Kidnapped in Space (Written by Robert Hamner)

The family gathered near the astrogator. "Well, we've searched every inch of the ship," John told Maureen and the girls. "No sign of Dr. Smith or the Robot."

"Where could they have gone?" Maureen asked.

"Well," Don answered, "we were hoping Smith might have fallen overboard. Then we discovered the space pod was gone."

"I think I know what happened to them," Will offered.

"What?" Maureen asked.

"Last night we were listening to space music." Will went to explain that 'space music' is what the Robot calls electromagnetic space static. "Then Dr. Smith heard this call for help, so I guess he and the Robot went out to help them."

Don couldn't believe it. "Smith went off to help someone?"

"Well, it sounded like they were offering a big reward," Will added.

Don nodded. "Smith went off to help someone…"

The call for help was from the Xenian galaxy. They had passed through the galaxy during the night. John estimated that it would take six and a half hours to return there.

"Do we have to?" Don asked.

"Oh, Don," Judy teased.

"Well, I don't think it'd be fair to the Robot to leave him stranded with Dr. Smith, do you?" John asked.

Don made the course change and they were off to rescue Smith.

The Xenian space probe was easy to find because it found them. Don went once around the ship, which was the biggest they had ever seen. John attempted to make contact, but there was no answer other than to be pulled magnetically into the space probe.

"Dear Joan,

Dr. Smith has gotten us in trouble again. Dad and Don put together the space pod, which is designed for short trips from the Jupiter, and Dr. Smith took it to an alien ship from the Xenian galaxy – supposedly to help someone – and, of course, he took the Robot with him. Don didn't believe Dr. Smith really wanted to help until Will told him that a reward was being offered. So we had to turn back to get Dr. Smith and the Robot. This Xenian Space Probe is huge! Dad and Don have gone to find them. I hope they'll be all right. I know they've been on alien ships before, but the last time, Don was frozen and taken prisoner. I hope nothing like that happens this time."

The hatch was closed up tightly - on John's orders, so the family had no idea that the two men had been attacked by the Xenian security forces and tossed into a cell soon after they left the Jupiter. The shield was closed over the view port and Maureen insisted that the children go to bed at their regular time.

Judy had just joined her mother after preparing for bed herself. "Mother?" Judy called. "I've brought you a cup of tea," Judy said as she gave her mother a steaming mug.

"Oh, thank you, Judy," Maureen murmured and sipped from the cup. "By the way… have you and Don recovered from our trip to Earth?"

Judy nodded. "As well as we could have."

"I know you were both disappointed."

"Mom, I was thinking… why couldn't Don and I get married now?"

"Out here? In space?"

"Yes."

"Oh, Judy – what kind of wedding could you have? And what about a honeymoon? You and Don would be – well – right in the middle of all of us! And then we'd have to worry about children."

"Mother – we would use birth control."

"What kind?"

"Don is prepared."

"Condoms?"

Judy nodded.

"You know they have at least a ten percent failure rate? The only guarantee that you won't have children is abstinence."

Judy's lower lip quivered. "But… we've already waited so long."

Maureen put her arm around her daughter. "Has Don been pressuring you?"

Judy shook her head. "No."

Maureen was visibly relieved. She truly did understand. "I know it's frustrating and you're both tempted, but… our situation is so perilous… Even now they're both out there and we have no idea if something will happen to them."

"You're worried about them, aren't you?"

"Yes. The worst part is not knowing what they're facing out there."

"I'm sorry, Mother. Here I am feeling sorry for myself when Dad and Don could be in danger. I'm sure they'll be fine. After all, the Robot is with them." She hugged her mother. "Thanks for listening, Mom. I'm going to bed. They'll be back before morning. I'm sure of it."

Maureen felt as if she had dodged a bullet. "I'm turning in too. Good-night, Judy." Maureen watched her daughter descend on the elevator and relaxed. She felt as if she had dodged a bullet. She finished her tea and made sure that the hatch was locked before going to bed. She was almost to the elevator when she stopped and went back for a laser pistol. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared.

The next morning brought more worries. Will was no longer on the ship. "You don't think he ran off to help Dad and Don, do you?" Judy asked.

"It wouldn't be the first time he went off without permission," Penny stated.

