episode #3 - Island in the Sky

episode #3 / Air Date: 9/29/65
teleplay by Norman Lessing; story by Shimon Wincelberg; Directed by Anton Leader

This episode had a lot going for it - there was a lot going on, a sense of adventure and enough suspense as the middle episode of what I consider a 5-episode arc or serial. The science was still bad, or was it the FX? Early on, Don states that John Robinson is 10,000 feet above a planet (this is lower than Mt. Everest on Earth), but it looks more like 10,000 miles going by the small size of the planet. Also, we are expected to believe John will survive entry into the planet's atmosphere? The crew were planning to send the Robot down to the planet first, but Dr. Smith nixes this, so John goes, using that James Bond-like jet pack. It doesn't go well, thanks to Smith probably (more sabotage!).
The crew had their suspicions about Smith in the past couple of episodes, but here he shows his true colors: he demands that they abandon John and head back to Earth; his enforcer is the Robot, which only Smith seems able to command. However, the plot establishes a kooky though amusing development in which Will is also able to command the Robot, by imitating Smith's voice! (done in the previous episode - this is briefly theorized about by Don, in regard to the quality of the voice). Eventually, they all do make it down to the planet, where the first priority is to search for John.

This episode must have been pretty exciting to audiences who first watched it back in 1965. There's the scene of the Jupiter 2 heading in for a crash landing (footage from the unaired pilot), accompanied by the now-familiar thunderous action music of Lost in Space; there's the adventure of being in unfamiliar, alien terrain (resembling a desert region of Earth); there's the question of what happened to John, the leader of the group; and, Smith gets more dastardly than ever here, planning to "liquidate" the crew via the Robot. The show also made the best use of the epilogue tag here - the Robot about to attack Will (his commands no longer work) must have had kids frantic to see the next episode back in '65. BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10

Lost in Space Trivia: some firsts here - The Chariot is first assembled and put to use here (seen in the unaired pilot also); the first appearance of the alien chimp, popularly known as Gloop, but named Debbie by Penny; the first hostile alien life form turns out to be a giant electrified tumbleweed which drains all electrical power from the Chariot.