The Lost World (TV series)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World is a syndicated television series loosely based on the 1912 novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World. The show premiered in the United States in the fall of 1999 (after the TV-movie/pilot aired in February on DirecTV and then on the cable television channel TNT in April).[1] It ran for three seasons, the final two of which aired in syndication in the United States, before it was cancelled in 2002 after funding for a fourth season fell through. The final episode ended with an unresolved cliffhanger. All three seasons were released in DVD box sets in 2004.

The Lost World
Season one titlecard
GenreAction
Adventure
Science fantasy
Starring
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • Australia
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes66 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Greg Coote
  • Jeffery Hayes
  • Guy Mullally
  • John Landis
  • Leslie Belzberg
Production companies
  • Coote-Hayes Productions
  • Action Adventure Network (seasons 1–2)
  • Telescene (seasons 1–2)
  • St. Clare Entertainment (seasons 1–2)
  • The Over the Hill Gang Productions (season 3)
DistributorNew Line Television
Release
Original network
Picture format4:3
Original release2 October 1999 (1999-10-02) –
13 May 2002 (2002-05-13)

Plot

"At the dawn of the 20th century" a band of British adventurers, led by adventurer and scholar Professor George Challenger, embark on an expedition to prove the existence of an isolated lost world. The team, consisting of a mismatched group of enthusiasts with less than selfless reasons for making the journey, begin their trip under less than ideal conditions. The members are Challenger, Professor Arthur Summerlee, Marguerite Krux, Major Lord John Richard Roxton and Edward T. Malone.

Their hot air balloon crashes in the Amazon rainforest on an uncharted plateau where prehistoric creatures survive. The group is assisted by a young jungle-savvy woman named Veronica Layton, whose parents disappeared eleven years before. Her family was part of a research group known to have vanished under mysterious circumstances. Together, the group fights to survive against carnivorous dinosaurs, vicious Neanderthals, a race of lizard men, and other perils as they search for a way to escape. Each episode detailed two separate, simultaneous adventures.

The later series established that the party became stranded in 1919.

Episodes
Main article: List of The Lost World episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
122April 3, 1999 (1999-04-03)May 20, 2000 (2000-05-20)
222October 7, 2000 (2000-10-07)May 26, 2001 (2001-05-26)
322October 20, 2001 (2001-10-20)May 13, 2002 (2002-05-13)

Proposed season 4

The producers of the show have revealed some details of the proposed fourth and even fifth seasons from 2002. If the subsequent season had been prod, fans would have learned that professor Adam Summerlee was indeed alive, residing in Avalon. Avalon, near the border of the Plateau, is where Veronica's surviving mother Abigail Layton had become the Plateau's protector soon after her disappearance. She became the ruler of Avalon and had left behind a triangle artifact- the Trion, the Eye of Heaven- for her daughter Veronica to find. Veronica was to become the new Protector of the Plateau. Her tree-house dwelling was apparently the epicenter of the entire Plateau.

The new season would have also revealed that Marguerite and Roxton were always meant to be together from the beginning. As Veronica is the new Protector of the Plateau, Marguerite is a descendant of Morrighan, her ancestor whom came from "the line of Mordren;" they are the opposing forces against the Protectors. Marguerite as the "third power" within the Trion forces, was a free will agent allowed to choose good or evil in the battle against power over the Plateau. Roxton, Marguerite's knight, protector, and future groom would have been her personal guide so that Marguerite would ultimately choose "good." Also, because of Marguerite's Celtic heritage within the line of Mordren whose presence is on the Plateau and Veronica's bloodline with the Protectors, Veronica and Marguerite are cousins genetically, but spiritually are sisters. Roxton's role as Marguerite's modern day knight originates with his childhood and ancestral home having close proximity to Avebury, nearly twenty miles from Stonehenge. Finn would have been revealed to be Malone's great great granddaughter, her grandmother being the Amazon Phoebe (also played by Lara Cox) whom Malone had sex with in the episode "Amazons"[2] The series would have been resolved with Malone and Veronica getting married and staying in Avalon, while Challenger uses his teleportation invention from the episode "Finn" to send himself, Roxton, Marguerite and Summerlee to London, but travels forward in time to the year 2005 where they are welcomely greeted by the zoological society due to Malone having sent them a letter explaining when they would arrive.

