''The Lost World'' (officially ''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'') is a syndicated television series loosely based on the 1912 novel by Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

, '' The Lost World''. The show premiered in the United States in the fall of 1999 (after the

TV-movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

aired in February on

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

and then on the

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

channel

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

in April). It ran for three seasons, the final two of which aired in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

in the United States, before it was cancelled in 2002 after funding for a fourth season fell through. The final episode ended with an unresolved

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

. All three seasons were released in DVD box sets in 2004.

Plot

"At the dawn of the 20th century" a band of British adventurers, led by adventurer and scholar Professor George Challenger, embark on an expedition to prove the existence of an isolated lost world. The group, some mismatched enthusiasts with less than selfless reasons for making the journey, consists of Challenger, Professor Arthur Summerlee, Marguerite Krux, Major Lord John Richard Roxton and Edward T. Malone. Their

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries ...

crashes in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

on an uncharted

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

where prehistoric creatures survive. The group is assisted by a young jungle-savvy woman named Veronica Layton, whose parents disappeared eleven years before. Her family was part of a research group known to have vanished under mysterious circumstances. Together, the group fights to survive against carnivorous

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s, vicious

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

s, a race of

lizard men Reptilian humanoids, or anthropomorphic reptiles, are fictional creatures that appear in folklore, fiction, and conspiracy theories. In folklore In South Asian and Southeast Asian mythology, the Nāga are semi-divine creatures which are ha ...

, and other perils as they search for a way to escape. Each episode detailed two separate, simultaneous adventures. The later series established that the party became stranded in 1919.

Episodes

Proposed season 4

The final episode of the third season ended with an unresolved

. The producers of the show have revealed some details of the proposed fourth and even fifth seasons from 2002. If the subsequent season had been produced, fans would have learned that professor Arthur Summerlee was indeed alive, residing in Avalon. Avalon, near the border of the Plateau, is where Veronica's surviving mother Abigail Layton had become the Plateau's protector soon after her disappearance. She became the ruler of Avalon and had left behind a triangle artifact - the Trion, the Eye of Heaven - for her daughter Veronica to find. Veronica was to become the new Protector of the Plateau, standing in opposition to the line of Mordren, whose descendents intend to use the Plateau's power for evil. Her tree-house dwelling was apparently the epicenter of the entire Plateau. The new season would have also revealed that Marguerite and Roxton were always meant to be together from the beginning. As Veronica is the new Protector of the Plateau, Marguerite is a descendant of ''Morrighan'', a druid priestess who once served as "third power" within the Trion forces between the Protectors and the line of Mordren. As with her ancestor, Marguerite would have been a free will agent allowed to choose good or evil in the battle against power over the Plateau. Roxton, Marguerite's

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

, protector, and future groom, would have been her personal guide so that Marguerite would ultimately choose "good." Because Morrighan's line descends from a child born to a Protector and the line of Modren and Veronica's bloodline is of the Protectors, Veronica and Marguerite are cousins genetically, but spiritually are sisters. Roxton's role as Marguerite's modern day knight originates with his childhood and ancestral home having close proximity to

Avebury Avebury () is a Neolithic henge monument containing three stone circles, around the village of Avebury in Wiltshire, in southwest England. One of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in t ...

, nearly twenty miles from

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

. Finn would have been revealed to be Malone's great great granddaughter, her grandmother being the Amazon Phoebe (also played by Lara Cox) whom Malone had sex with in the episode "Amazons" The series would have been resolved with Malone and Veronica getting married and staying in Avalon, while Challenger uses his teleportation invention from the episode "Finn" to send himself, Roxton, Marguerite, and Summerlee to London, but travels forward in time to the year 2005 where they are warmly greeted by the zoological society due to Malone having sent them a letter explaining when they would arrive. The fourth season would have featured guest appearances of two other

characters,

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

and

Professor James Moriarty Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character and criminal mastermind created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be a formidable enemy for the author's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. He was created primarily as a device by which Doyle could ...

Characters

Overview

;Notes

Main

* Professor George Edward Challenger (portrayed by

Peter McCauley Peter McCauley (born 8 March 1950) is an actor from New Zealand who has appeared in many television series and movies, mainly in his home country. Career McCauley graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School in 1973 with a Certific ...

