Castles in Space

Oh dear it is so bad with this Mexican bandit who is trying to find the ice princess and she is hardly in the show not able to talk until the very end when she calls to be returned to her home planet. I keep saying the next one will be better than the last but gets worse. I always believed lost meant no one can find you and you cannot find anyone but here there are so many aliens and humans around the universe you could never be lost in space. bns

It is a pity that the few episodes in which Don (Mark Goddard) is given prominence have been quite weak, this is the worst of all. An ice princess without thanks, a villain with a Mexican accent and silver skin. A script lacking in wit. It is worse than the famous The Great Vegetable Rebellion.

The (single) alien bad guy is Chavo, not Pancho...

Those looking for logic in the plot should generally eschew Lost In Space reruns, and this episode is no exception. It hearkens back to the silliness of the second season, and might be viewed negatively by many today for its stereotypical portrayal of Chavo. Perhaps that is why it is often skipped when the series is shown in syndication.

On the plus side, the episode's musical score is quite good, apart from the trite Mexican-style riffs. Those who want to hear Bill Mumy and Marta Kristin's rendition of Sloop John B. can find it in the multi disc Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen set from a few years back.

First: The highlight of the episode is the duet with Bill Mumy and Marta Kristen. They both were obviously enjoying the singing.

I thought I had seen every episode in the original run, or in the many re-runs, but I do not remember this episode.

I know we should not be viewing 1960's shows through "modern" lenses, but how was the characterization of "Chavo" allowed?

I suppose, given that there were cartoon characters at the time like Speedy Gonzales, and the Frito Bandito (both voiced by Mel Blanc!) someone thought "Chavo" was OK.

It is unfortunate, because outside of the "Chavo" character, this was not a bad episode.

On the plus side, Marta was given more to do in this episode, although possibly at the expense of Guy, June and Angela, who were barely in this episode.

I wonder if "Chavo" giving the Robot alcohol was intended to be part of the episode, or an homage to Earl Holliman's "Cook" character giving alcohol to Robby the Robot in Forbidden Planet (1956)? Or is that giving Peter Packer too much credit?

A note to the trivia writer, Bill Mumy and Robert Haimer did not form the music group "Barnes & Barnes" until 1970, after Lost In Space had ended.

-10 points for the "Chavo" character, +4 points for the duet and non-"Chavo" lines, +2 points for more good lines from the Robot - Interpreting the language of windbags, indeed!

The Robinsons discover first a frozen princess, then an extortionist who plans on kidnapping her to hold for ransom. The episode starts reasonably well (albeit highly derivative of 1951's 'The Thing') and Corinna Tsopei is quite appealing as the silent, frightened princess but then falls off a cliff into vapid silliness as the villainous Chavos (Alberto Monte), a chrome-plated Frito Bandito complete with crossed bandoleers and a silver sombrero, shows up. By now, the show was essentially fluff for the kids, primarily focussing on the 'comic' antics of Smith and The Robot (with Will as straight man) and this episode features the Robot getting drunk (apparently by having tequila poured into his housing) and later suffering from a hangover (and treating it with the classic 'ice bag on the head' routine). Apparently, the character of Chavos was such an offensively over-the-top Mexican stereotype that the episode, which was broadcast around the same time as the vocal criticism of the aforementioned Bandito was heating up, was yanked in some parts of California. The trajectory of this series over three years, from a reasonably adult sci-fi drama to a juvenile 'camp' comedy, may be unique. I loved the show as a kid but it's a bit hard to watch now (especially if I take of the nostalgia glasses). Judy and Will's duet of the folk classic 'Sloop John B' is a highlight (and boosts the castle-less 'Castles in Space' 1 rating point).