episode #10 - The Sky is Falling

episode #10 / Air Date: 11/17/65
teleplay by Barney Slater and Herman Grives; story by Groves; Directed by Sobey Martin

A very weird-looking contraption rolls up to a relaxing Dr. Smith and freaks him out; it resembles a warped vacuum cleaner. It follows him to the ship and teleports inside, astounding the group. But, it turns out to be simply an alien version of a soil sampler. Pretty soon, the Robinsons have neighbors - an alien family - parents and one small boy. They look just like humans, but they seem unable to speak, communicating by some other means (telepathy?).

This alien family is assumed to be the first step in the colonization of the planet and that soon there will be thousands of them. As with many episodes on this show, there are few mysterious and unexplained occurrences: the Robinsons and Smith prepare to dig in to a fabulous chocolate cake that Maureen cooked up and the cake vanishes. This is never followed up on; the group conjectures on why this happened, but we never find out the actual reason. Smith, of course, considers the newcomers as invaders of some kind, i.e. the enemy.

The crux of the story is that Will meets the alien boy and it's their relationship - informed by their innocence - that provides the most civilized behavior. When both boys disappear, suspicions are raised on both sides, not helped by Smith's paranoid rantings. The episode has its limits - the middle act is slow and the non-speaking aliens place limits on potential drama - but the final act is pretty effective: humans, notably John, have to place their ability to trust and to desire peace on the line. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

Epilogue Tag: Smith discards a fuel pack that Don had given him to carry; it starts to leak; Don grabs it and flings it just as it explodes! Freeze frame!

Lost in Space Trivia: actor Don Matheson, who plays the mute alien father, was seen as a regular 3 years later on the Land of the Giants show, playing rich Mark Wilson.