''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 Hol ...

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

TV-movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

aired in February on

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

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 bro ...

channel

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

in April). It ran for three seasons, the final two of which aired in 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 situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

. 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 carri ...

crashes in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...

on an uncharted

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), 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. ...

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 Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

s, vicious

Neanderthal Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...

s, a race of lizard men, 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 descendants 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 a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

, 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 Mordren 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 south-west England. One of the best-known prehistoric sites in Britain, it contains the largest megalithic stone circle in ...

, nearly twenty miles from

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure 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, to ...

. 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 together as a couple 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 Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

and Professor James Moriarty.

Characters

Overview

;Notes

Main

* Professor George Edward Challenger (portrayed by

Peter McCauley Peter McCauley 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 Certificate in Acting. He h ...

) — 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 and organization devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Zoo. History ...

. * Marguerite Krux (portrayed by

Rachel Blakely Rachel Leigh Blakely (born 28 July 1968) is an Australian actress. Her works include films such as ''Love Until'', '' Young Hercules'' and ''Counterstrike'', as well as guest appearances on television shows such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', ' ...

) — 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) — 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) is an American actress. She is known for her performance in the television series '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World'' (1999–2002). Biography At the age of eight, O'Dell was cast in a national c ...

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

Michael Sinelnikoff Michael G. Sinelnikoff (1 August 1928 – 1 July 2024) was a British-born Canadian actor, director, producer, and writer. He is known for his role as Professor Arthur Summerlee on the television series '' Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World' ...

) — 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 Vasquez) - 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. Early life Ehlers was born in Perth, Western Australia to Francis Charles Ehlers and his wife Berenice Margaret Franklyn Ehlers. He went to school in Perth ...

) - The leader of a tribe of lizard men. He had different encounters with Challenger's group and has developed some respect for them, bordering on friendship. * William Maple White (portrayed by

Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland The ...

) - 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: *

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It lived througho ...

Deinonychus ''Deinonychus'' ( ; ) is a genus of Dromaeosauridae, dromaeosaurid Theropoda, theropod dinosaur with one described species, ''Deinonychus antirrhopus''. This species, which could grow up to long, lived during the early Cretaceous Period (ge ...

Ankylosaurus ''Ankylosaurus'' is a genus of Thyreophora, armored dinosaur. Its fossils have been found in geological formations dating to the very end of the Cretaceous Period (geology), Period, about 68–66 million years ago, in western North America, m ...

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

Brontosaurus ''Brontosaurus'' (; meaning "thunder lizard" from the Ancient Greek, Greek words , "thunder" and , "lizard") is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur that lived in present-day United States during the Late Jurassic period. It was describe ...

* Giant

Bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

Dilophosaurus ''Dilophosaurus'' ( ) is a genus of theropod dinosaurs that lived in what is now North America during the Early Jurassic, about 186 million years ago. Three skeletons were discovered in northern Arizona in 1940, and the two best preserv ...

- Dilophosaurus appears in 'Blood Lust', 'Out of Time', 'The Beast Within', 'Absolute Power', 'Time After Time', 'Prodigal Father' and 'The Chosen One'. *

Parasaurolophus ''Parasaurolophus'' (; meaning "beside crested lizard" in reference to ''Saurolophus'') is a genus of hadrosaurid "duck-billed" dinosaur that lived in what is now western North America and possibly Asia during the Late Cretaceous period, a ...

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 by ...

Pteranodon ''Pteranodon'' (; from and ) is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with ''P. longiceps'' having a wingspan of over . They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in presen ...

Smilodon ''Smilodon'' is an extinct genus of Felidae, felids. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats ...

- Smilodon would have originally appeared as a recurring animal, but was cut from the completed program. A dead Smilodon appeared in the episode “Blood Lust”. *

Triceratops ''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsia, ceratopsian dinosaur that lived during the late Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 to 66 million years ago on the island ...

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 ...

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 ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

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 station, television and radio stations thro ...

entity. Because of

syndex Syndication exclusivity (also known as syndex) is a federal law () implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States that is designed to protect a local television station's rights to syndicated television programs b ...

rules each episode aired one week later on

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-T ...

, 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 (), '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 the Kawran Bazar neighborhood of Dha ...

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

, 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 release, including its content, release date, and price, all according to t ...

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 NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

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

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog 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 (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

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 drama 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 Television series set in the 1920s Television series set in 1919 Television series set in the 1910s Adaptations of works by Arthur Conan Doyle