Despite the presence of Danny McBride, we're relatively convinced that Will Ferrell's upcoming reimagining of "Land of the Lost" will be dreadful. Sci-Fi Channel, which has forgotten more about dreadful movies than we'll ever know, obviously agrees. Paying homage to the original tripped-out Sid and Marty Krofft series, Sci-Fi dedicated it's Memorial Day programming to the Marshall Family, Sleestaks, Cha-Ka, crudely animated dinosaurs, dimensional portals and mutant fruits and vegetables.

News of the Sci-Fi marathon frightened us. We'd purposely steered clear of the series DVDs because we wanted to keep what memories we had of the show in tact. We remember watching "Land of the Lost" in our youth and being huge fans. We even re-enacted episodes in the tool shed using marbles as magic crystals and rusty tin cans as pylons. Good times. It's been over 30 years since "Land of the Lost" originally aired and let's face it, very few of our favorite shows from the 70s and 80s have aged gracefully (see "T.J. Hooker," "Silver Spoons," "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe," "Whiz Kids" and "Barnaby Jones"). Anyway, with excitement and trepidation we watched a handful of episodes over the course of the holiday and here are a few of our observations:

Sid and Marty Krofft deserve their own wing in the Television Hall of Fame. Famous for their love of puppets and hallucinogens, the Kroffts (Canadian, by the way) churned out some other-worldly children's programming, much of which wasn't all that appropriate for children. Do you remember "H.R. Pufnstuf"? How about "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters"? We thought the Kroffts were responsible for "The Great Space Coaster" but research proved otherwise. The Kroffts developed the world's first indoor amusement park (in your face, Mall of America!), The World of Sid and Marty Krofft, which was built in Atlanta and now houses CNN headquarters. They were also brilliantly spoofed by "Mr. Show with Bob and David." Face it, the Kroffts were pothead visionaries, not unlike Dr. Dre or the Portland Trail Blazers. 

We have little doubt that J.J. Abrams was greatly influenced by "Land of the Lost" when he created "Lost." The confusing time loops? Factions at war in a mysterious land? The Pylon = The Hatch. The Sleestak Pit Monster = Smokey. And if you take away Enik's orange sequin cocktail dress he and Jacob are basically the same dude. 

The Sleestaks are far less scary in 2009. You can see the zippers in the back of their costumes and we even noticed one of them holding a Marlboro Red in his claw. Plus, the hissing sound that freaked us out so much in the 70s is now more annoying than foreboding. Then again, the Sleestaks had about as much chance of holding up over time as Grumpy the T-Rex did. Quickly, did you know that former Detroit Pistons Bad Boy Bill Laimbeer played a Sleestak in Season 1 of "Land of the Lost"? And that Richard Kiel, who famously played Jaws in "Moonraker," makes a guest appearance in Season 3 as the Cro-Magnon warrior Malak? Use these LOTL tidbits at your next dinner party and you're sure to be a hit. Or forcibly removed.

There was a Season 3. This blew our minds. So, Rick Marshall unexpectedly returned home through a time doorway and was replaced by Uncle Jack, who rafted down the same darn time portal waterfall that befell his brother's family. What are the odds!?! The theme song even got re-written to tell the story of Rick's departure (but oddly, no mention of a contract dispute) and Uncle Jack's arrival. And Will Marshall sings on the remastered cut! We can't remember whether or not the "Valerie" theme got re-written after that diva Valerie Harper walked off set and the show became "The Hogan Family" starring Sandy Duncan but we're pretty sure Jason Bateman wasn't involved.

Then there's Cha-Ka and the Pakune. They're like less-charming Ewoks merged with Mr. Peepers.  They make no sense and serve no purpose. But in Sid and Marty Krofft's world, seldom do things make any sense sober.

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