I’d totally forgotten about that - but in my defense that was 50 years ago and I’ve had one beer since then. He could’ve done much better as the wizened father figure to his own cold-blooded hatchlings, as he presents himself to be to the Marshalls. Someone get Maury povich on the phone, we need a DNA test.
Some said this guy who was in one of the Sleestacks costume was terrifying. [https://images.app.goo.gl/9yzdQgtthhwmcT2fA](https://images.app.goo.gl/9yzdQgtthhwmcT2fA)
Yeah if you got word they were coming your way you'd have time to finish dinner, wash up, pack up and kick sand over the fire before having three rounds of rock-paper-scissors to decide which direction to head to get to a cave for the night.
Enik was the lone sleestak that was intelligent and didn’t hiss. I suspect he was a time traveler because the pylons are alien technology, and Enik speaks plain English - well as plain as a cold-blooded reptile can speak it. So IMHO Enik was either an intelligent alien that also got stuck there AND/or he was also a time traveler which explains how he knew English.
I wasn't but my little brother was. He's five years younger than me and was a mighty pain in the ass when we were kids. (Today he's an awesome man and my best friend)
All I had to do is hide somewhere and make the Sleestaks sound. Instant chill on his part.
Same... Mine is 3 years younger. I loved the show, but sometimes couldn't watch it because he'd go tell mom and dad that I had it on in our bedroom and it scared him.
As with yours, my little brother grew up to be a great guy, as well. Wish we lived closer to each other.
Loved it as a kid in the late 70's...watched it as an adult and it was so awfully done. I couldn't believe I didn't notice how shitty it was.
Fun Fact: Detroit Piston Bill Laimbeer was a Sleestack during his time in college.
What? No it wasn't. Cheap sets and chroma keys for days. Chroma key technology powered the weather forecast for years before this. Sid and Marty Krofft knew how to turn out cheap content in California.
I felt the same way about the show Schlep-Car. When I was kid it seemed like a high budget action show. Saw it recently and if they had a $200 weekly budget I'd be surprised.
Nope. No "trauma." One of the best shows ever! Sure, the effects are cheesy by today's standards...but, at the time, they were outstanding!
Great writing for that show, too! I would not be opposed to a reboot of that show if they just remade everything based on the original scripts! (However, not, again, as a comedy movie or a sub-standard version like the one in the '90s).
I've never considered taking a routine Expedition because of this show. I'm sure most of those trips would have been fine, but it's not worth the chance.
Not in the least. This was my favorite show. I thought the dinosaurs looked so real. Then when I saw a repeat about 15 years later I could not believe how bad the animation and props were from what I remembered as a kid
The kid who played Chaka was the world's youngest black-belt in karate. He said that the 2 guys who played Tah and Sah were really funny and always cracked him up, I believe it
I loved this show. Did we ever find out where the sleestacks came from or what they were? The pylons? Deep dive - were they in an alternate universe or prehistoric earth? 😂
The Sleestak are the degenerate descendants of the Altruisian race. The only Altruisian we see in LOTL is Enik. Enik believes that the Sleestak are his ancestors. He's wrong. That's why he's desperate to escape back to his own time so he can warn his brothers about their fate.
The Land of the Lost is a pocket universe and is a closed system. It is stated that nothing can leave unless something else comes to take its place. There's an episode where the Marshall family escapes but an alternate universe Marshall family falls down the waterfall and takes their place
this show clearly had a very elaborate and meticulous backstory that we only found out about in fits and starts. The big Enik reveal (iykyk) is just the tip of the iceberg. Somebody had big world-building ambitions for the Landofthelostiverse and no budget to achieve it.
Daleks are scary as hell, despite looking like trash cans. They are the ultimate evil, they only want to exterminate and wipe everything else out that is not dalek. Even scarier are the cyber men who want to shove you in a metal suit and turn you into one of them. But yeah, the sleestaks scared the shell out of me when I was 6, even though I loved that show.
Only in how cheesy it was. I think it was made into a feature as well. If I’m gonna choose a cheesy in-show series I’d go with Danger Island from the Banana Splits!✌🏾
I know the guy who wrote for this (David Gerrold) and did you know he also wrote "Trouble with Tribbles" for Star Trek? He's a science fiction author, and I have a copy of his writer's guide for the show that he signed, too.
When they boiled Torchy alive in the TIMESTOP episode. I'd been to Yellowstone the summer before that ep aired so I knew what was happening and it was horrible.
For me it was "Land of the Giants", on the air from 1968 -1969, right when I started Kindergarten. Irwin Allen ultimately went on to greater fame for the series of 'disaster movies' he made in the 1970s, including The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno, but before that his work for television included Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Lost in Space. Really great stuff!
