MovieChat Forums > The Lost World (1999) Discussion > possibly worst television show ever

possibly worst television show ever


hello. i'm generally not one to heckle on imdb, but this is by far the worst show i have ever seen on television. it comes on after a long stretch of x-files episodes, often when i feel too tired to get up or change the channel. but i have to get up or change the channel, because this show is unwatchable. it's on tv right now and the only way i can stand allowing it to continue playing is by writing through my pain. but i still can't stand it. i hate this show.

what do you think?

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Please tell me your from the UK, I would so love a channel that played The X Files then TLW.

I like it (Mostly due to Roxton and Marguerite) But i could see why people hate it, though each to there own and that! Have you tried season 3? Thats generally considered (well by me =D) to be the best series.

"Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" - Frank

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i'm afraid i'm not in the UK:*-(. in america we get x-files from midnight to 6am every monday, and midnight to maybe 4am tuesday, followed by (coughs) the lost world. the x-files mini-marathons are nice:).

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I'd move to America to have TV like that =D, Over here The X Files are one once every blue moon and even at that, it's repeats of the first season or there cut to heck, and TLW thats not shown anymore :*( I emailed the station (Sci-FI) but they didnt reply back!

You should watch and enjoy it for me =D

"Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" - Frank

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It is pretty ridiculous; 1920's era people speaking with 1990's expressions and slang, rifles, pistols and shotguns with unlimited ammunition, an inexhaustible supply of clothing, and a secret plateau in the Amazon with apparently a population as large and diverse as all of Europe, though all speak English.

It could have been an interesting and entertaining show if they had stuck to Doyle's original book. When the Lizard people females had visible breasts (not part of standard equipment on reptiles) I had had enough.

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They never speak with 1990 expressions (if you mean the names of the dino's...that was a front office decision first season. The writers who took over in 2000 decided to try to repair some of the damage done by the first season production office).Finn does speak in 21st Century Slang, because she is from that century . In Creatures of the Dark you see Roxton making bullets/casting. And in a later episode you find out that is one of his jobs. :)


As for the clothing, Sex and the City had a woman who would have earned in the real world 50,000 a year (as a columnist) in NYC (and that's not a lot of money at all especially in Manhattan). Buying 400 dollar shoes, wearing designer coulture clothing and living in a rather nice apartment. The author said, she didn't want Carrie to worry about money, so the character was adorned in some of the finest footwear and designer clothing. You could say every program on TV takes a great liberty in certain aspects of their show.

No SACD interpretation has ever followed the book. None. This is just one more intepretation.

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"They never speak with 1990 expressions "

I must disagree. They speak in a very anachronistic language and intonation, with very 1990's expressions. Think about how people spoke in those old movies from the 1930s.

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Think about how people spoke in those old movies from the 1930s.

Okay,
[King Kong has been knocked out by gas bombs]

Carl Denham: Why! The whole world will pay to see this!

Captain Englehorn: No chains will ever hold that.

Carl Denham: We'll give him more than chains. He's always been king of his world, but we'll teach him fear. We're millionaires, boys! I'll share it with all of you! Why, in a few months, it'll be up in lights on Broadway: (raises fist excitedly) Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World!

That's how people in the movies spoke in the thirties. Remember the slow-talking cop in Little Caesar? Sound recording was in it's infancy, and Hollywood was relying heavily on former stage actors who had to speak loud and clear. The mumbling and grumbling method actors were years away.
They speak in a very anachronistic language and intonation, with very 1990's expressions.

So they raise their voices wrong and quote The Simpsons? From S3E6 Fire in the Sky:

Marguerite: And who may I ask is Pearson Rice?

Roxton: Oh, a man I once aspired to be. Although, he was a vain, arrogant, and bombastic man. A bully; by any other name.

Can you cite a 1990's expression or language anachronism from the show? What they use is a mix of the wordiness of the novel, and modern speaking (which really hasn't changed too much since 1920) to appeal to the audience. It's a Fantasy-Adventure series, should actors in Robin Hood movies all have to learn to speak Anglo-Saxon?

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Let's not forget they built such a great house, more a MANSION than anything, on a tree... with glasses, desks, paper sheets, furniture etc.
oh my

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Let's not forget they built such a great house, more a MANSION than anything, on a tree... with glasses, desks, paper sheets, furniture etc.

