When David Healy shows up as Roscoe T. Post, explorer, adventurer and hot-air balloonist, the Marshall’s have a hope of getting out of the Land of the Lost.  Although I’ve got to ask: why?  

Ok, so here’s my thinking: the sky is big.  I mean, it’s not space, as anyone who owns a Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy knows, but it’s still pretty vast.  Just because the balloon made it into the land, doesn’t mean it can make it out.  How does one go about finding the opening/portal/rift that brought this hot-air-filled balloonist into their world?  Not to mention, if flying out is such an appealing idea, why didn’t they just stay on the Flying Dutchman to see where that ended up?  It can’t be the timing of it, because Will addresses that rather cleverly in this story, wondering if they follow Roscoe – a man from 1920 – what time will the come back to.  Maybe it was the discomfort everyone was feeling with Captain Van Der Meer… that’s got to be it.

Healy is clearly channeling his inner Jackie Gleason and he’s not bad for a Honeymooners stand-in, but he’s not playing Ralph Kramden, he’s playing an adventurer in the Land of the Lost, and again we’re “treated” to those silly characters.  I think it’s a tragic loss to the series that we moved away from serious science fiction in favor of silly fiction.  It’s not as rewarding and you’ve got to wonder why the show didn’t carry on into a 4th season – was it the move away from serious stories, I wonder?  The repeated “splendid” as Roscoe oversees the work the Marshall’s are doing did make me chuckle despite myself, but it’s out of place for the show that could be so intelligent.  

There are, as usual, notable elements of the writing.  Holly hears Roscoe talking about bringing Cha-Ka all over the world and realizes he’s going to be exploited as the missing link (I said it in season 1!).  She would rather find other Pakuni and leave him behind even though she’s clearly developed a friendship with the little fellow.  Cha-Ka’s well being means more to her than her own.  That has to speak volumes that the writer exemplified good behavior for the viewing audience.  Once again, I have to ask: where is this today?  

There is one thing that’s really getting under my skin.  The Sleestak have a real obsession about the Marshalls.  In their mind, everything Jack and family do is the epitome of evil.  They feel the Marshalls hinder their plans for Land-wide domination.  I don’t see how or why, but ok, I’ll accept.  They keep going to their Library of Skulls for bad advice, the poor oafs.  What I want to know is how come Jack doesn’t say, “Tell you what, we will leave!  All you have to do is help us.”  This was the best opportunity: “Hey Sleestak, help us get this balloon off the ground and you can eat Roscoe T. Ralph Kramden!”  Ok, maybe it’s not exemplifying good behavior throwing a fellow human into their food store, but you get the idea.  Why doesn’t he try to communicate with them to mutual benefit??  That’s got to be a better option for them all.

As always, I’m amazed when this series says something to recognize a past episode too.  Cha-Ka recalls Stone Soup.  I do too, Cha-ka; it was the weakest episode of season 1.  But hey, good job remembering stories that came before.  That’s consistently surprised me because just a decade earlier, The Avengers (albeit a product from overseas and several years earlier) was jumbling episode order and reproducing episodes just because it didn’t matter, but here we have a Saturday morning kids show actually remembering its roots and showing character growth.  It also surprises me to no end that I like this show exponentially more than I do The Avengers…  (Hey, I’m watching them both right now, so it’s fresh in my mind, ok?)

For me, the highlight was the question Will asked about what era they would get back to.  It’s got to dawn on them that there’s no guarantee their father made it home.  He literally could be in 1920 where Roscoe lived, or perhaps on the high seas with Captain Van Der Meer – one hopes not, but it’s a possibility.  If they can escape, I wonder where they would end up?  I really wish we’d find out, but I suspect, like Cha-Ka sweeping debris under a stone, this might be brushed under the carpet in the end.  ML