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Rating:  -
Back in the late 60's there were two camps of thought in regards to two shows: those that favored "Lost in Space" and those that favored "Star Trek". My sister belonged to the latter and I, the former.
But enough about familial disagreement.
Though I would've preferred that the entire third season had been presented intact in one set (thus, the reduction of two stars), there are some recommendations that can be made for the purchase of this set.
It's coincidental that the second half of "Lost in Space" has some stories that have a casting connection with installments from the first season of "Trek". "The Flaming Planet" features character actor Abraham Sofaer who appeared in the "Charlie X" episode of "Trek" as a one of the members of the mutant's race. The infamous "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" guest stars Stanley Adams, an actor that will forever be engrained in the collective consciousness of "Trek" fans as "Cyrano Jones" of the classic "The Trouble With Tribbles" episode.
Though much maligned by fans and critics alike, "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" boasts one of the series best non-John Williams' scores, music by Joseph Mullendore.
Also, two of the remaining episodes are quite good and elevate the bar somewhat for the campy series. "Target: Earth" is probably the closest the show in its later years came to "serious" drama, even with the over-the-top theatrics of Jonathan Harris. The show made a simplistic commentary about the desire to express one's individuality - a theme that was on the minds of every "flower child" of the day. Thus, like "The Promised Planet" episode, this installment was a reflection of the times.
Who said LiS had no redeeming social value???
Another bit of trivia involves "The Time Merchant" episode. Guest star John Crawford appeared, at some time or another, in most of producer Irwin Allen's productions, including the theatrical films "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno".
Arte Johnson, who would later be part of the comedic ensemble that made up TV's "Laugh-In", is featured in "Princess of Space," along with Mrs. Irwin Allen herself, Sheila Matthews. Matthews had also appeared in the second season episode, "Space Vikings."
And the future "Sgt. Phil Esterhaus" of "Hill Street Blues", veteran heavy Michael Conrad, appears in pre-Planet of the Apes-inspired makeup in "Fugitives in Space". Coincidentally, Conrad's future co-star, Daniel J. Travanti, appeared in an earlier LiS season three episode, "Collision of the Planets"...as a space hippy, no less.
Therefore, six of the nine episodes in this collection have something going for them and make it a worthy addition to a sci-fi/fantasy/Irwin Allen/television history fan!
It's still too bad that Twentieth Century Fox skimps on the extras that we DVD buyers expect, causing the disc to lose its third star.
'Too bad the four-star series was shackled with a two-star package!
Rating:  -
This is the last of the series. Over the course of its three seasons it degenerated from a semi-serious science fiction show into a comic farce. It worked. The show was so silly that it could not be taken seriously but it could be taken with lots of fun. The main reason for this is Jonathan Harris playing Zachary Smith. The comic evil villain was always good for a few laughs.
Synopses for the episodes appear below:
Target Earth - This one is less campy and more in the vein of regular science fiction than most, but that's not saying much. As usual, Smith sets the trouble in motion when he accidentally jettisons the pod with part of the robot aboard. The pod lands on a planet and the crew of the Jupiter II head down to retrieve their belongings. That, of course, causes more trouble. The aliens on this particular planet are all identical and are intrigued by the differences between the humans. They are an old race failing because of their lack of diversity. That is the given reason but I think it has more to do with looking like a heap of mud. The aliens come up with a plan to "replicate" the Jupiter II crew and conquer earth.
Princess of Space - It's been a while since I have viewed the previous set but I think this episode sets a new standard for silliness. It's basically the Anastasia story without the Russians, pomp or grandeur. In its place, we get spaceships decked out with a model of the Cutty Sark, air funnels from early steam ships, navigating lanterns (on the inside) and an army of advanced computers which resemble filing cabinets with arms. The cutlass in the hands of the captain is a nice touch also. Basically, the aliens are looking for a lost princess hidden on Earth. They grab Penny instead and try to pass her off to the royal auntie. In short, Penny is mistaken for Princess Alpha from the planet Beta and must fool Aunt Gamma with her knowledge of cousins Iota, Kappa and Sylvia. Complete silliness!
Time Merchant - this time it is Will who unwittingly starts the trouble but, as always, Smith manages to make it worse. While running an experiment, Will accidentally captures a "time merchant". Said merchant is a bit peeved and takes Will as a slave to make up for his troubles. Naturally, Dr. Robinson, Dr. Smith and the Robot follow to get him back. From there, things get more complicated. It seems that Chronos, the time merchant, has a function something like the Greek fates. When a person's "time tape" runs out, Chronos snips it. While all of this is being explained, Smith manages to actually get himself back to Earth with Chronos's equipment but the catch is he is there just before the original Jupiter II takes off. He is not about the get on again but his failure to do so will mean that the ship gets destroyed by an uncharted asteroid. To fix things, the robot is sent back to Shanghai Smith and set things right. The big surprise and what makes this possibly the least believable episode is that Smith has an altruistic moment. It doesn't last but even having it is beyond belief.