The house was built by Veronica's people, many years before, a group of over thrity explorers. Challenger has said that he learned to blow glass in his lab for test tubes - etc. The desks are made of wood - lots of it out there. A lot of their paper is parchment but remember that Malone was a reporter and brught a lot of journals with him. Besides paper is not that hard to make. I'm sure challenger could figure it out.

And, rememeber, others have visited the plateau and have left it just as quickly -- leaving things behind that the explorers inhereted. - etc.

Lastly, as for the earlier post about the explorer's lingo: My parents were from the 20s and 30s. The only time regular people realy spoke like those in the movies of the 1930s -- were in the movies ... with an occasional "by jingos!' thrown in (an expression Roxton has used) for taste. :D

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Don't be mistaken about this: I like The Lost World. It's great fun. Cheap, cheesy, sometimes ridiculous, great fun (a guilty pleasure!). And of course: the incredibly beautiful RACHEL BLAKELY!


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Gabriel Dinelli
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I'm proud to say (or at least not embarrassed) that I own all three seasons on DVD. And it isn't that absurd. Sure, they bend the rules a little, and what sci-fi/fantasy show doesn't? I've been hooked on it since I first started watching it regularly, around the middle of the second season. I'll be the first to admit that it's a little corny, but you really should be watching more for character than story, and special FX definitely come last.

To sum up: It's a fun show to watch, but don't analyze.

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GoldDust basically shares my experience and opinion of the show. Yes, i used to overlook this show as well. I was put off by everything other than what i really like about the show...and that's the characters. Once i actually sat through a couple of shows and became familiar with the characters i was hooked. I have to echo GD's opinion on Rachel Blakely and Will Snow, yes, they do have great chemistry and are very entertaining as Roxton and Marguerite. The whole cast has great chemistry imo.

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I'm slighly ashamed, but i love this show, i watch it whenever possible, and i fully realize that it is rediculously stupid. They run into people from difernt planets, times, and sepecies, but they all speak fluent english. They had an entire episode with roxton having a crazy "wild west" hallucination, in which malone was johnny ringo. It is a dumb show, theres no two ways about it. with that said, i can't help but watch it. whether im intersted in the plot, or laughing at its rediculousness, i love the show.

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What DOESN'T this show offer- it has everything. I challenge anyone to come up with something entertaining they DON'T come up with. Jeez zombies, hot women, good looking guys, ghosts, UFO's, romance, figting, explosions,gunplay, post apoclyptic angst, charachter conflict, science, science fiction. Lighten up people...its just a fun show. Man oh Manachevitz, I love this show.

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They do not have an unlimited supply of clothing. They wear the same clothes nearly every episode. Their clothes are ripped and stained from time to time. They even lose items of clothing. I believe they repair their own clothes. They also can get clothes from the many other people there. They do not an an unlimited supply of bullets. They make their own bullets. There are a few episodes that you see them making their own bullets. There are many episodes where they battle foes with guns. They sometimes take those guns. I have a problem with all of the english speakers too, but I think that is because of the budget. On the first episode, they met people who didn't speak english and only Marguerite could talk to them. Then on later episodes, this same tribe all knew english! 90% of the time when they meet someone who doesn't know english, Marguerite translates. Although in the first episode Veronica claimed to know several languages. You'd think that since she had lived there her entire life she would know many languages there.

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In an episode I saw this week, they referred to the supplies that the original expedition had brought (Veronica's parents) which apparently were sufficient to last 30 people for several years. That would explain large quantities of bullets (which would be very hard to make in a jungle without molds and equipment to manufacture and cast brass shell casings, let alone the lead bullets), as well as such things as crystal glasses, port and phonographs.

Wearing the same clothing every day for three years in a rain forest, however, is a bit of a stretch, even for this show.

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In "Creatures of the Dark" you see Roxton casting bullets (and it's mentioned in "True Spirit" that one of his jobs is the casting of the bullets).

