# Lost In Space's Dr. Smith: Bumbler or Evil **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535 "2012-12-30T01:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/61 "2015-01-17T03:51:07Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > And one of my clearest memories of June 8, 1966, is watching an episode of _Lost in Space,_ and being **very** annoyed that the local station kept interrupting it with tornado watch updates. Then those watch updates became a warning and a tornado, which would later be rated as an F-5, slammed through town(Topeka, Kansas) Thank God it just barely missed the hospitals and the capitol building, but it did destroy or damage much of Washburn University. Bill Kurtis, the news anchor and film journalist, got his start after being the on air person for the local TV station. He stayed so calm and reasonable. This tornado, it was Smith’s fault somehow, wasn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/62 "2015-01-17T03:52:43Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > No, that’s a different episode. In the one, Will is transported (I forget how) to a small town in America of his own time and spends the whole episode trying to make contact with Mission Control, who would be very anxious to hear from him (I think he’s under a time-limit and will automatically be transported back), and everyone he meets has at any rate heard of the Jupiter II and its mysterious loss, though they won’t believe Will is Will. Sorry to be a pest, this epi is first season (B&W). Will finds some machine which emits a beam of light and sends him to Earth. He brings back the Carbon Tetrachloride when the machine brings him back. > [@](#): > > In the other, the whole ship is transported (IFH) to an small American town in the late '40’s or early '50s, when the flying-saucer craze started. Everyone’s concern is to get away and back to their own time, except for Smith, who wants to stay, start a technological revolution and get rich. They’re both B&W, IIRC. This one is third season (Color–it’s called “Visit to a Hostile Planet”). While flushing impurities out of the propulsion system, the flight crew send the ship into a faster-than-light time warp and they go to 1947 Earth. Hilarity ensues. No one explains how they get back to their own time. Remember–Voltones? Anything else? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/63 "2015-01-17T03:57:37Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Sorry to be a pest, this epi is first season (B&W). Will finds some machine which emits a beam of light and sends him to Earth. He brings back the Carbon Tetrachloride when the machine brings him back. Do you recall what they needed it for? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/64 "2015-01-17T04:23:17Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Do you recall what they needed it for? I think it was something to do with the Hydroponic Garden (wasn’t it always? 🙂 ). The town was Hatfield Four Corners, Vermont. The Robot was supposed to bring Will back in four hours and Smith takes R away for reprogramming which will screw up W’s return. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/65 "2015-01-17T04:44:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Do you recall what they needed it for? Dry cleaning most likely. Those shiny uniforms sure weren’t machine washable. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/66 "2015-01-17T04:53:21Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Dry cleaning most likely. Those shiny uniforms sure weren’t machine washable. Don’t ya love the way the clothes always came back out of the washer folded and wrapped in plastic? Then into Maureen’s plastic Walmart basket. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/67 "2015-01-17T18:28:49Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Do you recall what they needed it for? Skimmed the episode a few minutes ago–the Carbon Tet was for the food purifier. What they were going to use when Will’s bottle was gone is anybody’s guess. > [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Dry cleaning most likely. Those shiny uniforms sure weren’t machine washable. Closer than you think: Dr. Smith used it for getting out stains, left off the cap, and it all evaporated. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/68 "2015-01-17T18:59:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Be stronger! Suspend disbelief! It’s really no problem, maybe a container the size of a keg can only contain a few grams of neutronium (the rest being a mechanism to keep the neutronium suspended in a force field, because how else would you carry it around, it would fall right through your hand) and that’s all they need! See?! 🙂 > > Of course . . . we are talking about a show where, even in the more serious first season, the ship encountered a comet, and the threat the comet presented was its . . . heat. Because a comet is a small star or something. > > So, maybe the writers just didn’t really know what neutronium is. They were getting neutronium by sucking it out of the ground with some machine as I recall. I think that they clearly had no idea what it actually is. