episode #4 - There Were Giants in the Earth

episode #4 / Air Date: 10/6/65
written by Shimon Wincelberg, Carey Wilber; Directed by Leo Penn

Things settle down after all the frenetic activity of the previous episode. Under John's leadership, the family, West and even Smith work at creating a semi-permanent community - a redux of The Swiss Family Robinson on another planet. Smith, of course, annoys everyone with his barely-concealed lazy attitude and excuses. They start their own vegetable garden and some peas quickly mutate into giant & hostile specimens - something Smith did? The group also set up a protective field around the ship area.
LEFT > John & Don survey a large footprint
Will, meanwhile, is fixated on reactivating The Robot and disobeys his dad once more (what is it - 3 episodes in a row now?). The Robot wanders out and comes back confused, babbling "does not compute" and mentioning a humanoid 16 meters high. Uh-oh. At this point, much of the story utilizes footage from the unaired pilot: John & Don run into a one-eyed 50-foot giant (like the famed Cyclops) on a mountain and it's Will to the rescue with a ray gun. The group also determines that a deep freeze is coming to the area, so they have to move.

The critical moments in this episode occur when Penny now wanders off with Debbie the chimp and John has to find her by flying around using that jet pack. The group departs in the Chariot without Smith, who insists on remaining with the ship, in what he considers safety. This episode has a shot of the giant recovering from the laser blast - not shown in the unaired pilot - which establishes that this is the same giant which attacks the Chariot later.
The show's strongest elements at this early point is that sense of family, such as the scene of John sitting down with his son Will and explaining some facts of life. In addition, the giant monster scenes in this episode have never been bettered throughout the series; the giant cyclops is probably the most famous monster of the show. The episode ends with the earthquake inside the alien crypt they find. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10