"Last week, as you recall, the Robinson Family and Major West had been awakened from their frozen slumber to find Dr. Zachary Smith trapped aboard the Jupiter 2. Due to his presence, the ship was battered by a meteor storm and hopelessly lost in space. After encountering a derelict space ship, Dr. Robinson was able to access star charts of this unknown region and found a planet on which they could land to repair their ship. At this very moment, John Robinson is preparing for the dangerous journey to the planet below…"
Island in the Sky (Teleplay by Norman Lessing/Story by Shimon Wincelberg)
"Dear Joan,
We're getting ready to land on our 'repair' planet, and Dad wanted to send the Robot down to check out the atmosphere first. Dr. Smith said that it wasn't responding to commands, so Don volunteered to go down, but Dad wouldn't let him. Mom suggested that Dr. Smith, as the environmental control expert, go, but he said he couldn't because he was 'afraid of heights.' I don't know about our Dr. Smith. I'm beginning to think that Don's suspicions of him are warranted.
Dad is getting ready to go. This is so dangerous, Joan. All he'll have on over his spacesuit is his helmet and vest. He'll have two parajets strapped to his forearms that will slow his descent so that he can land without killing himself. Don said that, with his coaching, Dad will be fine, but I won't stop worrying until he's landed safely."
John was prepared to exit the Jupiter and Don reviewed the procedures one more time before John went into the airlock. All went as planned until it was time for John to slow his descent, but the gauge showed that he was still descending too quickly. Don repeated his command, "Fire parajets. Fire 'em now!"
John hit the button again and again and proclaimed, "Not working. Jets not functioning. – Out of fuel"
"That's impossible!" Don exclaimed. "Keep trying."
Don advised him to use his auxiliary power tank, but John replied, "Fast. Too fast, can't. Can't!"
Don continued telling him to keep trying and John repeatedly exclaimed that he couldn't as he plummeted towards the planet and they lost contact. The family was devastated. They refused to acknowledge that John may well have plunged to his death. Don couldn't understand what had gone wrong. He had checked the parajets himself and they had been in perfect working order.
Penny stated, "You looked at them too, Dr. Smith."
"What?" Don asked.
"I saw him," she replied.
Don confronted Smith. "Wait a minute. You tampered with the parajets?"
Smith deflected his accusations and Maureen asked Don what could be done. Don replied that he had a fix on where John should have landed and that he would set the ship down as close as possible on the next orbit. He then instructed Judy to get the children below and secure for a landing.
As the Jupiter approached its final orbit, Judy and the children were strapped into their couches while her mother and Dr. Smith remained topside. Judy had no idea what was happening, but the Robot took the elevator upstairs. After a short time, the ship suddenly lurched to the side and then stabilized. A few minutes later, the Robot descended in the elevator and returned to its compartment.
The ship was out of control and descending fast when Maureen jumped off the ladder. She checked on the children and strapped herself into her couch. Judy wanted desperately to ask her mother what was happening, but she didn't want to upset Will and Penny who seemed to be oblivious to the danger. She did her best to follow her mother's lead and remain calm for them.
"Dear Joan,
Maybe Don is right about Dr. Smith. Maybe he is a dangerous man. All I know is that we are all lucky to be alive. We crash landed on the planet, and, no, it wasn't Don's fault. Don believes that Dr. Smith tampered with both Dad's parajets and the Jupiter's rocket thrusters because the parajets malfunctioned when Dad went down to the planet, and none of the Jupiter's breaking rockets worked.
Don did the best he could and we landed in one piece. I was so worried about him. He rode out the last few seconds of the landing in a freezing tube. When I opened it up, he stepped out and said, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one." Joan, I just wanted to hold him and kiss him, but the family was up so fast, I didn't get a chance to do that.
Thankfully, Don put Dr. Smith into a freezing tube before we landed so he won't wreck any more havoc and Will was able to get the Robot to obey us and do an environmental scan of the atmosphere. It's cold, but at least we'll be able to breathe the air.
We've assembled the Chariot are getting ready to search for Dad. Joan, we… we don't know if he's alive or dead. I pray that we'll find him safe."
