Lost In Space S1 E6: Welcome Stranger

"Finding people don't surprise me. Finding things you know can't exist, but do. Happenings that put your heart in your mouth and your blood down to your toes. Living things that breathe in fire, and swim in ice. And you know something, sonny? I haven't seen more 'n a smidgen of it."
-Jimmy Hapgood-



"I know you folks have a hard time understanding a fella like me and sometimes I do myself. But there's one thing I know. But if I go back now I'm gonna be going back to be put out to pasture like an old race horse that's done with living ... and I got too much to do to be ready for that!"
-Jimmy Hapgood-




The aforementioned quotes tell you everything you need to know about the writing of this uniquely special Irwin Allen production. This was precisely the reason many of the episodes from this first season were often cut above and especially a cut above the other Allen productions. The performances that inhabit those words were equally unmatched. Just perfect.



Lost In Space arrived in an era where it was indeed ahead of its time. It lived amidst fierce competition from a host of family dramas and westerns, Star Trek (1966-1969) and Batman (1966-1968).

The aforementioned quotes speak to the innocence of science fiction fans and gets to the very heart of the wonder of space that spoke to all of us that are still fans of this series today. There was something inherently pure about the sense of wonderment surrounding the Robinson family's struggle in a new frontier.



Writers like Peter Packer made the material relevant. He returned for his second scripting assignment following The Derelict (S1, E2) for Lost In Space, Season One, Episode 6, Welcome Stranger. Packer fills the episode with wonderfully rich dialogue and even guest Warren Oates has a cracking great time with the performance written for him along with the always outstanding cast.



Packer had tremendous experience writing for a number of other series within the western genre and wisely married the western concept to Lost In Space, a series already exploring the frontier family in space. The concept created the sixth truly cracking installment of the show.

Whereby the first five episodes (except The Derelict) utilized footage from the pilot, Welcome Stranger was the first entirely new episode.



Packer cleverly marries the Old West and the grizzly cowboy idea with the American frontier as the Robinsons push forward into the unknown of a space frontier. Welcome Stranger is both a western and family drama and it is a sharply penned one at that.

The episode is packed with sparkling dialogue and family characterization and interpersonal moments that populate a special first season episode featuring guest star Warren Oates as the travelling Jimmy Hapgood in his wayward spaceship the Travellin' Man.



The late Oates had a tremendous career in the western genre in films like The Shooting (1966) and some of my favorite films by the star were Sam Peckinpah's Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (1974) and The Wild Bunch (1969). He also enjoyed a tremendous role in Stripes (1981) and Blue Thunder (1983). Sadly Oates passed in 1982 and though there are a bevvy of fine films by the actor his performance here stands among his best. As expected Oates shines in Welcome Stranger.



There is absolutely no shortage of wonderful scenery chewing by the entire cast with Oates.

Maureen and John Robinson internally struggle with the idea of sending their kids back to Earth with Hapgood or keeping them close in an unpredictable environment that has been less than stable for their children. The struggle within them and on camera is visibly palpable.



While conniving and self-serving, there are glimpses here of Dr. Zachary Smith showing signs of the cowardly lion of which he would devolve and become beloved. The opening scene in Welcome Stranger (also the closing scene in The Hungry Sea) glimpses that change in the once strictly villainous character. Here, Smith offers evidence of the greedy, spineless coward that fans loved to hate and inevitably, actually kind of loved.



Oates and Goddard enjoy an old-fashioned Western style fist-o-cuffs romp as the two men square off with haymakers abound. The cowboy like physicality of the scene is ironic given Oates appeared in Goddard's series' Johnny Ringo (1960).



Finally the climactic scene where Travellin' Man is overrun by mutated alien spores or parasites replete with creepy sound effects was downright horrifying as a child. It's understandably not quite that, but to a small child in the 1960s and 1970s this black and white sequence was a bona fide thriller. This was indeed channeling the creeping crawl of The Day Of The Triffids (1962).



Witnessing Penny falling back and being swallowed by one of these alien spore things was out and out frightening as a kid. Seeing a youngster on a series you adored in peril was indeed relatable. Can you imagine what computers would or could have done with that scene? It just wouldn't have been the same. We know and we wouldn't replace these practical effects here for all the CGI in a Marvel movie. It's all much more creative, frighteningly real and wondrous. This is truly outstanding production work.



Dramatically each character presents their own set of agendas in potentially securing a one way ticket home and that is what makes Welcome Stranger such a terrific piece of episodic and dramatic television.

The episode was directed by Alvin Ganzer in his only appearance on the series. Ganzer brought some science fiction credentials with him after directing four episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959-1960) during Season One.



Though obviously a staple in the western (Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Virginian, The Rifleman, Johnny Ringo opposite Mark Goddard and so on) Oates too had some science fiction work to his credit with an episode of The Outer Limits called The Mutant (S1, E25). He also made two appearances in The Twilight Zone for The Purple Testament (S1, E19) and The 7th Is Made Up Of Phantoms (S5,E10).

Welcome Stranger may be the first installment following the fantastic, first five semi-borrowed entries to feature footage from pilot No Place To Hide, but it is a dramatically wonderful piece of science fiction television. You've heard of movie magic, well this is the stuff of TV magic and it lives on in this gloriously restored Blu-ray collection of the series.



Writer: Peter Packer. Director: Alvin Ganzer.

 

Even these spoors that are likely nothing more than a light projections seemed disturbingly real asa child. They were a sign of bad things to come.