| Land of the Lost | |
| Season 1, Episode 3 | |
| Air date | September 21, 1974 |
| Written by | Margaret Armen |
| Directed by | Dennis Steinmetz |
| Episode Guide | |
| previous Original Series, Season 1, Episode 2: "The Sleestak God" |
next Original Series, Season 1, Episode 4: "Downstream" |
Dopey was written by Margaret Armen, and is episode third of season one of the of the original Land of the Lost TV series.
Plot
Rick Marshall has built a wheeled cart and the children are struggling to pull and push it along a sandy path through the jungle. Holly discovers an empty Dinosaur egg. They realize that the newly hatched dinosaur might still be nearby and might be hungry, and push the card with renewed vigor.
They discover a grove of giant strawberries and fill the cart with their discovery. As Pteranodons fly overhead, they drag the card back to the cave they muse on why there are dinosaurs here; Will Marshall says that his father believes they have fallen into another universe, and there are things "from all of time and space" here. Holly wonders if they might find her lost toys.
Hearing a noise behind them, the Marshall children observe a baby Brontosaurus behind them. Holly decides to feed her a berry, saying "she" looks friendly. Will says it looks "dopey", and therefore must be a boy, and the name sticks.
As they hold the berry out, Dopey chases after it and the Marshall children are intimidated by his charge and flee. Dopey, giving chase, gets stuck between two trees, and begins to make distressed trumpeting noises, alerting all the nearby dinosaurs. Realizing they need to quite him down, Holly brings him a giant berry. This does not work for long, as the baby keeps crying out for more berries.
Grumpy soon arrives, Holly asks Will to "think of something" to save the baby, but he replies "getting dinosaurs out of trees isn't something they teach you in boy scouts." The children manage to yell encouragements to Dopey until he frees himself from his stuck position and runs off with Grumpy in pursuit.
Holly fears that Dopey will be eaten, while Will sadly tells her that it's just "the law of the jungle." They return to the cart of strawberries and continue pulling it towards the cave. Will notices that the cart is getting lighter and they turn to notice that Dopey has been silently following them, eating all the strawberries from the cart. Holly is happy that he has survived, asking "how could you be mad at a face like that?"
Back at the cave (which Will now calls the "High Bluff") their father is startled to find the children accompanied by the baby Brontosaurus. Holly asks "can I keep him?" Since they have fed him, Dopey does not want to leave them.
Later, Holly tries to train Dopey to fetch a stick, but he eats the stick instead. He does however let Holly later rides the baby dinosaur like a horse. She then attempts to train him to pull the cart. He will do this if she walks ahead and holds food (leaves) out in front of him.
Late that night, Holly is awakened early by Dopey's call. She takes her sleeping bag outside to keep him company. Rick is awakened a bit later by Dopey's mournful cries, which again attract dinosaurs. Grumpy approaches the high bluff as the Marshalls ready a "flyswatter" and Grumpy is forced to dislodge a stick from his mouth.
Dopey has survived and emerges from the jungle. Rick explains that they can't keep Dopey near the cave. Holly agrees to take him to the swamp because Dopey "belongs with his own kind" and it isn't fair to expose him to constant danger. Over breakfast, eaten from giant gourd bowls, Rick reassures Holly that she will be able to visit Dopey any time she wants. "Cheer up, honey," Rick tells her, saying "Dopey will be much happier there." After teasing her, Will reminisces with Holly about the fresh-picked strawberries they used to put on homemade ice cream, back home.
The Marshall family leads Dopey to Emily, a full-grown Brontosaurus, at the edge of the swamp. Holly tells Dopey that he must go, sadly yelling "I don't want you any more!" to drive him off. As Dopey approaches, Emily raises her head and nuzzles the baby.
Cast
Trivia
- This episode marks the first appearance of Dinosaurs Dopey and Emily.