Following is a review of the suitability of the television series Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s: The Lost World, the 6-DVD set of season one, for use as both gaming aide and source of adventure ideas. The series follows the efforts of a central group of characters to explore the unknown in true pulp story fashion. The box set contains 22 episodes and was released by Image Entertainment. While I could find no functioning informational URLs connected with Image Entertainment some quick creative googling did eventually uncover what appears to be the official site at: http://www.lostworldtv.net/.

Lost World ran for 3 seasons totaling 66 episodes. The pilot originally aired as a feature length movie that was shown on PPV circa 1998, may have been available in video rental chains (though I am uncertain), and was essentially a rehashing of a similar movie put out roughly a year earlier with a mostly different cast. My recently purchased Season One DVD set was just under fifty dollars at my local brick and mortar Best Buy, which is substantially less than most comparable boxed sets. Major plus. Then again Xena or Hercules this is not. In fact this version of the Lost World tale exists just this side of the yawning chasm of cheesy camp. Good luck finding either movie on DVD or VHS.

The Setting: As the title implies this is a television series rather loosely based on author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novel, The Lost World. Technically the series follows an anthology format with a central ensemble cast reprising their roles from one episode to the next, at least during the first season. The titular “Lost World” thus primarily serves as the backdrop against which stories play out, stories that often could just as easily have appeared as episodes of The Outer Limits.

The Story: A group of 19^th century explorers find themselves stranded in a remote plateau populated by dinosaurs, tribes of not quite friendly jungle folk, evolutionary throwbacks, jungle-girl abducting ape men, an empire of Romanesque Lizardmen, and assorted other pulp fiction nasties. Each episode pits our hapless wandering explorers through this land of the lost against some central foe, villain, or dastardly dire situation that they must struggle to get out of. If nothing else the series is a great example of how one could work slipstream (genre crossing) storylines into their adventures.

Game: None. This is a television show. However, there are quite a few potential gems here that Game Masters looking for ideas to use in their pulp fantasy games might find interesting. Too, this series demonstrates how a group of adventurers work out issues of clashing personalities when individual goals- and character egos- conflict with the welfare of the group. Interesting to watch.

Suggested System: A system that allows for a looser style of play, preferably a mutable system that does not stress strict methods of play with rules set in stone. Any system that is Skill based would likely be most appropriate for recreating the pulp style and sense of larger than life adventure often associated with this genre. More rules intensive systems like GURPS, JAGS, Fuzion, and products in the D20 family of rules may require major tweaking. Even so, if a Game Master is willing to put the time into modifying existing supplements and adapting them for use with a pulp setting such as this, there is no reason such systems can‘t work just as well. Also worth considering may be one of the many popular storyteller systems.

First, current impressions based on the box set: If ever there was a truth in advertising it is that a pretty face sells more products. The box art reduces the central cast to thumbnails appearing around the central figure of the statuesque “Jungle Girl”, played by the beautiful Jennifer O’Dell, and happens to be a publicity still, whereas the thumbnails are merely stills from the movie. This speaks volumes of the latter seasons of the series. Expect to see more of the beautiful jungle goddess and less and less of the male explorers. That said, watching it again after all these years has reaffirmed my original impressions of the series; namely that the CGI was complete, total, and utterly done on the quick. The dinosaurs were not particularly well rendered. Their movements are stymied and unrealistic and there is never a proper sense of suspension of disbelief built up by them. On the other hand the cast works well together. So it’s a sort of balance. However in comparison to other DVD sets I fear some may think this product was consciously designed as a total snow job by a marketing department wanting to do nothing more than take our money and run. I know that’s what I felt looking at the box, but I bought it anyway, so I guess the marketing department is just too good for my feeble will. *wink* That saddens me. Too, this DVD boxed set gets major black marks for other reasons, as outlined below. Proof you get what you pay for.

There was no content information on the boxed set. That should have been my first clue. A further examination of the box reveals no web address. In a world where companies are so eager to get the word out about their products that they often print multiple web addresses on their packaging, even if it is just a candy wrapper, the lack of a web address should have been a red flag. That should have been my second clue. Yes, I already knew this was a syndicated television series. More to the point I watched several episodes in their original incarnation, when they aired as a PPV event that was part of the aborted USSB “Action” network. Granted it’s been a few years but unless there was more than just water and caffeine in my soda back then, there’s more than a few seconds of content missing here or there. In fact entire scenes are different. This box set contains the syndicated series cut. That would have been nice to know up front. As that wasn’t stated I have to say that I feel totally cheated, bilked, swindled, and taken for a ride. Then again the box doesn’t state anything one way or the other so I really only have myself to blame. That said I would definitely not be so quick to consider purchasing titles from Image Entertainment in future. Major black mark.

Negatives: Being cost conscious (as opposed to just your run of the mill cheap bastard) I can’t help but feel that, even though the price isn’t that much of a hit to the wallet, that these mass produced box sets are over priced for what content they deliver. Keep in mind I remember this being on PPV, so I knew what to expect going in, but what about average Joe Shopper? First, there was no content information on the box. Black mark. Second, there is no URL to any official information site listed on the packaging. Black mark. Third, and perhaps worst of all, there wasn’t so much as a single extra. Nothing. There are not even commercials or promos for this or any other series! Most established series released to DVD, like Andromeda, include those as extras. Not that I’d want to pay extra for them but, not even a single promo for other DVDs? That’s mind boggling. Note: In case you are wondering why this is a fair gripe, there are 6-DVDs containing 4 episodes each, expect for the 6^th DVD which contains only 2 episodes! That means I have a disc that a company could have used to put something on, even if just promos for their other products, but apparently couldn’t be bothered. Says a lot. Black mark.

Why is this important? Because there was content edited out for the syndicated run. That‘s right there exists censored and uncensored versions of these episodes. Most DVD producers are more than happy to inform the fans; if only so they can be made aware a fuller version is out there. It’s a great way to test the market to see if a fan base exists to support putting out a fuller version of the series. Alas the ball was totally dropped here. As such I cannot in good conscience suggest this DVD set to anyone, save as a possible game resource from which to draw ideas. Even then I’d suggest looking for it in the bargain bin. FYI: As I write this I am seriously considering returning this boxed set.

Positives: At under $50, for 22 episodes, this is inexpensive to say the least. From the standpoint of a Game Master the negatives outlined above are mostly inconsequential. The series, which presents the broadcast television edits, contains no objectionable material thus the whole family can view it. Or even played for school sponsored role-playing clubs, assuming such things exists in your neck of the woods. It is a decent series, despite my harsh comments above, which are really more about how the release was handled and packaged than the series itself.

Resources: I suggest the following: Project Gutenberg plain text version of The Lost World; or try here. Or if you are looking for a specific format you can try Black Mask, they are bound to eventually add it to their archives. Also be sure to check out the official site at: http://www.lostworldtv.net/. It contains quite a bit of background information that could easily be use as game aides. If anyone knows of any other relevant resources please leave a link, with comments, when responding to this review. Thank you.