Their worrying was short-lived, however, as the hatch opened and the males returned. Don immediately went to the controls and powered up the Jupiter. As soon as they were safely away from the space probe, Maureen confronted Will.

"You snuck out of the ship without permission," Maureen stated. "And this time you can't blame Dr. Smith for talking you into leaving."

"But, Mom, it wasn't my fault," Will defended. "The Xenians came on the ship and pretty much kidnapped me. They said that if I didn't go with them, they would kill everyone on board."

"Now, how could they get on the ship without my hearing them."

"Mom, you did. You came into my room with a laser pistol and one of the guards turned back the clock that he wore on his chest and you went backwards back into your room. It was like you were a film in reverse."

"Come on, Will. Even I don't believe that," Penny declared.

"Oh, it is quite true, Penny dear," Dr. Smith interjected. "I saw it myself when your father was brought back to life."

Maureen stared at her husband, who said, "Oh, it's true, all right, Maureen. I was hit by a laser shot when we were breaking out of the jail cell and, somehow, I'm still breathing."

Judy couldn't believe it. "Jail? Again?"

Don shrugged. "Again. The Xenians had a way of bending time with the contraptions they wore. In fact their leader was a huge clock type of brain. The Robot did a nice job of fixing him up."

"Robot, I didn't know you had medical knowledge," Judy said.

"I had two years of med school before I switched majors. I refused to heal him until he promised to use his brain for good, not conquest."

"It's a good thing you were able to fix him a second time, or we'd be giving Dr. Smith cookies and milk," Don teased.

"Oh, and you'd like that, wouldn't you, Major,' Dr. Smith complained.

"Why cookies and milk?" Penny asked.

"Because he was fooling around with one of those clocks and became nine years old again. We couldn't let him stay that way," Will said. "So Dad bargained with the leader to restore Dr. Smith back to his current age or he wouldn't let the Robot fix him again."

Maureen continued to stare at her husband. "You were… dead?"

"So I've been told," John replied.

Don nodded. "If Will hadn't seen that clock trick, I don't know what we would've

done."

"Oh, my… Perhaps cookies and milk is a good idea," Maureen's voice was shaky. Her husband had died and was brought back to life by reversing time. Given everything she had seen so far in space, she believed it, but knowing how close she had come to losing her husband unnerved her.

"You spend some time with Dad, Mom. I'll prepare a snack for everyone," Judy said and she went to the galley. Don followed her down. "Dad was really dead, Don?"

Don nodded. "Amazing what a little change in time can do."

"You didn't bring one of those clock things back with you, did you?" she asked as she took cups out of the cabinet.

"No. Why?"

"I'd like to put it on fast forward. I talked with my mother about letting us get married now."

"Here? In space?"

Judy stared at him. "That's exactly what she said."

"I don't like the idea of being surrounded by your family on our wedding night." He placed his hand on her cheek. "It will be just you and me under the –"

Will jumped off the ladder as the elevator descended with Dr. Smith and Penny. "Where're the cookies," he asked as he saw nothing but empty cups on the table"

Judy rolled her eyes. "Patience, dear brother. Patience."

John Robinson finds himself the prey in a deadly game of the hunter and the hunted…

Next week on this channel excitement and suspense in "Hunter's Moon" on Lost in Space…

Hunter's Moon(Written by Jack Turley)

The family was approaching a new planet. Dr. Smith warned them not to land, but the propulsion unit was having problems again and needed to be fixed. John decided to investigate the planet first before allowing the Jupiter to land. There was a contamination belt around the planet, which concerned him and Don, and he was approaching it. The Robot detected a force field and Don ordered John back to the Jupiter, but the pod was not responding to his commands. The pod was trapped in the force field, but John regained control once he was through the belt.

The space pod landed safely and the Robot reported that the atmosphere had enough oxygen to support human life. John transmitted this information to the Jupiter. He began to explore, but was confronted by a creature, which he immediately killed. A humanoid alien approached, unhappy that John had trespassed onto a 'private killing preserve' and killed one of his targets. The alien, Megazor from Zon, was undergoing tests to determine his fitness to rule his people. He ordered John to come with him and John immediately tried to contact the Jupiter 2, but the alien knocked the transmitted from his hand and it disappeared. He lost all contact with the Jupiter.

