Episode 29: Split Personality

[Professor]

“The Musician” and “Split Personality” are an interesting pair, especially considered back to back. Both feature something seen one time only in the series: in “The Musician,” it’s the Builder, and in “Split Personality,” it’s a parallel set of Marshalls in an alternate reality. These episodes have each provided a disproportionate amount of fodder among fans for discussion of the way things work in the Land of the Lost as well as for explanation of difficult-to-explain things and events. As we’ve discussed, “The Musician” gives some people thoughts about how the origins of the Land of the Lost and its technology. “Split Personality” likewise has been used to explain the “Circle” paradox as well as the mysterious “Holly Don’t” of “The Pylon Express.”

What is it about this pair of episodes, placed so close to the end of the second season of the series, that has so captured the imaginations of the fans? Although the stories, both of which are deeply embedded in the science fiction genre, are nothing alike, they do have something in common: they bring something very powerful in from the outside. In “The Musician,” it’s a new, powerful being, who is established as a dormant resident; in “Split Personality,” it’s the existence of and ability to interact with a parallel universe. How tempting it has been, for better or for worse, to ascribe otherwise poorly explained occurrences to these singular phenomena; you all know what I’m talking about. The fact is, however similar these two interesting episodes are in terms of their impact, watching them back to back reveals that “Split Personality” is the lesser. In addition to being unbelievably poorly edited, the story is founded to some extent in either a gross oversimplification or, I’m more inclined to believe, an outright misunderstanding of physical principles.

Let’s talk about some of the good things first. The scenes concerning Grumpy during and after the initial earthquake are well-executed, making use of a new set. They give us false hope that Grumpy is gone, foreshadowing the earthquake-driven changes to the dinosaur cast in Season Three. The parallel Holly makes the Marshalls think of the Sleestak trick way back in “Album”; that’s a clever connection on Will’s part as well as a great piece of continuity. Ditto for the idea that earthquakes might be connected with pylons, which isn’t really further addressed – I like the open-ended hypothesizing. Having the chamber with in the cave rotate 90 degrees and having the matrix table embedded in the wall, correcting itself by rotating 90 degrees after Will accomplishes his task constitutes a very effective visual representation of the parallel worlds “grinding against each other.” Finally, the whole idea of interacting with counterparts in a parallel universe is exciting and appealing.

There is, however, a lot of really sloppy editing and some tremendous plot difficulties that interfere with the feel and the flow of the story. Here are four editing problems. 1) When Will first sees this person, who we later learn is in serious peril, she’s grinning from ear to ear. Take yourself back to a time before you’d ever seen this; I bet that first off, unlike the Marshalls, you recognized her right away, and second, you never expected her subsequent troubled mood. 2) Upon leaving Holly’s body after telling Will and Dad to help parallel Will and Dad, parallel Holly disappears, and the show goes to a commercial break. Immediately after the break, parallel Holly is floating right overhead; this is very jarring, though in fairness it’s more so in the absence of that commercial break. 3) The whole reason she needs to get into Holly’s body is to be able to talk; not only does it not look remotely like Holly is talking, but at the end, she is continuing to talk for several seconds after leaving Holly’s body. 4) Dad starts talking about a “green wall” on the way to the cave of interest, but no one’s said anything about a “green wall.” Here are four plot problems. 1) Where is parallel Holly? She’s supposedly with parallel Will and Dad, but she’s not only in a different form from them, she’s not even with them. She claims to be “halfway through,” apparently mixed in with the rocks; we can see this for the others, but not for her. What is the difference between parallel Holly’s predicament and that of the others? 2) How does parallel Holly move around? 3) How can parallel Holly both see and hear the valley and see and hear the Marshalls? 4) When Will and Dad are in the cave, Will is drawn to that red herring of a green room because of the sound of the cars. Yet after it turns, Dad decides the sound came from another direction.

Now let’s talk about the relationship between the Marshalls and the parallel Marshalls. Parallel Holly, for some reason, seems to know an awful lot about this, advising the Marshalls not to touch the parallel Marshalls. When seeing that they have some opposite features, Dad decides this might indicate that they’re made of antimatter, which he takes to mean that they shouldn’t be touched, because the contact will destroy them both. It’s true that a collision between antimatter and matter results in mutual destruction, but this is true of any antimatter and matter, and not restricted to contact between some sort of macroscopic complements. Put more simply, if the parallel Marshalls are in fact antimatter, they should have been explosively destroyed by being in contact with the very air and rocks from the matter universe around them (and, for that matter, what are the green crystals made of?). Without the peril of not being able to touch them, the story loses some of its urgency, so it’s necessary that this restriction be placed on them for plot purposes, but in fact, this scenario as laid out is inconsistent with the very principle it’s trying to explain.

It sounds like I don’t like this story. In fact, I do and I always have. But it’s rather disappointing that so much of it depends on bad science and really bad editing. It looks to me like it was a rush job: Dad has long sideburns and Will has a completely different shirt. I suspect that “Split Personality” was filmed as an emergency replacement for something a while after the rest of the season had been filmed. A lot of people like to go crazy imagining a pervasive relationship between our Marshalls and the parallel ones; I personally see this as a unique, one-off situation that did not exist before the beginning of the story and was completely resolved by the end. To each his own!

[Galilee55]

I suspect, Professor, that you and I have similar feelings about this episode. It had so much potential to be one of the best episodes, but the way they did it ruined that possibility. Those who have read enough of my posts realize that I absolutely love any time of parallell or alternate universe stories. If this one had been done halfway decently, it would have been phenominal.

I did notice after watching this episode on DVD (it was one of the first ones I watched, if not THE first one I watched after buying Season 2), that the other Holly spoke after leaving the original Holly's body. I did NOT, however, put the connection of the smiling Holly in the bushes with the terrified Holly we see just a few seconds later.

This is one of my favorite episodes, but I do have several problems with it.

First of all, the acting and writing is just horrible. "Make it stop, Daddy! Make it stop, Daddy! It's never gonna stop Daddy!" I mean, come on! Holly sounds like she is about 4 years old in that scene.

This continues at the end with the "She's going out of my head, Daddy, she's going out of my head!" So, what is she whining about? She didn't want her there in the first place!

The other biggest thing is Holly not going in with them at the end. Why would she not go in? It also looks (from a person watching it anyway), that the Marshall's may have a serious chance of getting out, and yet Holly wants to stay out of the cave? "Quick, Will, there is a time doorway open to Earth. Go get Holly! Oh, never mind, it's gone now."

Seriously, I cannot think of a single reason why Holly would not want to go, or for that matter, why the writers wouldn't want Holly to go. She is also lighter, so it would be easier to have HER get on Dad's shoulders instead of Will.

Can anyone give me any indication as to why Holly wouldn't want to go in there?

I am sure there is more I could add, but it's 11:20 p.m., and I am off to bed. I am curious as to what others think of this episode.

