While
it is undeniable that the third season of Land of the Lost suffers in terms of
its continuity with the preceding two years’ worth of episodes, I nonetheless
appreciate how the third season occasionally adapts creepy elements of world mythology
to the world of Altrusia. It’s a
different take than the original vision, to be certain, but the mythology-based
episodes make for intriguing adventures, at least on a few occasions.
Such is the case with “Flying
Dutchman,” this week’s installment, which first aired on October 23, 1976.
The story uses as its basis the
legend of a Dutch man-of-war “ghost ship,” reported as early as the 18th
century by sailors and other travelers on the high seas.
In some stories, the captain of
the Flying Dutchman (known as Bernard Fokke) is believed to be in league with
Satan himself….a devil. In other
variations of the folklore, the captain (sometimes Vander Decker) is being
punished for some moral failing by this eternal life on the seas, never able to
reach port again.
The Flying Dutchman is also
sometimes reported to be a pirate ship, lost off the Cape of Good Hope, and a
young King George V once reported seeing the eerie vessel off the coast of
Australia.
In Land of the Lost’s
“Flying Dutchman,” The Marshalls discover a wrecked man-of-war in the Mist
Marsh (former home of the Zarn), but the area is not referred to on-screen as
such, which is disappointing.
The Marshalls hear ghostly voices
emanating from the ship’s deck, and find a lonely captain, Van Der Mere (Rex
Holman) alone on board. Although he
promises to take Uncle Jack, Holly, Will and Chaka back out through the vortex by
which he arrived, the captain secretly plans to leave with only Holly (Kathy
Coleman) on board. She is a dead ringer
for his long-lost daughter, Wilhelmina, and he misses his child’s
companionship.
Uncle Jack (Ron Harper) realizes
that Van Der Mere’s ship is the legendary Dutchman and saves a drugged Holly at
the last moment. The Captain apologizes
for his behavior. “I am ashamed,” he admits. “You
have my apologies…it’s so terribly lonely.”
In the episode’s final moments,
the Marshalls and Chaka watch in awe as the Flying Dutchman takes to the air,
and sails out of view...though how it escapes Altrusia (and the land’s one in/one
out rule of entry/exit) is left unexplained.
On the plus side of the equation,
“Flying Dutchman” is an episode filled with creepy imagery of the derelict ship
in the Mist Marsh. These moments are
atmospheric, and a real sense of danger and terror dominates the show (at least
in Saturday morning terms).
On the down-side, this episode
sees the return of the single-worst character in Land of the Lost history,
the cave-man Malak (Richard Kiel). Too
much time is wasted in “Flying Dutchman” as Jack and Will negotiate with Malak
for the release of Captain Van Der Mere’s nautical belongings, including a
sextant and a compass.
Some viewers, I remember, found
this episode sexually perverse, with an adult man professing his love for a
much, much younger woman, Holly. But the
text of the episode makes it absolutely clear
that Van Der Mere’s affections are not sexual, but those of a father who misses
his daughter, and can never be reunited with her so long as he is cursed to
travel the endless corridors of time.
For me, the episode doesn’t play as particularly perverse, though I
admit it features a scary undercurrent about children being kidnapped and swept
away by dark forces.
Despite the fact that “Flying
Dutchman” plays fast and loose with the established rules of Altrusia, I still
feel that the episode, much like “Medusa” works as a sort of children’s horror
show. I remember that I liked this
installment very much as a child, and was obsessed with the legend of the
Flying Dutchman for months after viewing.
I still find the legend compelling, and accordingly, I would rate this
episode of the third season pretty highly in the roster.
Next week: “Hot-Air Artist.”
For me this was the best ep of season 3 and one of the best eps of the entire series. I find the scene of the Dutchman setting sail to be very moving. A classic.
ReplyDeleteJohn, good review. I think that the "Flying Dutchman" was an excellent episode of season three. When I saw it as a boy in '76 I always wanted to see another episode about the Flying Dutchman. Maybe we as viewers must assume that when the Flying Dutchman departed the LOTL someone else entered. We'll meet them in another episode without the Marshalls stating it. Basically, everytime in season three that someone new srrives then we know someone has left. However, the writers are not going to tell us everytime.
ReplyDeleteSGB