Lost World The Prisoner

[Chanelle Glugla]

SirArthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World was a syndicated adventure show loosely based on the 1912 novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World. It premiered in the fall of 1999 and ran for three seasons before being cancelled in 2002 after funding for a fourth season fell through.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a band of adventurers, led by adventurer and scholar Professor Edward Challenger, embark on an expedition to prove the existence of a lost world isolated from the rest of the modern world. The British expedition team consisting of a mismatched group of enthusiasts, all with less than selfless reasons for making the journey begin their trip under less than ideal conditions. The intrepid band consists of:

During their expedition, their hot air balloon crashes in the uncharted Amazon jungle, where they end up on the prehistoric 'Plateau'. The group then meets up with Veronica Layton (Jennifer O'Dell) whose parents had disappeared on another expedition eleven years before. The group (later joined by a woman named Finn (Lara Cox), near the end of the third season) must find their way to civilization through the various pre- (and, in some cases, post-) historic landscapes and civilizations that have been preserved on the Plateau.

A-D Action Girl: Veronica Layton, so very much. Marguerite Krux isn't a physical fighter, but she knows how to wield a gun and a whip. And Finn is an expert survivalist. Adam and Eve Plot: Kaya, a water nymph, uses Malone for one. It doesn't stop Veronica from getting the wrong idea. Adaptational Nationality: Malone is American, but the character was Irish in the original novel. Adaptational Nice Guy: While the book version of Challenger was just as heroic, he was also known for his abrasive, narcissistic and explosive temperament, which is not true of this Challenger. Adventurer Archaeologist: Professor Challenger. Age Lift: "Time After Time" establishes Roxton as being 36/37 years of age. In the original story, he was in his mid-forties. All Just a Dream: Used in an episode to great effect: Malone undertakes a storyteller ritual of the Zanga, and ends up trapped in a dreamworld of his creation. Amazon Brigade: The episode "Amazons" had a society of female warriors, whom Veronica has a prior history with. They are actually quite pleasant to the men at first, then they are held captive. And You Were There: One episode had Malone find himself in London and facing Jack the Ripper, and his friends are other people notable to the story. There's another episode with featured the same plot with the Western theme. Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever Badass in Distress: It's a rare episode when one of the explorers isn't kidnapped or held hostage or horribly injured in some fashion. Beam-O-War: Happened between a Wicked Witch and her two repentant apprentices. The apprentices win when Malone interferes and knocks the witch's wand out of her hand. Bee People: There is a woman raised by a hive of intelligent bees. It's the daughter of the medicine woman who treats Summerlee. She dies when the hive is lit on fire. Becoming the Costume: In one episode, the heroes take shelter from the rain in a castle. When they decide to change out of their wet clothes into the formal outfits they find, they become possessed by the original wearers, who were evil. Fortunately, Challenger didn't do this, leaving him free to save the day. When the power was ended, they all ended up naked. Betty and Veronica: To Malone, Gladys is Betty and Veronica is... well, Veronica. Except for blonde hair and physical beauty, both couldn't be more different from each other. Gladys is a rich, spoiled, vain and materialistic young woman, who lives in London at the beginning of the 20th century, and demanded that Malone go on an expedition so that he could impress her and prove himself worthy of her love. Meanwhile, Veronica has spent her entire life in a forest, learning to survive, with a Fur Bikini and an affectionate, sweet and friendly personality, who loves Malone for her sensitive personality and his courage. Though not in a love triangle, Veronica (the Betty) and Marguerite (the Veronica) otherwise fit this trope to a T. Black Vikings: In one episode, several modern people are transported to the plateau. Even though the main characters are from the start of the 20th century, they don't seem to notice that the helicopter pilot is black and treat him like anyone else. There's also the black giant, whom Marguerite makes out with. She did it to escape, but seems breathless and excited from the kiss. Later, she comments the giant was charming when he wanted to be. Seems she was somewhat attracted to him. It should also be noted that all of the characters who appeared in the original novel are portrayed as far less, if at all, bigoted toward people of color and other cultures in general than their literary counterparts were. Bold Explorer: Professor Challenger Bound and Gagged: Happens to Veronica surprisingly often. Broken Bird: Marguerite qualifies. Even though she grew up alone because her adoptive parents did not seem to want her, her guilt over the death of her best and only friend before she came to the Plateau, her involvement in the war and her dealings with more than shadowy business contacts, she also has never seen her own birth certificate and sports abilities (like being able to read and speak any language no matter how old it is) that she doesn't understand and seem to frighten her. Butt-Monkey: Marguerite, particularly in the earlier season. Being the Alpha Bitch, it was more than a little cathartic. Cannibal Tribe: Or Tribes - to be exact. If our explorers are not attacked by ape-men, raptors, the villain of the week or get in danger because of some stupid stunt, one can always count on cannibals to add some spices to the party. Captive Push: One episode had a hunter take an interest in Veronica as a trophy to take back to Europe. He lures her down then has one of his cohorts snap a collar at the end of a pole around her neck, ties her hands then begins marching her out of the valley, Veronica mouthing off the entire way and trying to work her bindings loose enough to escape. Cat Fight: Veronica gets drugged to mindless order following in one episode which nearly leads to her killing one of her friends. Marguerite appears in the right moment and gets into a fight with her. It ends in Mud Wrestling as they land in the only mud pit around. And of course, Veronica wins the fight. Chess with Death: A female Death offers Roxton several chances to win back his life. Roxton accepts that he died and actually requests that she just claim him, but she says that if he doesn't try, his friend's lives will be forfeit, too. Death uses an hourglass to give the games a time limit, and Roxton fails at each one: Retrieve a diamond from a maze made of walls of fire (ran out of time), Retrieve a raptor egg (he tripped and dropped it), Guess which bowl holds oysters (guessed wrong). Each time he loses, Death captures another one of his friends. The final game is: shoot his own girlfriend, or himself. Roxton shoots the hourglass, making it impossible for the game to end. Death concedes victory to Roxton, and lets them all go. Cowboy Episode: When Roxton happens upon a hangman's noose dangling from a lonely tree in the jungle in "Dead Man's Hill", he's suddenly transported back to the American West where he finds himself at the end of the rope. Crossover: Averted. One of the scripts for the unmade fourth season would have featured the group meeting Conan Doyle's most famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Another proposed episode would have had appearances from Frankenstein and his monster. Culture Chop Suey: There are an absolute ton of cultures mishmashed on the plateau together. It might be easier to name the ones not represented. Deadpan Snarker: All of them surprise with snark at one point or another but Marguerite can always be counted on for saying something snarky. Roxton usually knows a clever response to whatever she says. Death World: The plateau. Defrosting Ice Queen: Marguerite. In the beginning she appears cold and uncaring. She is perfectly willing to sell Veronica for a way home of the Plateau and usually seems to not care about any of the others. And then one looks closer. She grows to care about the others a lot. When Summerlee gets stung by a gigantic bee and hallucinates about his dead wife she resumes that role to comfort him, she looks out for Malone and Veronica, helps Challenger and becomes Roxtons confidante whenever the memory of his brother breaks him. But although she learns to trust every expedition member with her life she's still careful about letting them know about her past and why she really came to the Plateau. Dinosaurs Are Dragons: One episode featured a dinosaur that could breathe fire. Does Not Like Guns: In one episode, Roxton fights a ninja, and is getting his ass handed to him. When he tries to draw his gun, the ninja knocks it away and says, "Guns are a coward's weapon." Veronica also disdains guns, and only uses them to scare people. Dress Hits Floor: In "More Than Human", a mistress tries to seduce Roxton by taking off her dress this way in front of him. He walks over to her and puts her dress back up around her as she complains. Notable in that it was shot in both a Dress Hits Floor and uncensored version.

