Land of the Lost / the good old days

I'm dating myself here, but the TV show "Land of the Lost" was one of my absolute favorites
as a kid! I have very fond memories of Saturday mornings watching it and getting creeped
out by those slow-moving Sleestak.

The just-released movie version is trash, IMO. I made the huge mistake of taking all 3 kids
to see it yesterday, without first checking The Family Filmgoer or Cinemama. What a mistake!
It was full of bad language (including the "f" word and "p---y") as well as crude sexual
jokes, including references to gay Sleestak sex, men French kissing, references to vibrators,
etc. I couldn't believe it.

I think it's sad, as well as a sad commentary on our culture (and its lost moral compass) that
this sweet, innocent children's show was remade into such a trashy movie. Most of the material
went right over my 7-year-old's head, but my 11- and 10-year-old daughters knew exactly what
was going on. (I probably should have just taken them and walked out.)

I just felt the need to (a) vent and (b) caution anyone who might consider taking their
kids. This movie might be just fine with some people, but personally I thought it was a total
turnoff.

is that boomers always carry forward their childhood loves into adulthood and insist on "updating" the culture of comic books and cartoons to reflect their now older, more cynical & sex-obsessed sensibilities. So Batman has to become creepy and psycho, and Land of the Lost has to become a sex romp, etc. (When we were kids, Land of the Lost was a father and his kids, but they had to do away with that so that they could make constant sex jokes.) I'm reminded of that biblical line about putting away childish things when you grow up, but instead we take our childish things with us and smut them up or complicate them morally so that they're unfit for kids. It's like filmmakers say "I really liked Wonder Woman as a kid, but what if we made her a really hot lesbian and the bad guys she tied up with her golden lasso kind of got off on being tied up?" And then people like you and I, who remember Wonder Woman as being uncomplicated and not crude, think to introduce our kids to it and it blows up in our faces.

and after reading your post I realized how many classic children's shows/movies/icons [insert noun here] have experienced the fate you mentioned. I'm still kicking myself for being so naive -- and careless, in not reading more about the movie before taking the kids.

I heard a remake of The Karate Kid is in the works. I can only imagine....

I have fond memories of Saturdays with the Sleestak.

I wasn't impressed with the previews and I am not really a fan of Will Ferrell.

It is one that might pass through our house in DVD but I will keep your recommendations
on the kids watching in mind.

This is however, a good Science Fiction summer.
I liked Star Trek and there are other good ones coming,
Transformers, G.I. Joe etc.

You're not dating yourself, Sursumcorda. I think, with the exception, of of the great ThereforeIam, I am the oldest person here You all seem like youths to me-very smart and engaging and nice youths-but youths. :dnc ( Not really)' probably should not even telll you what shows I watched as a kid. You were probably born after "Lost in Space"

it (LOTL) was absolutely dreadful for the reasons you mentioned, sursum. The funny thing is the people who were kids or youngish teens when it was on probably wouldn't mind, and would actually prefer, if they didn't have they sleasy, crude stuff. They just want to be taken back to a show they remember which was exciting and fun. The producers turned off audience members who might otherwise go but won't because they heard about the lousy remake. Sorry for your unfortunate experience, but it's good for me as a mom to know that. The next movie I will take our son too will probably be "Up" which sounds very good.

And I think what made the original LOTL engaging was that it was a about a family and a father trying to protect his kids and get them back home. Will Farrell does a lot of clunkers and he doesn't stretch his acting talent by alwayss doing these lame comedies.

I agree with your points, Joe. I don't why remakes always have to include terribly dark, anquished former heroes, or suggest sexual orientation that wasn't in the originals, ir order so thay can"update" shows. Sometimes it works. I think some of the Superman remakes hada more brooding Superman, but I didn't want to go see Batman, because I didn't want to see him as a tortured soul in massive need of therapy.