The Paku Who Came to Dinner

The Paku who Came to Dinner was the Tenth episode of the First Season. It was written by Barry Blitzer.
==Summary==
Cha-Ka joins the Marshall family for dinner. Holly gets kidnapped by the other Pakuni.
==Plot==
Rick and Holly Marshall are sitting by the swamp watching Emily graze through their binoculars. Grumpy appears and approaches Emily. "Will he get Emily?" worries Holly. "I don't think so, honey -- Emily's home isn't exactly her castle, but at least she has a built-in moat." Grumpy refuses to cross open water to get to Emily. "We sure did pick a good home for Dopey," Holly notes, and her father agrees.
Holly reminiscing about her first few encounters with Dopey. As Holly finishes reminiscing, Rick suggests that Holly and Will do some "shopping for dessert" and tells them to "take the world's largest shopping cart."
Will and Holly attempt to get Dopey to pull a cartload of giant berries, but the cart is stuck and Dopey is, as usual, not a very enthusiastic worker, even after Holly feeds him a giant berry. Cha-Ka joins the group, and Holly asks him to help push the cart. With Cha-Ka's help they cart begins moving again. Holly gives Cha-Ka a kiss on the cheek. Will tells her that Cha-Ka has probably never been kissed before, and advises her to give him something he'll understand instead. She gives him a flower, telling Cha-Ka that it is because they are friends -- "amarani." Cha-Ka attempts to eat the flower petals.
Back at High Bluff, Rick Marshall greets his children, who are quite late. They unhitch Dopey and he wanders off. Will asks his father "what's for dinner?" Holly says "it was your turn to cook, so we're expecting something very special!" Rick tells his children "it's something you haven't had for a long time." "Hamburgers, French Fries, and a chocolate malt," speculates Will. "I'm afraid not, Will. It's a special native dish that I cooked up," says Rick. Cha-Ka asks to join them for dinner, saying "eat-a, dinner, dinner!"
Holly applies lipstick and perfume in front of her pink plastic hand mirror before coming to the table. "Do you smell something?" Rick asks his father. Cha-Ka is sniffing Holly curiously. "You know something, Will? Our little girl is growing up to be a lady," says Rick. "Holly, you don't look half-bad," says Will.
It turns out that the special meal is fried wild chicken, along with vegetables, and the Marshalls and their guest all wolf it down it eagerly. During the meal, the children attempt to teach Cha-Ka human table manners.
As Will and Holly are taking the garbage away from High Bluff in order to bury it, they encounter Grumpy. They escape back into their cave as Grumpy bites their abandoned garbage container. For his own safety, Cha-Ka spends the night in High Bluff with the Marshalls, wrapped in a blanket. As he seems to be afraid of the dark, Holly provides a glowing crystal as a night-light. Will suggests sarcastically that Holly tell him a bedtime story: "Snow White and the Seven Pakuni."
The next day, Holly's perfume is still very noticeable. "How much did you use?" asks Rick. She reveals that she accidentally spilled perfume on her jacket. Cha-Ka continues to sniff Holly and follows her as she goes to get water. From High Bluff, Cha-Ka calls down to the two other Pakuni, Ta and Sa. Cha-Ka does not want to leave, but Ta and Sa believe the Marshalls are holding Cha-Ka captive. As Rick explains to Cha-Ka that he must go with his own people, Grumpy pays High Bluff another visit, and then chases after Ta and Sa.
Ta and Sa accost Holly, returning to High Bluff with water. They can smell her perfume and shove her with sticks, as she loudly criticizes them for their rudeness. She runs off and they give chase, but they abruptly find themselves right in Grumpy's path. They split up to confuse Grumpy as they have done before.
After the threat from Grumpy is gone, Ta and Sa actually pick up Holly and carry her off as she berates them, telling them they aren't very polite.
At High Bluff, Will, Rick, and Cha-Ka are worried that Holly has not yet returned. Disturbing red clouds begin rolling across the sky as a storm approaches. In the distance they can hear Grumpy bellowing, but they head into the jungle anyway. They search fruitlessly for a while, but Cha-Ka eventually finds footprints that tell them Holly was carried off. Rick guesses that Holly may have been kidnapped because the Pakuni like her perfume.
In the Pakuni compound, Holly tells Ta and Sa "there are laws against this kind of thing -- haven't you ever heard of the Geneva convention?" Rick and Will arrive, and tell Holly that she will have to leave her jacket. She does so, spreading it over a bush. As the Marshalls are about to leave, Grumpy breaks right into the compound and devours the bush and Holly's jacket while the humans hide in fear. The Pakuni are briefly worried that Holly has been eaten, but she reassures them that she is unharmed.
Since the smell of perfume is fading, the Pakuni will let Holly go. As the Marshalls prepare to leave, Cha-Ka hands Holly a flower. She eats a few petals, saying "Mmmm! It's not bad!"
==Message==
* "One good turn always deserves another."
==Cast==
* Spencer Milligan as Rick Marshall
* Wesley Eure as Will Marshall
* Kathy Coleman as Holly Marshall
* Philip Paley as Cha-Ka
* Sharon Bair as Sa
* Joe A. Giamalva as Ta
==Dinosaurs==
* Emily
* Grumpy
* Dopey
==Quotes==
* Coming Up
==Trivia==
* Don't try this at home note: while some flowers such as nasturtiums are edible, many are at least mildly toxic, and even if the flowers themselves are not toxic, they are often treated with pesticides.
Category: 1974-1976 Episodes]]
Category: Season One Episodes
Category: Episodes
Category: Pakuni Episodes