[Rick_66]

"Firsts" in "Split Personality":

First earthquake in the LOTL since the Marshalls’ arrival (for amusement, compare Holly’s hysterical reaction in this episode to her more blasé one in “Timestop.”
First appearance of Marshalls’ fresh water supply pipes.
First and only appearance of parallel universe Holly.
Proof that “Holly” is really an alien robot. No Human would ever say, “She’s I” instead of “She’s me.”
First and only mention of the black Sleestak (unclear if she’s using the singular or the plural).
Revelation that the parallel universe Marshalls’ mother is still alive.
First sound of something from Earth (a car horn) heard in the Land of the Lost.
First and only appearance of the underground cave in which the Marshalls encounter their parallel universe counterparts.
First clear indication that a matrix table has 81 slots for crystals in a 9 X 9 pattern (interesting to note that when the table was on the wall, the stones appeared to be red, green, blue and brown; and when it was restored to the floor, they were the more familiar red, yellow, green and blue). Any math whizzes want to provide the number of possible combinations four crystal colors could yield?
First mention of the Marshalls’ old house in Harrisville (any idea what state that could be in? If it’s neither California nor Wyoming, it’d make three states the Marshalls have lived in- four if Rick was still living in Indiana when Will and Holly were born).

Rick

[Galilee55]

"Firsts" in "Split Personality":

Revelation that the parallel universe Marshalls’ mother is still alive.

Rick

Actually, that would explain something. When Rick and Will find "themselves" in the wall, Rick says "He has his ring on his left hand. I always wear my ring on my right hand." I bet the writers were just trying to shoiw a subtle difference between the 2 universes, but if the alternate Rick is still married, then he would wear his ring on his left hand.

[Son of Enik]

This was always a rather interesting episode for me as a kid...and I must agree with Professor, that the ideas were there...but poorly executed. Parallel realities have always fascinated me and here was a real opportunity to explore the notion, but as I have said before, the writers had to "dumb it down" for the kids. I feel that TV writers often don't give kids enough credit, if presented properly we would have understood the story without having to talk down to us as writers sometimes do.
Professor, I really have been enjoying these threads and am really looking forward to reading your thoughts on Season 3 in a couple of weeks...keep up the good work!! :)

[Rick_66]

Actually, that would explain something. When Rick and Will find "themselves" in the wall, Rick says "He has his ring on his left hand. I always wear my ring on my right hand." I bet the writers were just trying to shoiw a subtle difference between the 2 universes, but if the alternate Rick is still married, then he would wear his ring on his left hand.


Except that it's not a wedding ring he's wearing. It looks more like a class ring.

Of course that raises the question of why the other universe Rick isn't wearing a wedding ring. I suppose it's theoretically possible that while the other universe's Mrs. Marshall is still alive, she and Rick are divorced.

Or it could be that the other universe Rick happened to take his wedding ring in for resizing or other repairs just prior to his "routine expedition."

Or it could be that in that other universe, people (or at least men) don't wear wedding rings.

Rick

[Crawford]

I too have always enjoyed this episode. It did point to some great prospects but again it did have to be dumbed down somewhat, if it had been feasible, I think it could have been expanded into an hour and we would have gotten probably a slightly better episode or at least more clear.

Several things I noticed however:

The Marshalls seem resigned to their fate that they are going be in the LOTL for awhile, witness the creation of a fresh water piping system. I'll bet with a fire going, they'd have plenty of hot water. Rick is quite the handyman in rigging up most if not all of their tools. Of course this points back to "The Pylon Express" where the Marshalls believe the pylon will open again in a few years so they will make the best of it until then.

Holly's hysterical reaction to the quake could be interpreted as it is her first one. I know she lived California but those of you who are residents could probably say that quakes are not an frequent occurance or they lived in a city or town that did not have them often, Will and Rick obviously have been through one although being under a bamboo bed while chunks of rock are falling all around you might not be a good place to seek protection. I am also willing to bet that this quake sufficiently weakened High Bluff enough that it would collapse and be unliveable in "Aftershock". Btw, note the continutity error of one of the stones falling onto the bed, staying there and in the next scene has vanished.

I think the alternate Marshalls are not antimatter but more of a "what-if" situation. The alternates have different clothes, have met a different Sleestak and most importantly their mother is still alive. Someone mentioned earlier that this alternate Rick may be divorced as he is not wearing a wedding ring, I don't necessarily believe this to be true as some married couples don't always wear their rings. Rick if he is a ranger in this other time line may have also taken his ring off to prevent it being lost.

Holly not wanting to enter the cave could be explained away as the alternate Holly was claustrophobic rather than acrophobic like our Holly was. Residual memories left behind from what was for all intensive purposes a medium experience.

Getting into the main plot however, I think this is again a reflection of the breakdown of things in the LOTL. I have mentioned this state of decay or one could even consider it an encroaching entropy that some barrier broke down and there was a reality incursion. Of course it is just coincindence that the Marshalls put things right or so we think. We don't know how much damage was really done but I believe it was pretty extensive and would spread into the third season. Also, like with "The Pylon Express" why wouldn't the Marshalls have run to Enik about these events. An open and functioning time doorway is good news for all concerned, but the collision of time lines and possibilities is not. A major plot thread not explored but probably should have been.

One final error. Once the matrix table is back on the floor, note the boulders "concealing" the power cord of the prop. This seems to be a common problem plaguing production as I have seen the cord in several other episodes.

All in all, not a bad episode. A little restraint on Kathy's acting, tighter editing and a little more exposition and "Split Personality" would be superb. This would have been a great episode to close the Season with as it would have dovetailed a little better with "Aftershock".

[emwhy]

Yeah I have to agree with Crawford and Professor about Kathy's acting in this one as well...it made me hit fast forward a few times. As for production elements, the set they use when Rick and Will descend down into the cave is the same set piece from "Downstream", it was also used (although filmed from a different angle) as the sleestak pit in all those first season episodes. I did like this one overall, it's interesting to note it's the only other episode besides "Dopey" that didn't feature any other actors or characters in the first 2 seasons. Could have been for budget reasons, or just that the story didn't call for them. My one question would be the relationship that the matrix table has to the other universe. It's clear by the end of the episode that the table was from the "normal" LOTL, so what exactly were Rick and Will from the other LOTL doing with the the crystals in their hands...how did they get them in their universe? Also, wouldn't those crystals be composed of an opposite matter seeing as they how they belonged to a matrix in this LOTL...wouldn't the alternate Rick & Will have exploded on contact from handling them?

[Professor]

It's clear by the end of the episode that the table was from the "normal" LOTL, so what exactly were Rick and Will from the other LOTL doing with the the crystals in their hands...how did they get them in their universe? Also, wouldn't those crystals be composed of an opposite matter seeing as they how they belonged to a matrix in this LOTL...wouldn't the alternate Rick & Will have exploded on contact from handling them?This is exactly what I meant when I asked, "and, for that matter, what are the green crystals made of?" It simply strikes me that the writers hadn't thought this through. I don't know why, but the tendency in much TV science fiction of that era is to say that if something is different, it must be opposite in every way possible, down to the atomic level.

