2011 Fantasy Baseball

Phrases like, “Danger Will Robinson” and “were doomed, doomed, doomed” were uttered by the characters in the 1965 TV show, Lost in Space. I couldn’t wait every week to see what was going to happen to the Robinson family, its handsome pilot Don West, the funny Dr. Zachary Smith and their always helpful robot. Each week, I waited to see if they fought off the creatures that attacked them from the previous show’s cliffhanger.

Taken from Wikipedia:
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series that ran for three seasons, airing between September 15, 1965 and March 6, 1968. The first season was shot with black and white film, the rest in color. In 1998.. The show focused on the Robinson family and Jonathan Harris as Dr. Zachary Smith, whose cowardly character provides the comic relief of the show.

The series is a space-age adaptation of the novel Swiss Family Robinson. The astronaut family Robinson, accompanied by a military pilot and a robot, set out to colonize Alpha Centauri from overpopulated Earth. Their 1997 mission is immediately sabotaged by Dr. Zachary Smith, who slips aboard the spaceship Jupiter 2 and reprograms the robot to destroy the ship and crew. Smith is trapped aboard, saving himself by prematurely reviving the crew from suspended animation. They save the ship, but consequent damage leaves them lost in space. Eventually they crash on an alien world, later identified as Priplanis, where they must survive a host of adventures. Smith (whom Allen intended to kill) remains through the series as a source of comedic cowardice and villainy, exploiting the forgiving (or forgetful) nature of the Robinsons.
At the start of the second season, the repaired Jupiter 2 launches again, but after two episodes the Robinsons crash on another planet and spend the season there. In the third season, they travel to other worlds in attempt to return to Earth or to settle Alpha Centauri. The show delivered a visual assault of special effects, explosions, monstrous aliens, spaceships, and exotic sets and costumes drenched in the bright, primary colors that were typical of early color television.

The Storyline: In 1997, the Earth suffers from overpopulation and natural resource depletion. Professor John Robinson (Guy Williams), his wife, Maureen (June Lockhart), their children, Judy (Marta Kristen), Penny (Angela Cartwright), Will (Billy Mumy) and their friend and pilot, Major Don West (Mark Goddard), are chosen to travel on the Jupiter 2 to Alpha Centauri to search for a habitable planet for mankind to colonize.

After the Robinsons are placed in suspended animation, but before the launch, foreign agent Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) sneaks aboard on a sabotage mission. He reprograms the ship's robot (voiced by Dick Tufeld) to destroy the ship shortly after it leaves Earth. He becomes trapped during launch, however, and his extra weight throws the Jupiter 2 off course, causing it to encounter a meteor storm. The robot's rampage causes the ship to become lost.

The Robinsons are often placed in danger by Smith, who is by turns a villain or an indigent. In the second and third seasons, Smith's role assumes a less evil overtone - although he continues to display many character defects. In "The Time Merchant", Smith travels back in time to before the Jupiter 2 launch, changing his fate. He learns that without his weight altering the ship's course, it would be destroyed. In an act of redemption, Smith elects to remain on board, thus saving the Robinsons' lives.

Allen produced a series pilot, "No Place to Hide." After CBS accepted the series the characters Smith and the Robot were added. The ship was redesigned with a second deck, and named the Jupiter 2. (It had been the Gemini 12.) For budget considerations, a good part of the pilot episode was reworked into the early series episodes. According to Lockhart, the show was intended to be called "Space Family Robinson", but Disney would not release the copyright. CBS was also offered Star Trek at around the same time, but it was turned down in favor of Lost In Space.

The first season emphasized adventure. It chronicled the daily adventures that a pioneer family might well experience if marooned on an alien world. These included dealing with dangerous native plants and animals, and off-world visitors. In the first season, only the special effects shots were filmed in color, in anticipation of reusing shots in color.

During the first two seasons, episodes concluded in a "live action freeze" anticipating the following week, with the cliff-hanger, "To be continued next week!." There was little ongoing plot continuity between episodes, except in larger goals; for example, to get enough fuel to leave the planet. For the third season, the episode would conclude and then a "teaser" for "next week's exciting adventure!" would show highlights from the next episode just before the closing credits began.

After cancellation, the show was successful in reruns, and syndication for many years, most recently on FX and Sci-Fi Channel.

Stylistically, the series was of high quality, featuring what was expected for space travel at the time; eye-catching silver, tapered space-suits, laser guns and spectacular props and sets. We all know that in 1997 this never happened.