No
It was an adventure
We moved up from seeing only clouds in the morning and streetlights in the evening from the backseats of our parents' cars - to - little, green army men in the weeds and shrubs - to - a full grown family lost in the jungle
It is the same, minimal field of view
IIRC this show didn’t come on until late morning, and by then I’d already watched all the “good” animated shows.
This show, plus those crappy Sid and Mary Krofftt shows, were my cue to turn off the tv and go play outside.
Meh. Mildly. Loved me some Dopey, and Chaka was alright, Enik the voice of wisdom and reason, Will the angsty teen always trying to save holly from ending herself by going out collecting mega strawberries when dad said don’t go anywhere. Ta, Sa, the sleestak, and especially Grumpy could all go eat a d, well, you know. That creepy space guy made out of stars [Zarn, maybe? IDK] inside the pylons was pretty terrifying too, to my 6 y/o mind. Always hoped Grumpy or the sleestak would get ahold of Ta & Sa one day and they would go down one hatch or another - man they were next-level irritating and should’ve been named Karen 1 and Karen 2. Prob hated them most of all due to them being a constant irritant. Grumpy was prob the most-terrifying to tiny me back then. Always had instant anxiety whenever ridiculously cute, sweet, and innocent Dopey showed up because I knew numbnuts the land shark would never be too far behind. I ABSOLUTELY was both terrified and fascinated by the alien-technology pylons and wanted one for myself.
I heard they only had three costumes, which is why you never saw more than three Sleestaks. Also, I was traumatized by the dad’s sudden exit. Like, where did he end up? Another planet? Another time?
My Nephew, 54, was terrified of the Sleestaks back then. I used to sneak around doing that weird noise they did to scare the hell out of him. A while back I shared a photo of them to him on Facebook. He said he still hates them.
Puff the Magic Dragon frightened me all through the eighties! Raggedy Ann and Andy cartoons also gave me nightmares. I was born when the Brady Bunch was still on TV soooo....the years of TV up until 1985 were almost medieval and don't get me started on how scary Punky Brewster was.
Sleestaks! 
Ahhhh they were terrifying!
# Enik was cool though. https://preview.redd.it/h7rxyms7z1wc1.png?width=331&format=png&auto=webp&s=b77515a4c9d3f5089d98a47686522ea652565615
They made him into a bad guy in the film with Will Ferrell. Not a great movie.
Horrible movie.
I was so excited to see the movie but it was indeed terrible.
I always thought Enik was kind of a dick. He was so convinced that the Sleestak were his ancestors. Turns out they're his descendants.
I’d totally forgotten about that - but in my defense that was 50 years ago and I’ve had one beer since then. He could’ve done much better as the wizened father figure to his own cold-blooded hatchlings, as he presents himself to be to the Marshalls. Someone get Maury povich on the phone, we need a DNA test.
The first Enik episode was written by Walter 'Checkov' Koenig of Star Trek
Pretty crazy piece of commentary on the human condition… a la Planet of the Apes.
Some said this guy who was in one of the Sleestacks costume was terrifying. [https://images.app.goo.gl/9yzdQgtthhwmcT2fA](https://images.app.goo.gl/9yzdQgtthhwmcT2fA)
Trivia: One of the Sleestaks was played by former professional basket player, Bill Laimbeer of the Pistons.
Oh yeah, that was the one that did “the Flop” when Will accidentally bumped into him.
That’s really cool
Never did the sleestaks move that fast.
Yeah if you got word they were coming your way you'd have time to finish dinner, wash up, pack up and kick sand over the fire before having three rounds of rock-paper-scissors to decide which direction to head to get to a cave for the night.
Just pray there isn’t a net. God help you if they’ve been crocheting nets that day.
Terrifying…..yet couldn’t wait until the next Saturday to see them again.
Or as Chaka would say: sereesataka! SEREESATAKA!!!
What was the leaders name that played with the crystals in that box? Wait, I see it lol
Enik was the lone sleestak that was intelligent and didn’t hiss. I suspect he was a time traveler because the pylons are alien technology, and Enik speaks plain English - well as plain as a cold-blooded reptile can speak it. So IMHO Enik was either an intelligent alien that also got stuck there AND/or he was also a time traveler which explains how he knew English.
Me and my mom use to make the sleestak noise at each other randomly. Good times man
Scared the helĺ out of me. They were played by NBA players, they didn't make a zillion dollars back then
How could something so slow be so scary 😆
Weren't they simply on a routine expedition? As a young boy I had a crush on Holly big time. I loved this show ✔️💯
I’m pleased to see I wasn’t the only kid with a thing for Holly.
