I can finally say with all honesty that I hate the Robinsons.   Hate hate hate them.   Because, you see, they're perfect.  They dress nicely, they speak nicely and distinctly, and despite the fact they're stranded in several places they always seem to be well groomed and not in the least bitter about being forced into what could become a suicide mission by their jackass of a father.  And yes, he is a jackass.  Considering their whole journey to an Alpha Centauri may result in death or an uninhabitable planet, that's not really a place for an adventurer to take his whole family, noble as hell or not.

Plus that pilot Don is a jerk.

But the interesting point about this series is that when the Robinsons and the Jerk Pilot were introduced, the idea of a heroic adventurer with no flaws was slowly going out of style.   Characterization, more or less, was going to be introduced in the next decade to give a depth and possibly drama to the sci-fi genre.  Sure, this resulted in the lack of overly colorful set designs and extremely goofy creatures (which is a bad thing, I assure you), but it did usher in more fascinating examples of the sci-fi genre.

This, of course, isn't one of them.  But it does apply to Doctor Zachary Smith.

Dr. Smith is the reason why Lost in Space is still remember, bar none.   Despite being over-the-top and sometimes hard to take, his character is the reason the show continues on.   Sure, he's a coward.   Who wouldn't be?  Sure, he's arrogant and horribly inconsiderate and downright evil.....but then again, without him you've got "No Place To Hide," the failed pilot which is the next best thing to insomnia.   For you see, this is why the Old Heroic Age of Perfection ceased to be:  with perfect people you don't get indecision or mistakes.   You don't have the essentials of drama.  And by whatever deity you believe in, you don't have suspense.   Or that bit where the story draws you in by saying 'hey, imperfect people can sometimes win, too.'

Hence, the appeal of Dr. Smith.  Sure, he's a screw-up but deep down, he's a decent guy.  Just flawed enough to be entertaining, just imperfect enough to be perfect.   Plus, he's the smartest one on the ship.   How many times has he been threatened with expulsion or death only to stay on the ship in the end?   Or sabotage the ship and the robot?  Hell, compared to his accidental/intentional Machiavellian schemes, he makes the Robinsons look damn near retarded.   And apparently, the producers realized this too, making the focus of the show less 'Robinsons and their overacting' than 'Smith, the Robot, and Will/Penny get into weird stuff' as the series progressed.

Because, let's face it, if the show only had Smith, the Robot, and Will/Penny, it wouldn't be that much different.  The only real change to be made would be Smith would have to have an outside source to make him go to Alpha Centauri and his attempts to foil it would provide the impetus for the show.   Then while he could be considered effeminate or ineffective, he would display just how deceptive he could be.   Remember, he was a spy for 'The Enemy' when the show began.  And that would be a fantastic show.  Hell, it worked for Doctor Who.

Anyway, this episode was the first of the Second Season and the first in color.   It also introduced a 'roaming' nature to the series that the first season did not have.   When the show began, it was essentially a serious version of Gilligan's Island:  the ship had crashed on a planet and whatever foreign menaces there were either came to the planet or were on the planet.   This was flawed because it completely destroyed any suspension of disbelief.   With the a myriad of planets and galaxies, a whole slew would pass by one desert planet?   Or suddenly civilizations would pop out of nowhere?   It was just unfeasible within the confines of a hour-long show.   Plus with their limited transportation--The Chariot--they couldn't really go globe-hopping could they?   Hence, the show went from one planet to crash-landing or such onto other planets.   Not the best solution, but at least it was a bit different and the suspension was sustained for a little while.   Until they got into mutant veggies.

In this case, the way off-planet lies with an alien prospector who is oddly humanoid and has the mannerisms and dress of an 1890s prospector called Nerim.   He's mining the planet for a special mineral that has a price worth more than diamonds;  we know that because when he befriends Smith and Will and takes them down into his elaborate tunnels, they're laying all over the place.   Considering his way of mining is blasting with some futuristic dynamite, it's kind of funny that he leaves the hardest substance around as makeshift shrapnel.    Not the brightest candle in the bunch, his blasting is also causing the planet to become unstable.  Hence, the only way out is to repair the Jupiter 2 and get the hell out of there.

Unfortunately, Smith sells a vital rocket part off the Jupiter 2 to get some of this rare mineral.   So as the Robinsons slave about repairing the ship, Smith uses the mineral as part of his stone monument which is an abstract version of him.   Unfortunately, this mineral is rare because it brings inanimate objects to life who need to consume more of this 'osmodium' to keep functional.  The statue corners Smith and Will in the Chariot and is about to get them when John Robinson, Father and Jerk of the whole affair, saves them with a gun blast.   And with this done, he can now collect a paycheck knowing he's fulfilled the 'hero' part of the show.  Just not being that damn interesting.

Aboard the Jupiter 2, the family is getting ready for blast off and are going about speaking flowery language about how everything is going to be all right and they're going to make it to Alpha Centauri.   Smith disagrees, saying they should head for Earth which sounds logical.   Remember Apollo 13:  don't be heroes, just make it home here.  Of course, this would be failure for 'brave' John Robinson so him and Don the Pointless Pilot disagree and while insulting Smith finally try to take off.  But the lack of the rocket part Smith took, takeoff against the planet's gravitational pull is near impossible.  And while this is happening, young Will tells his mother about Smith's theft.   Using her maternal instinct, Mother Robinson decides it would be best if Will and Smith told the pilots personally!!  Oh yeah, the ship is rolling too and fro, this is the perfect time to instill those Midwestern values.   Screw the fact that Will could go flying across the ship and smash his head on a bulkhead, Smith has to be taught a lesson, otherwise...well, they might send him to bed without supper then relent and starting going on about how accepting they are.

Let's face it.  The Robinsons are blockheads.   Maybe the reason they were chosen is that everyone on Earth got sick of them.   I mean, the idea of sending an entire family into space to visit a planet that may kill them is strange, right?  Maybe Smith isn't a member of 'The Enemy' as he's just there to make sure they suffer before they die.   Well, we can hope.

The pilots take the news about the rocket part as well as they can, ala threatening Smith with Don the Pointless Pilot doing most of the bashing.  And let's face it, if there's one loser that can be ditched, it's Don the Amazing Pointless Excuse of a Love Interest.    The only reason he's there is to supposedly pilot the ship, yet it has been explained that both Will and John can do it.  So why is Don there?  Simple:  to badmouth Smith, period.   And since Smith seems to avoid confrontation, it makes Don just look like the biggest asshole ever to set foot in a spaceship.  But eventually, the ship breaks free due to luck and the episode nearly being over, so the family rejoices as Smith gets a bit seasick and utters his infamous line:  "Oh, the pain, the pain."

The episode ends with a cliffhanger, as the ship is about to fly into a giant red ball.   Don't worry, it's only cosmic dust and the intro to the next episode, "Wild Adventure."

BOTTOM LINE:   I'm a sucker for cheesy science fiction, and Lost in Space is no exception.   And while this introduced the basic premise for the rest of the show's two seasons, it also fully reintroduced the annoying Robinsons and started making Dr. Smith a more pivotal role to the show, a much-needed foil to the show's bland 'stars.'   Plus the planet-travel concept, which introduced a lot more way-out characters to the show which definitely ushered the show into it's own.   Two and a half stars out of Four:  could have used more action but as a beginning, it serves its purpose well.