Lost in Space (TV Series) There Were Giants in the Earth (1965) User Reviews

Ranks as one of the best of the three-year-long show

[garrard · 9/10 · 1 October 2009]

"There Were Giants in the Earth", the sole episode directed by Leo Penn, was culled from the unaired pilot. One might think that the director had little to do when much of it had already been filmed; however, Penn and the scriptwriter were able to craft a truly great and exciting installment, adding dramatic tension between the Robinson family and the then-sinister Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris).

The confrontation between the diminutive Robinsons and the giant is thrilling, especially when John (Guy Williams) and Don (Mark Goddard) are trapped in the cave, trying to elude the giant's hand. An especially good effect is a closeup of the fallen giant's face through the side of the Chariot as the family drives by.

Another wonderful episode!

[BaseballRaysFan · 8/10 · 31 December 2010]

One of the best of "Lost In Space". In these early episodes, we clearly see what "Lost In Space" can be when it is handled properly.

This episode features one of the best-looking alien monsters they ever had: The cyclops.

This episode has wonderful interactions between John and Will. In an attempt to fix the robot, Will activates it one night. Hearing a strange noise (that we later learn is the cyclops), the robot takes off to investigate. John catches Will just after the robot has left. The resulting lecture that night and the second lecture early the next morning are very well done.

The Robinsons are forced to head South because the temperature at the Jupiter 2 will fall far below zero. Smith refuses to leave the comfort of the Jupiter 2. The robot remains behind with Smith. In truth, this is done so that they can use footage shot during the unaired pilot which had no Dr. Smith and no robot.

During the episode, there are 2 encounters with the Cyclops. The special effects of those scenes are quite compelling. In the initial encounter, Will proves his bravery.

The episode also features superb acting by Jonathan Harris as Dr. Smith. While alone aboard the Jupiter 2 with the robot, he becomes conflicted. Realzing his now lonely vigil, he sometimes misses the Robinsons and sometimes is glad they're gone. He also alternates between being afraid to be alone and being glad that the Robinsons are no longer with him.

This episode, and the one following, "The Hungry Sea", show a change of heart on the part of Smith.

The episode ends with the Robinsons seeking shelter in a cave from a fierce lightning storm. In the cave is solid evidence of a civilization that once existed there, including heiroglyphics. It ends with Will, Penny, Don, and Judy trapped in a room as a planet-quake erupts.

Nice special effects, a great-looking cyclops, and wonderful scenes of the Trona Pinnacles are featured in this episode. That and the fact that there is a conflicted Smith makes this a superb episode.

The only flaw in this episode: John, Don, and (later) Will are all seen making an apparently harrowing climb to get to the weather station. It's obvious during parts of that climb that they could never have taken any weather station equipment on that path, so how did they get the equipment up there?

Lost in Space - There Were Giants in the Earth

[Scarecrow-88 · 9/10 · 15 February 2015]

Using footage from the pilot, incorporating it into a plot with Dr. Smith (and getting rid of him so that they could use it with the Robinsons and Don), Irwin Allen and company could save some money. The giant Cyclops monster (the giant of the title), John in his flying jet pack looking for Penny, and the Chariot ride to find a place of refuge where it is warmer than the location of which the Jupiter 2 is crashed are used from the pilot. Smith staying behind with the Robot, Will disobeying his father about trying to repair both the Chariot and the Robot, the hydroponic garden's introduction, the giant seeds when Smith plants them in the planet's unique soil, and the introduction of the forcefield generator are included along with the footage. The Robot nearly killing Will as programmed by the dastardly Smith to "destroy" anyone isolated from the others provides a nice bit of suspense, Will using his brains to trick the Robot into believing he is Smith, Smith's cunning in getting out of helping with chores all are added to the episode to pad out the running time. Still, the footage is wonderful with Don and John having to outwit and eventually hurt/kill the giant Cyclops from within a small mountain cave and eventually from the inside of the Chariot (including a creepy scene where the Chariot slows passes by the dead Cyclops to make sure it is no longer breathing), and the sinister ending where the Robinsons locate a cavernous city located within the entrance of a mountain providing (they believe) shelter needed so they can make repairs to their travel vehicle. Good fun with lots of plot and action to hold our attention. Less Smith was better as far as I'm concerned, and he only factors minutely at the onset regarding the Robot and how he purposes himself to do as little labor as possible. No hysterical theatrics and mugging from the Harris Smith character, either, which is a relief. The dedication to action and the entire cast was comforting considering how they would sparingly be used later so that Smith could get plenty of screen time. If only the show had remained this way.