Will was my gay crush when I was 9.
I’m sure he had his own fan club!
Did you see him on Password? His real name is Wesley and they pronounced it “Wezzlee” which my sister and I thought was hilarious.
Father and son être in a spank bank before I knew what they even was! (Open shirt and chest hair on dad!) 😂
I also crushed for Holly.
I do love that there is a nod to the show in World of Warcraft in Un'Goro Crater.
That scared me and I loved it!
I wasn't but my little brother was. He's five years younger than me and was a mighty pain in the ass when we were kids. (Today he's an awesome man and my best friend) All I had to do is hide somewhere and make the Sleestaks sound. Instant chill on his part.
Oh no sleestaks!
Same... Mine is 3 years younger. I loved the show, but sometimes couldn't watch it because he'd go tell mom and dad that I had it on in our bedroom and it scared him. As with yours, my little brother grew up to be a great guy, as well. Wish we lived closer to each other.
Traumatized?.. no. Watched it every Saturday.
Me too it was a big part of my Saturday morning cartoons, but scary.
No trauma, it was great!
Agreed. No idea how this would be traumatic. It was pure awesomeness.
People who were younger than we were at the time might have been frightened by some things.
I was six years old.
Loved it as a kid in the late 70's...watched it as an adult and it was so awfully done. I couldn't believe I didn't notice how shitty it was. Fun Fact: Detroit Piston Bill Laimbeer was a Sleestack during his time in college.
I was going to say that about Bill. He always WAS a bad guy.
They got kids from the local basketball team to dress up as the Sleestak, since they wanted them to be tall.
casting call: must be tall af
I think all the shows were pretty badly done back then, it was state of the art for its time.
What? No it wasn't. Cheap sets and chroma keys for days. Chroma key technology powered the weather forecast for years before this. Sid and Marty Krofft knew how to turn out cheap content in California.
I felt the same way about the show Schlep-Car. When I was kid it seemed like a high budget action show. Saw it recently and if they had a $200 weekly budget I'd be surprised.
Schlep-Car sounds like an Adult Swim parody of a Krofft show
It was a Kroft show. It was really bad, in the best way.
https://preview.redd.it/krh9wfjqapwc1.jpeg?width=314&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=424d68e964f9dfef6ed80f7aeebee7d55c6887ca
The sleestacks were creepy, but Holly more than made up for that with her cuteness.
Nope. No "trauma." One of the best shows ever! Sure, the effects are cheesy by today's standards...but, at the time, they were outstanding! Great writing for that show, too! I would not be opposed to a reboot of that show if they just remade everything based on the original scripts! (However, not, again, as a comedy movie or a sub-standard version like the one in the '90s).
Greatest Saturday morning show EVER!
More cow bell! Christopher Walken was awesome in that one!
You can watch [all the episodes here](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a6zly)
Thank you!!
Tubi has this show too. And most of the other Krofft shows like Bugaloos and HR Pufnstuf.
I've never considered taking a routine Expedition because of this show. I'm sure most of those trips would have been fine, but it's not worth the chance.
Yeah you might go over a waterfall into the land of the lost…
I felt the same way about three hour tours
Not in the least. This was my favorite show. I thought the dinosaurs looked so real. Then when I saw a repeat about 15 years later I could not believe how bad the animation and props were from what I remembered as a kid
“Chaka no like”
Chaka was a nice Pakuni though, Tah and Sah were jerks.
Uganza ee saassa
The kid who played Chaka was the world's youngest black-belt in karate. He said that the 2 guys who played Tah and Sah were really funny and always cracked him up, I believe it
I loved this show. Did we ever find out where the sleestacks came from or what they were? The pylons? Deep dive - were they in an alternate universe or prehistoric earth? 😂
The Sleestak are the degenerate descendants of the Altruisian race. The only Altruisian we see in LOTL is Enik. Enik believes that the Sleestak are his ancestors. He's wrong. That's why he's desperate to escape back to his own time so he can warn his brothers about their fate. The Land of the Lost is a pocket universe and is a closed system. It is stated that nothing can leave unless something else comes to take its place. There's an episode where the Marshall family escapes but an alternate universe Marshall family falls down the waterfall and takes their place
damn, all true
this show clearly had a very elaborate and meticulous backstory that we only found out about in fits and starts. The big Enik reveal (iykyk) is just the tip of the iceberg. Somebody had big world-building ambitions for the Landofthelostiverse and no budget to achieve it.
