episode #38 - The Thief From Outer Space

episode #38 / Air Date: 11/9/66 (episode #9 of 2nd season)
written by Jackson Gillis; Directed by Don Richardson

This starts out as the typical goofy episode but actually becomes entertaining in the 2nd half, mostly due to the guest performances of Malachi Throne (as the Thief) and Ted Cassidy (as his towering slave). Throne guest stars as the latest archetypal figure (after others like The Space Cowboy, The Space Pirate and the Space Prospector) transposed to a sci-fi setting; in his case, Throne's character is straight out of films such as The Thief of Baghdad. He's quite flamboyant and waves a scimitar around in a threatening manner. He's after some hidden treasure, related to a missing princess whom he knew 200 years ago.
As mentioned, it's ludicrous in the first act, with Throne and Cassidy hamming it up; then Will gets captured on their asteroid and becomes the slave's slave, keeping the furnace heated. When Penny is captured, Will pretends to be on the Thief's side; then she's put to work and so is the slave's slave slave. There is some subtle humor here for this series: earlier, Penny had made fun of Will for his stories about a crazy Thief, so Will was getting some payback . As an aside, I probably developed a crush on Penny during this episode; I was about her age when I watched a repeat of this in the seventies and her role as damsel in distress here made me wonder how I would rescue her.

The best moments here are the scenes with Will and the Thief; it's another example of Will perhaps admiring such a figure's lifestyle, though he's mature enough to stay loyal to his family. It recalls scenes from The Sky Pirate, but Throne's character is a lot more colorful and even poignant. He sees in Will a possible protege. Cassidy looks about 7 feet tall here; there's a late plot development when he mistakes Dr. Smith for a former master, allowing for further amusement. "Farewell, Infidels!" BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10
Lost in Space Trivia: Star Trek TOS actor alert - Malachi Throne played Commodore Mendez in the 2-part The Menagerie; Ted Cassidy played the android Ruk in What Are Little Girls Made Of? Cassidy also appeared in the Gene Roddenberry telefilms Genesis II (1973) and Planet Earth (1974), but is best known as Lurch on The Addams Family show..
Rule 32 is: beware of women with secrets...

Epilogue Tag: Will & Penny are birdwatching; something flies overhead and then there are suitcases being parachuted in; one of these is about to strike Will.. freeze frame!