In 1998,Lost in Space was made into a feature-length motion picture, starring William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Heather Graham, Matt LeBlanc, Gary Oldman, Jack Johnson, and Lacey Chabert. Instead of it being 1997 future like the show, for obvious reasons, the movie featured the year 2058 and had basically the same storyline as the show. Well, it started out that way, then got real weird and lost its appeal. The show, however, will always remain a favorite of mine when I was a young girl.

Governors Palace

One of the places we visited while in Virginia in 2005 was Colonial Williamsburg. The temperature was hot with the humidity even worse. I am from a dry desert state so the humidity was hard to deal with but I hung in there. If my 83 years old uncle could handle it, then so shall I. Williamsburg was an amazing place to visit with so much history in its many buildings and grounds, and is worth a visit.

Williamsburg was mostly a wooded area during the time of the English colonists in Jamestown, in the area known as the Colony of Virginia, in 1607. It was located in the territory of the Native American group known as the Powhatan Confederacy. In 1638 people started to settle in Williamsburg but it was known as Middle Plantation and was located on the high ground between the James and York rivers. Jamestown was the original capital of Virginia Colony but was plagued with mosquitoes and burned down. Governor William Berkeley regained control and took over Middle Plantation as a temporary location while Jamestown was being rebuilt. Four years later in 1698 the Statehouse in Jamestown burned down again causing the Governor to take over Middle Plantation once again. In 1699 the colonial capital was permanently moved to Middle Plantation and was renamed Williamsburg in honor as King William III of England. In 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital of Virginia was moved from Williamsburg to Richmond. The Governor feared that the location of Williamsburg might make it vulnerable to British attack. Williamsburg did see its share of war battles especially during the spring of 1862. The Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, saw the defenders successful in delaying Union forces long enough for the confederates to reach the outer protection of Richmond. Many souls were lost during this time. Williamsburg, also known as Colonial Williamsburg has the College of William & Mary, the second oldest university in the United States, and Eastern State Hospital, the first known mental hospital, nearby. Nowadays, Colonial Williamsburg enjoys many tourists wandering though its historical buildings and grounds, learning about its history and colonists that called this place home.

Many of the employees, workers, reenators and tourist have also report other activities around Williamsburg of the paranormal kind. Apparently there are many ghosts that are still hanging around either repeating the same actions over and over, or trying to get the attention of the living. In the Carter’s Grove Plantation, spirits from the 17th century colonists killed in an Indian massacre are seen roaming the grounds. On the Colonial grounds, an apparition of a slave has been reported wandering around looking for his family. He likes to make an appearance at the nearby hotels and bangs on the doors hoping to find his long lost family. The maze behind the Governors Mansion seems to be haunted by a civil war soldier while the wall in the front of the mansion has the ghost of an escape insane patient from the mental institution that was nearby. The Governor’s Palace Green and another house nearby have a ghost of a young woman witnessed by several people. She has been seen dressed like she was attending a ball. In the Kings Arms Tavern, the regulars have reported a female ghost who likes to haunt the place. They think she is from the 1700’s and her name is Irma and her presence is usually heard and felt as supposed to being seen. Irma is usually heard whispering to the staff and blowing out candles because some believe she may have died because of a fallen candle. In the Magazine building a tidy ghost is seen walking up the stairs putting his gun away. In the Peyton Randolph House there are many stories of ghostly sightings while The Mill seems to be haunted by the many spirits of the victims of a serial killer. The College of William and Mary also has its share of ghostly activity. In the Brafferton Building the sounds of screams, crying, footsteps, drums and the sighting of an apparition of a young boy have been reported. The story goes that the building was used to house many Indians after the massacre of the colonists in the 1700’s. The young Indian boys were taken away from their families and forced to live amongst the other colonists as if they belonged, leaving their families in agony. Another story is of a young boy that liked to escape his room every night to run on the fields, and was found mysteriously dead. This could explain the apparition of a boy running on the soccer field late at night. Another college building is Tucker Hall were the ghost of a girl that committed suicide in 1980 can be seen roaming the halls and dorm rooms. The Williamsburg Theatre was once the home of the Wade family. This building has the ghost of a Union soldier wandering its halls looking for his Confederate brother who died in the home. They say that his guilt might be why this wary soldier’s spirit will not leave the theatre. The Presidents House or Wren Building is a place haunted by a French soldier from the Revolutionary War. This building was used as a makeshift hospital for all the wounded soldiers. There is also an unknown spirit that seems to be haunting the place. Many believe that it is the ghost of the mystery person whose bones were found buried in the walls.

Today, Colonial Williamsburg is largest tourist attraction in Virginia and is the cornerstone of the Historic Triangle with Jamestown and Yorktown. Next time you visit, take the ghost tour and see what unseen beings are living there still.

Governor's Palace Green