Last week, as you recall, Professor Robinson again saved Earth from invasion when he beat Mr. Myko in a Russian roulette game of nerves. Myko and his band left to find a less courageous species to fight. Then Will and Penny were caught up in the plan of a thief out to find, not only his princess, but also her treasure. When he saw that she was not the vision of his dreams, he returned her to her 'bottle' and hurriedly left. A new visitor fell out of the sky. Penny and Will rushed to him…

Curse of Cousin Smith (Written by Barney Slater)

They found a man, unconscious, lying on his parachute. The rest of the family and Don came running towards him, and found that the man did not have serious injuries. Dr. Smith was behind them and screamed, "No!" when he saw the man and ran back to the ship. When the man came to and was asked his name, he replied, "Have no fear, my good people, Jeremiah Smith is here."

Dr. Smith hid from the family the rest of the night. After a good meal and coffee, Jeremiah discussed his wanderings. He considered himself a man of the universe, "ever in quest of new sights and sensations."

Judy commented, "Well I'm afraid you made a mistake by coming here. There isn't much to see or do."

"Oh, not at all, my dear," he replied. "Allow me to say that no matter where you are, life is just as exciting as you make it."

"Dear Joan,

We had another visitor, and it was none other than Dr. Smith's cousin, Colonel Jeremiah Beauregard Smith. He was a gambler and card shark… quite entertaining. He was also very much like Dr. Smith. He didn't like to work and loved to eat. Dr. Smith refused to see him, though. He ran away from camp and said that he wouldn't come back until his cousin was gone. It turns out that they were both the last heirs of their rich Great Aunt Maude. The sole survivor was to inherit her fortune, which Colonel Smith claimed to be "millions."

They've been trying to eliminate each other for years. Don suggested that we just let them fight it out, but Dad didn't agree. A gambling machine appeared and both of the Smiths lost the inheritance to the machine. Not only that, they still owed the machine money and the owner, someone named 'Little Joe,' wanted to kill one of the Smiths as payment, but Dad came to their rescue. He gambled with the machine using the old 'shell game' that a boyhood friend had taught him. Thank goodness he won.

Then Dr. Smith's cousin Jeremiah just disappeared. Apparently, Jeremiah was the one who ordered the gambling machine and Mr. 'Little Joe' zapped him up to have a word or two with him. Dr. Smith was more than happy to see him leave. Will was hoping his trunk with all of the gambling games had been left behind, but that was gone to. And to coin a phrase that Dr. Smith would have used, "Good riddance!"

Don stopped by Judy's room just as she finished her latest entry to her cousin. "Hey, Judy, how about a walk?"

She looked up from the recorder and shrugged. "All right. I guess it's the usual walk to the rock, look at the stars and come back inside?"

"Uh, well, yeah. What else did you want to do?"

"Oh… I guess that's better than nothing."

He folded his arms. "You know there was a time when a walk with me was enough to get you excited."

"Oh, Don. That was when I was young and naïve."

He laughed. "And now you're what… old and wise?"

"I certainly feel old."

"You just turned twenty-one!" He took her hand. "Let me see what we can do to put you in a better mood." They left the ship and he led her to their usual spot. They settled in and he asked. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, Judy. What did I do?"

"Nothing!"

"Well, something's wrong."

"Oh, it's just so… boring on this planet. I can't stand it anymore."

He looked up to the stars and had no idea what to say. "Judy… is it me you're bored with?"

She didn't answer right away, which worried him. "No… it's not you… it's just being… stuck."

He couldn't believe he was looking towards a Smith for advice. "Judy, there was one thing Jeremiah said that made a lot of sense."

"What was that?"

"That life is just as exciting as you make it."

"Nothing could make my life more exciting."

"How about this?" He kissed her neck. "…And this…" He kissed her cheek. "…And this…" He turned her face towards his and kissed her lips. She sighed and he pulled back. "Judy, what the hell is it?"

She sat up. "I'm sorry. I'm just in a bad mood. We should go back."