The rest of the family was entering the Chariot and Don and Judy were the last to leave the Jupiter. Before they left the ship, Judy asked Don, "Tell me the truth. Do you think we have a chance of finding Dad alive?"
He couldn't lie to her, so he looked her in the eye and said, "I don't know, Judy. I want to be optimistic for your mother, but if he didn't get those parajets working…"
He didn't need to say another word. "Oh, Don…" He pulled her into his arms and held her close.
"We have to be strong for your mother… whatever happens," he whispered.
She nodded and they left to board the Chariot. Don told Maureen that they'd comb the area in circles and he asked Judy to keep an eye on the infra-red scanner. They climbed into the Chariot and were on their way. They traveled across a mostly barren landscape, but finally entered an area of vegetation.
"We've picked something up on the scanner!" Judy exclaimed.
The life form was straight ahead of them. Before he jumped out, Don placed a hand on Maureen's shoulder and said, "Maureen, it may be John and I hope so, but then again, it might not."
He walked towards the area and a bush rattled in front of him. He pushed the leaves aside and found an animal. His disappointment was evident as he picked it up and carried it back to the Chariot to show the family.
"Oh, he's darling," Penny stated. "May I have it?"
"No, you may not," Maureen replied, but then relented.
"I'm going to call you Debbie," Penny stated.
As they prepared to leave the area, the scanner pinpointed another life form. Don hurried out of the Chariot and found John unhurt, but trapped in an electrified pit. Don commed the family to have the Robot bring him some rope, but the Robot dropped it and rumbled away saying, "Every hour on the hour check on safety."
Judy snatched the rope and ran down the path to find Don. Together they were able to help John climb up to safety. After John hugged both Maureen and Judy, Don asked him what had happened. He told him that the parajets finally engaged when he was about a hundred feet above the ground. Maureen told him that they had a rough landing also.
"We had trouble with our rockets too, same as you," Don said.
"Dr. Smith?" John asked.
Don nodded.
"I thought so," John acknowledged.
Before they left for the Chariot John asked Don what he had done with the Doctor.
"Don't worry about Dr. Smith. He's in the deep, deep freeze."
The family piled into the Chariot and Will wondered if the Robot had gone back to the ship. Not only had it gone back to the ship, but, as the family would soon find out, it had set Dr. Smith free.
Don had had it with Smith and said, "When I get back to that ship…" He wasn't able to finish his thought as Maureen pointed to what looked like a huge electrified tumbleweed directly in their path. Don hit the brakes, but the tumbleweed grazed along the side and sucked the electricity from the vehicle. The Chariot was dead. Will wanted to try bypassing the main fuses to get the Chariot going again, but John insisted that they walk back so that they would return to the Jupiter before nightfall.
Judy waited for Don to close up the Chariot, and they brought up the rear on the trek back to the ship. He took her elbow as they walked and said, "Thanks for the help back there, Judy."
She smiled up at him. "We make a good team, don't we?"
He stopped and ducked behind a boulder, tugging her along with him. They had had no time to themselves since the night before take-off. "We make a great team," he replied. She leaned towards him and he drew her in for a kiss. Their lips had barely touched when their names were called by Maureen. They sighed and followed the rest of the group.
Once back at the ship, the nefarious Dr. Smith greeted Don and John. In a manipulative gesture of good will, he sent the Robot outside the ship to do a complete environmental scan. Unbeknownst to the family, he had also programmed the Robot to eliminate all 'non-essential' personnel, which included everyone except Major West. The first person accosted by the Robot was Will who had taken it upon himself to fix the Chariot on his own after dinner.
As Will worked on the Chariot, he shivered in the cold and thought about going back to the ship. The Robot rolled up to the Chariot and Will said, "I want to talk to you about the way you ran off."
The Robot proclaimed, "Phase one, when unessential personnel are found alone… destroy."
Dangerous electrical currents were discharged from the Robot's arms, and Will commanded it to get away from him and go back, but the Robot was undeterred.
