William Blandings

William Blandings is a minor character in the Land of the Lost. He was played by British actor Laurie Main.
==Appearance and Personality==
William Blandings is mysterious figure who appears to the Marshalls as a pudgy, balding man in his late 40s with a British accent. Affable and out-going, he befriends the family and acts aloof toward the Sleestak, dismissive of their reputation as dangerous.
Blandings seems to be unconcerned in general about mortal danger. This may be because he himself is immortal, or perhaps those he serves have the capability of restoring him should he come to harm.
Blandings also has access to artifacts resembling an umbrella and valise that have properties that might be akin to "magic." He could conjure drinks for Jack, Holly and Cha-Ka, use a divining rod to find and bring forth water and use an amulet to repel the Sleestak from attacking him and Jack Marshall.
==Background==
Not much is known about Blandings. He claims to be a "repairman" for the sun (although probably just the Sun Pylon), serving a role similar to the Skylons. Because of his abilities and objects, he might not be human and instead might be a personification or creation of the Skylons or something else altogether.
Blandings carries an umbrella and a valise with him. Although outwardly human, he displays considerable, nearly clairvoyant, knowledge about both the Marshalls and the Land of the Lost and the implements he carries with him are anything but ordinary. He has a divining rod, which he used not only to locate water, but to cause water to come up from the ground like a natural spring. His umbrella acts something like an air conditioner keeping himself and Jack Marshall cool during the sweltering heat of increasing solar flare activity. Much like the pylons, his valise appears extra-dimensional in nature and from it Blandings can produce anything he wants, even objects that would appear to be too large to be carried in such a tiny valise. In addition to his divining rod (which appeared to be too long to be carried in the valise), he claimed the valise also contained the means to prepare a full gourmet meal. He also carries an amulet which produces a force-field which he uses to repel the Sleestak. The force-field proved powerful enough to withstand even Big Alice. He also carries a key that can unlock the Pylons.
Although a formidable being, Blandings offers hints that he was sent by and actually serves a higher power. When he is captured by the Sleestak, he waits upon Will Marshall to save him before restoring the damaged Sun Pylon and vanishing exactly six hours after he arrived.
==Episode(s)==
* Repairman
==Trivia==
* Although far-fetched, Blandings could possibly be the human form of one of the Skylons from the Skylons episode. Rick Marshall did talk about them as if they were aliens beings in charge of the weather and the devastation of the Land of the Lost as well as the disappearance of one of them could imply they might have "rebooted" to a form more capable of dealing with the Sun Pylon. However, Blandings could just be one of the original human inhabitants of the Land of the Lost suggested in The Musician.
Category:Characters
Category:Aliens
Category:Land of the Lost (1974-1976)