The fourth season would have featured guest appearances of two other Arthur Conan Doyle characters, Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty.

Characters

Overview
Actor Character Seasons
Pilot 1 2 3
Peter McCauley Professor George Edward Challenger Main
Rachel Blakely Marguerite Krux Main
William Snow Lord John Richard Roxton Main
David Orth Edward 'Ned' T. Malone Does not appear Main[lower-alpha 1] Special guest star[lower-alpha 2]
Jennifer O'Dell Veronica Layton Main
Michael Sinelnikoff Professor Arthur Summerlee Main Guest Does not appear
William deVry John Malone Main[lower-alpha 3] Does not appear
Lara Cox Finn Does not appear Special guest star[lower-alpha 4]
Notes
  1. Orth did not appear in the original two-hour pilot television film, but he does appear in the television series, starting with the first two episodes.
  2. While Orth appears with the other main cast in the show's opening title sequence in season 3, he is listed as a "Special guest star". Orth is last credited in the tenth episode of season 3, "Brothers In Arms". His third-season appearances were curtailed due to Australian tax laws.[3]
  3. William deVry and his character only appear in the original two-hour pilot television film. He does not appear in the television series.
  4. Cox does not appear with the main cast in the show's opening, but is credited as a "Special guest star" after the show's opening title sequence. Cox's first crediting on the show is for the fifteenth episode of season 3, "Finn".

Main
  • Professor George Edward Challenger (portrayed by Peter McCauley) — A scholar, visionary, and adventurer who is the leader of the expedition. He hopes to prove his claims to the skeptical London Zoological Society.

Raider (portrayed by Don Battee) — and adventurer who is the leader of the expedition.

  • Marguerite Krux (portrayed by Rachel Blakely) — The selfish financier of the expedition and heiress to a fortune who goes along for her own reasons.
  • Lord John Richard Roxton (portrayed by William Snow) — The nobleman with vast hunting experience, who accidentally killed his brother while trying to save him from an ape. He serves as protector of the group.
  • Edward "Ned" T. Malone (portrayed by David Orth) — An American newspaper reporter, hoping to make a name for himself and impress his girl back home....if he survives the ordeal.
  • Veronica Layton (portrayed by Jennifer O'Dell) – A jungle girl whose parents disappeared eleven years prior to the series. While she originally wore sandals in the first season, later episodes had her wearing boots.
  • Professor Arthur Summerlee (portrayed by Michael Sinelnikoff) — The elderly member of the band, a scientist, and a colleague to George Challenger, who initially does not believe Challenger's claims about a lost world. Although he is supposedly killed by Drakul and washed down the waterfall at the end of Season One, Edward revealed to the group that Arthur is in a state where he is neither dead or alive upon being lifted from the dried-up waterfall as seen in "Man of Vision". If there was a Season 4, he would have been confirmed as officially alive.
  • Finn (portrayed by Lara Cox) – A young woman from the year 2033 who debuts in the fifteenth of season 3.

Others
  • Tribune (portrayed by Jerome Ehlers) - The leader of a tribe of lizard men. He had different encounters with Challenger's group and has developed some respect for them.
  • Assai (portrayed by Laura Vazquez) -

Animals of the plateau

There are various prehistoric animals and other types of creatures that reside on the plateau, including:

  • Euoplocephalus - Euoplocephalus appear in "Cave of Fear", "Blood Lust", and "Paradise Found".
  • Brontosaurus
  • Giant Bee
  • Herrerasaurus – Herrerasaurus appear in "Blood Lust," "Out of Time," "The Beast Within," "Absolute Power," "Time After Time," "Prodigal Father," and "The Chosen One." They are incorrectly shown as having double crests on their heads just like Dilophosaurus.
  • Pachycephalosaurus – This was seen only in the book page in the original pilot.
  • Parasaurolophus - ???
  • Plesiosaurus - ???
  • Pteranodon - ???
  • Smilodon – Smilodon was originally supposed to have appeared as a recurring animal, but was cut from the finished program.
  • Triceratops - ???
  • Troodon – Was to have debuted in Season 4, and with human-like intelligence.
  • Tyrannosaurus – Tyrannosaurus are recurring predators in the series, where each one tries unsuccessfully to catch and eat the main characters.
  • Velociraptor - ???