He gave up. "If that's what you want…"

He helped her up and they walked back to the Jupiter in silence. John met them in the hatch. "Oh, good, you're back. I was just about to close up." Judy and Don nodded to him and Judy descended to the lower deck. John looked at Don and asked, "Problems?"

Don nodded. "Yeah. I just wish I knew what they were." He retreated to his room. Don racked his brain for anything he might have done lately to upset Judy and came up empty. He shrugged and prepared for bed. 'Whatever it is,' he thought, 'will come out sooner or later.'

Judy wasn't sure herself what was bothering her. She had reached her limit of being able to tolerate the tedious life they had been living. The boredom was relentless. All she did was tend the garden and help her mother with the routine household chores. Yet, she knew that it was more than that. Before they had lifted off from Earth, she had naively believed that she had found her 'Prince Charming' and that they would live 'happily ever after.' She had believed that, as long as she and Don were together, she would be content with her life. 'If this is happily ever after,' she thought, 'I'm in trouble.'

Things were back to normal the next day. Judy was out of her 'bad mood,' and chores were waiting. The family was together at lunch, but Dr. Smith was told that he wouldn't have lunch until he completed his morning work, which was to gather cobalt ore. He grudgingly left the campsite and returned to the mining area. He gave a semblance of work, and Will brought him dessert, but, before he could eat it…

West of Mars (Written by Michael Fessier)

... a 'speaker' box landed and was activated. An announcement was made: "Now, hear this! Now, hear this! Hear this, Zeno. This is space Enforcer Claudius. I know you fled to this planet and I have zeroed into your hiding place. I am coming in for a landing near you. Surrender, and I guarantee you a fair trial. Refuse, and you die. Remember… the reward for your capture is the same… be you alive or be you dead. Your days as a superswift are over, Zeno."

Dr. Smith was sure that the 'superswift' gunslinger was out to kill him. He and Will did not see the black clothed gunslinger, who could have passed for Dr. Smith's twin brother, sneak out from behind a rock and follow them. The enforcer's ship landed and Smith exclaimed that they had been saved. Will ran off to meet the ship, but Dr. Smith was detained by his look alike and was forced to trade clothes.

Dr. Smith was ordered to surrender by Zeno. Not only did he surrender, he also confessed to all twenty-five killings. He and Will were whisked into the enforcer's spaceship… Smith to stand trial and Will as the witness to his confession…

"Dear Joan,

Something landed last night and the Robot told us that it was a law enforcer who took Will with him as a witness to something, but we don't know what. The Robot said Will would be returned after the trial, but it just makes no sense to us at all. And then there's Dr. Smith… He is acting totally out of character. He is teaching Penny to play galactic poker as I speak."

Judy was tending the garden and Zeno/Smith walked up to her. "Hi, Judy, baby."

"Dr. Smith, I wish you'd stop looking at me like that," Judy warned him.

"I was thinking what a feasible facial structure you have."

"Whatever that means."

"What I mean is… I once saw the Temple of Aphrodite on the planet Apollo. Compared to you—"

"I wish you'd go away. You've been acting very strange lately, Dr. Smith."

"The moonlight brings out the best in me. And there'll be two great big moons tonight." Don approached them and Smith greeted him. "Hello, Major." Smith picked a flower. "How aromatic." He eyed Don. "How delicate. How dainty." He looked at Judy. "See you around, pussycat." He winked at her and walked away.

"Pussycat?" Don repeated as they watched Smith leave.

Judy shrugged and Don seemed puzzled, but unconcerned. "Dr. Smith gives me the creeps lately," Judy commented.

"Yeah, well, he's always given me the creeps," Don stated.

"That's not what I meant, Don. He's been looking at me… in a certain way… It makes me uncomfortable."

Don started to laugh. "You don't think Smith is hitting on you, do you?"

"What's so funny about that?"

"Well, Judy, we're talking about Smith, here."

"We're also talking about me. Don't you think someone besides you could find me attractive?"

"Sure, but Smith? It must be your imagination."

Judy placed her hands on her hips. "My imagination!"

