When his cousin Jeremiah Smith (Henry Jones) appears on the planet, Dr. Smith goes into hiding, knowing that he and Jeremiah are the heirs to the Smith fortune, bequeathed to last surviving member of the family. By now the show makes no attempt at credibility - how Cousin Smith knows where Dr. Smith is (the doctor is "lost in space" after all), how Cousin Smith came to be aboard a spaceship, where Cousin Smith goes after the closing credits of this episode (maybe he joins the dog from 'One of our Dogs is Missing (S1, e.13) and Judy the Bloop in some LiS limbo) are all unexplained. The episode is played for camp laughs, with the ever-avaricious Smith getting conned by some kind of colourful space-casino game and the robot given lines like 'feets do yo' stuff' when an exploding pie is about to detonate. To the ever-growing list of improbable stuff loaded into the Jupitar 2's hold prior to initial takeoff, add a mining cart and the tracks to run it on. Even by second season standards, this is a weak, sloppy-written episode.
9 Reviews
If one Smith is fabulous, two are priceless, however for just one episode !!!
elo-equipamentos20 December 2020
Reading the two reviews posted here and the lowest rating gave by IMDB's members stay quite obvious that the storyline weren't appreciated by the LIS's fan, nonetheless I would like to disagree, the first reviewer exposes countless of contradictions, calls it as ridiculous facts, although if all us concern in this possible discrepancies, we had to accepts an meaningful series based on the real science fiction as Star Trek and others, somehow it was the first offer of Irwin Allen, however detects in the middle that the fantasy must overcame the early premise, that is the truth, the fact of Smith's cousin was spelled from the passing by rocket has a meaning for entertainment purpose only, surely when the two contenders see each other in the same planet something will gonna happens, they are the same background and including a lookalike behaviors, thus stays clear that two identical persona doesn't hang out, in this episode conveniently Zachary Smith is withdraw from the scene for a while in order to enlighten Jeremiah Smith and lays bare the sameness on both, in last section the writer allows they coming closer to, if one Smith is fabulous, two of them are priceless if we frame it in one episode only, to me sound great indeed, how Jeremiah gonna away we already learned that look up for vindication is useless on Irwin Allen's fantasy world, an amusing episode!!
Thanks for reading.
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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5
Thanks for reading.
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5
Really bad even for season two
bgaiv24 November 2022
I'm with those who believe the show became far far too much a Doctor Smith show, but halfway through this one I wished Jeremiah Smith would disappear and Zachary would show back up.
This does occur later, but Zachary is offscreen for quite a long time. I don't know anything of this actor Henry Jones but he had a lot of credits and apparently warranted a lot of screen time. It didn't work for me at all.
As the other reviewer notes, the character is insanely out of place. It's literally as if he wandered onto the wrong set after costuming. The whole parachute thing conveyed this was supposed to be a silly romp episode but they should have dressed him for the right century.
I've been going through the whole series and forcing myself not to skip, but this one was quite a slog.
A few chuckles here and there, like the huge gambling machine chasing the Smiths.
This does occur later, but Zachary is offscreen for quite a long time. I don't know anything of this actor Henry Jones but he had a lot of credits and apparently warranted a lot of screen time. It didn't work for me at all.
As the other reviewer notes, the character is insanely out of place. It's literally as if he wandered onto the wrong set after costuming. The whole parachute thing conveyed this was supposed to be a silly romp episode but they should have dressed him for the right century.
I've been going through the whole series and forcing myself not to skip, but this one was quite a slog.
A few chuckles here and there, like the huge gambling machine chasing the Smiths.
ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS AND FOOLISH
asalerno1022 May 2022
In this second season there were several ridiculous and childish villains, but making a story where a cousin of Dr. Smith parachutes into the planet is a very silly idea, where were the sinister aliens of season 1 like The Guardian, Canto of Quasty planet or The Ruler? Why did a series of adventures and science fiction become a stupid comedy? It was obvious that the influence of Batman changed the course of this series, but even the Batman villains were more colorful and intelligent than the ones that appeared here. A pity.
Totally ridiculous, but lots of fun
Thomas_Veil1 July 2008
Once "Lost in Space" abandoned its serious roots and started turning into a space fantasy, there were many pathetically childish episodes that made one wince. This, thankfully, was not among them.