Broadcast

The first part of the series originally aired on Pay-per-view via DirecTV in the summer of 1999 before it aired in syndication. The original airing was uncensored, containing nudity and extended scenes. The syndicated version on TV and DVD releases are edited.[4][5][6][7][8]

Following the limited run on PPV, the first broadcast TV run of the series ran weekly in syndication on hundreds of stations in the United States,[9] including the WB 100+ group stations, a joint Time Warner and Tribune Broadcasting entity. Because of syndex rules each episode aired one week later on WGN America,[10][11] and on the Space TV network in Canada.[12][13] The series continued to be rerun in daily strip form in the United States on the Time Warner owned TNT in the early morning hours Monday through Friday.[14]

International

In addition to the English language broadcasts in North America and Europe, the series has aired around the globe in other languages. The series aired in Europe on the SciFi Channel Europe.[15]

During the original run the weekly syndicated primary and backup satellite wildfeed for the series utilized the Galaxy 26 satellite located at 93° West longitude.[16][17]

DVD releases

The series was removed from the schedule after the DVD release in the United States after a third Time Warner company, New Line Television, sold the DVD region 1 distribution rights to Image Entertainment. The DVD region 2 distribution rights were sold to Liberation Entertainment.

Image Entertainment released all three seasons of The Lost World on DVD in Region 1 in NTSC. Liberation Entertainment released all three seasons on DVD in Region 2 in PAL.

The original 93 minute version pilot movie was released on DVD in 4:3 PAL under the title, The Lost World The Beginning by ILC Prime licensed by Fremantle Corporation.[18][19]

Note: The pilot television movie was edited down into episodes 1 "The Journey Begins" & episode 2 "Stranded" for the TV series.

Season Ep # Aspect Ratio R1 Release Date R2 Release Date
Pilot 1–2 4:3 29 July 2002
1 22 4:3 27 January 2004 15 October 2007
2 22 4:3 20 April 2004 19 November 2007
3 22 16:9 16 November 2004 3 March 2008

References
  1. "SPECIALS on TNT". Turner.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 1999. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  2. "Lost Worlds" (PDF). New Line Television. 2004.
  3. Knutzen, Eirik (23 February 2002). "Real Wild Child". Toronto Star Starweek. p. 8. ProQuest 1441197772.
  4. "DIRECTV(R) Agreement With Action Adventure Network Marks Entry Into Original First-Run Entertainment". thefreelibrary.com. 1997.
  5. Morgan, C. Demetrius. "Lost World review" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  6. "RE: Uncensored Version? When?". RPG.net Forum. 24 March 2004.
  7. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World (TV Series)". The Great Canadian Guide to the Movies & TV.
  8. Morgan, C. Demetrius (2004). "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's: The Lost World: Season One DVD Review". RPG.net.
  9. "About the Lost World – Broadcast Times". lostworldtv.net. Archived from the original on 13 August 2003. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  10. "WGN-TV ONLINE". Wgntv.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2000. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  11. "Entertainment". WGN Superstation. Archived from the original on 21 August 2003. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  12. "Sir Author Conan Doyle's The Lost World". Spacecast.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2000. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  13. "Sir Author Conan Doyle's The Lost World Episodes". Spacecast.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2001.
  14. "The Lost World". tnt.tv. Archived from the original on 10 October 2004. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  15. "What's On Now". scifi.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2002. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  16. "Satellite ORBIT Wild Feeds". orbitmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  17. "Satellite ORBIT Wild Feeds". orbitmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2003.
  18. "ILC Catalogue". ilcdvd.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2004. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  19. "ILC Catalogue – Documentaries". ilcdvd.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2004. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
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