In
“The Hungry Sea,” Penny (Angela Cartwright) and Will (Bill Mumy) are rescued
from the dead city tomb by the rest of the family and Don (Mark Goddard). They
all flee from the city to the Jupiter 2, only to learn (from the Robot) of the
planet’s irregular orbit.
If
the Robinson family doesn’t seek warmer ground, it will all freeze to death --
even in the safety of the Jupiter 2 -- within an hour.
As
the temperature drops precipitously outside, the Robinsons and Major West board
the chariot and head across a lake of ice, bound for warmer temperatures. A
petulant Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) refuses to leave the Jupiter 2, however,
and stays behind.
En
route to warmer territory, the Robinsons are shocked to learn that the temperature
is now rising again. They can return
home!
But
to do so, they must survive a scorching sun, and a sea of ice now turned to
churning, roiling water…
“The
Hungry Sea” is another rip-roaring Lost in Space adventure episode
that could be classified as a transplanted Western. If you ignore the sci-fi bells-and-whistles,
what you really have here is a story of pioneers attempting to survive in a new
and dangerous land.
That
land is dangerous, the weather is dangerous, and the people -- in such a crisis
-- grow tense and irritable. Through it
all, however, the central unit of human civilization, the family, holds together and tries to find and acknowledge
cause for hope.
I
am not a religious persona at all, as most of you know, but I enjoyed the moment
in “The Hungry Sea” wherein the Robinsons huddle together and pray, and read a
verse from their Bible. They give thanks, according to their belief system, for
their continued survival in the most difficult of circumstances. There’s just
something humble and true about this moment.
No matter where man goes, or how far he travels, he will take his
identity and world-view with him. In a
new land, anything from home -- family, Scripture, the basic necessities -- is something
to grab onto, and to hold tight.
Here
we see a lovely family -- like yours our mine -- on an alien world trying
desperately to survive against impossible odds, and stopping to acknowledge
forces in the universe larger than itself.
Again, I’m an avowed (and happy) atheist, but
this moment is beautifully presented, and suggests the universality of the
human condition.
I
especially enjoy “The Hungry Sea,” too because it is another chariot-centric
episode. Here, the Robinsons pile into
their all-terrain vehicle, and it carries them across ice fields, and --
terrifyingly – a swirling, hungry sea.
The
special effects that depict both of these obstacles are well-vetted, and hold
up nicely after fifty years. As far as I’m
concerned, Lost in Space is at its best not contending with so-called alien
life-forms or invasions, but simply showcasing how difficult the pioneers have
it in an environment very unlike Earth’s.
With a little ingenuity, the writers could have stuck to this template,
and avoided a lot of the silliness that is to come.
There
are only two things in “The Hungry Sea” that I found troublesome.
First,
Smith has only an hour to live before he freezes to death on the Jupiter
2. Fortunately, the temperature rises,
and he survives.
But,
we just saw in a recent episode that the suspended animation tubes/facilities
on the craft still function. Smith was
imprisoned in one such tube – frozen – for a spell in a previous episode. If he risks being frozen now, why not go into
a tube and ride out the freezing temperatures in suspended animation? In fact, the whole family could have stayed at
the Jupiter 2 and used their respective tubes, though West and Smith would have
been out of luck.
But
again, it’s an option that should have been weighed. John and Maureen might have left their children
in the suspended animation tubes, while they sought warmer land on such a
treacherous journey.
Secondly,
I am intrigued about how dangerous this planet is turning out to be. I love the moment in the episode when the sun
starts to scorch the Robinsons’ make-shift encampment, and the chariot gets too
hot to touch.
But,
again, this is really is one hell of an irregular orbit. Since the Robinsons are stuck on this world
for a while, that means the wild extremes of weather should repeat, and repeat
often. But, at least so far as I know,
they don’t. The settles should be
dealing with this cycle of extreme heat/cold more frequently, right? And of course, if that is true, it would be
hell on the crops.
“The
Hungry Sea ends with a radar blip bearing down on the Jupiter 2, and that leads
us to our next story: “Welcome Stranger.”
Try getting away with that Bible reading and praying scene today. It's good that you can appreciate it.
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