Land Of The Giants?

[StuOz · 7 February 2015]

The Robinsons encounter a deadly giant.

Another wonderful episode of Lost In Space, great characterization from the whole regular cast, a fine musical score and a giant.

The action scenes of John and Don trapped by the giant in the cave will remind some of Irwin Allen's Land Of The Giants series that came a couple of years later.

Smith is very slowly showing tiny signs of comedy when Don confronts him for not attending to the "tin monster" outside the ship.

My only tiny issue with the hour is the studiobound alien planet set that was first introduced in Island In The Sky. During the whole 50 minutes of Giants we have to look at that painted landscape in the background and this was a taste of things to come in much of the series. I think the set looks worse on DVD because the picture quality is so good and clear...and TV screens are so big these days.

But this hour is about the space family, Smith, the Robot, a giant and a musical score. It is perfect in those areas.

There Were Giants in the Earth- a Gem

[bigfrankie-43464 · 10/10 · 23 November 2022]

A strong case can be made that There Were Giants in the Earth is the very best Lost in Space episode. At the very least it is right near the top.

The Robinsons are up against long odds with a significant temperature drop and a giant cyclops monster on the prowl.

As with the previous episodes, every aspect is top notch. Dr. Smith has less of a role, since he is left back at the Jupiter 2. (this is due to the fact that he was not in the pilot footage), but is woven perfectly into the plot.

One of the true high-lights of this episode is the camp scene, where Will plays his guitar while singing Greensleeves. Penny is dressing the Bloop, Don is repairing the Chariot with Judy. Prof and Mrs. Robinson are off to the side and talk near the end of the scene.

Note: I heard an interview with Billy Mumy where he said something like he was embarrassed by that scene because he had just learned to play guitar and Irwin added the scene at the last minute (when he saw him playing). I suspect Billy said that since he is an accomplished musician now. But I rank that couple of minutes as one of the greatest two minutes of the show and perhaps any TV show. It is iconic.

Waste not, want not.

[mark.waltz · 9/10 · 6 April 2020]

What wasn't part of the previous episode, island in the sky, is reused from the pilot for this fourth episode that has the Robinsons, Major West and Dr. Smith trying to make goo on the mysterious planet they crash-landed on. They find that they are able to grow vegetables, but that doesn't mean that the veggies will be worth eating. In fact, for some reason, they turn into half meet / half veggie (disappointing any vegetarian who may end up on this planet!) and being quite dangerous. However, the issue is in these strange vegetables somehow made to grow by Dr. Smith into ridiculous sizes, but the cyclops monsters who seem to populate the desert. of course, these are the Cyclops that appeared in the pilot, giving viewers of the box set another chance to examine the obvious studio made costumes fitted for some extra. There's extra footage shot that shows June Lockhart spotting the cyclops through her telescope, but a good portion of the pilot is what dominates the episode.

For some reason, Dr. Smith is only in half the episode, preferring to stay on the spaceship rather than travel by the space van to get away from the Cyclops. This gives the other regulars a chance to dominate the series, although when Jonathan Harris is on, he continues his friend of stealing every moment, especially with his know-it-all attitude concerning the space soil. I should mention that Debbie, the space goop, is played by Judy the chimpanzee, one of the busiest animal actors from the 1960's. She made nine appearances on "Lost in Space" over the three seasons, and oh what a little scene-stealer she is! there's also a mention that the ostrich like creature seen in the pilot is actually some sort of carnivore, completely changing what had been set up in that unaired episode.