John had no choice, but to go with him. Megazor was undergoing tests to determine his fitness to rule his planet. He showed John a number of creatures in cages. He explained that each was an enemy on Zon. Earthlings were not considered natural enemies. Each creature was worth a number of points and there were strict rules in killing them. John had cost him fifty points by killing the creature. He himself was only worth one point, but rules allowed Megazor to gain bonus points by punishing the intruder, in this case, John. He put John in a cage while he thought about a fitting punishment.

As the Jupiter 2 orbited the planet, Don continued to try to reach John. Dr. Smith insisted that they never should have tried to land on that planet and that something dire had happened to the professor. Don made a decision. He would land the Jupiter.

"I agree. If John's in trouble, he can use our help," Maureen stated.

"Precisely why we should not land. We cannot risk our own lives against some horrible alien danger," Dr. Smith argued.

"Dr. Smith, we can if it means Dad and the Robot need us," Will countered.

"Now, now, William. We must learn to face life's vicissitudes bravely. Alas, there is no choice but to orbit away and continue our search for Earth. Once safely returned home we can erect a suitable memorial. 'To the brave ones we left behind.'"

"Dr. Smith, how dare you say such a thing!" Maureen exclaimed.

Dr. Smith suggested a vote, and, of course, all, except he, voted to land. "Well, Smith, as usual, your influence hasn't improved around here," Don said.

"You've all taken leave of your senses – what little you may have once had! I can see that intelligent and unbiased reasoning is not sufficient to sway you. Therefore – "

"Don, look out!" Maureen warned.

As Don was setting the Jupiter into landing mode, Dr. Smith impulsively pulled a knob on the console and the ship went out of control. "Now we cannot land! I've misfired the retro-rockets!" Smith declared.

"You fool!" Don shouted. "You've run the ship into maximum gravitational descent!"

There was an explosion and Smith lamented, "What have I done?"

"Enough damage to kill us all if I don't get this ship under control!" Don retorted. He ordered Smith to get a fire extinguisher and told everyone else to strap in for a crash landing

"We're doomed! Doomed!" Smith screamed.

Don extinguished the flames at the navigator control unit and ordered Smith to help him get the ship through the force field. Lo and behold, Smith cooperated. "Yes, Major. Whatever you say," he replied.

They survived the force field and Don said, "I think we're out of it."

"You mean there's still hope?" Smith asked.

"Not very much. We've still got a crash landing to look forward to."

'Crash' West landed the Jupiter in one piece. He pulled Dr. Smith to the floor just before they hit, hoping to soften the impact on their bodies. It worked. Don scrambled up and found the detection box. He opened the hatch and the family followed him out of the Jupiter. After asking if everyone was all right, Don ordered the girls to set-up the force field unit while he tried to get some power going inside the ship. "Here, Smith," Don said as he handed him the detection equipment. "You and Will scan the area and see if you can find Professor Robinson."

"But I'm still in a state of shock… My delicate condition," Dr. Smith replied.

"Well, I've got a feeling that condition might get a lot worse!"

"Your threats will be to no avail, sir. I'm here on this dreadful planet under heavy duress." He and Will scanned the area, but weren't able to pick anything up on the scanners. As they continued to scan the area, they were pursued by a man made of rock. Dr. Smith stared the creature down and it ran away, but they were caught by the very same alien who had imprisoned Professor Robinson.

Don worked feverishly to restore power. Once he had the life support systems on line, he came out to check on the women's progress with the force field unit. "We have the shield installed. We've got it nearly ready," Maureen stated.

"Good. At least something still works in this junk pile," he said.

Judy asked, "How much damage did you find, Don?"

"Plenty. I managed to patch up the engine enough to maintain our support systems. But there's still a lot of work to be done and it's gonna take time. Any word from John?"

"No," Maureen replied.

Penny pointed away from the Jupiter and said, "I saw Will and Dr. Smith walk off that way to look for Dad."

"What?" Don exclaimed. "That way? But Smith knows the landing pod came down in the third quadrant and that's forty-five degrees to the left!"

"I hope they don't get lost too," Maureen commented.

"If Smith has anything to do with it, Maureen, you can bet on it. Oh, well, I've got to rig up some power for this shield." He returned inside the Jupiter.

