When the Porters run out
of batteries for their flashlight and other modern appliances, Mr. Porter
(Timothy Bottoms) realizes that a replacement power source is available: the glowing crystals of the land of the
lost.
Mr. Porter goes in
search of the unusual crystals, but soon runs afoul of Shung, leader of the
outlaw Sleestaks.
The two beings argue and
battle, but then seek shelter in a cave together when confronted by Scarface,
the ravenous T-Rex.
Although Shung is much
stronger than Mr. Porter is, his vision is poor because of a blow to the
head. The two allies survive together for
a time in the dark before Mr. Porter escapes with crystals.
When Kevin asks if they
should bury Shung alive in the cavern, Mr. Porter realizes that to do so would
be inhuman. “Without our humanity, what
do we have left?” he asks.
“Power Play” trots out a
familiar genre television cliché. I have called it “My Enemy, My Ally,” and the
trope involves team work between
unlike and often opposing forces, or more basically, bad guys and good guys
teaming up to survive a deadly threat.
The “My Enemy, My Ally”
chestnut has appeared on Jason of Star Command in 1979 as “Face
to Face,” on Gerry Anderson’s UFO as “Survival,” on Planet
of the Apes (1974) as “The Trap” and on Star Trek: The Next Generation
as “The Enemy.”
Even the original Land
of the Lost featured an episode with a good guy and a bad guy working
together, called “The Hole.” There, Rick
Marshall (Spencer Milligan) teamed up with a talking Sleestak called S’latch to
survive in the Sleestak pit.
Here, Shung and Porter
are uneasy allies, if only for a short-time, yet their shared experience gives
Porter some understanding -- and empathy -- for his enemy. As far as these stories go, “Power Play”
doesn’t offer much new, but merely re-iterates the central idea that sometimes,
being able to see an enemy’s perspective is…humanizing.
In terms of Land
of the Lost continuity, this episode offers two other points of
note. The first involves the
crystals. Specifically, they are used to
power the failing 20th century appliances, which is a nice touch in
terms of reality. It just wouldn’t make
sense if the radio, the flashlight, and other conveniences kept on working,
with no word about failing power. It is
rewarding that the writers are starting to think about how the Porters will
integrate their modern conveniences into a world with no support for them.
Secondly, and oddly,
Shung speaks very much like a 20th century American in this
story. Specifically, he tells Mr. Porter
“well, well, well…this just isn’t your
day.” That’s a turn of phrase that’s a bit difficult
to swallow coming from a Sleestak.
Finally, this episode marks the end of the first season of the 1990s Land of the Lost. Next week: “The
Sorceress.”
John nice review of this episode that teaches the children viewers to try to work together with those you do not agree with. Albeit the Sleestak definitely needed better writers for their dialogue.
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