‘Land of the Lost’ mostly lost

There is exactly one funny bit in “Land of the Lost,” and it stands out because it comes at the very beginning and the very end.

Will Ferrell, as arrogant scientist Dr. Rick Marshall, appears on the “Today” show to discuss his time-travel theories and promote his latest book. Matt Lauer, thinking he’s a crackpot, interviews him with unmistakable disdain.

In between these two scenes, though, is an awkward combination of kitschy comedy (which is never amusing) and earnest action (which is never thrilling).

The Sid & Marty Krofft TV series “Land of the Lost,” about a family that gets sucked into a prehistoric age when an earthquake hits while they’re rafting, aired for just three seasons in the mid-1970s. It was laughable with its stiff dialogue and low-tech effects.

At least the series knew what it was. Director Brad Silberling can’t seem to decide whether he’s making fun of the show’s cheesy visuals or seizing on its sense of roughhewn adventure. And so in hopes of pleasing the lowest common denominator nonetheless, all these people offer an overload of jokes about dinosaur poop and urine.

Holly (Anna Friel) is no longer Marshall’s fresh-faced daughter but a brainy British research assistant who happens to look sexy in a wife-beater tank top and short shorts. Will (Danny McBride), who was Marshall’s son, is a redneck who runs the tourist trap that becomes the inadvertent portal to the past.

And Chaka (“Saturday Night Live” writer Jorma Taccone), who was merely a mischievous primate, is now a shameless horndog who repeatedly fondles Holly’s breasts.

Also hammered into the unexplored ground is a running gag about “A Chorus Line,” which ultimately allows Marshall to unleash his inner Broadway star.

This is basically the same guy Ferrell keeps playing over and over. He’s Ron Burgundy in khakis instead of a polyester leisure suit, Ricky Bobby traveling to the past instead of driving in circles.

Talk about your time warps.