On September 15th, 1965, at 7:30 PM, Daylight Savings Time, CBS showed the Pilot Episode of Lost in Space. The show could be quite childish, bizarre and simply clownishly weird at times. Yet, That show touched me!
The Robinson Family and their Pilot, Major Don West, are going to travel on The Jupiter 2 to a planet orbiting the Star Alpha Centauri. They are to be the first Earth people to start the colonization of a planet orbiting another star. They are to be in a State of Suspended Animation which will allow them to age mere seconds during their trip.
An Air Force Officer and a Doctor, Zachary Smith, is in the employ of a "Foreign Power". His covert mission to program the expeditions Robot to destroy the ship 8 hours after launch. Dr. Smith loses track of time and is trapped on board the ship at launch.
His weight throws the ship off course and send it careening into meteors, seriously damaging the space ship. He is able to revive the Robinsons and West and they are able to pull the ship away from the meteors, but not before it sustains substantial damage.. Dr. Smith is hard-pressed to explain his presence on The Jupiter 2.His efforts to re-program the Robot also go awry. At The 8 Hour mark, The Robot starts his rampage. The Robinsons, Major West and Dr. Smith, forced to work as a team for their survival barely stop the Robot, but the ship sustain even more crippling damage. One of the Effects of the Robot's attack is to send the ship into hyper drive. This last problem is what causes these astronauts to become Lost in Space.
One of the themes of this show, during its' 3 year run , is a divided focus as to what the destination of the ship would be.Dr. Smith was determined that the ship needed to return to Earth. In one episode, He states, " Return me to Earth and then you people can go where ever you wish to go!" The other 6 are determined to fulfill the original mission.
What is fascinating is that Dr. Smith would be likely to be arrested, imprisoned and tried after returning to Earth, He'd face charges of treason,sabotage and attempted murder. He could have been sentenced to life imprisonment or even executed. Yet, These grim possibilities either elude him or he is so terrified and unhappy that these possibilities seem less frightening to him than his likely fate on Earth.
My boyhood in The Bronx often struck me as bizarre. Too many people in my neighbor hood and within my own family felt that anger, hostility and harshness. This was present in people's attitude, in their use of vulgar, offensive, mundanely ugly and non- productive language and actions. The Robinsons were sent to Alpha Centauri to help give our world better options for our future. I felt that my goal was to survive the Bronx and to go elsewhere to live a future that would be worth being a part of.
My attending Frostburg State College - now a University- seemed to be heading me towards a landing on that searched for planet orbiting the Star Alpha Centauri. Life in The Bronx seemed to me to be as undesirable as some of the planets the Robinsons encountered.
Yet, While I often saw myself as a Will Robinson. I responded to my past as I "matured " and aged more as a Zachary Smith!I thought that if I trued to move on and not deal with issues that all would become wonderful. This was foolish, just as Dr.Smith's belief that his return to Earth would make his life splendid and wonderful.
My August 2993 Nervous breakdown and homelessness was the price I paid for not taking time to repair the damage that I endured and the damage I did to others through my dysfunctional behavior. Behaviors that alienated me from others and behavior that I have worked hard to correct.
Of late, Learning that I will need to move from the apartment that is provided to me by a private- public partnership, Pathway Homes. My apartment is being gutted and fully renovated and I will be out of it at the end of May. What my living arrangements will be are most uncertain! That has caused me to become quite dis spirited, depressed and melancholy.
Yet, I need to be more hopeful. I have friends a supportive church and Toastmasters as a part of my life. I also know that investing in my future means that the events of the moment are not to be seen as the events of the REST of my life.The nearly 11 year old boy of 1965 saw that resolve, pioneer resourcefulness and being committed to problem solving gets you beyond peril and allows you to both survive and eventually strive. I do need that reminder today!
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