There Were Giants in the Earth (Teleplay by Carey Wilber/Story by Shimon Wincelberg)
"Dear Joan,
Will was acting like an adult again. He left the ship after dinner to try to fix the Chariot. Mom, Dad and Don left to find him, and the next thing I knew, Don was back and told me that Will was at the Chariot playing a game of chess with the Robot to stop it from killing him! Don was so angry with Dr. Smith. He told him to "Get outside and stop that tin monster or I'll wring your neck."
When they all came back later that night, Don told me that Mom let Dr. Smith really have it. She told him to take his hands off Will and when Dr. Smith tried to defend himself, Mom said, "Don't 'my dear madam' me!" Don said he had never heard Mom talk like that before. He also said that Dr. Smith should be treated like a prisoner and that we're being too kind to him. I don't know, Joan, maybe he's right, but Dr. Smith always has an excuse for whatever problems he causes. Let's just hope that he doesn't cause any more."
John held a family meeting and discussed setting up a self-sufficient camp in which all would contribute. He looked pointedly at Dr. Smith and said, "And that means everyone. Do you understand, Dr. Smith?"
"I pledge my utmost cooperation, sir," Smith stated.
Will asked about the Robot, and John replied that it would remain deactivated. Will was disappointed, but John said, "That's another one of those orders, son." He then suggested that they all turn in for the night.
With only one lavatory on the ship, turning in was quite a process. Will and Penny were expected to be first in line so that they could get the most sleep, but Dr. Smith always managed to occupy the lavatory before they had a chance to enter. They had no choice but to wait their turn.
Don went up to the bridge to check the ship's systems and Judy followed him. He was sitting in his pilot's seat writing out a list of repairs. She came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders and massaged his tension away.
"Oh, that feels good," he murmured.
"I've never felt you so tense," she said.
"That's because I am. I'm supposed to protect you all and get us to Alpha Centauri safely, Judy. I'm doing a lousy job."
"Don, it's not your fault that we're in the situation we're in… It's Dr. Smith's."
"I should have thought to pull the power pack on that Robot sooner when it tried to destroy the Jupiter. I also should have thrown Smith into the freezing tube before he had a chance to wreck anymore havoc. We might be on course if I had done that."
"I'm sure Dad is thinking the same thing. You did all you could." She walked around and knelt in front of him. "We're all alive and in one piece, Don."
He smiled at her in appreciation. "Thanks, I needed that." He gently placed his hand behind her head and leaned forward to kiss her when the elevator rose with Maureen inside. They pulled apart and Judy stood.
"Judy, you can use the lavatory next. You're father is in there right now," Maureen stated.
"All right, Mom. Good night, Don," Judy replied.
"Good night," he answered.
After Judy rode the elevator to the lower level, Maureen sat in the co-pilot's chair and faced Don. "I want to thank you for everything you've done for us since we've lifted off, Don."
He looked down with mixed emotions. "I just wish I could have done more."
"We all feel that way. None of us could have predicted Dr. Smith's interference in the mission."
"I guess not, but I'm supposed to be trained for the unexpected. I should have taken care of him permanently."
"Don! You don't mean…"
"I'm not sure what I mean, Maureen. I just know that I took an oath to protect the United States against all enemies… and Dr. Smith is an enemy."
"Don, I have my children on this mission. Violence is only justified in life or death situations."
He had no response for her. He could understand how she felt, but sometimes it was the only solution.
"Good night, Don." Maureen rose and retreated to her quarters.
Don stayed in the pilot's chair and stared out at the landscape for a long time. He had been so sure of himself when they were training for the mission. Now he worried about what lay ahead for them and how they would survive, not only physically, but as a family unit… and how he would fit into that unit.
"Dear Joan,
Our self-sufficient camp is set up and running smoothly. We wake up in the morning, have breakfast, and then the men go off and fix something and the women tend to the hydroponics garden and daily chores. It's only been a few days, but it's already monotonous, except for the occasional Dr. Smith incident.
This time he planted seeds in the soil. I told him we needed to test the soil first and he said he would, but Mom found his bag of soil in the trash chute. The seeds grew overnight! There were pea pods three feet long and when he cut one open, this noxious gas came out, but Will shot it with his laser pistol and it 'died.'
