Cha-Ka is a fictional character in "Land of the Lost." He started out as a recurring character and became a main character in the Third Season. He was played by child actor Philip Paley.
Personality and Appearance[]
Cha-Ka is a small adolescent hominid resembling the extinct Paranthropus apes of Earth. He is covered in hair all over his body except on his face, palms and feet. He is loyal and friendly, more eager to learn than his siblings, Ta and Sa, thereby becoming more intelligent.
Background[]
Cha-Ka is one of the Pakuni, the indigenous hominid species in the Land of the Lost. He is the most favorably disposed of the Pakuni toward the Marshalls since they rescued him from Grumpy and splinted his broken leg. He eventually forms a close friendship with the family, particularly with Holly Marshall, helping them whenever possible. He occasionally visits the Marshalls in their cave in High Bluff.
Cha-Ka had a considerable range of experiences in the Land of the Lost, including his rite of adulthood which required him to steal Big Alice's egg to facing a mysterious being who saw him worthy of advancing on a intellectual level, resulting with him gaining increased fluency in English (though he cannot use linking verbs and refers to everyone, including himself, in the third person), play an alto recorder-like wind-instrument, walk and run upright, and learn to make fire.
After being separated from the rest of his tribe in an earthquake, Cha-Ka meets and makes friends with Will's and Holly's Uncle Jack Marshall, and moves in with the Marshalls at the Lost Temple.
2009 film[]
Cha-Ka is a member of the Pakuni who encounters Dr. Rick Marshall, Holly Cantrell and Will Stanton. After they rescue him from more hostile Pakuni, he becomes their guide through the land as they encounter Compsognathus, Dromaeosaurs, a Tyrannosaurus, Pteranodons and the Sleestak. His personality is somewhat lewd, crude and foul; yet, faithful to the group, inviting Will to live in his tribe as Marshall and Holly return home.
Episode(s)[]
- Cha-Ka
- The Sleestak God
- Dopey
- Tag-Team
- Skylons
- The Paku Who Came to Dinner
- The Search
- The Possession
- Stone Soup
- Tar Pit
- The Zarn
- Fair Trade
- One of Our Pylons Is Missing
- The Test
- Gravity Storm
- The Longest Day
- The Pylon Express
- Nice Day
- Baby Sitter
- The Musician
- After-Shock
- Survival Kit
- The Orb
- Repairman
- Medusa
- Cornered
- Flying Dutchman
- Hot-Air Artist
- Abominable Snowman
- Timestop
- Ancient Guardian
- Scarab
- Medicine Man
Notes and Trivia[]
- In the original series, at the beginning of Season 3, Cha-Ka became a permanent resident at the Marshalls' home.
- Cha-Ka's understanding of the English language improves considerably by Season 3 of the original series.