Lost in Space: Island in the Sky (Episode 3) (1965) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Island In The Sky" is without a doubt my personal favourite of all of the excellent episodes of the first black and white season of "Lost In Space'. It is very sad that a series that started out so wonderfully, full of exciting storylines, superb special effects and great characters should have been allowed to drift off into a semi comic approach that not only spoilt the series but contributed to its ultimate demise. I believe any diehard fan of the series would agree that the first season of "lost In Space', is terrific and no episode is more enjoyable than Episode number three "Island In the Sky".
I agree with an earlier reviewer that this episode is really a benchmark for what the rest of the series should have been measured on. So much that is important in the series occurs in this action packed episode. As an exciting beginning to the episode we see Prof. John Robinson (Guy Williams) parajetting himself down to investigate the strange planet that the Jupiter 2 is circling in the hope of landing for much needed repairs,Dr Smith is at his most devious here and not only does he seek to kill all members of the crew but he tampers with the breaking rockets in both John's parajets and those of the main spaceship. The fantastic crash landing sequence where we see the Jupiter 2 coming in for a rough landing on the planet's rugged surface was without a doubt some of the most stunning photography done on "Lost In Space" or any other series in the 1960's. Even when watching this episode today the sight of the spaceship flying down among the dagged rocks still thrills me , so superbly filmed it is. Once on the planet we are treated to some great location photography of the mysterious planet's terrain which was partly filmed in Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas. This location shooting really added a strange eerie feeling to these earlier episodes of the series and made you really feel that this was a unknown planet far beyond our solar system. We get to see for the first time in "Island In The Sky" the wonderful Chariot, the Robinson's onland travelling vechicle, a marvel of 1960's technical know how and also in this episode we are introduced to the "bloop", a lovable furry little monkey with strange ears who is christened Debbie and would become Penny's pet for the first part of the series.
What I also like about this episode is the impending sense of danger and of being in the unknown which is felt in every frame of the story. It really builds up the excitement and dramatic appeal. The story also benefits from the contributions of some very fine actors in the cast. I feel far too much attention is always focused on Jonathan Harris in his role of Dr. Smith. Naturally his villian character was essential to building the storyline and creating the tension and indeed in this episode he is wonderful as the deadly sabouter who will do anything to get back to Earth. However I have always felt that the characters of the Robinson family and Major West are potentially just as interesting. With great performers like Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Billy Mumy, Angela Cartwright and Marta Kristen the show was blessed with acting talent in abundance and no episode uses that talent better than "Island In The Sky".
I grew up with "Lost In Space" and still love it now. The first season is the one to really watch with its serious themes, great guest stars and terrific special effects. I cannot recommend "Island In The Sky", highly enough. Combined with the following story, "There Were Giants In the Earth" you have a classic double of first class SciFi entertainment from the golden age of television. Enjoy!

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