Reasonably good albeit somewhat contrived

[jamesrupert2014 · 7/10 · 3 May 2022]

Plummeting temperatures force the Robinsons and Major West to board the chariot for a dangerous trip to the warmer south, leaving recalcitrant Smith and the robot onboard the Jupitar 2. This contrived, somewhat odd, episode was written to allow the use of high-quality footage from the pilot that didn't include Harris' Smith character or the robot and the plot does not make much sense. Notably, details about the planet on which the family is stranded are introduced only to be conveniently forgotten in following episodes (notably the planet's strange orbit that generates extreme temperature swings). The blending of new and old footage is a bit inconsistent at times (a problem in most of the first few episodes) and the giants are not as impressive as I remember them being but this is still an entertaining episode of the vintage show.

"Don't you 'dear madame' me!"

[gregorycanfield · 8/10 · 7 March 2024]

As of the date of this review, June Lockhart is still alive! Bless her! As Maureen Robinson, she says the above line to Dr Smith, convinced that Smith had turned the Robot loose on Will. In this episode, as well as the previous one, Maureen had an "edge" that seemed to be toned down, as the show went on. Perhaps, they should have let her keep that "edge." She was very sexy when she got furious at Dr Smith! The opening scenes of the episode are best. The scenes with John and Don facing the giant were recycled from the unaired pilot. The title of this episode doesn't make perfect sense. There was only one giant shown, but the Robinson crew was obviously not on Earth. Overall, June Lockhart's performance was the best thing about this episode.

FIRST ADVENTURES DON CHAFFEY STYLE

[asalerno10 · 8/10 · 30 June 2022]

The Robinsons continue to adapt to the strange planet that has touched them, when John and Don move to a meteorological station they run into a gigantic cyclope that attacks them, thanks to the quick intervention of little Will they manage to knock it down but the danger is not over yet, Well, they predict a sudden drop in temperatures to a level that no human could resist, that's when they decide to take a trip aboard the chariot to the south of the planet, Dr. Smith refuses to undertake this trip and decides to stay on the Jupiter II with the robot. This allows the production to use footage from the first pilot that hadn't aired,

Why's That Chimp Have Fred Flintstone's Hat?

[learningwithmrsmith · 3/10 · 29 March 2022]

You got to wonder about voice recognition that can't distinguish between the real Dr. Smith and Will Robinson's weak impression. My friends at Central Elementary could do a better Dr. Smith than that kid.

When they're testing the forcefield there's an awkward moment when Mark fires his laser directly at the 3 Robinson children, counting on the forcefield to save them. He's "testing" the forcefield he and Pa Robinson just assembled. "testing" implies the possibility of failure. Oddly dangerous moment for the smiling cast. One thing Sci-Fi got wrong was this idea of advanced laser weapons. I guess there might be stuff I don't know in a hangar in New Mexico, but I don't think we got anything close to the laser rifle Mark uses.

Will, who is left in charge when the men leave, is seen drinking a cup of coffee. Later he saves the girls (and Dr. Smith) with a laser. Will talks to himself in a way that sounds like a narrator. All alone, he says to no one in particuliar, "boy, now I know how Dr. Frankenstein must have felt." It's starting to get all Will-centric in here.

Maureen's hair is an ever changing palette. She is on the vanguard of the adapted bee-hive look of the mid-60s. In fact everyone's hair is right in line with conservative America of 1965. Maureen's hair changes in the details but it generally has the shape of an over stuffed ottoman. It's odd how it doesn't occur to these people how a culture might have a different way of doing their hair in the future.

Why did they make the viewing machine so that you had to bend like a question mark to look into it?

We hear Dr. Smith say "Never fear and you'll find me here." This is getting closer to full blown catch phrase I identify with this character.

One of the more trippy details so far is that Penny gets to keep a space chimp as a pet. They've put a big hat on this animal that looks like the Water Buffalo Lodge hats Fred and Barney wore back in Bedrock. Penny names this creature "Debbie" - the quintessential name for the 1960s middle class American white girl.