[Tiamat]

I really did like this episode as well because it really got you thinking. The way I always saw the marshalls that were stuck in the wall, it was kindof a mirror image of the real marshalls. Sort of like when you're looking at yourself in a mirror, everything seems backwards. I agree though that the ring rick had on his finger didn't look like a wedding ring but more like a class ring.

I loved that room that spun around as well. I always thought that was such a cool idea and a great addition to the story, even though it was something that didn't really have any bearing on anything. I was always curious as to what "The Black Sleestak" was all about as well. Was it a race or was it a singular person she was referring to. I always assumed that it was the opposite of Enik, where this one had a black colour to it and was evil whereas, the real enik was more of a good...or at least a neutral. One thing is for sure, I'd love to see a picture of it....just like I'd love to see what the sleestak god looked like as well. One answer to this was that all the sleestak in their dimension were of a black colour but if the "black sleestak" was a race, why would she specify colour? The marshalls never referred to their sleestak as "The green sleestak".

In conclusion, I thought this was a very well put episode that really made you go Hmmmm after watching it. I like hearing everyone else's take on it as well.
Cheers,
--Tia

[Professor]

I was always curious as to what "The Black Sleestak" was all about as well. Was it a race or was it a singular person she was referring to. I always assumed that it was the opposite of Enik, where this one had a black colour to it and was evil whereas, the real enik was more of a good...or at least a neutral. One thing is for sure, I'd love to see a picture of it....just like I'd love to see what the sleestak god looked like as well. One answer to this was that all the sleestak in their dimension were of a black colour but if the "black sleestak" was a race, why would she specify colour? The marshalls never referred to their sleestak as "The green sleestak".Why indeed would she specify color? I think that in fact, it was to drive home to the audience the point that she was from a parallel place where things are similar yet different. The fact is, there was no reason whatsoever to mention anything about such a Sleestak. Dad's assertion that she was talking to someone else at the moment didn't sit well with me either, as what she said was ridiculously fragmented and unlikely to be of any utility to parallel Will or parallel Dad either. It's just another example of the poor construction of this episode. It would be another issue altogether if the series were going to revisit this world, but I don't really believe the writers intended to, or that they had any better idea about what the black Sleestak was or were. What a tease!

[RICK]

Again one of my favorite episodes. Over the years between the end of the show in the 70s and its return to network broadcast in 1985 on CBS, this episode, along with Elsewhen, Follow that Dinosaur, and Circle, stuck in my head far more vividly than any other episodes.

A great followup to this story is Personallity Split by Marc C.
http://www.landofthelost.com/split.htm

As to the wedding ring thing, men wearing wedding rings didn't become common until the mid 1980s. I know many men wo were married in the 70s or before (who are still married) who to this day don't wear a ring.

[phantom]

“ How tempting it has been, for better or for worse, to ascribe otherwise poorly explained occurrences to these singular phenomena; you all know what I’m talking about.

Could you be talking about my story? I think you just might be.



I made it a point to tell the readers that the 'Holly don't as with most of the story was not wrote to it best ends due to lack of time. in fact around 90% the ideas are just ideas I did not use in my 'Real novels' You will find that many authors use ghost writers to rewrite their works before they are published and use Pen names as well

If I had of wrote this story the way it should have been written it would have been over 300 pages long so to cut out large chunks of the story I had to write it in other ways.

Just like the script writers have reasons for the things they do, things that would seem weak to some really have deep meaning if you know where they are coming from and why. It is about the viewing audience, the show would have been a flop if they spent all their time trying to make it all work for and adult Audience and make it a saturday morning show.

Your a smart man Professor, I will not try to take that away from you. So I am sure you know what I mean.

I know the issues with my writing but I also know I have talent.
My story is over, Why don't you write one? You have many fans on here I am sure they would like to read a story from you .. I promise not to pick on it in any way, What do you say Room Lets get Professor to write a story.

I also think it is nice that you are doing these write ups on the show, it is something that has been needed for a long time.

[Professor]

Could you be talking about my story? I think you just might be.Actually, no. Let me be as clear as possible. I don't object at all to the use of incidental plotlines to spin off ideas for further stories. What I don't care for is the use of incidental plotlines as an easy solution for otherwise inexplicable occurrences in earlier episodes. My story is over, Why don't you write one? You have many fans on here I am sure they would like to read a story from you .. I promise not to pick on it in any way, What do you say Room Lets get Professor to write a story.I have great respect for writers of fiction and appreciate the invitation, but in reality I lack both the time and the skills (to my satisfaction) to think about and write a story. Seeking tenure at a university is time-consuming and brain-draining, and while I regard my involvement here as a welcome distraction from that process, making a more serious effort could realistically compromise my career efforts.

[phantom]

I have great respect for writers of fiction and appreciate the invitation, but in reality I lack both the time and the skills (to my satisfaction) to think about and write a story. Seeking tenure at a university is time-consuming and brain-draining, and while I regard my involvement here as a welcome distraction from that process, making a more serious effort could realistically compromise my career efforts.
Now you see where I am coming from when I say my story could have been much stronger 'But I simply did not have the time'

[Professor]

Now you see where I am coming from when I say my story could have been much stronger 'But I simply did not have the time'Here: Your story is great. Your story is awful. Your story is exactly what people want. Your story is completely unrelatable. Your story is perfect the way it is because of your obvious natural talents. Your story could have been better if only you could have devoted more time and effort. Your story is the groundbreaking paradigm for the future of all science fiction and I worship it. Your story is eminently forgettable and I spend all my spare time laughing at it.

Although your paranoia may lead you to believe otherwise, I have never publicly attacked you (except in response to your despicable breach of my privacy) or your story, whereas you have continued to chase me around seeking some sort of statement. So pick some of those, take them out of context, and say that I said them. You want my approval? You've got it. You want my disapproval? You've got it. In reality, I don't know what you want, other than to be the center of attention. The fact is, I have little interest in fan fiction, including yours, though I respect everyone's right to create it and enjoy it.

Can we please get back to "Split Personality," which, unlike you, this thread is actually about?

[borgwoman]

Okay, I really like this story and I always have. I always wanted the Marshalls to go back there and explore the rest of that cave, but I guess the earthquake in "Aftershock" made that impossible.

I really would not have thought Rick's ring would merit this much attention, but since that's what everyone is talking about....

My husband has never worn a wedding ring.

When we first got married, I wore a ring with a garnet. I didn't think we should spend the money on diamonds, and Princess Di was wearing a sapphire, so I figured that I could wear a garnet if I wanted to.

Due to several mishaps and gaining about fifty pounds, I bought two replacement garnet rings. Two of the rings are currently lost, and I'm not wearing the other. We are still married, but neither of us is wearing a wedding ring.

So is it possible that Rick's ring is a wedding ring? It's possible, but it probably isn't supposed to be a wedding ring. Most of you have probably heard the story of the Star Trek saltshakers, but for those of you who haven't, here it is.