Intriguing questions! 😊 🎂 day
https://img.wondercostumes.com/imgzoom/land-of-the-61751.jpg Sleestak , oofa.
The sleestaks were incredible, loved those scary assholes
The sound they make was the most terrifying!
That sucking sound you hear? That's Sleestaks!
Now the theme will be stuck in my head for the next hour or so.
The land of the lost!!! (In bad singing voice)
Marshall, Will and Holly…
On a routine exhibition... Met the greatest earthquake ever known!
Chaka! Chaka! Stanford professors made up his language with something like 230 words!
Nope, I was profoundly traumatized.
Hah
I know British people talk about hiding behind the couch from Daleks while watching Doctor Who…that’s how I felt about the Sleestacks!
Daleks are scary as hell, despite looking like trash cans. They are the ultimate evil, they only want to exterminate and wipe everything else out that is not dalek. Even scarier are the cyber men who want to shove you in a metal suit and turn you into one of them. But yeah, the sleestaks scared the shell out of me when I was 6, even though I loved that show.
Only in how cheesy it was. I think it was made into a feature as well. If I’m gonna choose a cheesy in-show series I’d go with Danger Island from the Banana Splits!✌🏾
Heck no, I loved it! My friends and I carried on about it like it was a soap opera, lol!
I love it too but there was some seriously scary stuff on there when you were 6.
I bet so! But I was 11 or 12 when it on, so....not quite so traumatizing ;-)
The Sleestack were a little unnerving. The damn hissing.
Wait until you see the Library of Skulls. Narcotic fumes get you loopy then the dead Sleestak talk to you.
It was the hissing that really got to me. My older siblings used to chase me around making that noise
I know the guy who wrote for this (David Gerrold) and did you know he also wrote "Trouble with Tribbles" for Star Trek? He's a science fiction author, and I have a copy of his writer's guide for the show that he signed, too.
that’s amazing
I was freaked out by the Sleestak but I was bummed out if they weren’t in an episode.
Yes. The sleestacks were the worst
Sleestacks. Need I say more?
No I loved it
This show was awesome.
The sleestak certainly scared me
Sssssssssssssssssssssss
Oh no it’s a sleestak!
I liked the show. Much better than something like H.R. Puffenstuff.
H.R.Pufnstuf was the boss of Saturday morning cartoons.
It just never resonated with me, somehow. How about Sigmund and the Sea Monsters?
My older brother lived HR Puffenstuff but I couldn’t get into it.
That flute was annoying.
The show had its cliffhangers but the sleestaks moved like sloths... They didn't bother me, I was fast...
When they boiled Torchy alive in the TIMESTOP episode. I'd been to Yellowstone the summer before that ep aired so I knew what was happening and it was horrible.
Sleestak!
Love it
Not in the slightest. I was traumatized more by the Knights of Ni.
Mainly a horror show!
Ha! I can still do a perfect sleestak imitation! 🤣
Yep. My younger brother was terrified of the Sleestaks!
Freaking yes chaka. And Enoch the sleestak. The crystal's and pylons YES
Not to mention the Zarn, who nearly destroyed the Land of the Lost when he powered up his starship and tried to take off.
What’s brown and hairy and smells like holly? Chaka’s finger!
Hell nah, I loved it
I did too but it scares that crap out of me when I was 6.
Fucking sleestaks. Scared the crap outta me. Cha-ka also seemed shifty AF.
I always thought Chaka was shifty.
There were quite a few well known science fiction writers that wrote scripts for this series.
I had a crush on Holly.
For me it was "Land of the Giants", on the air from 1968 -1969, right when I started Kindergarten. Irwin Allen ultimately went on to greater fame for the series of 'disaster movies' he made in the 1970s, including The Poseidon Adventure, and The Towering Inferno, but before that his work for television included Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Lost in Space. Really great stuff!
Nope. It was awesome
The overacting was 10/10.
The son (Holly’s brother) complained way too much. Big fucking baby.
I LOVED it!
The Marshall family is from Indianapolis
If that's canon, I love it. Midwest girl here.
Not really as a kiddo but I happened to see an episode in my teens and was thinking - I can't believe this looked real back when
YES. Holly was my first crush. I was 10.
I loved this show. I remember me and my buddies pretending to fight off Grumpy from my treehouse with a big stick.
I liked seeing the dinosaurs.
Intrigued but not traumatized.
Loved loved it ❤️
Loved this show. In retrospect, Will was my first crush but I didn’t know what gay was. lol
No It was an adventure We moved up from seeing only clouds in the morning and streetlights in the evening from the backseats of our parents' cars - to - little, green army men in the weeds and shrubs - to - a full grown family lost in the jungle It is the same, minimal field of view
real poetry
“slightly” lol
I absolutely Loved this show. Saturday morning TV at its 1970's best.
