Good News!! Good News---- Wait....What???

Land of the Lost film a go

Universal Pictures has just signed Brad Silberling to direct the big screen version of the '70s cult hit Land of the Lost. Silberling joins Will Ferrell on the project which is set to start shooting in March.

The original Saturday morning series told the story of explorer Rick Marshall who, while on a "routine expedition" with his children (for some reason) Will and Holly, fell through a fault in the Earth and ended up in a prehistoric world filled with dinosaurs, cavemen and evil lizard creatures known as sleestaks.

This is great news - even though Will Ferrell is involved and that can only lead to trouble, at least there will be a film. Unlike a certain animated fantasy movie that's supposed to be out right now but is having trouble seeing the light of day.

But I digress. I was troubled after reading on in the article:

The big screen version of the film will cast Ferrell as a disgraced paleontologist who ends up in the prehistoric land with his assistant and a tour guide.

Wait-wait-wait-a-minute!!! assistant?? Tour guide???. No, uh-uh, no way. Will Marshall finds himself in the Land of the Lost with his son and daughter. The charm of the show is not the dinosaurs, or Sleestak, or even the cute little neandrathal Paku - it's the fact that a dad and his young children are forced to work together to survive in a hostile environment. The kids must grow up and learn about their own strengths and weaknesses. That's what made that show fun. If you take the "family" away and have it be about three unrelated adventurers - that's it, the movie's "Lost" before it even films a frame. I hope this is either early information, or that the assistant and tour guide are actually Will and Holly. And even that won't work, because Holly's a young girl. You can just throw in a 20-something tour guide daughter and call it "Land of the Lost". Grrrrrr

Then there's this:

The original creators of the series, '70s TV legends Sid and Marty Krofft are on board with the film and have expressed excitement over the script. "What they did is keep the integrity of the show," said Marty Krofft "but they made it very funny for Will. The adventure is all there. There are going to be 50 Sleestaks!"

I think the next quote they cut for space would have been, "And there will be ponies! And lots of candy for everyone! And maybe some puddin----zzzzzzzzzzz" as an obviously senile Marty Krofft drifts off to sleep. Or rather this demented puppet substitute for the real Marty Krofft (who last I heard he and his brother Sid were in good health). If he really said this, and is enthusiastic about the fundamental altering of the premise... I fear for his mental faculties.

Wait and see...wait and see...