Professor Challenger and his team are still stuck trying to find a way off the "Lost World", an isolated plateau somewhere in the depths of South America. They are still menaced by dinosaurs and dinosaur people and host of other menaces. In this season this includes werewolves, amazons, aliens, half a dozen different magical curses, and most terrifying of all, lost 21st century tourists. In fact, I think it's fair to say that the "Lost" part of the "Lost World" appellation is highly misleading, since it seems almost anyone can find it; it's getting out again that's the challenge.
So we're back for a second season of schlocky nonsense that retains only the most minor connection to Conan Doyle's 1912 novel. In fact the connection is mostly just that crappy CGI dinosaurs turn up on a semi-regular basis to chase the protagonists and/or their enemies. I find myself unreasonably fond of the show's naff CGI in general, I have to admit, achieving a nirvana of nerdy glee when one episode ends with a crappy CGI velociraptor fighting crappy CGI skeletons.
So does The Lost World have anything to recommend it other than the perverse entertainment of its third-rate effects? Well, at its best it is silly fun, with a decent main cast mugging gamely for the camera in their stereotyped roles. At its worst, on the other hand, it is ... well, at times it is pretty bad, to be honest. I guess one fortunate consequence of the "we are trying to escape" premise is that if you find yourself eye-rolling too much, you can always skip the episode, since the show would be over if the characters ever succeeded, and therefore you already know that they won't.
I like this more than it deserves, but if you appreciate schlocky Hercules and Xena-era TV fantasy in general, you might too.
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