The Zarn

The Zarn was a minor character in the Land of the Lost. He was played by Van Snowden and Marvin Miller.
==Personality and Appearance==
The Zarn is an alien energy being trapped in the Land of the Lost with the Marshalls. He takes the appearance of a humanoid form composed of energy and filled with flickering lights. He is highly intelligent with an advanced IQ to the point his personality is highly arrogant and egotistical, believing he is superior to humans, often mocking and tormenting the Marshalls in all of their encounters. He is also empathic with his one weakness being negative emotions around him, such as anger and hostility. Whenever he is in his weakened state, his spots turn red. Pity can cause him to recoil and malfunction. He is intelligent enough to create advanced devices, such as a ten-foot tall robot.
Despite his sensitivity to the emotions of others, the Zarn is completely without regard for their lives or well-being. In fact, he takes sadistic pleasure in the use of his abilties to torment others. He was not dissuaded in the least in his efforts to leave the Land of the Lost when he was made aware that he would likely destroy it and every living thing on it in the process. The Zarn is also able to imitate anyone's voice to perfection, an abilty he uses to taunt his adversaries.
The Zarn also has considerable telepathic ability. His ability to read minds allowed him to perceive the memories of Rick Marshall and create a android with a human appearance and a complex backstory that was able to fool the Marshalls (although Will and Holly were eventually able to detect the ruse). The range of his telepathy was sufficient for him to "overhear" a conversation between Will and Holly Marshall at High Bluff while he was still at the Mist Marsh.
His influence over minds is not limited to human beings. He was once able to momentarily distract Grumpy by inducing an irritation causing Grumpy to start scratching himself. 
The Zarn also has some telekinetic ability, the limits of which are unknown, but it was sufficient to lift melons and uproot small bushes. His fine control is such that he can split a melon, raise one half, then cause the contents of the melon half to be flung with accuracy into someone's face, while causing the remainder of the melon half to land in someone else's hands.
The Zarn apparently has the ability to teleport. After he reveals to Holly Marshall that he was studying her, he vanished. Curiously, when visiting High Bluff to investigate Holly Marshall, he chose to walk from the Mist Marsh to High Bluff rather than simply teleport the distance. Possibly, he wished to see the route the Marshalls would have taken.
==Background==
The Zarn is an extra-terrestrial being whose spacecraft crashed beyond the Lost City in the Land of the Lost . It is not known if he has a name or title or whether he originates from a planet in the cosmology of the Land of the Lost or one in the Earthly dimension. No other individuals of the Zarn race have been revealed.
Rick Marshall and Will Marshall first meet the Zarn while exploring the Mist Marsh. On their advance, the Zarn uses technology to read their minds, leading him to create Sharon Williams, an android created with aspects of Rick's life in order to infiltrate and learn about the Marshalls. Although Will is skeptical about her, Rick is not, and while following Sharon reporting that to the Zarn, he later learns the truth.
Eventually, the Zarn tries to escape the Land of the Lost, but his ship wreaks havoc with the gravity of the area. Rick and Will confront him about the havoc he is causing, but the Zarn dismisses him, sending off a robot named "Fred" that resembles a Dinosaur with a beak and no arms. Fred ends up destroyed when Rick Marshall and Will Marshall lure him up a mountain during a thunderstorm.
Holly Marshall eventually meets the Zarn and debates with him the merits of Cha-Ka becoming and acting more human. He does help Cha-Ka deal with Ta, but it turns out to be a temporary respite.
It is not known what happens to the Zarn. Whether he finally escaped the Land of the Lost or was destroyed in the later disaster that ripped up the land is unknown. Jack Marshall never encounters him while meeting Captain Reuben Van de Meer in the Mist Marsh.
===2009 Version===
The Zarn was the leader and ruler of the Altrusian people. After he warned his people not to trust Enik, he was murdered, and Enik took control over an army of Sleestaks to invade other worlds. Just before the Zarn died, he left a message to warn whoever entered the Land of the Lost of Enik's actions and intentions.
==Episode(s)==
* The Zarn (episode)
* Gravity Storm
* The Babysitter
==Trivia==
* In Land of the Lost (2009), the roles of ally and antagonist were reversed with Zarn and Enik, the Zarn who had been an antagonist in the 1974 series became a heroic character in the film, and Enik became a villain in the film instead.
* In addition, the Zarn wasn't a Sleestak in the original 1974 TV series, being from a completely different alien race from beyond the Land.
* Although the Zarn claims to be without feelings, this is clearly not the case. He was sadistically gleeful in tormenting Rick Marshall. Possibly, he did acquire some measure of compassion, as he did not subject Holly Marshall to his characteristic cruelty.
Category:Characters
Category:Villains
Category:Aliens
Category:Land of the Lost (film)