"Yeah, I think you feel neglected and need some male attention, which, by the way, I came to provide…"

"Donald West, I don't need attention from you!" she huffed and stomped into the Jupiter, almost running over her parents as they left the ship.

Don threw his hands in the air and looked at them helplessly. "Now what did I do?"

"Maybe she just needed some attention," John suggested.

"That's what I was trying to give her," Don responded.

"So what happened?"

"She said that Smith was hitting on her, and I told her it was her imagination."

"Oh, Don," Maureen stated, "You didn't!"

"Maureen, we're talking about Smith!"

"He has been acting out of character lately, carrying that six shooter and smoking," John stated. "Maybe he has been bothering her. I'll go talk with her."

"And I'll give Don a lesson on women," Maureen stated.

Don was in no mood to listen. "You know, Maureen, I'm not so sure I'm the one who needs the lesson," he said as he walked away.

John found Judy fuming in her room, pulling her tape player out so she could vent to her cousin. "Judy? Can I talk with you?" John asked.

"Did Don send you?" Judy asked.

"No. I was worried about you myself. It sounds like Dr. Smith has been bothering you."

"He has, but that's not the problem. I can handle Dr. Smith."

"Don?"

She frowned. "He takes me totally for granted."

"Well, with no competition, that's easy to do."

"Don't defend him, Dad. You don't take Mom for granted, and you've been married forever."

He laughed. "Yes, I suppose that's true, but your mother doesn't let me get away with taking her for granted. How about if I talk to him… man to man?"

"No, Dad, please don't do that. He should know how to act without someone telling him what to do."

"Well, all right, Judy, but just let me know if you change your mind."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Dear Joan,

Don has been so… I don't even know what to call it. He was so romantic when we were back home. Remember those yellow roses he gave me? Now I'm lucky if I even get a peck on the cheek. Oh, but that's not totally true. He tried to get amorous a couple of days ago, but it was when we took a walk to our usual rock and had two minutes alone. As soon as we're within sight of my parents, he acts like he's my brother.

I am so bored with all of this! I want some romance in my life! It's been ages since he told me that I look nice, or that he loves me. I don't know… maybe it's me. Ever since that circus came through, I've been moody and irritable. Maybe I should have taken them up on their offer… oh, but that's not what I want either. I don't know what's wrong with me, Joan, but I do know that I'm not happy with Don right now.

Oh, and the Dr. Smith/Zeno thing has been settled. The galactic enforcer was going to take them both into custody, but Dad argued with him, so he was going to take Dad into custody too, but Don reached for the enforcer's extra gun and told him that he'd have to take him too. What was Don trying to prove? He just would have gotten himself into trouble. Luckily, Zeno ran off and tried to steal the enforcer's ship, so the enforcer knew which one was Zeno. I suppose he took off after him. Someday, Zeno will stand trial.

And as far as Don is concerned… well let's see if he learns to appreciate me a little bit more if I just ignore him…"

Don went looking for Judy that evening, and found her playing a board game with the children. "Hey, Judy, how about a walk?"

"Not right now, Don."

"Oh… Later?"

"Maybe."

"You can go, Judy, Will and I can finish playing without you," Penny encouraged.

"No, I said I'd play with you and that's what I'm going to do."

"I'll go for a walk with you, Don," Will offered.

"No offense, Will, but…"

Penny kicked Will under the table. "Ouch! Why did you do that, Penny?" She tilted her head towards Judy and Don. "Oh, oh, I get it… their walk is like a date or something…"

"Can we just get back to the game?" Judy asked.

"Catch you later, Judy," Don said and Judy shrugged.

He went looking for her a later and found her ready for bed. "Judy? I thought we were going for a walk?"

"I'm tired tonight. Some other time."

The next morning, Will and Dr. Smith were bird watching and came upon a lyre, which was encrusted with what Dr. Smith thought were precious stones. He played three notes on the lyre and was transported to a place of fire and brimstone! Dr. Smith faced a man dressed in red who said, "Well, Zachary, so you finally got here."

"Good heavens!" Dr. Smith replied.

The sinister man laughed and stated, "Guess again…"

To be continued…

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