The Musician

Land of the Lost
Season 2, Episode 11
Air date	November 15, 1975
Episode Guide
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The Musician was the Eleventh Episode of the Second Season of the Land of the Lost.

Summary

The Marshalls encounter a strange new being in the Lost City and Cha-Ka finds a strange new artifact.

Plot

Holly Marshall is attempting to teach Cha-Ka to play a crudely-fashioned alto recorder. She first demonstrates by playing the Effie I. Canning version of "Rock-A-Bye Baby." However, when she gives the recorder to Cha-Ka for him to try, he can only manage to repeatedly play a single note and does not use the finger-holes at all. The recorder is nothing more than a monotone whistle to Cha-Ka. Impatient with Cha-Ka's inability, Holly, with uncharacteristic cruelty, dismisses him as "dumb." When Rick Marshall objects to this withering criticism, Holly changes her assessment to "stubborn." Rick explains that it took man almost a million years of evolution even to learn to rhythmically bang a drum and that it may not be time for Cha-Ka's species to make music.

He then says that he and Will are going to explore the Builder's Temple that Will and Holly discovered in "The Test," and invites Holly and Cha-Ka to come along. The four of them then journey to the Lost City, narrowly avoiding Big Alice and Junior. Exasperated by Cha-Ka's persistent one-note recorder playing (which Cha-Ka continues, even as Alice and Junior pass by), Will seizes the recorder and throws it away.

In exploring the Builder's Temple, Rick Marshall notes that the height of the architecture is appropriate for the Sleestak, but that the temple gives off a different "feel" than Sleestak design. Inside, they discover a sealed doorway. High on the wall next to it is human hand impression. With her father to lift her, Holly discovers that her hand is a perfect fit for the impression, but recoils due to a peculiar sensation from touching the impression, which she describes as a "tingle."

As the Marshalls' begin to explore other areas of the Temple, Cha-Ka seems preoccupied with placing his own hand into the impression, as Holly did. He finds a tree branch to position against the wall, allowing him to climb up to the hand impression. The Marshalls, meanwhile, have found a broken stone tablet with writing, noting that some of the characters resemble letters from the Latin Alphabet. They are interrupted by a startled cry from Cha-Ka. Evidently, placing his hand in the impression caused the sealed door to vanish (much like the pylon doors simply vanish, rather than move out of the way), causing the branch supporting Cha-Ka to topple and Cha-Ka to fall through the doorway.

The Marshalls rush to Cha-Ka's aid and find that he is fortunately unharmed. They then discover a room beyond the doorway he opened. As the Marshalls and Cha-Ka enter, the lights turn on of their own accord. The room is unfurnished, except a smooth-surfaced table, which Rick describes as "the granddaddy of all matrix tables," and Will adds "streamlined" to the description. As the Marshalls move past the table, Cha-Ka discovers a ring that spontaneously appeared on the table. As Cha-Ka examines the ring, Holly takes it from him and puts it on her own finger. When Rick orders Holly to remove the ring and put it back on the table, neither Holly nor Rick are able to remove it.

Will then discovers a second room, with a metallic, humanoid, featureless mannequin inside, which Will mistakes for a person. Discovering that the mannequin is lifeless, the Marshalls continue their exploration. Cha-Ka, in the meantime, is still at table in the previous room and he discovers that various squares on the table light up as he touches various areas on the table's surface. Outside, as Cha-Ka touches the table for the first time, a red orb of light appears in the sky. Cha-Ka continues to touch various sections of the table, accelerating to a frantic pace as various lights on the table's surface continue to flash. Outside, the red orb in the sky has been joined by thin, red, streamers, slowly waving, as if stirred by a breeze.

Cha-Ka calls to the Marshalls, but the table has stopped flashing by the time the Marshalls arrive. Cha-Ka tries to explain what he saw, attributing it to "oganza" (the Pakuni work for "magic"), but the table no longer lights as Cha-Ka touches it. While not a witness to anything he saw, the Marshalls do not doubt he saw something, although his habit of describing everything he doesn't understand as "oganza," evokes some skepticism in Will.

The Marshalls then decide to leave, planning to return the following day. As Cha-Ka, the last to go, leaves the room, several squares on the table light up, and a tall, slender, featureless humonoid figure, seemingly composed of red light, appears and departs the room, as if following the Marshalls. Outside, the Marshalls again avoid Alice and Junior as they start home. The red humanoid figure then walks from the temple. Alice sees it and carefully nudges Junior away from it, assuming a protective stance. While she does not attack the mysterious red humanoid, she keeps a wary eye on it as she protects her offspring.

Back at High Bluff, Rick struggles to remove the ring from Holly's finger, but cannot. Holly reports no pain from Rick's attempts to remove the ring, as she no longer has any feeling in her hand. As the Marshalls work in vain to get the ring off, Cha-Ka hears a childlike voice calling his name. The Marshalls make no indication of hearing this voice.

In the jungle, Ta and Sa see the red lights in the sky, now resembling a single red orb with a cluster of red streamers beside it. Ta and Sa hear the same child like voice calling their names. Then they spot the red humanoid figure. In keeping with their natural skittishness, Ta and Sa flee from it.

At High Bluff, Ta and Sa are trying to explain the voice they heard calling their names, but Will is especially doubting. Holly then hears her own name from the same childlike voice, but no one else does. Holly then enters a trance-like state, informing them group that "the Builder is coming." When Rick asks "the Builder of what" Holly makes a broad, expansive gesture with her left arm, which she previously could not move, as if to say that the Builder built this entire realm. Holly, still in her trance-like state, then explains that "he wants his ring back."