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2015, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/69 "2015-01-17T19:03:09Z")
Sorry, again, guys, their fuel source was [Deutronium](http://lostinspace.wikia.com/wiki/Deutronium). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/70 "2015-01-28T21:21:06Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > **Lost In Space’s Dr. Smith: Bumbler or Evil** **Lost In Space’s Dr. Smith: Bumbler of Evil.** ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/71 "2015-01-28T22:03:39Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **Lost In Space’s Dr. Smith: Bumbler of Evil.** Well put. If you get a chance to see the original pilot (no Smith, no Robot), you’ll be amazed at the things they changed for the series. If you’re a total nut, like me, you’ll notice how they used almost every second of said pilot in subsequent episodes of the first season. So economical, it’s almost breathtaking. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/72 "2015-01-29T00:12:35Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > If you get a chance to see the original pilot (no Smith, no Robot) . . . !!! [searches YouTube] ☹ ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/73 "2015-01-29T00:31:29Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > !!! > > [searches YouTube] > > ☹ The original pilot, “No Place To Hide,” is free on HuluPlus; Amazon Prime will cost you $2. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/74 "2015-01-29T15:42:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > This tornado, it was Smith’s fault somehow, wasn’t it? Yeah. Dr. Robinson told Smith to shut off the Tornado Machine after it ran for twenty minutes, but Smith decided to take a nap instead, and the tornado got out of hand and threatened to kill everyone. After they all escaped (with one mighty bound) Major West got mad and yelled “SMIIITH!” and tried to beat him up, while Dr. Robinson held him back. Isn’t that the way it usually happened? BTW, West’s reactions to Smith’s behavior now seem to me typical of mid-20th century homophobia. I think Don West got mad at Dr. Smith so much because Smith made him feel funny “down there.” ---
**Author:** ![Tuxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Tuxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuxie)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/75 "2015-01-29T16:37:21Z")
Didn’t Smith accidentally buy a robot from a robot vending machine, and their original Robot got jealous? “She took my pointer!” Then they had to use the fuel they were going to use to get home to pay the vendor back. Point is, Smith was an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/76 "2015-01-29T16:50:09Z")
I think [this](http://www.martakristen.com/marta/gallery/lis/first/markrobotmarta.jpg)explains a lot. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/77 "2015-01-29T17:07:29Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > If you get a chance to see the original pilot (no Smith, no Robot), you’ll be amazed at the things they changed for the series. If you’re a total nut, like me, you’ll notice how they used almost every second of said pilot in subsequent episodes of the first season. So economical, it’s almost breathtaking. 😉 The first pilot did not have much of a plot. It was mostly a series of Random Monster Encounters. I think its main purpose was to show the network execs what the FX department could do on a budget. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/78 "2015-01-29T17:14:19Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > If you get a chance to see the original pilot (no Smith, no Robot), you’ll be amazed at the things they changed for the series. the show actually got better. Oh, the pain, the pain. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/79 "2015-01-29T17:26:26Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The first pilot did not have much of a plot. It was mostly a series of Random Monster Encounters. I think its main purpose was to show the network execs what the FX department could do on a budget. Agreed; “amazed” was probably the wrong word for me to use–probably more like “befuddled.” “Gemini 12”? 90-something years to reach their destination? 😕 **johnpost** is right, too. ::shudder:: ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535/80 "2015-01-30T00:20:43Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > So any actions that occurred that explains his change in-universe, like something that happened to him causing brain damage? > > If not, I propose that he was always a bumbler, but was brainwashed by the Russians or someone to do what he did. As time went on, the brainwashing wore off, as it needed to be renewed over time. It would also explain why his plan seemed suicidal. Ugh. I realize now my first paragraph makes me look really stupid. I don’t mean that they intentionally explained what happened. I was just asking if there’s any fan explanation for why his personality changed. That’s what we do with obvious BS in Trek. We come up with explanations to fix obvious things like character changes. If there is no explanation, then I propose mine. What do you guys think? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-in-spaces-dr-smith-bumbler-or-evil/645535.md?page=3)