Saturday, March 08, 2014

Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: Land of the Lost (1991 - 1992): "In Dinos We Trust" (October 31, 1992)



“In Dinos We Trust,” Kevin (Robert Gavin) is caught spying on Christa (Shannon Day) while she goes for a swim in the pool where dinosaurs and other natives bathe. 

When Christa catches him peeping, Kevin is embarrassed and blames Tasha for not keeping a good look-out.

But after Kevin is blinded by snake venom, however, he must depend on Tasha to get him home to the compound safely…



There's no nice way to say it. Kevin Porter is the least likable and most irritating character on the remake of Land of the Lost.  In fact, there exists a whole sub-group of episodes about the fact that he is a jerk, and that his wanton jerkiness causes problems for him, his family, and his friends.

These episodes are “The Thief,” “Opah,” and this week’s not-so-good installment “In Dinos We Trust.”  Usually, Stink is the subject of Kevin’s wrath or harassment, but here it is innocent Tasha. 

Yes, he bullies the baby dinosaur.

Once more, Kevin does something bad or anti-social -- in this case ogling Christa while she swims -- and instead of weighing his own culpability for his behavior, he lashes out at someone else. He blames Tasha for the fact that he got caught.



Just once, it would be nice to see Kevin pick on somebody his own size, but in always targeting Stink or Tasha, Kevin comes across as a real bully. Someone very good at picking fights with little creatures who can't defend themselves.

As was the case in “The Thief,” “In Dinos We Trust” ends with Kevin recognizing the error of his ways, and apologizing or his behavior. He apologizes both to Tasha and to Christa, but this episode proves he doesn’t really learn from his mistakes. Maybe the third time's the charm.

But the bottom line is that Kevin is deeply unlikable as a character.

In terms of story, “In Dinos We Trust” is a big waste of time, but buttressed by a few nice visualizations. 

At one point, we see a brontosaurus in the wading pool, and it is convincingly rendered for 1990s, pre-Jurassic Park (1993) effects. At another juncture, Kevin and Tasha visit the “Valley of Death,” a graveyard for dinosaurs, and it too is nicely visualized.

Next Week: “Annie in Charge.”

1 comment:

  1. Kevin Porter is definitely supposed to be the annoying teenager in this series. It wears thin after so many episodes it is obvious he needs to be talked to by his father. In the original Land Of The Lost Will was never this negative a character. Kevin needs discipline.

    SGB

    ReplyDelete

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