ALL SCI-FI

Casey62 · Last edited by Casey62 on Thu Feb 18, 2016 10:47 am; edited 2 times in total

A sub-orbital spaceflight in the year 1983 is en-route from Los Angeles to London when it passes through a dimensional space warp and crash lands on a planet inhabited by 70 foot giants. The crew and passengers must work together if they hope to survive, repair their spaceship, and some day return to Earth. In the process they learn that the giants have a totalitarian form of government in which the Earthlings are sought out as enemy aliens whose advanced technology poses a threat to the giants.

LAND OF THE GIANTS is a classic that still holds up well today. Among the popular Irwin Allen TV shows of the 1960's - VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, LOST IN SPACE, and THE TIME TUNNEL - LOTG was the most ambitious and stands out as the best of the lot. It was the most expensive series up to that time, employing production values and special effects usually reserved for feature films. The high cost was the reason it was cancelled after only two seasons, but the show remained popular in syndication over the years and has gained new generations of fans. It all speaks for the high quality of LOTG.

The attractive cast performs engagingly; each member approaches their role with a sincere earnestness that makes them easily likeable. The crew of the "Spindrift" consists of pilot Steve Burton (Gary Conway), co-pilot Dan Erickson (Don Marshall) and stewardess Betty Hamilton (Heather Young). Passengers include tycoon/engineer Mark Wilson (Don Matheson) on his way to close a business deal in London, jetsetter/heiress Valerie Scott (Deanna Lund) off on a pleasure trip, orphan Barry Lockridge (Stefan Arngrim) going to live with some cousins in England, and con-man Alexander Fitzhugh (Kurt Kaszner) who is fleeing from the police after embezzling a million dollars. There is a lot more ad-libbing than in Allen's other shows which makes the dialogue feel natural and spontaneous. Several episodes deal with the ongoing conflict between the pressed upon Captain Burton and hot-headed Wilson who wants things to go his way. There is also the relationship between Fitzhugh and Barry that echos Dr. Smith and Will Robinson in LOST IN SPACE. While Fitzhugh is a cowardly guy, he isn't the conniving perpetrator that we get in Dr. Smith. All the characters contain an adequate measure of depth that is in keeping within the framework of what is essentially an action based series.

Obviously in a sci-fi show, special effects play a prominent role and LOTG is a veritable visual feast with lush, Technicolor photography and expertly constructed props twelve times larger than normal. The extreme low angle shots of the giants required sets with ceilings built into them, while the extreme high angle shots of the "little people" needed a very wide soundstage that was often an artificial, oversized forest or bottom portion of an office room furnished with enormous props. To further simulate gigantic proportions, various in-camera techniques were utilized such as large and miniature rear projection, split screen photography, travelling mattes, and forced perspective. Even in our CGI era the expertise of L.B. Abbott and the 20th Century Fox special effects department still impresses, especially since such high standards had to be maintained on a weekly basis.

Music was always an integral factor to the quality of Irwin Allen's TV shows, and the score for LOTG is exemplary thanks to the contribution of composer John Williams. Full bodied and vibrant, the music matches the impact of the visuals and heightens the feeling of suspense. The dominant horns give the show a genuine, giant-like ambience. This comes off particularly well in the opening title theme for the first season and in the pilot episode, "The Crash."

Something else that greatly works to LOTG's advantage is that it sticks to its basic premise and doesn't try to get too topical in the STAR TREK vein. It never resorts to silliness like LOST IN SPACE often does. LOTG is a bit darker in tone with a distinctly paranoid feel. Whenever it does address an 'issue' it is never in an overt or pretentious way. Themes that deal with time travel or cloning are always handled intelligently. Mostly the episodes, usually directed by Allen regulars Harry Harris and Sobey Martin, are about the difficulties and dangers one would encounter in a hostile world of giants. This served the show well, giving it a universal appeal that hasn't dated. Indeed, LOTG is a cult favorite in several European countries with a substantial fanbase in England.

Pye-Rate · Starship Navigator Joined: 14 Dec 2013 Posts: 598

In the first episode a giant picks up the Spindrift and looks in it, that is Butch.
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The road to tomorrow runs through yesterday.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:23 am Post subject:

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Fantastic first post, Casey! This is just the kind of good stuff I expected when I invited you to join us. (Boy, am I smart. Very Happy

)

I've never seen a single episode of this famous show. I did manage to get a fair download of the pilot — The Crash — from Gorillavid, but I got a virus alert when I tried to download episode two.

Netflix doesn't have the series, dang it. Sad

But from what I've seen of the pilot I downloaded, I'm in for a treat when I finally get to watch it. Maybe I'll just buy the box set from Amazon. After all it's only . . .

Yike! $229.98!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:48 am Post subject:

In the episode "Panic" there is a device that is a teleporter.

It was one of the coolest props that I have ever seen constructed for a sf TV show.

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 1:14 pm Post subject:

Casey62 · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 6:10 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Bud - it's good to be aboard. With me, it was a no-brainer to pick up the entire series when it was released in '07. Loved it ever since I tuned in when it debuted back in '68. But then, I was a sucker for all of Irwin Allen's shows. After being bred on VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, LOST IN SPACE, and THE TIME TUNNEL, I was fully primed for LOTG. It seemed to epitomize all the things I liked about the other shows packed into this gigantic package. I even thought VOYAGE's Flying Sub looked a lot like the Spindrift - well, kind of.

Another notable thing about LOTG is that it featured an African-American (Don Marshall) in a major role in a prime-time series when this was a rarity. None of Allen's other shows did this.

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Sat Feb 13, 2016 6:47 pm Post subject:

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Bud Brewster · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 12:33 pm Post subject:

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Bud Brewster · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 4:17 pm Post subject:

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Bud Brewster · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:08 pm Post subject:

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Hey, I'd forgotten about that!

Now if those other folks I mentioned will confess they lied and really do know Butch, I'll have egg all over my face! Embarassed

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Take solace in his liberal application of quote marks. Wink

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...or not...

WayneO
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Bud Brewster · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 9:36 am Post subject:

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I loved to know what Murray Leinster did in the novelization which addressed the problem that (for example) a giant who is 10 times taller than a normal person is also 10 times wider and 10 times deeper. 10 X 10 X 10 = 1,000

So, a 60 foot giant (10 times taller than a 6 foot man) who weighed 200 pound would weight 200,000 pounds!