The Promised Planet - The Robinson family finally makes it to Alpha Centauri. We don't really know how; there is just an announcement from the robot that they are coming into the Alpha Centauri system. Everyone seems surprised but pleased. They are greeted like heroes by a bunch of teenagers wearing West Point style uniforms and then told that they must be indoctrinated. The older folk are to be processed separately from Will and Penny. From there, things get weirder. The clean cut cadet types become hippies and seem to want to do nothing but turn Will and Penny into hippies as well, get them to deny their family and get the family to leave. Penny falls for it and becomes a go-go dancer but will resists. Dr. Smith falls for it as well and becomes the worst of the delinquents. It turns out they are not on Alpha Centauri at all and their hosts are aliens who cannot age. They want to extract something from the kids to let them grow up. It is all enough to make me shudder with my own memories of being a teenager and, even worse, the 60s.
Fugitives in Space - When a prisoner escapes from the Prison Planet Destructon (that's really the name), said prisoner runs into Smith and trades jackets with him. That leads the guards to suspect Smith and, by association, Maj. West. After a quick and dirty trial, both are condemned to Destructon for life sentences. No sooner are they incarcerated than Smith starts scheming with the prisoner who caused his problems in the first place in an escape attempt. West tries to be a restraining influence but Smith's greed is, as always, the ultimate determiner. This one is not as funny as some episodes nor is it as silly.
Space Beauty - Judy finally takes center stage...kind of. Mr. Farnum, the celestial zookeeper from some episodes back makes another appearance. This time he is the producer for the Miss Galaxy Beauty Contest. He has a mysterious backer who is very particular about who is in the contest. The backer takes a liking for Judy, can't fault his tastes there, but Judy doesn't want to play. It's a good thing she doesn't because the fine print of the contract calls for her soul. Smith, however, is more interested in the big payoff for the winner and he doesn't play fair. After being caught out trying to forge her name, he relies on getting her mad at MAJ West by implying that he has forbidden her to take part. Naturally, that means that Judy must sign up. Like so many episodes, this one can seem very silly...unless you have actually seen the workings of a beauty contest, then all too much is familiar. It should be noted that although Judy nominally takes center stage, it is mostly for display purposes. Her role is minimal and the usual suspects have most of the lines.
The Flaming Planet - Smith smuggles what he believes to be an orange tree aboard the Jupiter II. It is not an orange tree, of course, but is instead a plant with limited locomotion and intelligence. It thinks Smith is its "mother". When the plant is disposed of, it causes some damage to the ship and it is forced to orbit a planet while it makes repairs. As it turns out, the planet belonged to a warrior race with one member left. His price for not destroying the ship is to have a member of the crew fight one last war game with him; at the end, the entire planet will be destroyed. The robot gets selected and Smith's baby plant monster is enlisted to save the day.
The Great Vegetable Rebellion - This one is quite possibly the silliest episode of them all. The crew of the Jupiter II wishes to throw a birthday party for the robot. Smith decides to go down to a nearby planet to find a gift. While picking some flowers, he gets arrested by a giant carrot. Don't worry, the carrot speaks English. He doesn't like animal life. Eventually, he tries to turn everyone into vegetables. I don't think I can go on... Jungle Warfare was never so bad.
Junkyard in Space - Just as the Jupiter II has some mechanical problems, they happen by an intergalactic junkyard. When the robot goes to investigate in the pod, he gets captured by the junkman. The main ship heads off to retrieve him. The junkman likes what he sees and wants to purchase the ship for salvage. Needless to say, the crew doesn't want to sell. In order to pressure them, the junkman contaminates all their food. He offers Smith food for various parts, beginning with the some from the robot, and eventually trick Smith into letting him steal the Jupiter II. In the end, however, love conquers all.
Special Features: most of the special features are minimal, as are the menus but there are 2 that are especially worth while. These are the interviews with Billy Mummy and Jonathan Harris. These two actors, playing Will Robinson and Dr. Smith were the two central characters and helped make the show a success. They are worth watching.
Rating:  -
Here we finaly have the last episodes of Lost in Space.The only problem is that there is no formal ending to the series.But this is well worth buying and owning.The episodes are crisp and clear(as is the sound).
Get this one becouse among others this is the set that has the most talked about episode"The Great Vegetable Rebellion"!
Rating:  -
The special effects are pretty bad, the acting is ok given the dialoque...you've heard it all before...but if you like to watch TV for fun and silliness you might like this DVD set. I enjoy it because it brings back memories of being a kid and watching this show through the "snow" on the TV because it was the only channel we could get with our antenna.
Rating: -
But it's still good to have the complete series now. I'm a little more forgiving of the picture quality than most reviewers have been.I know it should be better,but it could be worse.Before the DVDS were released, all I had were bad VHS recordings of selected episodes from the SCI-FI channel.So I'm grateful for the release of the entire series. I'm quite disappointed there aren't better bonus features.However,the episodes are fun to watch.And that's what really matters
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