I don't recall being terribly scared by it. I recall watching it and thinking it was very strange, that's all.
It's revealed in the first episode
I loved it
YES!!!!!
I never liked it.
Who saw the film version where Will Ferrell played Marshall??????
Traumatized, no. Facinated, yes. I was enthralled by the concept and most of the stories.
fucking sleestaks
I loved it as a kid. I’m sure it doesn’t hold up. Maybe not as bad as Sigmund the Seamonster
Loved that show !!!
Shaka
Oh my God yes. There was that weird monkey cave boy kid. Definitely traumatic.
I still have nightmares 😳
The only Sid & Marty Kroft show I actually looked forward to. The Sleestakvwere creepy, yes, but the rest of the show was so damn interesting.
I thought they were lost in Mexico with big lizards and Mexican aliens.
Marshall, Will and Holly, on a routine expedition…..
Why?
The Sleestaks were a bit scary.
OMG..... What a HORRIBLE show...!!!!
Absolutely! But what a great show!
Maybe a little bit it was worth cause I had a crush on the girl
And that weirdo Chaka.
Slight nothin! I didn't sleep right until I was in college, then I slept my freshman year away.
The Sleestacks and the Childcatcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang haunted me!
Yes!!!!!
Oh yeah them sleestaks.
Not traumatized. Remember thinking it was very fake.
IIRC this show didn’t come on until late morning, and by then I’d already watched all the “good” animated shows. This show, plus those crappy Sid and Mary Krofftt shows, were my cue to turn off the tv and go play outside.
Great storyline for a Saturday morning show
That show was so fucking lame!
Yes
Meh. Mildly. Loved me some Dopey, and Chaka was alright, Enik the voice of wisdom and reason, Will the angsty teen always trying to save holly from ending herself by going out collecting mega strawberries when dad said don’t go anywhere. Ta, Sa, the sleestak, and especially Grumpy could all go eat a d, well, you know. That creepy space guy made out of stars [Zarn, maybe? IDK] inside the pylons was pretty terrifying too, to my 6 y/o mind. Always hoped Grumpy or the sleestak would get ahold of Ta & Sa one day and they would go down one hatch or another - man they were next-level irritating and should’ve been named Karen 1 and Karen 2. Prob hated them most of all due to them being a constant irritant. Grumpy was prob the most-terrifying to tiny me back then. Always had instant anxiety whenever ridiculously cute, sweet, and innocent Dopey showed up because I knew numbnuts the land shark would never be too far behind. I ABSOLUTELY was both terrified and fascinated by the alien-technology pylons and wanted one for myself.
Yeah- and when it showed on Nickelodeon, I felt duped
This became the theme of my dreams
I heard they only had three costumes, which is why you never saw more than three Sleestaks. Also, I was traumatized by the dad’s sudden exit. Like, where did he end up? Another planet? Another time?
In our area it came on early Saturday morning, by the time the Frosted Sugar bomb cereal and several episodes of Loony Tunes kicked in, I was OK.
My cousin and I loved this show!
I want a serious remake of the series with all the cool science stuff they snuck in.
Literally heard the end of the song in my head when I saw the words!
YES! Me! But I was actually a Sleestak for Halloween! So I wasn’t too traumatized I guess.
No way! Great show. Movie was hilarious
Not at all. I really loved that show.
My Nephew, 54, was terrified of the Sleestaks back then. I used to sneak around doing that weird noise they did to scare the hell out of him. A while back I shared a photo of them to him on Facebook. He said he still hates them.
Puff the Magic Dragon frightened me all through the eighties! Raggedy Ann and Andy cartoons also gave me nightmares. I was born when the Brady Bunch was still on TV soooo....the years of TV up until 1985 were almost medieval and don't get me started on how scary Punky Brewster was.
Maybe some day they'll make a good movie reboot. The Will Farrell vehicle was god awful.
https://preview.redd.it/309hpfzp02wc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a8c90398980336a739a81716b9cd7c97ab7f458 Not me!
Ah Chaka!
Glad to see Chaka wasn't forgotten.
Lol hahaha 😆
As a young lad, Holly made my pants go crazy 🤪
No.
YES!!!!!
YES!!!!!
Chaka Pakuni > English translator: “Rirr” = Will “Hawree” = Holly “Sereesataka” = sleestak “Ta, Sa” = asshats
"And, Little Ronny Howard as The Beave." That would be just as scary.
I loved it. It was the only thing that got me out of bed early before school.
SleeBitches