Dad tested the soil and it contains some sort of parasite that has characteristics of both plants and animals and needs a host body to grow. Dad said that it means that the life forms on this planet are constantly changing, starting with a small cell in the soil and growing into something unpredictable. I suppose that means that whatever animal or plant we encounter one day may be something totally different the next.
Don and I have had very little time alone. It seems that there is always something to be done. He and Dad went off to fix the Chariot yesterday and I wondered how they got along. They work well together when it comes to mechanical things and they share the same opinion of Dr. Smith, but there seems to be an underlying tension between them. I don't know if it has to do with me, or with Don having to take orders from my dad.
I think Mom is coming around to liking Don, but she still doesn't like his 'aggressive' nature when it comes to Dr. Smith, and, quite frankly, I don't think I do either. But Don was wonderful with Mom after we crash landed on this planet. He was so gentle and understanding with her.
Oh, did I tell you we have a pet? Don found it when we were looking for Dad. It's like a chimpanzee with strange ears. Penny always loved animals and now she has something to take care of, and it is awfully cute. Oh, and Will is obsessed with reprogramming the Robot. Unfortunately, the Robot has gone off on its own. I hope it comes back because once we get it working correctly it will be valuable to us."
As a biochemist, Maureen took on the task of harnessing the characteristics of the soil so that they could grow vegetation in the ground as well as on the hydroponics table. Judy and Penny both acted as her assistant, but Judy had to admit that Penny had a natural talent for the more scientific aspects of gardening, so she tended to the basic gardening chores required by the plants.
Once the soil problem was solved, the plants grew at a much faster rate than on Earth. They had a more than adequate food supply for the foreseeable future until the plants started dying from what appeared to be an overnight freeze, so John and Don went to check on the weather station.
As the females went about their daily chores, Will fixed the long range telescope and looked for his father. What he saw through the telescope seemed to be a creature from a B grade movie. A giant Cyclops had his father and Don trapped in a cave. Ignoring the pleas of his mother to return, he grabbed a laser pistol and ran off to save them.
"Dear Joan,
Will went against Dad's orders again, but this time I'm glad he did. Dad and Don went to check the weather station and were trapped by this huge horrible Cyclops creature. We saw what was happening in our long range telescope. They hadn't brought a laser gun with them, so if Will hadn't run up to help them, I don't know what would have happened.
The data from the weather station indicated that the temperature is dropping at an incredibly fast rate. Dad thought that if we stayed put we would freeze to death, even inside the Jupiter, so we've left camp to travel south to what we hope will be a warmer climate. Dr. Smith refused to come with us and stayed with the ship.
When we were ready to leave, Penny had gone off with her animals and Dad had to put on the jet pack to find her. He had told Don to leave when the temperature hit ten degrees below. The gauge hit that before Dad and Penny came back. Joan, he was ready to leave without them! I can't believe he would have done that! I just wanted to strangle him, but they came back just in time.
We ran into another one of those Cyclops animals and it tried to destroy us by throwing these huge boulders at us, but Don fired the laser rifle and killed it. It was a horrible looking thing. It damaged the power unit of the Chariot, so we're camping for the night so Don can fix it."
The camp was set-up and Judy approached Don as he took out the tools he needed to fix the Chariot. "Don?" she called.
He turned to her and answered, "Yeah?"
"Do you need any help?"
"From you? Anytime."
"I wanted to apologize for getting upset with you today."
He shook his head. "No need to apologize, Judy. I was agonizing over what to do myself."
"Would you have left without them?"
"I don't know. I was ready to, but…" He stared at his hands. "I don't think I would have been able to move and put the Chariot in gear." He gave her a warm smile. "I'm just glad they made it back in time."
Don and Judy carried the tools over and Don slid under and worked on the Chariot with Judy as his assistant. As Maureen prepared dinner, Penny played with Debbie and Will provided entertainment by playing his guitar and singing "Greensleeves." John surveyed the scene and marveled at how domestic it seemed. Penny caught Don kissing Judy's hand and ran over to her parents to 'rat them out.'