Okay, in the original Star Trek series there was an episode with this sort of salt-vampire thing, and I think the name of the episode was "Man Trap." In this episode, Rand walks down the corridor to where Sulu is working, and she's taking him his lunch. She's carrying his lunch on a tray, and there's a saltshaker on the tray. In this scene, it just won't work unless there's a saltshaker on the tray. So a bunch of guys from the show go and buy weird futuristic looking saltshakers and bring them back to the set. And they try them out and look at them on the tray and try to imagine which one looks most like what kind of saltshaker the Enterprise would have in the future. And then somebody says that no one will recognize them as saltshakers, and one of the actors would have to pick it up and say "this is a saltshaker." That would have been a silly thing to add to the script, so someone just went and got a plain old silver top glass saltshaker and they used that in the scene instead. But they didn't want to waste the money they'd spent on the weird saltshakers, so they made the saltshakers into McCoy's medical instruments.

So unless there was a scene in an earlier show that I don't remember where Rick holds up his ring and says, "this is my wedding ring," then it probably isn't his wedding ring because most people wouldn't recognize it as a wedding ring.

[Professor]

So unless there was a scene in an earlier show that I don't remember where Rick holds up his ring and says, "this is my wedding ring," then it probably isn't his wedding ring because most people wouldn't recognize it as a wedding ring.I agree, it's not a wedding ring. I wouldn't take a wedding ring on a trip like that either.

[Marc]

I think a lot of the questions raised here are fairly common. I had a lot of them myself, and there was enough to use for a second story, which is why I did Personality Split. Plus, that helped me answer the Holly Don't issue, which I couldn't figure out how to get into Exodus.

The good part about fan fiction is that you could come up with a logical explanation for things and then explain how they work. In some cases, some of the mysteries really only have one solution that truly works. But I think in the case of Personality Split, it was one explanation and certainly an episode that deserved a followup.

I wanted to explore more of the lives of the parallel Marshalls. Unfortunately, in the first release, I only had the Sci-Fi Channel recording, which left out the part about the mother being alive. That fact really needed to be incorporated into the story. In fact, it provided a key difference between the regular Marshalls and their counterparts for me.

The parallel Marshalls have a mother/wife at home that they would need to get back to. While our Marshalls have reason to get home, the parallel Marshalls have even MORE motivation, to the point of being willing to take more risks.

Why was Holly separate from her family? Covered it.
How did they know about our Marshalls? Covered it.
Who was the Black Sleestak? Covered it.
How did parallel Holly get there? Covered it.
Professor's objection over anti-matter? Covered it.

[Professor]

Unfortunately, in the first release, I only had the Sci-Fi Channel recording, which left out the part about the mother being alive.That's interesting -- I hadn't thought much about the edits till now. I wonder if anyone could compile a list of syndication edits. It's interesting to see what was thought to be dispensable, and perhaps what some people who don't have the DVDs might remain unaware of (if there are any such people around).

[Tiamat]

Why was Holly separate from her family? Covered it.
How did they know about our Marshalls? Covered it.
Who was the Black Sleestak? Covered it.
How did parallel Holly get there? Covered it.
Professor's objection over anti-matter? Covered it.

I'm surprised that I'd not read that story before being that "Split Personality" was another of my favourite episodes. I really like how you went in depth both before and after the episode. That would've made for a nice two-hour movie special :)
Good job on a well written story. Incidentally, that was always my theory as well as to the black sleestak holly mentioned. Every story needs it's "bad guy" and he was definately it.
Cheers,
--Tia

[Marc]

Thanks for the compliments. I never heard of a major fact being missing from the Sci-Fi Channel edit as big as the one about the alternate Marshalls' mother. I wish they had given her a name though. Because she was never named on the show, I wouldn't name her in any of the fan fics. The only liberty I ever took in either of the fan fics was giving Jack a family in Exodus. I figured the guy had to have more of a background than being an engineer who searched for his brother. But they were only there to show that he had more of a life, not to be a major part of the story.

I figure the Black Sleestak had to be a one of a kind. It didn't make sense otherwise.

[Professor]

I've always wondered whether parallel Holly was referring to a single black Sleestak or a bunch of them (as "Sleestak" is frequently employed as a plural, like "deer"). One might argue that when she says "don't trust him," she's referring to a single such being, but I have serious reservations as to whether she's still talking about the black Sleestak at that point. That soliloquy of hers, described by Dad as her possibly talking to someone else, sounds like a bunch of random, disjointed phrases that have nothing to do with each other. I can't remember what it is, but "the black Sleestak" and "don't trust him" are separated by some phrase that clearly has nothing to do with anything else. I leave open the possibility that she's advising someone not to trust the black Sleestak, but I think it's at least as likely that she's not.

In any event, if "the black Sleestak" is singular, the only Sleestak-like being in our Land of the Lost that could be distinguished by color is Enik, who, of course, is not black. If the Marshalls didn't know Enik and had only seen him from afar, they might be inclined to refer to him as "the brown Sleestak" or "the copper-colored Sleestak." Why Enik's counterpart in the parallel Land of the Lost would be a different color than our own Enik is beyond me; no other colors are altered (only the clothes themselves) with the parallel Marshalls. Perhaps there is an undiscovered black Sleestak (or many such) in the Land of the Lost, although if so, it would be disingenuous on the part of the writers to include black Sleestak in this story if they didn't intend to bring some in later on.

I am of course aware that fan fiction has addressed issues relating to these, but I'm really just thinking about it directly in the context of the series.

[Rick_66]

That's interesting -- I hadn't thought much about the edits till now. I wonder if anyone could compile a list of syndication edits. It's interesting to see what was thought to be dispensable, and perhaps what some people who don't have the DVDs might remain unaware of (if there are any such people around).


I don't have a list of edits handy, though, in theory I could go through the selected episodes I taped off the Sci-Fi Channel and compare them to the DVDs. If I had the time for such an endeavor, that is.

I can, however, address one specific edit that I thought actually improved the story. That concerned the end of "Medusa." In the uncut version, after Jack defeats Medusa by tricking her into gazing into her own reflection, there's a brief coda. Jack relates how he remembers the detail in the story where the hero could safely look at her in a mirror (that's the good part); and Holly says, "that's the trouble with vanity and all those other vices. You never know when you might get stuck that way. " (that's the bad part).

The Sci Fi Channel version cuts the coda entirely. The episode either cuts to final commercial or goes straight to end credits (I'd have to check the tape to refresh my memory as to which) after Jack walks away from the now statueized Medusa. It's much more effective as an ending, in my opinion.

Sure, we lose Jack's brief explanation as to how he could look at her in the mirror, but that's balanced out by also losing Holly's platitude. And again, the edited version's final scene of Jack just walking away from the statueized Medusa is a much stronger one than in the unedited version. It almost- almost- gives the ending a certain noir quality.

