All That Glitters

I never stay tired to see so amazing and funny character as Professor Zachary Smith, therefore Irwin Allen provides a journey to remainder of Jupiter's crew to open space to developing the characters, cynic, slothful and coward he becomes a main key character together Will and the Robot, by the way the last two was absent in this episode due by the travel, Werner Klemperer and Larry Ward come together to enrich the story, great episode likes the whole season!!

Resume:

First watch: 1971 / How many: 5 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 7.5

I remember when this episode was first shown in the UK it gained a reputation with me and my schoolboy friends that had nothing to do with the plot or quality of anyone's performance, and seeing it again brings it all back. Simply speaking, whoever named Werner Klemperer's character presumably had no idea that an American pronunciation of it would sound to a British ear exactly like a very olde Middle Ages noun that has many meanings, nearly all of them rude and derogatory! To hear the female Robinsons and Dr Smith regularly say his name in such respectful tones resulted in widespread unintentional belly-laughs. The actual story-line never had a chance.

Everything Smith touches turns to platinum.

Years after this episode was made guest star Werner Klemperer was interviewed:

Interviewer: "...and you worked on Lost In Space?"

Klemperer: "Of all the wonderful things I did, you give me LIS??".

Despite Klemperer's feelings about the hour, it is actually rather good, not one of the best, but good enough. However, it took a few viewings before I liked it.

The episode does have a very oddball feeling about it...perhaps because half the regular cast is missing...or maybe because such a well known person as Klemperer spends the hour walking around with two giant ape monsters behind him??

This hour needed to be in colour, all that platinum footage didn't look right in B&W.

A space-thief (Larry Ward) on the run from awkwardly-named space-cop Bollix (Col. Klink himself, Werner Klemperer) leads Penny and Dr. Smith to a necklace that gives the Midas' touch (except for platinum). This is essentially the Midas fable enacted in outer-space and isn't a bad episode despite the contrived 'cop and robbers' premise. Harris takes the opportunity to actually act as he steps back slightly from his character's descent into a comically greedy, vein and cowardly caricature and adds a bit of humanity and pathos to his otherwise intolerable Dr. Smith. The story suffers from the usual inconsistencies (notably the timing of the transformation), silly-looking monsters, and the frequently ignored fact that an unlimited supply of any 'precious' substance would render it worthless.