E-H Evil Twin: Roxton gets one in one episode after he is cursed for disturbing a graveyard's peace. The protector takes the ruthless and violent part - basically the hunter part - out of him and gives him a life of his own. Evil!Roxton tries to kill the good one, using Marguerite as bait. It ends in a Mirror Match. Femme Fatale: Marguerite Krux. Firing in the Air a Lot: Lampshaded. A character tries this, and is ordered to stop wasting bullets. They're in a jungle, after all. They'll need all the bullets they can get. Flying Dutchman: One episode has a man cursed to stay on a zeppelin that crashes and explodes every day, only for him and the zeppelin to reappear good as new the next day (due to having shot and thrown his own crew overboard in an attempt to save his own skin). He is able to leave it for short periods, but is inevitably forced to return, and is immortal, preventing escape by suicide. The man managed to trick the heroes into taking his place, but after a day they then tricked him into taking it back. The heroes determined that the man was irredeemably evil and deserved to be cursed. Fountain of Youth: An episode had the gang meet a woman with water from the fountain of youth. Unfortunately, her supply runs out and she reverts to her true age and dies. Professor Challenger drinks a little of the water, and while it doesn't make him look younger, it heals his wounds and makes him temporarily strong, agile, and energetic like a teenager. Fur Bikini: Veronica Layton spends the entire series wearing this, although hers is more leather than fur. Even when she is offered clothes to cover her entire body, she declines because she feels much more comfortable in this leather bikini (which flashbacks reveal is the type of clothing she has worn since childhood). The Gunslinger: Roxton is the best with guns, but Malone and Marguerite are no slouches. Only Veronica doesn't use guns, but she doesn't need them. Helpful Hallucination: One episode sees Marguerite stepping into a booby trap and falling into a pit with spikes. She gets hurt and suffers a concussion. While Challenger gets help she hallucinates about her best friend Adrienne who keeps her awake so Marguerite doesn't fall asleep. Later it turns out to be a Not-So-Imaginary Friend - which freaks Marguerite out. Hoist by His Own Petard: When a crowd of zombie slaves regains their sanity, they turn on their voodoo master, with vicious results. Hollywood Voodoo: Danielle, a voodoo priestess, uses physical objects from the explorers to cause them sickness, creates zombies with her magic (who are cured of their trance with salt). Honey Trap: All of the adventurers except for Summerlee have this played on them frequently. Surprisingly, it doesn't always work. Humans Are the Real Monsters: The Affably Evil humanoid lizard Tribune keeps humans as slaves and occasionally eats them. Yet, he claims, "To kill is in our nature. To pull the wings off a fly... that's a human thing."

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