As they cannot remove the ring from Holly's finger, they decide to bring Holly back to the Temple. Cha-Ka agrees to accompany them to help Holly.

As The Marshalls and the Pakuni continue toward the Lost City, Holly is forced to stop as the entire left side of her body has seemingly fallen asleep. Rick attempts to assist her as she walks. As the six of them continue, and the Pakuni hear their names from the mysterious voice, Will accidentally trips over a vine, and is unable to stand, believing that he has thrown his knee out of joint. Will grabs a stick and uses it as a makeshift crutch, determined to continue. But Rick orders him back to the cave. Will concedes the point as he would just slow everyone else down.

Holly, supported by the Pakuni, calls out to her father. Rick rushes to her to continue toward the Builder's Temple as Will hobbles his way back to the cave. As he continues toward High Bluff, Will encounters the mysterious red entity. Apparently, this is the Builder. Fearing that the Builder seeks to harm his family, he attempts to explain that they're returning the ring. He then adopts a defiant stance, brandishing his makeshift crutch, determined that he will not allow the Builder to pass. But his injured knee fails him and he falls. As he calls out to warn his father, the Builder then says in a harsh, metallic voice (similar to the voice of the Zarn) that Will has already proven himself and it is not his time. Then Will is suddenly rendered unconscious.

As the Rick struggles to assist Holly, accompanied by the Pakuni, the childlike voice continues to call the Pakuni's names. Then the stentorian voice calls Rick Marshall's name, advising him that he has already proven himself and it is not his time. Rick then drops Holly as he collapses himself. Cha-Ka then begs Ta and Sa to help him assist Holly, but they refuse.

The childlike voice then calls out, "You failed" repeatedly as Ta and Sa flee. Cha-Ka, now alone, struggles to assist Holly, but is not strong enough to move her. The Builder, now resuming his harsher tone, repeats "You failed." Cha-Ka, however, is not deterred and vainly struggles to move Holly to safety. The stentorian voice announces "It is time, Cha-Ka."

As Cha-Ka then takes a protective stance to defend Holly, the childlike voice then says, "The ring. The ring, Cha-Ka."

Cha-Ka then removes the ring from Holly's finger (which comes off easily for Cha-Ka, despite Rick not being able to remove it earlier) and offers it to the Builder. The ring vanishes from Cha-Ka's hand. The Builder then approaches Cha-Ka, reducing in size to Cha-Ka's height, then assumes the form of a small human child in a yellow and white uniform. "It is time for you, Cha-Ka," the Builder says, in a normal child's voice.

Cha-Ka then holds out his hand to the Builder, and two press their palms to each other for a moment. The Builder breaks the gesture, and wanders off. The ring that Cha-Ka had given to the Builder now appears on Cha-Ka's finger. Then the red light in the sky vanishes.

Back at the cave at High Bluff, both Will and Holly report being fully recovered, as if their previous injuries never happened. Rick and Will also note what the Builder said to them, about it not being their time. Will then asks, "If it's not our time, whose time is it?"

And in the jungle, as if in answer to Will's question, Cha-Ka is seated alone with Holly's alto-recorder, playing a flawless rendition of Canning's "Rock-A-Bye Baby."

Message

"Let each individual grow in their own time."

Cast

• Spencer Milligan as Rick Marshall
• Wesley Eure as Will Marshall
• Kathy Coleman as Holly Marshall
• Phillip Paley as Cha-Ka and The Builder
• Phillip Paley's unnamed twin sister as Cha-Ka
• Scutter McKay as Ta
• Sharon Baird as Sa

Dinosaurs

• Alice
• Junior
• Spot
• Emily

Quotes

• Coming Up

Trivia

• This was the last episode for Ta and Sa.
• There are two versions of "Rock-A-Bye Baby" commonly in use today. The one most popular in the U.S. is Effie I. Canning's and is the version used in this episode. Although Canning (1857-1940) is credited with both writing and composing the song, she did not, in fact, write the song; the lyrics have existed in printed form since 1765.
• While the child-like voice that was heard variously by the Pakuni and the Marshalls obviously belonged to Phillip Paley (who played both Cha-Ka and the Builder in his child form), the performer who provided the metallic, stentorian tone used by the Builder in other instances is not credited.
• Cha-Ka apparently did not retain his new musical capabilities. In the beginning of the episode, "The Flying Dutchman," Cha-Ka seems every bit as inept on the recorder as he was at the beginning of this episode.
• Holly's alto-recorder, like Will's guitar in the third season, has a surprisingly good sound, despite being fashioned from indigenous materials.
• It is not known what happens to the ring. Although it was apparently given to Cha-Ka at the end of this episode, he is never seen with it again.
• The confusion of whether to use "Paku" or "Pakuni" seems complete. While Cha-Ka makes it clear in the first episode that "Paku" is the singular, while "Pakuni" is plural, Will uses "Paku" during their initial exploration of the Builder's Temple, when context clearly indicates that he's referring to them in the plural.
• There appears to be a blooper as the Marshals and Cha-Ka leave the Builder's Temple. Before Cha-Ka has left the room, the table begins to light up and swirling orbs of light that herald the appearance of the Builder appear. It doesn't seem possible that Cha-Ka would not notice this before he left the room.
• Another blooper occurs as Cha-Ka plays "Rock-A-Bye Baby" at the end of this episode. His movements are not quite in sync with the music, as he is seen taking breaths while the music still plays.
• During the scene in which the Builder (played by Phillip Paley) makes contact with Cha-Ka (who is also played by Phillip Paley), the role of Cha-Ka was played by Phillip Paley's twin sister.