Ta and Sa

Ta and Sa are two of the Pakuni who inhabit the Land of the Lost in the Land of the Lost TV series. Ta was played by actor Joe A. Giamalva in the first season and Scutter McKay in the Second Season. Sa was played by actress Sharon Baird.

Personality and Appearance[]

Ta and Sa (and Cha-Ka) are Pakuni, a hirsute primate species similar to the extinct hominid Paranthropus of the Earth's Ice Age. Ta and Sa, being Cha-Ka's older siblings, are taller, with Ta slightly taller than Sa. Ta and Sa are dark brown in color, unlike Cha-Ka, who is tan. Ta and Cha-Ka are both male. Sa is female.
What also distinguishes Ta and Sa from Cha-Ka is an apparent lack of empathy. This was suggested when Cha-Ka recruits their reluctant help to assist the Marshalls in pulling Dopey out of a tar pit where he had become stuck. When their combined efforts failed, Ta and Sa gave up the attempt and left, obviously unconcerned over Dopey's fate. By contrast, Cha-Ka did not give up and managed to bring Emily to save Dopey, which would suggest that, in addition to his empathy, Cha-Ka has a greater gift of ingenuity than either Ta or Sa.
Also unlike Cha-Ka, Ta and Sa tend to be easily spooked. When a strange cosmic entity known as The Builder struck down the Marshalls, Ta and Sa fled, leaving Cha-Ka alone to assist the Marshalls unaided and faced by the entity. This would be a testament to Cha-Ka's greater courage and loyalty. Another example of Ta and Sa's skittishness is when they fled from Junior, who, as a hatchling, is completely harmless.
Although Ta is the strongest of the three and is described by the Zarn as the "alpha," Ta is physically unimpressive. Even Holly once effortlessly overpowered Ta to prevent him from abusing Cha-Ka. Another testament to their physical weakness is that it once took both Ta and Sa to carry a turnip which they had stolen from the Marshalls, which any of the Marshalls could have easily managed alone.

History[]

Ta and Sa are the two older siblings of Cha-Ka and sometimes interact with the Marshalls. The exact familial relationship between them is never explicitly stated, but it has been speculated they are the last survivors of a once indigenous primate native to the Land of the Lost. Ta is a domineering, egotistical and a treacherous Pakuni who never comes to trust the Marshalls. He can be sometimes be bargained, but he usually attempts to cheat the Marshalls, who are usually able to see through his tricks and deceptions. Sa occasionally seems to be a moderating influence on Ta, but for the most part, she serves as his follower. Ta is oft considered to be the "alpha" Pakuni and sometimes the "witch doctor" of the group. He has an awareness of some of the workings of the Land of the Lost, even if he doesn't understand them, which he disguises with a clever use of herbs and rituals, such as phony chanting and dancing to make it appear that he controls them. He has discovered that one the Pylons (The Keyless Pylon) only opens when the three moons are aligned. As a result, he times his own "opening ritual" to coincide with it to retrieve a contribution from it. He also knows that the effects of the poison from the carnivorous plants in the area are only temporary and contrives to sell the Marshalls a "cure" before it wears off on its own.
During the cataclysms that later rocked the Land of the Lost, Ta and Sa fled to safety from the jungle with Cha-Ka, but became separated from Cha-Ka during the earthquake that marked the destruction of the area. According to Cha-Ka, he had a hurt foot and could not keep up with them when a fissure opened up, separating Cha-Ka from the rest of his tribe, who abandoned him. At any rate, Ta and Sa have not been seen since. Sometime after these events, Will describes finding fresh tracks of an unidentified Pakuni tribe and describing them as "ending at a dead-end cliff-face and disappearing," leaving it vague if they survived or were killed in the devastation. Whether this was Ta and Sa or some other unknown Pakuni is unrevealed.

Episode(s)[]

2009 film[]

Rick Marshall and his companions, Holly Cantrell and Will Stanton meet Ta and Sa briefly shortly after their arrival in the Land of the Lost and see Ta and Sa attempting to murder Cha-Ka. They decide to intervene, Will using his lighter to scare them away. Unfortunately, he burns his hand and drops his lighter, allowing Ta and Sa steal it before fleeing.

Notes and Trivia[]

Although never referenced within the series itself, the pilot script refers to the Pakuni's full names as "Cha-Ka-Ta" and "Cha-Ka-Sa," but inevitably, later storylines shorten their names to "Ta" and "Sa" for the sake of brevity. The youngest Pakuni was just called "Cha-Ka" because he lacked identity with his tribe until such time as he earned his name. Originally, there was also a fourth Paku named "Cha-Ka-Ra" but "Ra" was dropped from the story during pre-production.
Head writer David Gerrold referred to Ta as a "small, furry Hitler" in his script.
Gerrold deliberately left the relationship between Ta, Sa and Cha-Ka vague, but he later describes "Ta" and "Sa" as being more akin to Cha-Ka's elder siblings rather than his parents.