Yes, the plot is ridiculous as all get out. Let's count the extremely goofy things we are expected to swallow in this story. A man is thrown out of a passing spacecraft (that's 1) with a parachute (that's 2). Found by Will and Penny Robinson (awfully small planet there, that's 3), the man turns out to be Col. Jeremiah Smith from Earth. How he got involved in traveling with aliens is never fully explained (that's 4), but coincidence of coincidences, he happens to be the cousin of regular character Dr. Zachary Smith (that's 5). He's also bound and determined to murder his cousin so that he can claim Aunt Maude's inheritance. And unfortunately for the good Dr. Smith, Jeremiah is still on good enough terms with the aliens that they are willing to help him.
The first part of the episode establishes Jeremiah's character and motives, and he turns out to be a sly, crafty devil, which sets us up well for the second part, which resembles nothing so much as one of those cartoons where the coyote is always trying to kill the road runner. There's a silly (but very comical) duel of wits between the two cousins, and when neither succeeds in getting rid of the other, we move on to the third part of the story, which involves gambling.
Much like the Space Pod in season 3, Dr. Smith's gambling compulsion conveniently appears out of nowhere, and he is lured into a fixed game of "chance" alongside his cousin against a silly-looking "gambling machine". To say more would be to spoil the ending, but there are a few nifty surprises and plot twists before the episode is over, and John Robinson, who is already beginning to get moved into the background in the series, gets a chance to shine here as he comes up with a brilliant way to save the day.
So in the end, this is one of those plots wherein if you can turn your brain off and go with the flow, you'll enjoy it immensely. Like a good episode of "Batman", it's so absurd, it's great fun.
Yes, the plot is ridiculous as all get out. Let's count the extremely goofy things we are expected to swallow in this story. A man is thrown out of a passing spacecraft (that's 1) with a parachute (that's 2). Found by Will and Penny Robinson (awfully small planet there, that's 3), the man turns out to be Col. Jeremiah Smith from Earth. How he got involved in traveling with aliens is never fully explained (that's 4), but coincidence of coincidences, he happens to be the cousin of regular character Dr. Zachary Smith (that's 5). He's also bound and determined to murder his cousin so that he can claim Aunt Maude's inheritance. And unfortunately for the good Dr. Smith, Jeremiah is still on good enough terms with the aliens that they are willing to help him.
The first part of the episode establishes Jeremiah's character and motives, and he turns out to be a sly, crafty devil, which sets us up well for the second part, which resembles nothing so much as one of those cartoons where the coyote is always trying to kill the road runner. There's a silly (but very comical) duel of wits between the two cousins, and when neither succeeds in getting rid of the other, we move on to the third part of the story, which involves gambling.
Much like the Space Pod in season 3, Dr. Smith's gambling compulsion conveniently appears out of nowhere, and he is lured into a fixed game of "chance" alongside his cousin against a silly-looking "gambling machine". To say more would be to spoil the ending, but there are a few nifty surprises and plot twists before the episode is over, and John Robinson, who is already beginning to get moved into the background in the series, gets a chance to shine here as he comes up with a brilliant way to save the day.
So in the end, this is one of those plots wherein if you can turn your brain off and go with the flow, you'll enjoy it immensely. Like a good episode of "Batman", it's so absurd, it's great fun.