) — A scholar, visionary, and adventurer who is the leader of the expedition. He hopes to prove his claims to the skeptical

London Zoological Society The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

. * Marguerite Krux (portrayed by

Rachel Blakely Rachel Leigh Blakely (born 28 July 1968) is a Malaysian-born Australian-American actress. Her works include films such as ''Love Until'', '' Young Hercules'' and ''Counterstrike'', as well as guest appearances on television shows such as '' Xen ...

) — The selfish financier of the expedition and heiress to a fortune who goes along for her own reasons. * Lord John Richard Roxton (portrayed by William Snow) — The nobleman with vast hunting experience, who accidentally killed his brother while trying to save him from an ape. He serves as protector of the group. * Edward "Ned" T. Malone (portrayed by

David Orth David Orth is a Canadian actor. Life and career Orth was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario. His most notable role was as Edward 'Ned' Malone in the TV series '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'', which was shot in Australia. He pla ...

) — An American newspaper reporter, who joins the expedition hoping to make a name for himself. * Veronica Layton (portrayed by

Jennifer O'Dell Jennifer O'Dell (born November 27, 1974, in Ridgecrest, California) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for the role of Veronica on the television series ''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World''. Biography At the a ...

) – A jungle girl whose parents disappeared eleven years prior to the series. * Professor Arthur Summerlee (portrayed by

Michael Sinelnikoff Michael Sinelnikoff (born 1 August 1928) is a British actor. He is known for his role as Professor Arthur Summerlee on the television series ''Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'', and has been seen in a variety of film roles such as ''300 ...

) — A scientist, and a colleague to George Challenger, who initially does not believe Challenger's claims about a lost world. * Finn (portrayed by

Lara Cox Lara Jane Cox (born 1978) is an Australian actress, known for a variety of roles. Cox played the role of Anita Scheppers in ''Heartbreak High'', Doctor Denman in ''H2O: Just Add Water'', and has appeared in ''Voodoo Lagoon'' and ''Kangaroo Ja ...

) – A young woman from the year 2033 who debuted in season 3. She joins the explorers in the past in hopes of preventing the post-apocalyptic future she lived in.

Supporting

* Assai (portrayed by Laura Vazquez) - The daughter of Jacoba, the leader of the Zanga Indian tribe. She is a childhood friend of Veronica. * Tribune (portrayed by

Jerome Ehlers Jerome Ehlers (20 December 1958 – 9 August 2014) was an Australian actor and writer. He graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1987. Ehlers died in Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New So ...

) - The leader of a tribe of

. He had different encounters with Challenger's group and has developed some respect for them. * William Maple White (Robert Coleby) - A scientist whose initial exploration of the plateau instigates Challenger to launch his own expedition of the plateau to obtain proof of the prehistoric creatures.

Plateau animals

There are various prehistoric animals and other species of creatures that live on the plateau, including: *

Ankylosaurus ''Ankylosaurus'' is a genus of armored dinosaur. Its fossils have been found in geological formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 68–66 million years ago, in western North America, making it among the last of the n ...

- Ankylosaurus appears in "Cave of Fear", "Blood Lust" and "Paradise Found". *

Brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from Greek , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of gigantic quadruped sauropod dinosaurs. Although the type species, ''B. excelsus'', had long been considered a species of the closely related ' ...

* Giant Bee * Dimetrodon - seen only as a mural in the Prophecy'. *

Herrerasaurus ''Herrerasaurus'' is a genus of saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic period. This genus was one of the earliest dinosaurs from the fossil record. Its name means "Herrera's lizard", after the rancher who discovered the first specimen in ...

- Herrerasaurus appears in 'Blood Lust', 'Out of Time', 'The Beast Within', 'Absolute Power', 'Time After Time', 'Prodigal Father' and 'The Chosen One'. It is incorrectly shown that they have double crests on their heads

Dilophosaurus ''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 193 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserve ...

. * Pachycephalosaurus - This was only seen on the book page in the original launch. *

Parasaurolophus ''Parasaurolophus'' (; meaning "near crested lizard" in reference to '' Saurolophus)'' is a genus of herbivorous hadrosaurid ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now North America and possibly Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period, abou ...

Plesiosaurus ''Plesiosaurus'' (Greek: ' ('), near to + ' ('), lizard) is a genus of extinct, large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the Early Jurassic. It is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England. It is distinguishable b ...

Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (); from Ancient Greek (''pteron'', "wing") and (''anodon'', "toothless") is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of . They lived during the late Cr ...

