episode #13 - One of Our Dogs is Missing

episode #13 / Air Date: 12/8/65
written by William Welch; Directed by Sutton Roley

More action in this one than other episodes around this time; it's juvenile in nature, yes, but the entertainment is a bit better. The men, Will & the Robot are away in the Chariot to set up some antenna array, leaving Smith and the women at the ship. This set-up is interesting in itself - Maureen is in the position of being in charge and has to handle Smith, besides the threat which materializes. Without Don & the other guys there to argue with Smith, the dynamic shifts to a tension between Smith and the females.

After a meteor shower, something strange and possibly dangerous is prowling around the area of the ship; it raids the ship's stores. Then, the women find a small dog - not an alien dog, but a dog from Earth (a cute puppy it is, too). But, is this what made the frightening noises at night? Ah, no. There's another creature which seems to crawl out of one of the sand pits created by a meteor strike. It's like a dark-haired Mugato (from A Private Little War of TOS), but with no tail and the suit is even less impressive (it did scare me a bit when I was 8 years old) - a cross between an ape, a bear and a devil.

BELOW: a publicity still for the episode; there was no scene with the beast chasing Maureen

So, this turns out to be the prototypical 'monster-on-the-loose' Lost in Space episode. The creature ends up chasing Judy; the men return because John sensed something was wrong, and they have their hands full: there's one hell of an action finale as they try to subdue this alien beast. There are also some really irritating moments - Smith picks this time to be extra stupid by disassembling all the weapons for no reason, just as the area is under threat from some beast. I guess this was meant to place the women in even more danger, but it's beyond idiotic.

And, there's the typical weak and inexplicable Lost in Space ending - the beast crawls back into the sand pit and the story abruptly ends. Maybe they planned to bring it back in a future episode. But, the main thing - what happened to the dog? John theorizes that it was a dog sent into space in suspended animation. But, we would expect the dog to be back in the next episode. Nope - it disappeared (aw, poor puppy). BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10

Epilogue Tag: John & Smith are at a site where they are drilling for deutronium when an alien vine snags John's leg and begins to drag him into a sandpit. Freeze frame!