YMMV / Land of the Lost (1991)

• Fight Scene Failure: The Porters fight the Sleestaks directly in "The Gladiators" (more accurately, Kevin fights one of Shung’s henchmen) and saying the choreography wasn’t up to snuff is probably the nicest way to describe it. No one was expecting Kevin to start throwing kicks like a Power Ranger, but it was clear why they never tried to do another Sleestak vs. Porter fight scene like that again. It wasn't helped by ABC's own standards and practices, which ensured every time someone would land a solid hit, no matter how unimpressive, the camera would zoom out and make it impossible to see.
• Growing the Beard: The second season episodes have a somewhat more thoughtful and mature vibe than the first season. Of particular note is that, while this series abandons the original's idea of a very small Wrap Around universe, the second season embraces the practical upshot of this, that the Land is an entire world that can be traveled around and explored, not just the immediate area around the Porters' home.
• Nightmare Fuel: So remember, kids — if you ever venture out into a lonely place, you too can be swallowed up by something unexplainable and never seen again.
• Retroactive Recognition: Timothy Bottoms, who played Tom Porter in this series, would later go on to play George W. Bush in a few films and series, including the short-lived sitcom That's My Bush!
• Special Effects Failure: Though quite impressive for a kids show in 1991, the special effects (provided by the Chiodo Bros.- who created Large Marge, Philo as an alien and the Killer Klowns from Outer Space) have aged terribly, thanks in no small part to Jurassic Park hitting theaters with its then-revolutionary CGI barely two years later. The dinosaurs have a very flat, pasted-on look about them, and their animations are extremely jerky. Compared to the 70s version though, it's far better — and many of the dinosaur puppets themselves hold up even today.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: "The Gladiators" teases a one-on-one fight between Shung and either Tom or Kevin Porter, but he never does, presumably due to the Fight Scene Failure mentioned above. Instead he simply walks off after it's clear his mind control has worn off.

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