Grumpy was a native to the Land of the Lost in the 1974 to 1976 version of Land of the Lost.
Personality and Appearance[]
Grumpy is possibly the top apex predator in the Land of the Lost but for Big Alice and possibly Lulu. Standing 18-20 feet tall and fifty feet long, he is bipedal and gray in color, often dragging his tail. He is constantly pursuing the Marshalls or roaring at them at the cave entrance to their home in High Bluff. In the latter occasions, the Marshalls usually repel him with a large log sharpened at the tip that they force down his throat. While this tactic is effective in causing Grumpy to retreat, Grumpy eventually manages to dislodge the log. Stubborn and territorial, he also feuds a lot with Big Alice at the crevasse separating their hunting grounds. His main food source seem to be the Coelophysis which roam the area.
Background[]
Grumpy is a Tyrannosaurus rex similar to the comparative dinosaurs of the Earth's prehistoric past and a dominant predator in the Land of the Lost. Like its Earth version, he's eighteen feet tall and fifty feet long, often dragging his tail behind him. He is often shown chasing the Marshalls and trying to eat them. Despite his numerous attempts, he never succeeds, instead consuming the random coelophysis. While Grumpy is feared by almost every living creature, there is a notable exception in Big Alice, the Allosaurus guarding The Lost City. As their respective domains are separated by the crevasse (at least up to later devastation to the area), their confrontations are usually confined to just roaring at each other from opposite sides. On one occasion, Grumpy managed to cross the crevasse and entered the Lost City where he actually fought Big Alice. Their confrontation was a stalemate, however, with neither able to maintain an advantage over the other for long. They were ultimately separated by Rick and Will Marshall, who used exploding crystals to force them both to retreat.
Grumpy was the first dinosaur the Marshalls encountered when they arrived in the Land of the Lost, chasing them to High Bluff where they build a defense against him. He is also attracted by a unidentified hemp-like plant called Dinosaur Nip, which he reacts to like a cat with catnip. He is often seen roaring or trying to provoke the Marshalls at the cave entrance to their cave home at High Bluff. They usually deal with him by charging at him with a sharpened log (which they call "the flyswatter"), as if using a primitive battering ram, forcing the log into his mouth and down his throat. This tactic is remarkably effective in forcing Grumpy away, though he always manages to eventually work the log out of his throat. (It's unrevealed if the Marshalls keep reusing the same log.) Unsurprisingly, given his low intelligence, Grumpy never seems to learn from this treatment and scenario is repeated several times. Grumpy is also frequently chasing the Pakuni, once causing Cha-Ka to fall and fracture his leg in a hole dug by the Sleestak.
Episode(s)[]
Grumpy fighting Big Alice
- Cha-Ka (episode)
- Dopey (episode)
- Tag-Team
- Skylons (episode)
- The Hole
- The Paku Who Came to Dinner
- The Search
- Follow That Dinosaur
- Hurricane
- The Zarn (episode)
- Fair Trade
- One of Our Pylons Is Missing
- The Longest Day
- Baby Sitter
- Split Personality
- Blackout
- After-Shock
- Survival Kit
- The Orb
- Repairman
- Medusa (episode)
Trivia[]
- While Grumpy strongly resembles Big Alice in size, form and temperament, a distinguishing feature is that Grumpy is mottled brown and gray in color while Alice is green. Alice also seems to be leaner with a longer neck while Grumpy has a larger head and stocky build.
- Grumpy was given his nickname in the episode "Cha-Ka." After the Marshalls make a narrow escape from him, Holly says, "I wonder why he's so grumpy," to which Rick replies, "It's not that he's so grumpy, but he's got to eat to survive." Rick later began referring to him as Grumpy and the name stuck.
- In the "Land of the Lost," it appears that Grumpy's main food source are the Coelophysis that wander the Land of the Lost. Contrary to most public depictions of Tyrannosaurs attacking sauropods, it is believed they mostly preyed on hadrosaurs.
- There is some speculation that Scarface from the 1991 reboot is actually Grumpy of the original series, who had been scarred after repeated injuries encountered with The Flyswatter, a tool used by the Marshalls against Grumpy in the original series.
- In the 2009 adaptation of the series, a tyrannosaur referred to as Grumpy menaces the main trio.
Gallery[]