"I do find it hard to think of Judy as anything, but a child," Maureen commented after sending Penny back to play.
"Well, considering the population implosion up here, we can't very well ask her to play the field now can we?" John replied.
She smiled. "Oh, that's right."
"Now I know the one scientific specialty we didn't bring from Earth."
"What's that?"
"A marriage counselor."
"For them?"
"Who else?"
They chuckled and kissed across the table.
Dinner was finished and the Chariot was fixed. The family was ready to turn in for the night so that they could get an early start in the morning. Don took the first watch. Once everyone was settled in and asleep, he quietly went to Judy and placed a light kiss on her forehead. She awoke at his gentle touch and he kissed her again, but this time on the lips. She sat up. "Want some company?" she asked.
"Sure. Let's find a comfortable place to sit," he replied.
They leaned against a boulder and talked quietly. "How are you feeling about things now, Don? Still feel that you're doing a lousy job?" she asked.
"General Bowers still wouldn't be happy with me," he replied.
"Oh, come on, Don. You know he wouldn't blame you for anything that's happened. If Dr. Smith weren't with us, we wouldn't be in this predicament."
"You're right about that," he replied. "Smith. I can't believe… "
"Enough about Dr. Smith. Let's talk about something else," she said.
"Like… us?"
"Maybe"
"Was it my imagination tonight, or were your parents a little bit warmer towards me at dinner?"
"I think they were. What do you think happened?"
"I have no idea. I mean I've tried to be a good soldier and follow orders, and I'm going out of my way not to be 'overly' amorous towards you. Do you think that's why?"
"I don't know, but I wish you would be a little bit more 'amorous'."
"You mean, like this?" He caressed her cheek and leaned towards her. Just as he captured her lips, John stirred and Don immediately pulled back. "Radar… God, I can't believe his radar works in his sleep too."
"It's all right. He's still sleeping."
"Judy, I know you didn't want to talk about marriage until we reach Alpha Centauri, but… now that we're on a detour…"
She shifted uncomfortably in his arms. "I still need time, Don. I think my parents are finally warming up to us as a couple. I want to be sure they're ok with that before we get any more serious."
Don sighed. "That could take a long time. Suppose they never warm up to the idea?"
"Let's not overanalyze things. Aren't you willing to wait?"
"It's not like I have much choice, but…"
"Not much choice? What do you mean?"
"I don't mean to be negative, but, Judy, your family has known me for four years…"
If she were honest with herself, she'd admit that she was the one with the problem, not her parents, but she wasn't ready to face that possibility. "Hey… Stop worrying."
"I'm not worried. I just want to know when we're going to get more serious."
"We don't have to figure that out tonight. Just kiss me."
He wished she would talk about it, but he couldn't force her to. She was right about one thing, though… they needed to take advantage of this time alone. He took her in his arms and kissed her harder and deeper than before. This time it was her mother who interrupted. She bolted upright and called Judy's name. "Where are you?" Maureen asked.
Don let her go. "Go ahead," he said. "You need your sleep anyway."
"Don?"
"Forget it, Judy. I'll see you in the morning."
She stood and thought a moment, but then left to ease her mother's mind.
"Dear Joan,
Don and I are still trying to figure things out. You'd think it would be easy. I mean, here we are, a man and a woman with no other options… I don't know. My parents have been a problem, but that's not all of it. I guess it's me too. Even though we almost eloped, I suppose I'm still not ready to commit.
We're still traveling south and drove non-stop today until we ran into a terrible thunder storm. We took refuge in a cave that held the ruins of an ancient civilization. It seemed to be like a kind of a castle. As we explored the cave, Will and Penny, of course, became separated from us. She must have been chasing Debbie. Don and I looked for them and found these etchings on a wall that might have been from some sort of lost civilization. We heard the children banging on the wall behind the etchings. Don and I pushed on the wall and found them. The remains of a man were also in there. Oh, Joan, it was horrible. It must have been some sort of tomb for the poor creature. Then the doorway closed behind us and we couldn't get it open. We were trapped and then the Earthquake hit..."
To be continued...
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