“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World” was a syndicated television series. It was only loosely based on his original novel (1912), mainly sharing only its title, basic premise, and some character names.
Status: Ended | Premiered: April 1, 1999 | Last Aired: May 1, 2002
It ran for three seasons. For the most part the series was filmed in Australia. However due to Australian tax laws, a production could only include so many non-Australians and still qualify for benefits. The series was finally cancelled in 2002 after funding for a fourth season fell through. All three seasons were released in DVD box sets through 2004.
The Plot
The voice over from the opening credits states the premise of the series:
“At the dawn of the last century, a band of explorers searched for a prehistoric world, driven by ambition, secret desires, a thirst for adventure, and seeking the ultimate story, they are befriended by an untamed beauty. Stranded in a strange and savage land, each day is a desperate search, for a way out, of The Lost World.”
The series began at pretty much the same place as the book, where Professor George Challenger (Peter McCauley) is coming under fire from his scientific peers, including Professor Summerlee (Michael Sinelnikoff), for his claims about living dinosaurs.
Determined to prove the worth of his claims Challenger sets up an expedition. He is joined by Summerlee, reporter Ned Malone (David Orth) and Lord John Roxton (Will Snow). The final character to join the band of expeditors is an unscrupulous female socialite named Marguerite Krux (Rachel Blakely), who finances the expedition for mysterious and dubious reasons.
Upon reaching the hidden plateau via the balloon used to escape attacking cannibals, the first thing the expedition meets is the true star and special effect of the show, Veronica (Jennifer O’Dell) — a woman whose parents found the lost world but died, leaving her stranded and forced to survive alone.
Thanks to her, the group has a base and the necessary experience to face the dangers of this lost land where each day brings a new adventure or trial — they have to work together to defeat hostile tribes, dinosaurs, witches, supernatural occurrences — everything that goes to make up the wonderful, frightening and magical place that is ‘The Lost World’.
The Cast
Main Cast:
- David Orth – Ned Malone
- Jennifer O’Dell – Veronica
- Peter McCauley – Professor George Challenger
- Rachel Blakely – Marguerite
- Will Snow – Lord John Roxton
Others:
- Michael Sinelnikoff – Professor Summerlee
- William de Vry – Ned Malone (Pilot, 1999)
- Lara Cox – Finn (recurring role)
- Jerome Ehlers – Tribune (recurring role)
Trivia
- The series added the characters of Marguerite and Veronica; there were no women on the expedition in Doyle’s book.
- Michael Sinelnikoff played Professor Summerlee in two different versions of The Lost World — in this series and in the 1998 direct-to-video film opposite Patrick Bergin’s Challenger.
- The producers revealed details of a proposed fourth season: Professor Summerlee was alive in Avalon; Veronica’s mother Abigail Layton had become the Plateau’s protector and ruler of Avalon; Marguerite and Roxton were always meant to be together.