Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Land of the Lost (1992): "Life's a Beach" (October 10, 1992)

In “Life’s a Beach,” the Porters, Christa, Tasha and Stink evade Scarface and spend a day at the beach.

After Kevin is attacked in the surf by an angry sea monster, Christa begins to recall long-buried memories from her childhood...memories of her missing family.

Meanwhile, a strange Merrman watches the Porters from the rocks, and seems obsessed with Christa. Is it possible he knows her somehow, or what happened to her family all those years ago?

Bolstered by a fresh setting -- a picturesque beach with brontosaurs in the surf -- “Life’s a Beach” is another painless and entertaining episode of the 1990s remake of Land of the Lost.  Between this episode, “The Gladiators” and “Dreammaker,” the second season is shaping up to be better than the first.

Leaving that matter of long-term quality aside for the moment, “Life’s a Beach” is a Christa-centric story that features flashbacks of the “wild girl” as a child. We see Christa as a little girl, running on the beach, and learn more about her background here.

In short, the Merman turns out to be a friend from her childhood, one who helped Christa’s family attempt to escape the land of the lost by sea.  Christa wasn’t abandoned by her family: she fell overboard and was presumed lost. 

To prove his good intentions, the Merman produces a box filled with photographs of the family.   So in other words, the Merman was to Christa’s family much as Stink or Tasha is to the Porters: an indigenous friend of the family.  I find this a little tragic.  He still remembers them after all these years, and still is all alone.  Is this what would happen to Stink, or Tasha, in the absence of the Porters?

“Life’s a Beach” also provides some nice background information about the Porter family, actually. Christa (and the audience…) learns from Annie that Mrs. Porter (Jenny Drugan) died in a car accident two years earlier.  This fate mirrors that of Mrs. Marshall in the original Land of the Lost.  She also died before the family’s ill-fated vacation to the Grand Canyon. In one episode, “Album,” the Sleestak attempted to use her image to lure Will and Holly into a trap.

“Life’s a Beach” also features an uncharacteristically tense monster attack in the surf.  Kevin is attacked (on his surf board) by a sea monster with snapping jaws, and Christa -- armed with a knife -- and Mr. Porter, armed with a baseball bat -- rush to his rescue.  The attack is filmed well at water level and looks convincingly dangerous.

I wrote last week that Christa is my favorite character on the remake of Land of the Lost.  It’s not just because she looks good in a bathing suit, as this episode proves, either.  I like Christa because she seems to be the character most clearly grappling with her past.  She has accepted her life in the Land of the Lost, but is also lonely.  We learn here that she fears her family abandoned her.   The other characters -- the Porters -- have each other, but Christa is very much alone, even when she is with them. 

I also appreciate the fact that Christa is highly capable, and when trouble rears its head, she is the first into battle. Christa is not your typical damsel in distress, and her presence (and Shannon Day’s performances) successfully elevate many of the stories.

Next Week: "Future Boy."