Watching shows like Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stargate: SG-1, and the first two seasons of Sliders makes me appreciate just how important cast chemistry is to the success of a sci-fi/fantasy series. Not only are the performers in those aforementioned shows solid in their own roles, they play off rest of the cast perfectly. Much of what is wrong with The Lost World is the cast's inability to even deliver convincing performances in their own limited roles.The premise is great: several explorers are trapped in a mysterious world of dinosaurs and "savage" tribes. The possibilities are endless and even with a low budget, the show could still work if the cast was a delight to watch. But the actors are mostly pretty bad in their respective roles. Peter McCauley, Will Snow, David Orth, Rachel Blakely, and Jennifer O'Dell just don't make a convincing team. Snow and Orth aren't all that awful, with the former even showing charisma here and there, but Blakely is just plain annoying, bringing back memories of Kate Capshaw in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, only without the humor or chemistry she shared with her love interest.I've only seen around 10 episodes of the show, and I did like the introduction of hottie Lara Cox into the series, who makes for better eye candy than the rest of the female cast combined. And truth be told, it's not as if the show isn't watchable. Some of the stories are interesting simply because they're so silly. But the series is really subpar at best, sometimes hilariously awful at worst.

The original novels and movie made in 1925 based on the novel does NOT compare iota to this wonderful series. Originally began airing in 1999, the series is about a group of explorers who make their way onto a mysterious plateau after they get caught in an updraft, along the way, they are befriended by an untamed jungle beauty named Veronica Layton, whose parents disappeared 11 years earlier. For the past 3 and a half years our band of explorers have come to know and rely on each other and considering themselves a family, where at the beginning of the series a certain hunter could barely stand being near a snobby millionare heiress.

The Lost World is an excellent action/adventure series inspired by the Conan Doyle book of the same name. Unlike the book, the characters here are trapped in the Lost World and struggle weekly against hostile creatures, inhabitants, and against the mysterious force which created the Lost World.The show, however, is much more than a simple run of the mill science fiction series, although it works quite well that way as well. The characters are complex, well rounded and interesting. Sometimes they struggle with their relationships with each other as much as with their environment. The growing romance, despite the obstacles presented by their vastly different and emotionally scarring backgrounds, between the Roxton and Marguerite characters has become a centerpiece of the show. The character of Challenger, so brutish and one dimensional in the book, has grown and changed over over the course of the series into a fully developed and interesting character while still maintaining his core focus and scientific genius. The addition of the character of Veronica Layton as the explorer's guide and host on the Lost World was an inspired addition. Veronica brings a humanity and nurturing presence and provides the emotional glue that hold the group together.Altogether, The Lost World is a unique and compelling show which is well worth your time. Only the most superficial of reviews would dismiss this show as nothing more than another science fiction show. The show offers something for everyone and I highly recommend it.

I have watched this show right from season 1 to season 3 and I absolutely love the show. It's a one of a kind series and I can't think of anything I'd rather watch on TV than TLW. I think Conan Doyle would enjoy this adaption since it adds so much more to the plateau and the actors are all excellent. And another thing I am a frequent poster at the Lost World message board and it's my favourite place on the net because everyone is fantastic there and I am hoping that Season Four of the Lost World becomes a reality!