The Phantom Family

In choosing a heading for this review, I was torn between duplicate Smith's line (above) and duplicate Judy's line: "When food is prepared, it must be eaten." Although Judy is much better looking, I thought Smith's line resonated more strongly. The episode precedes two season 3 episodes, in which some or all of the cast are replaced by duplicates. Alan Hewitt (as Lemnoc) is unrecognizable. They must have thought his voice made him necessary to the part. The story is fun, and there are also dramatic, touching moments which highlight Will's affection for Dr Smith. Oh, did I mention how beautiful Judy looked? Even as a duplicate? Oh, so I did!

In another feeble episode an odd alien self-called Lemnoc appeared on the desertic planet aiming for lend some human bodies of Robinson's crew members as Dr. Smith, Judy, Major Don and Penny, meanwhile their real bodies stay in the chamber on a nearby cave where an alien's facilities take place, such frantic act is carried out by the reddish Lemnoc due at his planet all inhabitants are going to die by boredom, by this no longer anyone wants to lives anymore, thus it requires a desperate measure.

Well borrow a Dr. Smith's body doesn't make sense at all, even the silly Lemnoc perceives him as so lazy specimen, after an exhaustive learning of working process without a fair results, the weepy Will tries convincing by any means the dumb Lemnoc returns all them back, otherwise the whole family will suffering for good, out of the blue comes the hopeless Dr. Smith settles the neuralgic issue against the underwhelmed alien.

Once more the writer Peter Packer was somewhat less inspired on so foolish offering, unworthy of Irvin Allen's background, what been happened quite often on latest shows, what a mess.

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2024 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.

With John and Maureen traveling aboard the chariot, the rest of the family is affected by a ray device that turns them into entities without personality, with the exception of Will, who is forced by a strange being to collaborate in his plans. A pretty decent episode this season that was mostly characterized by simple, childlike stories.

After a bright-red alien from a dying race creates duplicates of the Penny, Judy, Smith and Major West, Will has to teach the simulacrums how to survive if he hopes to see the originals released from suspended animation. Typical of the second series, much of the episode is played for laughs as the Smith-clone proves to be as incompetent as the authentic doctor, much to the alien's exasperation. The ending reenforces the inexplicable bond between the youngest Robinson and the verbose, self-centered and cowardly doctor who has demonstrated repeatedly that he is willing to sacrifice Will or his family for his own gain. The central idea, of an alien trying to transfer the Robinson's obvious survival skills to his own declining race is interesting but not much is done with it. The Smith-droid gets one if the best lines in the series when asked if he's out of his mind.

The cast gets a chance to stretch (sort of) in this oddball episode of the series, in which a goofy alien wearing a red costume and monster makeup named Lemnoc creates "out of dust" facsimiles of the cast leaving poor Billy Mumy to save the day somehow.

With the actors all having fun acting like dummies or blank zombies, as Billy has to teach them the traits that make their human counterparts individuals, it all seems to have some deeper meaning beneath the comedy (just as the prototype for all such tales "Invasison of the Body Snatchers" resonates with solid thematics). But all in good fun.