Rick

P.S. one particularly bad edit, in my opinion, took place in "After Shock" when Will and Holly first encounter Cha-Ka after the earthquake. In the original verison, the scene goes like this:

Holly:
(happy to see a friendly face)
Cha-Ka!
(then she sees he looks down in the dumps).
Cha-Ka? Cha-Ka, what's the matter?

Cha-Ka:
No more Pakuni (though it sounds like No la Pakuni for some reason). Cha-Ka alone.

Holly:
You mean the Pakuni were killed in the earthquake?

Cha-Ka:
Not killed. Gone. Big hole open in ground. Hole much long. Pakuni on one side. Cha-Ka on other side. Cha-Ka alone.




Will and Holly then tell Cha-Ka they'd just lost their father, and Will says:

"So Cha-Ka, stick with us. Until everyone finds everybody else, we'll be our own family."



In the Sci Fi Channel version, it goes like this:

Cha-Ka:
"No more Pakuni. Cha-Ka Alone."

Will:
"So Cha-Ka, stick with us.... (etc.)"

It's not even a good edit. Even if you'd never seen the episode, you could tell something had been cut.

Of course, there have been worse edits. Star Trek reruns in the late 70s and early 80s had entire scenes cut out (at least locally). Many times these were key scenes.

[Professor]

Of course, there have been worse edits. Star Trek reruns in the late 70s and early 80s had entire scenes cut out (at least locally). Many times these were key scenes.And that's precisely why I ask about this. I remember watching Star Trek when Sci-Fi got them and seeing scenes that I was pretty sure I'd never seen before. I think it's a worthwhile endeavor, and I encourage you to do it if time permits.

[Marc]

The basic theory I had was that the Altrusians simply evolved differently in a different universe, and in addition to forming a much more malevolent culture, they simply evolved as black instead of beige.

[PLT3008]

I thought the parallel universe idea was great! Almost spooky! Even though it may not have originated here.

As to Plot Problem: 1.) Holly is in the ultra paranormal spirit dimension. When she claims, "We're halfway through",she is correct, only Dad and Will are a bit further than she.
2.) Holly moves around by employing the FM principal. [Allowed by the builder(s)].
3.) This is due to her dimensional status.
4.) Will was mistaken. This could be easily explained, given their present surroundings.

With all that was to happen in this spisode, and given the budget restraints I can see where some might be critical today, but given these circumstances, not to mention it was 30 some years ago, I thought they did a very good job! This is why it stays in our minds!

Professor, re: Editing Problem #1.
Perhaps this Holly doesn't realize yet that she is also in serious peril, and is just happy to see what she thinks is "her" Dad and brother.

#2 upon parallel Holly's disappearance at commercial break, our Holly is laying flat on her back, on her bed, perpendicular to normal position. Fading in from the break @ 8:15 she is sitting upright at the foot of the bed with Will and Rick at her side. This would signify some lapse of time. If you review, would this not eliminate your #2 problem?

Perhaps it is not supposed to look like Holly is talking when parallel Holly becomes one with our Holly. This would add to the mysterious nature of the situation,and when they part, the words are fading, also adding to the mysterious nature. Actually I thought this a good technique. This should offer an explanation for your problem #3.

Now! allow me to stand up for Kathy's acting.
Yes, she was quite frantic at first. I say this acting was brought out from the director and she delivered brilliantly!

I will go on to say she carried her craft throughout the episode, especially when being badgered with questions from Dad and Will.

I also thought that when she said, "She is I", it sounded better, more profound.

If I don't understand -- PLEASE HELP PLT....... help PLT....... help plt..........

PLT3008 OUT

[Professor]

As to Plot Problem: 1.) Holly is in the ultra paranormal spirit dimension. When she claims, "We're halfway through",she is correct, only Dad and Will are a bit further than she. 2.) Holly moves around by employing the FM principal. [Allowed by the builder(s)].
3.) This is due to her dimensional status.
4.) Will was mistaken. This could be easily explained, given their present surroundings.You say "ultra paranormal spirit dimension," "FM principle," and "dimensional status" as though these are obvious and meaningful. I guess I was looking for an explanation that made sense within the context of the story. I could make stuff up too, you know!Perhaps this Holly doesn't realize yet that she is also in serious peril, and is just happy to see what she thinks is "her" Dad and brother.Let's play "If You Give a Pig a Pancake." If you tell me that, you might be right, but I'll point out how odd it is that she rapidly figures out exactly what her problem is and how to go about resolving it, namely by establishing that she can't be heard, determining that she must occupy Holly's body in order to do so, locating Holly, moving to her, and occupying her body. If I tell you that, you'll tell me that in fact she had plenty of time to do all of those things because time is flowing at a different rate in her universe. If you tell me that, I'll tell you that you have no evidence of that. If I tell you that, you'll tell me that there isn't a better explanation within the context of the story. If you tell me that, you'll be right, of course, but I'll still believe that bad editing is a simpler, better explanation.#2 upon parallel Holly's disappearance at commercial break, our Holly is laying flat on her back, on her bed, perpendicular to normal position. Fading in from the break @ 8:15 she is sitting upright at the foot of the bed with Will and Rick at her side. This would signify some lapse of time. If you review, would this not eliminate your #2 problem?It's possible!Perhaps it is not supposed to look like Holly is talking when parallel Holly becomes one with our Holly. This would add to the mysterious nature of the situation,and when they part, the words are fading, also adding to the mysterious nature. Actually I thought this a good technique. This should offer an explanation for your problem #3.It just looks wrong to me, but certainly there will be those for whom my "wrong" is their "artistic."
Now! allow me to stand up for Kathy's acting.
Yes, she was quite frantic at first. I say this acting was brought out from the director and she delivered brilliantly!There is no question that she delivered what she was asked to deliver. But I think that few would go so far as to deem the results "brilliant."I will go on to say she carried her craft throughout the episode, especially when being badgered with questions from Dad and Will.If by this you mean that she wasn't as bad throughout the whole episode, I'll agree 100%.I also thought that when she said, "She is I", it sounded better, more profound.Nobody talks like that, not even I (ha!). And the last person I'd expect to say "She's I" is a kid to whom something shocking has just happened. It's perfectly grammatical and entirely unnatural.

[PLT3008]

You say "ultra paranormal spirit dimension," "FM principle," and "dimensional status" as though these are obvious and meaningful. I guess I was looking for an explanation that made sense within the context of the story. I could make stuff up too, you know!Granted Professer, I thought a man of your stature would relize what to take, and not at face value.
Perhaps this Holly doesn't realize yet that she is also in serious peril, and is just happy to see what she thinks is "her" Dad and brother This was serious.



Let's play "If You Give a Pig a Pancake." If you tell me that, you might be right, but I'll point at how odd it is that she rapidly figures out exactly what her problem is and how to go about resolving it, namely by establishing that she can't be heard, determining that she must occupy Holly's body in order to do so, locating Holly, moving to her, and occupying her body. If I tell you that, you'll tell me that in fact she had plenty of time to do all of those things because time is flowing at a different rate in her universe. If you tell me that, I'll tell you that you have no evidence of that. If I tell you that, you'll tell me that there isn't a better explanation within the context of the story. If you tell me that, you'll be right, of course, but I'll still believe that bad editing is a simpler, better explanation.
Let's not! This was serious.





#2 upon parallel Holly's disappearance at commercial break, our Holly is laying flat on her back, on her bed, perpendicular to normal position. Fading in from the break @ 8:15 she is sitting upright at the foot of the bed with Will and Rick at her side. This would signify some lapse of time. If you review, would this not eliminate your #2 problem?
It's possible!Possible? C'mon. These are observed facts.


It just looks wrong to me, but certainly there will be those for whom my "wrong" is their "artistic. I thought it quite creative. Perhaps you have the ability to better these people?

"There is no question that she delivered what she was asked to deliver. But I think that few would go so far as to deem the results "brilliant.
Then I am among the few and proud. Thank you.
"If by this you mean that she wasn't as bad throughout the whole episode, I'll agree 100%.Nobody talks like that, not even I (ha!). You just did. Oh I get it, good one Professor.

And the last person I'd expect to say "She's I" is a kid to whom something shocking has just happened. It's perfectly grammatical and entirely unnatural. The Earthquake,shocking? Yes. The paranormal experience of being inhabited, who's to say? Certainly not I.

PLT3008 OUT

[Professor]

Granted Professer, I thought a man of your stature would relize what to take, and not at face value.No, I'm not that tall. More seriously, though, yes, I knew you weren't serious, but when you mix serious and not serious together, you run the risk of confusing people.Let's not! This was serious.I was serious too. Do you take issue with my argument, or are you just upset that I made one?These are observed facts.The observed parts are facts; it's the unobserved parts that have to be taken on faith. What you said is a fine explanation, from my point of view, but we cannot infer the actual sequence of events with certainty. Why does parallel Holly disappear and appear on a few occasions? I don't know, and I'm guessing that you don't either, because you've indicated that your answer to the first question, which relates to this matter, wasn't serious.I thought it quite creative. Perhaps you have the ability to better these people?I don't think this is a matter of making people better, unless you feel as though the best people are the ones who hold all the same opinions as you. What I clearly said, as all may witness, is that some people might view it as artistic, and others might view it as looking wrong. Are you suggesting that no one should view it the way I do?The Earthquake,shocking? Yes. The paranormal experience of being inhabited, who's to say? Certainly not I.Well, each of us has his own call to make (although clearly you would prefer it if everyone made the same call as you), but I would be much more surprised by a supernatural experience with a parallel version of myself inhabiting my body than with a natural, albeit rare in Ohio, geologic phenomenon.

[cal92471]

The subject of the Marshall Parallels and a recurring theme of LOTL being a sort of parallel universe is fascinating. Agreed that this ep does sort of a lousy job explaining this in greater detail for us 20 and 30 somethings interested in Sci-Fi as opposed to kids who probably just got whacked out by the floating Holly ghost or the suspended Rick and Will and matrix table with missing green crystals.

I'm not able to get get too scientific due to my lack of scientific knowledge on the subject so I will not attempt to match wits, but I will nonetheless offer my two cents, for what its worth. True, to each his own.

These last 3 eps of Season 2 brought be back from exile, they're all great and anyone in their right mind knows the target audience are the parents babysitting their kids on scientific concepts so advanced there is NO WAY a kid in the 70s or now for that matter could have grasped the themes, no matter how smart these kids these days think they are. So thanks to whoever made them possible.

I have to rewatch this as I haven't seen it in quite a while. I could see the debate is going to get pretty interesting around here, thanks all.

[enoch]

Other parallel universes -

1) The deadly purple LOTL from "Pylon Express" (It looks like it was intended to be a version of the LOTL to me, Some call it the antimatter LOTL. Others say it was not supposed to be a version of the LOTL).

2) This one is NON CANONICAL. Somewhere I read that the original/earlier script for "Hurricane" had Beauregard Jackson indicate he was from an alternate reality where Texas had been its own country for quite some time.

[PLT3008]

You say "ultra paranormal spirit dimension," "FM principle," and "dimensional status" as though these are obvious and meaningful. I guess I was looking for an explanation that made sense within the context of the story. I could make stuff up too, you know!

Professor, please allow me to clarify.
Perhaps I may assist you out of attack mode.
When I first addressed your plot problems, I did edit out the original closing summary (sentence), which was;
"And that's all the BS I can come up with".

When I said, "ultra paranormal spirit dimension", I was attempting to answer an almost impossible question. In analysing how it was presented, parallel Holly was (appeared to be) in, or from another dimension, and in spirit form.
Furthermore it seemed (to me) to be a bit beyond/more than paranormal.
Hence I coined the phrase/term ....... "Ultra Paranormal Spirit Dimension".
Perhaps it will become as popular as "Warp Speed" (OK, a guy can dream, can't he?)
Given that,..... "Dimensional Status" should be self explanatory.
As to "FM Principle";
Yes, that was for humour purposes. but "I" did not make that up.
Ask any mechanical or electrical engineer and they should be able to explain it to you. If not, ask and I shall do so.




Let's play "If You Give a Pig a Pancake."


Sorry, Professor, don't know that game. Up here in Wisconsin we play "Cow Tippin' ". By the way, am I the pig or the pancake?


If you tell me that, you might be right, but I'll point out how odd it is that she rapidly figures out exactly what her problem is and how to go about resolving it, namely by establishing that she can't be heard, determining that she must occupy Holly's body in order to do so, locating Holly, moving to her, and occupying her body. If I tell you that, you'll tell me that in fact she had plenty of time to do all of those things because time is flowing at a different rate in her universe. If you tell me that, I'll tell you that you have no evidence of that. If I tell you that, you'll tell me that there isn't a better explanation within the context of the story. If you tell me that, you'll be right, of course, but I'll still believe that bad editing is a simpler, better explanation.


Not a bad summation Professor.
Only I wouldn't have used the difference in time, because it was not presented in such a manner within the context of the show, etc. And to explain parallel Holly's ability to find our Holly and resolve said problems might be, that the two Hollys were destined to do so, and in less than 30 min.(TV time)




I was serious too. Do you take issue with my argument, or are you just upset that I made one?

Instead of using the word argument (I understand your phraseology but others might take it wrong, think it too harsh a word), I would prefer P.O.V. (Point of View) If you don't mind. And no, I'm not upset at all. I relish all other views, including yours.



The observed parts are facts; it's the unobserved parts that have to be taken on faith. What you said is a fine explanation, from my point of view, but we cannot infer the actual sequence of events with certainty. Why does parallel Holly disappear and appear on a few occasions? I don't know, and I'm guessing that you don't either, because you've indicated that your answer to the first question, which relates to this matter, wasn't serious.



I would surmise that her ability to do so comes and goes. Unless you have a more thorough evaluation of what was presented.



I don't think this is a matter of making people better, unless you feel as though the best people are the ones who hold all the same opinions as you. What I clearly said, as all may witness, is that some people might view it as artistic, and others might view it as looking wrong. Are you suggesting that one should view it the way I do?

"Not making people better". If you re-read what I wrote, I was suggesting you might be able to do a better job given the same circumstances. And all should view it ................. as "they" view it.

Well, each of us has his own call to make


Yes, this is true. One should view it as they see it(And then share with others,if they choose).




(although clearly you would prefer it if everyone made the same call as you),.....


Quite the opposite! I invite and welcome all view points.

....,but I would be much more surprised by a supernatural experience with a parallel version of myslelf inhabiting my body than with a natural, albeit rare in Ohio, geologic phenomenon.
Think about that Professor. If you hadn't had a supernatural experience, how would you know that you would be much more suprised by it. Maybe it would seem "natural" and not that super. Comparable to Holly when she was "creeped out" when at it first happened, and became more accepting as she realized parallel Holly meant no harm. And though it might be rare, in Ohio, I think Plate Tectonics quite a natural occurrence

And who is to question that? Certainly not I.

PLT3008 OUT

[PLT3008]

"Firsts" in "Split Personality":
First appearance of Marshalls’ fresh water supply pipes.Rick

Please excuse me Rick_66 but, unless I'm seeing things, these first appear in
"Tar Pit" @ 1:22, behind Rick. Better view @ 6:36.

And in the opening shot of "The Zarn" @1:13, Sharon and Holly are washing clothes, with the pipes right above Sharon's head @14:16, in "The Zarn".

And in "Fair Trade" @3:08, 3:32 and 5:30.

And in "The Test" @3:40, 5:07.

And in "Gravity Storm" we actually see Rick secure this rig @1:23 and see it (sporadically) to 5:26, and @18:55

And in "The Longest Day" @1:35 -1:41.

And in "The Pylon Express" @3:08.

And in "A Nice Day" @17:18-17:28 & 17:46-17:53.

And in "The Baby Sitter" @1:13-1:22, 9:05, 9:10 & 9:38, when Holly shows Cha-Ka how to wash dishes.

And @15:55-18:06 when Holly & the Zarn have quite the conversation. And Zarn actually leans on the structure.

And most recently in "The Musician" @1:20 & 2:44-3:04.

Please understand I'm not knitpicking. I'm merely documenting. Still love "the firsts".

PLT3008 OUT

[cal92471]

In defense of Kathy I thought her acting was fine. I'll have to admit I was a bit freaked out by the Holly ghost Will sees, but her acting in this episode may be a result of the delusional state the quake puts her in. Compare it to her reaction in Aftershock Season 3. Kathy's acting was exceptional in how she acts out her emotional states. Something about that smile.

[Professor]

Professor, please allow me to clarify.
Perhaps I may assist you out of attack mode.
When I first addressed your plot problems, I did edit out the original closing summary (sentence), which was;
"And that's all the BS I can come up with".I like that. I encourage you to leave it in next time!Sorry, Professor, don't know that game. Up here in Wisconsin we play "Cow Tippin' ". By the way, am I the pig or the pancake?Neither. It's a kid's book, which is written in the format in which I wrote my response. It's a long, convoluted series of actions and reactions between a kid and her pet pig, and at the end of all of it, they wind up right where they began. My wife is from Wisconsin, incidentally, and she claims never to have tipped cows. I'm sure she missed out!I wouldn't have used the difference in time, because it was not presented in such a manner within the context of the show, etc. And to explain parallel Holly's ability to find our Holly and resolve said problems might be, that the two Hollys were destined to do so, and in less than 30 min.(TV time)You might equally say that the concept of destiny isn't from within the context of the show either.Instead of using the word argument (I understand your phraseology but others might take it wrong, think it too harsh a word), I would prefer P.O.V. (Point of View) If you don't mind.Well, a point of view is a point of view, and an argument is what you say to get people to understand your point of view.I would surmise that her ability to do so comes and goes. Unless you have a more thorough evaluation of what was presented.That's a description, not an explanation. My point, way back when, was that the story provides no good explanation for the characteristics of parallel Holly."Not making people better". If you re-read what I wrote, I was suggesting you might be able to do a better job given the same circumstances. And all should view it ................. as "they" view it.I'm not aware of a definition of "to better" that doesn't mean "to improve."Think about that Professor. If you hadn't had a supernatural experience, how would you know that you would be much more suprised by it. Maybe it would seem "natural" and not that super. Comparable to Holly when she was "creeped out" when at it first happened, and became more accepting as she realized parallel Holly meant no harm.See, here's my problem. When you say something like "think about that," you're implying that the person you're talking to hasn't thought about it. The fact is, I presented a reasonable argument supporting my point of view, and because I don't come to the same conclusion as you, you assume that I must not have thought about it, because any reasonable individual that thinks about it could only come to support your point of view. I stand by what I wrote; possession of bodies by otherworldly beings is supernatural regardless of how it feels, and my guess is that Holly is upset by that experience. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think it's a very reasonable argument.And though it might be rare, in Ohio, I think Plate Tectonics quite a natural occurrenceI'm really not sure what you're talking about here. Plate tectonics is not an "occurrence"; an earthquake is.

[PLT3008]

The subject of the Marshall Parallels and a recurring theme of LOTL being a sort of parallel universe is fascinating. Agreed that this ep does sort of a lousy job explaining this in greater detail for us 20 and 30 somethings interested in Sci-Fi as opposed to kids who probably just got whacked out by the floating Holly ghost or the suspended Rick and Will and matrix table with missing green crystals.

I'm not able to get get too scientific due to my lack of scientific knowledge on the subject so I will not attempt to match wits, but I will nonetheless offer my two cents, for what its worth. True, to each his own.

These last 3 eps of Season 2 brought be back from exile, they're all great and anyone in their right mind knows the target audience are the parents babysitting their kids on scientific concepts so advanced there is NO WAY a kid in the 70s or now for that matter could have grasped the themes, no matter how smart these kids these days think they are. So thanks to whoever made them possible.

I have to rewatch this as I haven't seen it in quite a while. I could see the debate is going to get pretty interesting around here, thanks all.

It's great to see you are back Cal.
I have heard much about how bad Kathy's acting was in this episode, but I must be among the few (or only,.....am I alone on this?) that did not see it that way.
In the opening she did seem a bit frantic but, I easily got past that.
And I especially noticed how great she performed throughout the balance of the episode.
As you know Cal, I have had a taste of performing in the theater arts (even though I may not have been that good at it,ok I sucked) I do realize what it feels like to be criticized, and that is probably what made me pay extra attention to the rest of Kathy's performance, or maybe it was her outstanding delivery of her lines( in my humble opinion), most notably when being questioned by Will and Rick.

I agree with you Cal, that the theme of this episode was (is) heavy duty. To this day I'm still running my calculations on all this space/time dilation thing. Now if you will excuse me I must determine the "Lorenz Contraction" on this matter.