The Curse of Cousin Smith
Scarecrow-8826 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
As much as I enjoy seeing a devious Henry James, his conniving mind expressed so jovially, I would prefer if such a performance and character appeared on Bonanza or Gunsmoke than on a science fiction show. I mean, for petesake, the guy is dressed like a riverboat gambler with a southern drawl. There's this inheritance that goes to the surviving Smith. Zachary's cousin, Jeremiah, lands on the new Robinson alien world and he plans to get his hands on the inheritance through violent means. Zachary hides out in a cave while Jeremiah schemes about how to get rid of him. Soon there's a mobster named Little Joe (his voice is heard over a communication device as Jeremiah, who owes him money, tries to finagle a means to get rid of Zachary by using the mobster's gambling machine (which looks exactly like a corny Las Vegas machine, including levers and fruit pictures!) to convince the doctor to fall into a "gamble trap" because of his compulsive nature) who sends a machine and John Robinson must save the day. Seeing an alien gambling machine chasing after the Smiths who are running for their lives, only to be outsmarted by John's shell game is surreal and kooky, certain to please fans of camp television in the Gilligan's Island vein. For those of us yearning for science fiction closer to "Invaders from the Fifth Dimension" will struggle to get through it with a nauseating feeling in our stomach. You can tell June Lockhart just enjoys working opposite Jones as the two have many scenes together. While the plot seems concerned with Zachary's welfare, Jones is the whole show here: I got a kick out of him but he belongs in a western set circa the 1800s not in the future, on an alien world. Worse even, the episode never resolves the issue between the two Smiths and how cousin Jeremiah gets off the planet (he has no spaceship) is never explained. I hate these sort of unanswered dilemmas, and the episode had spent a quality amount of time built on the Smiths, at each other throats, over who receives Aunt Maunie's inheritance. For Jones to vanish off the show without explanation drives me nuts. Anyway, this episode's plot must have been amusing for those who wrote the screenplay (Little Joe sounds exactly like a gangster from the 20s Warner Bros. pictures), but science fiction fans I imagine will cringe throughout. Like several camp television shows at the time, I think fans of such nonsense will lap this up, but for others beware. I love how, out of all the planets to land on when tossed from a ship, Jeremiah just so happens to land on the one his cousin is occupying.
The Smith Cousins
gregorycanfield12 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The Robinsons were usually intelligent, perceptive people. When Jeremiah Smith shows up, Dr Smith's negative reaction should have given everyone a clue. Why did Jeremiah have to actually tell them that he was Dr Smith's cousin? In any case, Jeremiah (Henry Jones) made Dr Smith preferable, by comparison. The story is relatively interesting, but raises two questions. How was it that Jeremiah had a southern accent, while his cousin did not? Also, what good would Aunt Maudie's fortune do either Smith, unless they found a way to get back to Earth? One more point of interest: the voice of the gambling machine was Allan Melvin (uncredited), who would appear as an official guest star in the following episode, West of Mars.
This whole thing is ridiculous!
bigfrankie-4346426 November 2022
"This whole thing is ridiculous!"- that is actually a line from Prof Robinson to Major West, about half way through this typical Season Two episode.
When Prof Robinson uttered that remark, it seems as though it was actually Guy Williams statement on what he was in the middle of. Sure this is total fantasy, but Guy William's Prof Robinson is serious. And this is a ridiculous episode.
Cousin Col. Jeremiah Smith is totally annoying. A buffoonish, very strange Col Sanders clone who drops out of the sky. He make strange faces and gestures. There is not much to like here.
One minor positive is viewers (and All in The Family afficionados), may recognize the voice of "Little Joe", as well as the gambling machine, as Barney Hefner (played by Allan Melvin) Archie Bunker's neighbor!
I elevated this rating to a 3, since there is decent balance between everyone sharing screen time. And we get to hear Barney Hefner!
When Prof Robinson uttered that remark, it seems as though it was actually Guy Williams statement on what he was in the middle of. Sure this is total fantasy, but Guy William's Prof Robinson is serious. And this is a ridiculous episode.
Cousin Col. Jeremiah Smith is totally annoying. A buffoonish, very strange Col Sanders clone who drops out of the sky. He make strange faces and gestures. There is not much to like here.
One minor positive is viewers (and All in The Family afficionados), may recognize the voice of "Little Joe", as well as the gambling machine, as Barney Hefner (played by Allan Melvin) Archie Bunker's neighbor!
I elevated this rating to a 3, since there is decent balance between everyone sharing screen time. And we get to hear Barney Hefner!
Henry Jones does it again!
JackBluegrass8 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The amazingly-talented second banana, actor Henry Jones playing Jeremiah Smith, has the chops to carry on a hilarious competition here with his cousin Dr. Smith . Not easy to do, with our always-devious Dr. Smith as his only competition. Congrats to writer, screenwriter, and casting for this gem! Henry Jones was everywhere on American TV in the 1960s. He could play any part, believably. This LIS episode reveals constant competition within a family (Smith vs. Smith), with space fantasy becoming way secondary. 9/10 .
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