As for the clothing, everyone has gone through a change of clothing. Roxton has three different coloured shirts; and several different trousers. JOD changed Veronica's outfit at the beginning of season two. Challenger, has worn different coloured trousers. Marguerite; has trousers and skirts as well as different coloured blouses. One of her tasks in the treehouse is to make and mend clothing. If you notice the Zanga tribe has woven cloth; and it's been noted in several episodes that Marguerite, Veronica, Roxton, Ned and Challenger do trade with the Zanga; it's not to much of a stretch to say they do receive cloth (undyed) from the Zanga for their own uses (however it's never been officially mentioned). LOL


Now to make a comparison between this show and other shows on TV about clothing...Ghost Whisper for example. Has a very attractive female lead. They live in a very small town. She deals in antiques and collectables, her husband is a paramedic. The clothing she wears are different from week to week to week are very trendy; eclectric and not from K-Mart. Under normal circumstances (in reality) there is no way she could dress as she does (even in a two income family).

What I'm trying to say is; each show has their own character...(or reality). :)

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[deleted]

Here's a clue, don't watch it! I can't stand a lot of things currently on TV, you know what I do, I either don't turn them on or use my non-clotted brain to find the remote and use it!
While I understand that the show is somewhat silly, the science bad, the characters and story drive the series and I enjoy it. Sheesh, want to see some bad TV? Just flip around and look at the endless CSI and Law & Order bullsh*t, talk about run down and boring...

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Of course it's a bad show. But for me, it's campy. It's a guilty pleasure. And I think that's what draws a lot of it's viewers in the first place. It's something that they can watch in the privacy of their own home without being embaressed. I don't think a lot of the fans would admit it, but it's true, I think. I like it either way. Sure it's bad, but so what? People still like Xena and Hercules. They still watch those shows. And both were HIGHLY succesful shows.

Unofficial Site
www.freewebs.com/davidorth

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X-Files and THE LOST WORLD are two totally different shows.

One takes nonsense very seriously and is entertaining and the other takes the fantastic not so seriously and is also entertaining.

Quite frankly, I enjoy the show that does NOT take itself so seriously more. And the writing, particularly in the 3rd season (mostly by J&G Reeves-Steven from STAR TREK fame among other things), was terrific.

We so needed a 4rth season!

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I love this show, I don't see why people are embarrassed to admit that they like it. I have loved this show from the first moment I watched it! I even got some friends hooked on IT. I wish their had been more of it.


NO ONE SHOULD FEEL GUILTY OR EMBARRASSED BECAUSE THEY LIKE THIS SHOW!

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well, i guess i can't argue with fandom such as what arrived on here after i originally posted this. good that some people get enjoyment out of the show.

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There are actually people who like this cheesy, cheap show?

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There are actually people who like this cheesy, cheap show?

Sure are!
Thanks for stopping by ...

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Jennifer O'Dell. 'Nuff said.



"Someone has been tampering with Hank's memories."

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I think this show really sucks. It's not worthy of the name Lost World, and certainly doesn't deserve the right to attach Doyle's name to it.

As for camp, this show is beyond it, cos it's just bad.

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I adore campy, cheesy shows and TLW was one of my favorites (along with Xena). I think characterization makes up for a lot, as the characters are what made me fall in love with it. Roxton & Marguerite are my favorites, but who can't fall in love with Ned Malone as Johnny Ringo? That man should wear black ALL the time lol Plus it's fantasy, folks. If you want reality, well, don't bother watching tv except maybe the news lol

I also met some of the nicest people because of this show - if anyone is from TLW message board, you have probably heard of the TLW Bashes that were hosted all over the world (yes, even in Brazil). Starting mainly as parties to get together and watch the season premieres and finales, they morphed in to weekend long events with TLW games (I helped create the TLW Pictionary and Taboo), Plateau dollar auctions that gave our clever crafters an outlet for their creative passions (wallhangings, tee shirts, mugs, videos, fan fiction books, coasters, art work, calenders, you name it), chatting and just watching eps.

Well, the East Coast Treehouse Gang just had our 5th Anniversary TLW Bash this past weekend - we've outlasted the show lol And gained new friends in the process. I've been to Canada, Georgia & NJ for bashes, met Michael Sinelnikoff, just missed meeting David Orth at a Canadian bash (darn it), and while I never made it to any of the official conventions, I don't feel I've missed too much :)

And yes, I own all three seasons on DVD. Don't feel ashamed for loving a guilty pleasure - we all have them and there are many TLW fans out there :)

Mary

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[deleted]

why would anybody post in a forum of a show they dont like and that has been canceled for years?

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Dunno ... why did ya??

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because I like the show, duh.

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i was probably drunk.

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