the Paleozic era dinosaurs that are indigenous to Altrusia are friendly, and some are decidedly not. However, they find no friends amongst the Sleestak, a bestial tribe of creatures who are described various by the characters as "giant insects" and "huge lizards." Gradually, the Marshalls learn more and more about the strange new world around them -- and, in the bargain, more and more about themselves. Making sporadic appearances throughout season one is a loquacious, highly advanced and frustratingly enigmatic being called Enik (Walker Edmiston) -- who, as it turns out, holds the key to the secret behind Altrusia and the evolution (or, to be more precise, devolution) of the hideous Sleestak. The series' first season benefits enormously from the input of its story editor David Gerrold, one of America's foremost writers of science fiction and fantasy (among his credits is the classic Star Trek episode"The Trouble With Tribbles"). Gerrold was able to attract several other top writers in his field to Land of the Lost, notably Larry Niven, Ben Bova, D.C. Fontana, and Walter Koenig (who, of course, also played the role of Chekov on Star Trek). The high level of the series' scriptwork more than compensated for the occasional crudeness of its special effects (which is still pretty impressive by 1974 standards). The final episode of Land of the Lost's first season is one of those "open-ended affairs" that literally brought the action full circle -- thereby paving the way for a healthy rerun cycle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lidsville, the third of Sid and Marty Krofft's Saturday-morning childrens' series, was arguably the wierdest and wildest, bursting to the seams with psychedelic zaniness -- and, it might be whispered, even more covert references to "controlled substances" than were found in the immortal H.R. Pufnstuf. Butch Patrick of "Eddie Munster" fame starred as the series' "human" hero Mark, who while attending a magic show at Six Flags Over Texas became consumed with curiosity over the conjuring act presented by Merlino the Magnificent. Sneaking backstage, Mark stared in amazement as Merlino's magic hat grew to a humongous size. Even more amazing was what happened after Mark fell into the hat, tumbling out of the "real" world and into the land of Lidsville, a garishly colored metropolis populated almost entirely by talking hats (played, of course, by small-sized actors wearing full-body Krofft costumes). Immediately befriending the "Good Hats" of Lidsville -- among them Colonel Poom, Admiral Scuttlebutt, Big Chief Sitting Duck, Rah-Rah the Football Helmet, Scorchy the Fireman's Hat, and Twirly the Beanie -- Mark vowed to protect them from the sinister machinations of green-skinned, red-goateed evil magician Horatio W. Hoo Doo (Charles Nelson Reilly) and his menagerie of "Bad Hats" and anthropomorphic magic props (among them the appropriately named Raunchy Rabbit). For his part, Hoo Doo devoted his every waking hour to capturing Mark so that he could retrieve his magic ring, and thus gain control of the marvelous Weenie the Genie (played in drag by Billie Hayes, the unforgettable "Witchiepoo" from H.R. Pufnstuf).

Throughout the series' 17 half-hour episodes, Mark enlisted the aid of his new hat friends in his efforts to escape Lidsville and return to his own world, forever keeping one step ahead of the indefatigable Hoo Doo, who could generally be found astride his flying "Hatamarand." Utilizing state-of-the-art special effects (for 1971 at least!) and boasting, broad, con brio performances from everyone in the cast, Lidsville was nothing if not exhilarating and eye-catching. The series originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1971, through September 1, 1973, then was rebroadcast by NBC from September 8, 1973 through August 31, 1974. ~ All Movie Guide

Disneyland began its fourth season on the air with a gala, all-star "special", essentially designed to promote all three of Disney's network TV series. Pressured by his cartoon creations and the latest crop of Mouseketeers to tell them what's in store for the 1957-58 season, host Walt Disney offers tantalizing glimpses of the new weekly adventure show Zorro, the Disneyland miniseries The Saga of Andy Burnett (with Jerome Courtland in the title role) and the newest installments of such Mickey Mouse Club serials as "Spin and Marty." The remainder of the Fourth Anniversary Show is an uncut presentation of the "Peter and the Wolf" segement from the 1946 animated feature Make Mine Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide