thelostworldfanforum

We Are The Lost World
- by Bingo32

The English Empire sat plump and happy in the seat of global power. For centuries she had led the race to explore the world. Newspapers and novella chronicled the exploits of brave men; their fantastic accounts of danger and adventure stirred the national imagination. Oceans were crossed and treasures were discovered; proud Englishmen lived vicariously through these tales, stunned to learn that the mighty Amazon River was wider at its delta than the entire length of their beloved Thames.

Soon, man had traveled the Earth from pole to pole; every latitude and longitude, mapped; every creature and plant had been named and cataloged. The Victorian era was drawing to a close, bringing with it an unsetting knowledge – the world had boundaries.

The adventures of Captain James Cook, Sir John Franklin and Sir Richard Francis Burton were fading into the romantic past. A national legacy that had fueled the imagination of generations was at an end. A new kind of explorer was called for, and he came. Professor George Challenger sprang from the pages of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to carry the mantel for the next generation – unbound by the shackles of reality.

Doyle made the shift from news clippings to novel easy for the reader; he created a fictional reporter to report on his fictional explorer, journalist Edward D. Malone. In a compelling first person voice, Doyle became reporter Ned Malone. Malone introduced an eager nation their new heroes; seasoned adventurer and world-renowned trophy hunter, Lord John Roxton; Doctor Arthur Summerlee, the expedition’s impartial witness and even Ned himself would become a reluctant hero. Like Cook, Franklin, and Burton before them, the Challenger Expedition sailed into the unknown, taking the dreams of their countrymen with them – and The Lost World shimmered into existence.

Doyle’s inscription on the first page of The Lost World begs the reader to summon the child within, and believe:

I have wrought my simple plan
If I give one hour of joy
To the boy who’s half a man
Or the man who’s half a boy.

The Lost World was first published in 1912; four more Professor Challenger novels followed. 1925 marked the Challenger Expedition’s first appearance in film, and for the first time in 65 million years, dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Many adaptations of Doyle’s theme found a home in print, film, and television; for almost a century fans have been drawn to this simple piece of fiction, and all have one thing in common – a child’s whimsy.

The Coming of the Fairies was published in 1922. It was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s contention that the "Cottingley Fairies" were real. At better than sixty years of age, the man still believed in fairies – or at least he wanted to. Doyle refused to live in a world with boundaries. Lost deep in the jungles of the Amazon Basin there is a plateau, a world locked away from those who lack a child’s whimsy - a place where dinosaurs, fairies, and imagination run free.

The latest retelling of Doyle’s vision adds physics, magic, and sex appeal to the story. Almost a century after the novel was first published, journalist Ned Malone began sending us new tales from The Lost World. Like those Victorian era Englishman hungry for accounts of Button’s search for the source of the Nile, we waited week-to-week, living vicariously through these glamorous adventures – but the years passed, and the stories stopped coming.

It is a very sad truth that the 1999 - 2002 adaptation of The Lost World will never again take the stage. A new kind of hero is called for, and has arrived. The Lost World Fan Forum – where 427 registered members are charged with keeping this magical flame alight. We are worthy of this task, and we will prevail.

Drawn together by a child’s whimsy, the Plateau will live on - through us. We are The Lost World.

End

Note: Please forgive the sexism. I assure you it is not mine, it is a reflection of the time period. I considered a few female explorers, but ultimately sited more recognizable names. Marguerite is my favorite character and it was hard not to include her here – I blame this on Doyle, as Marguerite and Veronica were not in his novel.

Well said, bingo32. Without us The Lost World would have disappeared into oblivion a long time ago.

I agree, well said.

Indeed. =]

very well said!!! brought a tear to my eye

What a wonderful sentiment, Bingo.

The new adventures of the Lost World are ours. We're grateful for the playground that the producers and writers of the series have given to us. The new adventures that are written are for everyone who is young at heart.

rann