Land of the Giants

Set fifteen years in the then-future year 1983, the series tells the tale of the crew and passengers of a sub-orbital transport ship named Spindrift. In the pilot episode, the Spindrift is en route from Los Angeles to London, on an ultra-fast sub-orbital flight. Just beyond Earth's boundary with space, the Spindrift encounters a magnetic space storm, and is dragged through a space warp to a mysterious planet where everything is twelve times larger than on Earth, whose inhabitants the Earthlings nickname "the Giants". The Spindrift crash-lands, and the damage renders it inoperable.

Land of the Giants (1968-1970) is an American network science fiction adventure series created by Irwin Allen for ABC. Across two seasons and fifty-one hour-long episodes, the crew and passengers of the sub-orbital transport Spindrift are pulled through a space warp after a magnetic storm and crash-land on a mysterious planet where everything is twelve times larger than on Earth. Dan Erickson (Don Marshall) and Betty Hamilton (Heather Young) lead the stranded group, with Mark Wilson (Don Matheson) and Barry Lockridge (Stefan Arngrim) among its principal members, and Alexander B. Fitzhugh (Kurt Kasznar) adding a pompous counterweight to the company. Their engine is simple and urgent: repair the broken ship and find a way home while avoiding the giant inhabitants, whose towering scale turns ordinary objects like insects, water droplets and household items into hazards. Each episode is largely built around a fresh peril on the alien terrain. The tone is earnest, brisk and adventurous, with a wide-eyed sense of wonder and a cozy, family-friendly warmth beneath the danger. Its sixties production craft, optimistic vision of technology, and episodic survival format place it in the company of Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and the imaginative spirit of The Twilight Zone.

Audiences regard Land of the Giants as a mixed but fondly remembered 1960s adventure, with its second season rated higher than its first.

• Lost in Space (1965)shared sixties adventure science fiction premise of stranded crew in a hostile alien world, episodic survival
• Voyage to the Bottom of the Seashared 1960s disaster-adventure tone from producer Irwin Allen, stranded survivors and peril-of-the-week structure
• The Twilight Zoneshared stranded-in-another-world premise with a mixed-scale, wonder-driven sci-fi adventure

Created by

Irwin Allen

Release Date

1968-09-22

Episode runtime

60 min

Rating

7.1 / 10 (50)

What is Land of the Giants about?

A 1983 sub-orbital flight is yanked through a space warp onto a planet of giants, leaving its passengers stranded and struggling to survive.

What is Land of the Giants like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Land of the Giants as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as simple.

Is Land of the Giants violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Land of the Giants.

What did critics think of Land of the Giants?

Audiences regard Land of the Giants as a mixed but fondly remembered 1960s adventure, with its second season rated higher than its first.

Which shows are like Land of the Giants?

Shows with a similar feel include Lost in Space (1965), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and The Twilight Zone.

How long is Land of the Giants?

Land of the Giants: 2 seasons, 51 episodes.

Is Land of the Giants still running?

No, Land of the Giants has ended.

Where can I watch Land of the Giants?

In United States, Land of the Giants is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.