For the Adherent of Pop Culture
Adventures of Jack Burton ] Back to the Future ] Battlestar Galactica ] Buckaroo Banzai ] Cliffhangers! ] Earth 2 ] The Expendables ] Firefly/Serenity ] The Fly ] Galaxy Quest ] Indiana Jones ] Jurassic Park ] Land of the Lost ] Lost in Space ] The Matrix ] The Mummy/The Scorpion King ] The Prisoner ] Sapphire & Steel ] Snake Plissken Chronicles ] Star Trek ] Terminator ] The Thing ] Total Recall ] Tron ] Twin Peaks ] UFO ] V the series ] Valley of the Dinosaurs ] Waterworld ] PopApostle Home ] Links ] Privacy ]


Episode Studies by Clayton Barr

enik1138
-at-popapostle-dot-com
Valley of the Dinosaurs: S.O.S. Valley of the Dinosaurs
"S.O.S."

TV episode
Written by: Unknown
Directed by: Charles A. Nichols

 

When a plane flies over the Valley of the Dinosaurs, the Butlers anticipate their chance for rescue has arrived.

 

Didja Know?

 

The writers of each TV episode are not specifically revealed, but the end credits of every episode listed the series writers as: Peter Dixon, Peter Germano, James Henderson, Ernie Kahn, Ben Masselink, Dick Robbins, Henry Sharp, and Jerry Thomas.

 

Didja Notice?

 

At 1:16 on the DVD, a couple of Postosuchus or other similar Rauisuchia are seen.

 

At 1:24 on the DVD, a Pteranodon flies through the air.

 

At 1:30 on the DVD, a Triceratops is seen. Later in the episode, Lok refers to what appears to be the same Triceratops as "old three-horn". (In fact, Triceratops is Greek for "three-horned face".)

 

At 1:37 on the DVD, two pterosaurs of unidentified species land on the rocks. The lack of a crest or tail indicates they are neither Pteranodon nor Rhamphorhynchus.

 

At 1:41 on the DVD, a stegosaurid is seen.

 

This episode reveals that the pool of water from which the Butlers' raft surfaced into the Valley of the Dinosaurs in "Arrival" is called by the cave dwellers the Black Lagoon. Possibly the writers were inspired by the 1954 classic creature film, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, which takes place in the Amazon, as does Valley of the Dinosaurs.

 

While at the bottom of the Black Lagoon to retrieve wiring from the sunken raft, Katie somehow gets the vine of some underwater plant wrapped around her ankle, trapping her underwater. The vine is shown firmly wrapped around her ankle by several coils. How did this happen? Is the plant an unknown carnivorous species capable of independent movement to snag prey?

 

A small Compsognathus or similar dinosaur is frightened by the falling palm tree at 7:52 on the DVD.

 

At 8:19 on the DVD, notice that John's and Kim's legs and lower arms are chopped off near the bottom of the screen. You can see the background under their torsos instead of their legs.

animated torsos

 

As Gorok's family discusses among themselves how they will miss the Butlers if they return home, Gorok comments, "Unh. If they leave, Valley of the Dinosaurs will be lonely." It seems somewhat odd that he would refer to their own home as the Valley of the Dinosaurs instead of some term in their own language. But it's possible the name "Valley of the Dinosaurs" was one coined by the Butlers, so he is using it affectionately as he muses on their possible imminent departure.

 

Lok asks Katie to help him "pick some fruit" for dinner. Considering the two teens almost constant companionship throughout the series and Lok's proclaimed sadness that the Butlers may be leaving soon, along with Katie's eagerness to join him, I can't help wondering if "pick some fruit" is their code phrase for "let's go make whoopie." Of course, the fact that little Tana decided to join them may have ruined their plans.

 

Tana chides Digger for not being brave when he hides from the Triceratops. Oddly, she doesn't comment on her own pet, Glump, hiding right alongside Digger!

 

Tana refers to crabs as "the shell animals that pinch".

 

Katie keeps swimming in her regular clothes. Why doesn't she put on the cavebabe bikini she wore in "The Children of Zutra"?

 

While Katie and Greg gather clamshells to use for the SOS sign, at 12:57 on the DVD, Greg appears to be feeding the meat of the large clam he finds underwater to a giant fish before taking the shell up to the surface!

 

At 13:42 on the DVD, two of what Katie identifies as Plateosaurus are fighting over a giant clamshell. Considering Plateosaurus was an herbivore, it seems odd they would have any interest in a clamshell.

 

At 16:01 on the DVD, several unidentified lizards, and even some rats, are seen fleeing from the storm. (In "To Fly a Kite", the cave dwellers refer to what seem to be the same rat-like creatures as "zaba".)

 

During the windstorm and flyover of the plane, Katie seems to keep changing positions from either holding down the windmill or standing atop the hill to watch the plane!

 

Near the end of the episode, John seems to have turned the transmitter's windmill into a windmill-pump for bringing water to the village. 

 

Unanswered Questions

 

Kim describes the transmitter as a lost dream. But why can't they rebuild it? Except for the copper wiring, it seemed to be made of local materials. And the wiring could simply be twist-tied back into useable lengths (if it was broken at all).

 

The plane appears three days in a row, on what the Butlers assume must be a new flight route. So, wouldn't the flights continue to occur? Why do the Butlers seem to give up on contacting a flight during a flyover just because their first attempt was foiled by a windstorm?

 

Memorable Dialog 

 

they've given up by now.wav

she's drawn an airplane.wav

it had to be a plane.wav

they'd send in a chopper and we're back home.wav

civilization, here we come.wav

our sunken raft.wav

the Black Lagoon is dangerous.wav

a rubber duck.wav

Valley of the Dinosaurs will be lonely.wav

Digger is not brave.wav

french fries and ketchup.wav

the importance of friendship.wav 

 

Back to Valley of the Dinosaurs Episode Studies