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Lost in Space - Season 3, Vol. 2
Starring: Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright, Jonathan Harris Average Rating: 
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| Customer Reviews 1-5 of 27 | NEXT >> |
2007-09-01For those of you who enjoy time travelling back to a simplier time, but haven't been able to find out how, then Lost In Space, Season 3 is the DVD package for you.
Sure, the SFX are cheesy, the plots simplistic, and there is an "Oh, Gosh Darn!" Serial Sensibility about it, but therein lies it's charm. It's classic 1960's TV. However. for those of you males who are the deomographic known as the "Baby Boomers" there is a whole new way to look at it. Remember when Penny was an "older woman" and her sister Judy was, well, hot, but an adult... And "Mrs Robinson"... :) wasnt even on the radar? Well guess what? Forget about the girls... Mother Robinson is now a "Younger Woman" -- and she's a fine speciman of a female at that.
This is great TV, and something that you can watch with your kids. The Serial format is a slice of Cinematic History that all can enjoy. And when you see your young sons developing a crush on Penny, well, you can marvel at how some things never change.
2006-09-09It has been nostalgic and sad to watch the final episodes of season 3 of "Lost in Space." The 60s were winding down. The final episodes aired at the end of 1967 and the beggining of 1968, which saw the second season of "Star Trek" and the release of the phenomenonal and ground-breaking movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." The United States was growing up in so many ways, and "Lost in Space" had failed to keep track with our expectations.
Looking back, these final nine episodes had some excelllent moments, and hint at what this series could have been. amoung the best episodes is "Target: Earth," where a group of aliens that are similiar to each other attempt to duplicate the individualism of earthlings. "The Time Merchant" was one of the best episodes of the entire series. Chronos the Time Merchant plans to take the remainder of the Robinsons' lives because they inadvertently interfered with his travel plans. "Fugitives in Space" provded a bit of deception to keep me guessing how the episode was going to end.
Unfortunately, the series also keep the corny hokum that made season 2 weak. "The Promised Planet" had a great idea at its core, but the music and mod light betray its 1960's heritage. "Space Beauty" may have highlighted Judy's beauty, but Judy was too easily manipulated into entering a beauty contest that she was too smart to enter. This episode was one of the lower points of this volume. "The Great vegtable Rebellion" is an episode that gets a lot of critisism. This episode was not as bad as some people make it out, but it was a low point for the series.
You can count the number of science fiction television shows that left a lasting impression on viewers on your fingers. As campy as "Lost in Space" sometimes was, it left an impression that is nearly as strong for many people as the impression that "Star Trek" left. "Star Trek" was a much bolder show and tried to present some of the infinite possibilities that exist in the universe. "Lost in Space" reached only a brief distance into the future and was the first non-animated television show that focused on a family of space pioneers. Plot holes abound in "Lost in Space." Dr. Smith has to be one of the most obnoxious central charachters in a television show ever. And yet, I retain my fondness for this show.
I think it is easy in this age of sophicated digital effects and a chain of quality and classic science fiction television that extends back to at least the orginal "Outer Limits" to look down on "Lost in Space" as unworthy of appreciation. However, the series was influencial and it was memorable. Had Irwin Allen maintained the serious nature of the show, it is possable that "Lost in Space" would have been the landmark television show that "Star Trek" became. I know I watched both, and I know I enjoyed "Star Trek" when it came out the year following the debut of "Lost in Space." I concidered myself lucky that two such wonderful shows were on at the same time.
I look back on "Lost in Space" with fondness. I enjoyed watching all three seasons. perhpas my fondness is just nostalgia. If so, I will revel in my nostalgia and just maybe I will watch all the episodes again.
As a side note, after being a little boy and watching "Lost in Space," I admired Will Robinson a lot. I credit Will being a role model for my later years when I studied electronics and physics in college. This show may have been campy, but I am glad that I was encouraged by a show like this one. perhpas we should all wish for more campy science fiction shows to encourage children to become scientists and engineers.
2006-08-31I wish we could have bought Seasons 2 and 3 as complete sets. Vol. 1 was not avaliable when we bought Vol. 2. But we have become addicted and are enjoying seeing these episodes once again.
2005-11-24Back 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 dissaggreement.
Though I would've preffered that the entire third season had been presented intact in one set (thus, the reduction of two stars), there are some recomendations 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 vegtable Rebellion" guest stars Stanley Adams, an actor that will forever be engrained in the collective conciousness of "Trek" fans as "Cyrano Jones" of the classic "The Trouble With Tribbles" episode.
Though much maligned by fans and criticists alike, "The Great vegtable Rebellion" boasts one of the series best non-John Williams' scores, music by Joseph Mullendore.
Also, two of the remaing 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". Coincidently, 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 centruy 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!
2005-11-18This 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 villian 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 parituclar planet are all identicial 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 previvous set but I think this episode sets a new standard for silliness. It's basicaly the Anastasia story without the Russions, 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 ressemble filing cabinets with arms. The cutlass in the hands of the captain is a nice touch also. basicaly, 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 knowlege 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. naturaly, 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 actualy get himself back to Earth with Chronos's equippment but the catch is he is there just before the orginal 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 suprise and what makes this possably the least believable episode is that Smith has an altruistic moment. It doesnt last but even having it is beyond belief.
The Promised Planet - The Robinson family finaly 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 suprised but pleased. They are greeted like heros by a bunch of teenagers wearing West Point style uniforms and then told that they must be indoctrinated. The older folk are to be proccessed seperately from Will and Penny. From there, things get wierder. 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 assocation, Maj. West. After a quick and dirty trial, both are condemmed 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 finaly takes center stage...kind of. Mr. Farnum, the celestial zookeeper from some episodes back makes another appearence. This time he is the producer for the Miss Galaxy Beauty Contest. He has a mysterous backer who is very parituclar about who is in the contest. The backer takes a liking for Judy, can't fault his tastes there, but Judy doesnt want to play. It's a good thing she doesnt because the fine print of the contract calls for her soul. Smith, however, is more intrested in the big payoff for the winner and he doesnt 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. naturaly, that means that Judy must sign up. Like so many episodes, this one can seem very silly...unless you have actualy 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 beleives 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 vegtable Rebellion - This one is quite possably the silliest episode of them all. The crew of the Jupiter II wishes to throw a birthday party for the robot. Smith desides 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 doesnt like animal life. Eventually, he tries to turn everyone into vegtables. 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 intergalatic 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 doesnt want to sell. In order to pressure them, the junkman contaiminates all their food. He offers Smith food for various parts, beggining 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 charachters and helped make the show a success. They are worth watching.
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| Editorial Review |
If you like "Lost in Space - Season 3, Vol. 2", you might also like ...
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Lost in Space - Season 2, Vol. 2 |
Lost in Space - Season 2, Vol. 1 |
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Lost in Space Forever |