(Disclaimer: Yes I'm joking, and No I did not make that up.)


PLT3008 OUT

[PLT3008]

Just a side note to Borgwoman, and all Star Trek ( and Sci-Fi) fans out there.
There is a program, airing 3-12-06 @ 8/7c , on The History Channel (www.historychannel.com/ ),entitled
"How William Shatner Changed The World".

Looks good, thought I would mention it.

PLT3008 OUT

[cal92471]

It's great to see you are back Cal.


To this day I'm still running my calculations on all this space/time dilation thing. Now if you will excuse me I must determine the "Lorenz Contraction" on this matter.

PLT3008 OUT

thanks for the welcoming back greeting PLT, it's great to be back for a little longer at least. Your performance as I said reminded me of Michael J. Fox back in the Family Ties or Back To The Future days, at least you made it to TV.

Thanks for the support with Holly's acting.

Good luck with those calculations, if it's a time machine you're working on try to get LOTL's coordinates. One of these days I'll work on that documentary which may end up being just a family journal or non-published life story.

[borgwoman]

Thanks, but I don't have cable. I have to go to my brother's place later so we can watch last night's Stargates and Battlestar Galactica. Maybe he'll record this Shatner thing too.

[emwhy]

Borgwoman...enjoy Battlestar Galactica...it was a doozy..they totally shake things up as only Ron Moore can do...

[enoch]

Anyone want to see Ron Moore do a LOTL TV show?

Looks like he's got plenty of time to do something like this. BSG season 3 is not out until October.

[emwhy]

I would love to see what Ron Moore could do with an updated more adult version of LOTL. I wonder if he watched the show at all growing up. He was a huge trekkie, so he must have been aware of at least the first season considering the writers that the show had.

[Rick_66]

Please excuse me Rick_66 but, unless I'm seeing things, these first appear in
"Tar Pit" @ 1:22, behind Rick. Better view @ 6:36.

And in the opening shot of "The Zarn" @1:13, Sharon and Holly are washing clothes, with the pipes right above Sharon's head @14:16, in "The Zarn".

And in "Fair Trade" @3:08, 3:32 and 5:30.

And in "The Test" @3:40, 5:07.

And in "Gravity Storm" we actually see Rick secure this rig @1:23 and see it (sporadically) to 5:26, and @18:55

And in "The Longest Day" @1:35 -1:41.

And in "The Pylon Express" @3:08.

And in "A Nice Day" @17:18-17:28 & 17:46-17:53.

And in "The Baby Sitter" @1:13-1:22, 9:05, 9:10 & 9:38, when Holly shows Cha-Ka how to wash dishes.

And @15:55-18:06 when Holly & the Zarn have quite the conversation. And Zarn actually leans on the structure.

And most recently in "The Musician" @1:20 & 2:44-3:04.

Please understand I'm not knitpicking. I'm merely documenting. Still love "the firsts".

PLT3008 OUT


You're right, the pipes do appear in all those scenes, but in most of them, they're just in the background, and in all of them, we have no idea what they're for. It's not until "Split Personality" that their function and purpose is identified, as Will refers (at 4:03) to their fresh water supply.

So I'll amend that "first" to say it's the first identification of the pipes (first seen in "Tar Pit") as a source of fresh water.

Rick

[enoch]

I would love to see what Ron Moore could do with an updated more adult version of LOTL. I wonder if he watched the show at all growing up. He was a huge trekkie, so he must have been aware of at least the first season considering the writers that the show had.

If you can stomach the thought of a tall blonde female Enik, why certainly!

[PLT3008]

You're right, the pipes do appear in all those scenes, but in most of them, they're just in the background, and in all of them, we have no idea what they're for. It's not until "Split Personality" that their function and purpose is identified, as Will refers (at 4:03) to their fresh water supply.

So I'll amend that "first" to say it's the first identification of the pipes (first seen in "Tar Pit") as a source of fresh water.

Rick
I thought we knew what they were for, say for instance, when will asks Holly to send up a drink of water with her pots in "Gravity Storm" or when Holly and Sharon were washing clothes or when Holly was showing Cha-ka how to wash dishes.
But, if it's any consolation THIS is the first episode we actually see water flowing through at least one of the pipes.


PLT3008 OUT

[PLT3008]

That's a description, not an explanation. My point, way back when, was that the story provides no good explanation for the characteristics of parallel Holly.
Sorry Professor that is the best I could come up with.




"See, here's my problem. When you say something like "think about that," you're implying that the person you're talking to hasn't thought about it. The fact is, I presented a reasonable argument supporting my point of view, and because I don't come to the same conclusion as you, you assume that I must not have thought about it, because any reasonable individual that thinks about it could only come to support your point of view. I stand by what I wrote; possession of bodies by otherworldly beings is supernatural regardless of how it feels, and my guess is that Holly is upset by that experience. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think it's a very reasonable argument.

Professor, I did not mean to imply that you have not thought about it. And no, not everyone has to agree with me. I acutallly like others' viewpoint.


I'm really not sure what you're talking about here. Plate tectonics is not an "occurrence"; an earthquake is.
My meaning was that the Earth's formation was natural, and hence forth the plates it contains. I guess I could have phrased it a bit differently but it was getting late, I already accidentally deleted the whole post twice so I just said screw it.
You see Professor some times I just don't make sense.

PLT3008 OUT

[Marc]

I would love to see what Ron Moore could do with an updated more adult version of LOTL. I wonder if he watched the show at all growing up. He was a huge trekkie, so he must have been aware of at least the first season considering the writers that the show had.

He'd botch it, choosing to throw away perfectly good concepts for the sake of adding his personal stamp to it. He'd probably bring Spencer Milligan in just to kill Rick Marshall in a stupid way.

If anyone should be brought in, it's David Gerrold. The man is still able to do LOTL. He's not that old.

[enoch]

He'd botch it, choosing to throw away perfectly good concepts for the sake of adding his personal stamp to it. He'd probably bring Spencer Milligan in just to kill Rick Marshall in a stupid way.

Rick Marshall, or as he is known among his real people. Sleestak Model #11. There are many copies, and as a result there is a high demand for curly black wigs (as seen worn by the director in the opening sequence for the Season 3 episodes). Often seen in the presence of multiple Sharon robots.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/8327/sleelon28af.jpg

[emwhy]

Classic......how did you do that? Let me also apologize for accidentally turning this thread into a love/hate Ron Moore/Battlestar Galactica thread! Don't thorw me out of an airlock Professor!

[enoch]

Did you like the Sleelon? Just a photoshop-style mashup. Sorry for helping fill this item with felgercarb. I looked to try to bring it back on track, but recently it has been a lengthy debate about High Bluff plumbing. I don't know where to begin anew, except to wonder if you can have a BBQ in the LOTL by using a matrix table with crystal-placement adjusted for maximum heat. (If you don't clean it, you have the added advantage of dripped grease making it much more difficult for Sleestak claws to tamper with the crystals).