Lost in Space: Season 1, Episodes 7-9

7: My Friend, Mr Nobody
"Mother! Cherry pie! How did you do it?"
"On the computer!"
At first I thought I was going to hate this episode. For a start it focuses on Penny, and as much as I welcome individual character development, there's only so much you can do with any of the Robinson kids!
But as the story progressed, and the nature of Penny's friend was revealed, I really got into it. You wonder whether it is an alien hiding in the cave, then perhaps it's all in her head, but by the end you realise you had no idea that it was a "cosmic force" which goes on to develop into some kind of space entity. And there was me putting my money on a sentient cave!
I like the sub-plot afforded Dr Smith and Don, the latter of whom is a little naive here. After all they have been through, Don agrees to drop everything, one hour before dark, to start drilling for diamonds just so that he "can see the look on their faces" when they return to the Jupiter 2 with a few shiny stones. It just seems out of character for Don to be at all bothered by this, and to trust Smith in any way.
The climax of the story, where Mr Nobody begins to rock the planet in reaction to Penny's perceived death, is quite exciting, and the denouement - with Mr Nobody floating off with the new concept of love in his mind - is a little cheesy, but satisfying. And then there's that wonderful cliffhanger at the end, with Dr Smith being observed from above by a mysterious alien creature with long fingers! Love it!
And it's reassuring to know that Maureen found the space and the weight allowance on board the ship for that hairdressing machine!

8: Invaders from the Fifth Dimension
This could have been so much better. What you expect will be a story about aliens from the fifth dimension invading the planet (as the title suggests) is actually just about a couple of lost aliens (from the fifth dimension, I grant you) whose spaceship is bust.
Most of the episode is taken up with Smith and Will trekking to find the hidden spaceship, and the Robinsons agonisingly searching for the lost Will in the Chariot, and Don zipping about in the jet-pack (which I'm sure is re-used footage of John doing just the same in an earlier episode!).
This does not an engaging drama make. For me this is one of the weakest instalments yet, which does not fulfil its potential and doesn't do it particularly interestingly!
The one thing I did love about the story was the realisation of the "invaders" (not that they were invading, they were just visiting!). The floating black heads, devoid of mouths, have a certain nightmarish quality and you don't spot the black bodies of the actors once against the spaceship's black background.
I do wonder where they hid their long-fingered hands in long-shot, though. Maybe they had large pockets...

9: The Oasis
It's hot, there's no water and the Jupiter 2 team is suffering... This can only mean that the Major West undershirt per centage is cranked up to 100%, and what an enjoyable 50 minutes it is too... There were plenty of opportunities to glimpse that heaving rug Mr Goddard sported under that t-shirt, and I was a very happy chappie! I think I'm in love!
The story proper is a little silly, focusing as it does on Smith and that chimp thing growing in size after they eat strange fruit! Harris's acting during his giant scenes is really rather annoying, portraying as he does a childish Smith who whines more annoyingly than usual. The scene with Maureen trying to talk him round is probably the first time the character has had a fair crack of the whip, and it's all too short. Maureen Robinson, along with Judy, is probably the least fleshed out of the regulars to date.
Loved the shower scene, with the Robot singing Figaro along with a camp as Christmas Harris, and the brief scene where the camera follows Maureen as she goes from bottom to top in the spaceship lift is amazing. It's quite incongruous, but wonderfully done.
This episode isn't a favourite of mine for its plot, but it is in first place for Major West totty spotting!