"This is nearly ready to activate."

Judy approached her mother and said, "Um, we could go look for Will and Dr. Smith if it would make you feel better, Mom."

"Oh, no, that's all right," Maureen replied. "I'm not really worried," Maureen lied. "Why, they probably already found the Robot and your father and they're on their way back to the ship right now."

Judy and Penny played along with her. "You're probably right," Judy said.

"Sure, they'll be showing up most any time," Penny stated.

"Yes, I know they will," Maureen said. "I know they'll come back." Despite their comforting words, all three women were noticeably worried.

The force field was powered up and Don and the women changed into more suitable clothing for searching the planet for the missing members of their expedition. Judy approached Don as he left his room. "Don, I think Mom is worried about finding Dad and Will."

"I don't blame her. I'm worried too," he replied. He took her chin in his hand. "Just like you."

"Oh, I'm not…"

He lifted his eyebrows.

She nodded. "Yes, I am. I'd like to search with you. Do you mind?"

"If your Mom says it's ok, sure."

At that moment, Maureen called down to them. "They're back! John and Will are back."

John explained the game the alien he had encountered had proposed before he escaped. "He wants to play a game of hunt and prey, with him as the hunter… and me as the prey…"

Don asked if they could expect more trouble from the alien, and John was adamant that they could bet on it. The alien contacted the Robinsons and showed a video of Dr. Smith calling for help inside a cage. He had stopped to snatch a protective suit before following Professor Robinson when they escaped, and so, was caught again.

"Consider the poor soul, Earthling. He knows the hunt is about to start and since you are no longer available I have no choice but to use him as my new victim," Megazor explained.

John knew he had no choice than to consent to playing the game. Will sneaked out of the ship and followed his father. Magazor took a liking to him and allowed Will to accompany him on the hunt. Will had done his best to convince Megazor that the human traits of loyalty and caring were worthwhile characteristics, but Megazor would not agree. He gave John a five-minute head start and then went on the chase.

As soon as Maureen noticed Will was gone, Don went to search for him, but John had ordered him to stay with the ship. The Robot, however, continued to search for Will. When Don returned to the Jupiter Judy asked, "Don, did you find him?" Judy asked.

"No. He must have gone beyond the perimeter of the ship," Don replied.

"So? Keep looking."

"Judy, your father told me not to leave the ship under any circumstances."

"But this isn't any circumstance. Will is missing!"

"I know that, Judy, but… I won't go against your father's orders."

"I don't believe this! How can you let Will roam out there when you know how dangerous it is! A few months ago, you would have kept searching for Will regardless of what my father ordered you to do. What's happened to you?"

Don didn't answer. He knew she was right. He was wondering the same thing himself.

It wasn't long before Will and John returned to the Jupiter. Will was excitedly telling the family about his father's heroic actions. "You should have seen Dad. He was great. He got stuck in a sand pit, but managed to pull himself out… only we didn't know it. He left his protective suit in the pit so it looked like he was trapped in there. When Megazor went to destroy him, Dad attacked him from behind a rock and killed him," Will explained.

"Oh, Dad, you're wonderful!" Judy exclaimed.

"He may be wonderful, but I have a word or two to say to him… in private, dear…" Maureen stated, and she led her husband into the spaceship.

Penny turned to her brother. "You shouldn't have left the ship, you know. If I were Mom, I'd punish you for that," Penny continued.

"Well you're not Mom!"

"Penny's right, Will. You have to stop going off by yourself," Judy stated.

"I know, but somebody had to go and help Dad," Will replied.

"I guess you're right, Will," Judy said. She stared at Don and continued. "Somebody had to go and help Dad, or at least look for you. I'm glad somebody had the courage to do it."

Don wasn't sure if he was furious or ashamed. "You know, Judy…" he started and stopped. "Ah, forget it. I've got work to do." He stomped into the Jupiter and Judy turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Will asked.

"I don't know, Will. Sometimes I wonder about them," Penny said.

Will shrugged. It was beyond him.

Next week a rampaging volcano and a strange race of primitive aliens threaten the entire Robinson family and the Robot.

Next week fantastic adventure in "Space Primevals" on Lost in Space on this channel.