Smilodon ''Smilodon'' is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the most famous prehistoric mammals and the best known saber-toothed cat. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related ...

- Smilodon would have originally appeared as a recurring animal, but was cut from the completed program. *

Stegosaurus ''Stegosaurus'' (; ) is a genus of herbivorous, four-legged, armored dinosaur from the Late Jurassic, characterized by the distinctive kite-shaped upright plates along their backs and spikes on their tails. Fossils of the genus have been foun ...

- seen only as a mural in the episode 'Prophecy'. *

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosa ...

- Tyrannosaurus are recurring predators in the series, where everyone tries unsuccessfully to catch and eat the main characters.

Broadcast

The first part of the series originally aired on

Pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

via

in the summer of 1999 before it aired in syndication. The original airing was uncensored, containing nudity and extended scenes. The syndicated version on TV and DVD releases are edited. Following the limited run on PPV, the first broadcast TV run of the series ran weekly in syndication on hundreds of stations in the United States, including the WB 100+ group stations, a joint

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

and

Tribune Broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC was an American media company which operated as a subsidiary of Tribune Media, a media conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. The group owned and operated television and radio stations throughout the United Sta ...

entity. Because of syndex rules each episode aired one week later on

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ra ...

, and on the Space TV network in Canada. The series continued to be rerun in daily strip form in the United States on the Time Warner owned TNT in the early morning hours Monday through Friday.

International

In addition to the English language broadcasts in North America and Europe, the series has aired around the globe in other languages. The series aired in Europe on the SciFi Channel Europe. The series was also dubbed in Bengali in Bangladesh and was subsequently aired on

ATN Bangla ATN Bangla ( bn, এটিএন বাংলা), 'ATN' being the acronym of the unused Asian Television Network, is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Multimedia Production Company. It is based in th ...

in 2009. During the original run the weekly syndicated primary and backup satellite

wildfeed A wildfeed is an unannounced transmission of a television program via C band or Ku band satellite. These programs include sporting events, news, and syndicated shows and are often unedited. They exist to allow network television stations to se ...

for the series utilized the

Galaxy 26 Galaxy 26 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat. It was built by Space Systems/Loral, as part of its SSL 1300 satellite bus. Galaxy 26 was formerly known as Intelsat Americas 6 and Telstar 6. It was launched aboard a Proton-K / DM-03 ...

satellite located at 93° West longitude. As of 2022 the series is airing on South African channel SABC 3 on weekdays at around 01:00 in the early hours of the morning.

DVD releases

The series was removed from the schedule after the DVD release in the United States after a third Time Warner company,

New Line Television New Line Television was the television production arm of the film studio of the same name. It was active for about 20 years from 1988 to 2008. History The company was founded in 1988 to produce ''Freddy's Nightmares'', a television series based ...

, sold the

DVD region DVD region codes are a digital rights management technique introduced in 1997. It is designed to allow rights holders to control the international distribution of a DVD-Video, DVD release, including its content, release date, and price, all acc ...

1 distribution rights to

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

. The DVD region 2 distribution rights were sold to Liberation Entertainment. Image Entertainment released all three seasons of ''The Lost World'' on DVD in Region 1 in

NTSC The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...

. Liberation Entertainment released all three seasons on DVD in Region 2 in

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

. The original 93 minute version pilot movie was released on DVD in 4:3 PAL under the title, ''The Lost World The Beginning'' by ILC Prime licensed by

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

Corporation. ''Note'': The pilot television movie was edited down into episodes 1 "The Journey Begins" & episode 2 "Stranded" for the TV series.

References

External links

* * *
The Lost World Fan ForumPlot Summary Season 4 + 5 with Conclusion of Season 3 Cliffhanger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lost World, The (Tv series) 1990s American science fiction television series 2000s American science fiction television series 1999 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 1990s Canadian science fiction television series 2000s Canadian science fiction television series 1999 Canadian television series debuts 2002 Canadian television series endings 1999 Australian television series debuts 2002 Australian television series endings Canadian fantasy television series Professor Challenger Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios TNT (American TV network) original programming First-run syndicated television programs in the United States First-run syndicated television shows in Canada Television shows based on British novels Television shows set in South America Television series about dinosaurs Television series by New Line Television Fiction about neanderthals Australian science fiction television series Canadian action adventure television series Lost world television series