Fifty Year Voyage: 1966 Chronicles “Monster from the Inferno”

The 1964-1965 television season marks the fiftieth anniversary of Irwin Allen’s classic sci-fi TV series VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, and we continue that celebration with a VOYAGE installment of an old project of mine – “The 1966 Chronicles”.

Before there was a TIAH Blog, there was “The 1966 Chronicles”. 

1966 was, and always will be, my absolute favorite year for pop culture.  And this is reflected in “The 1966 Chronicles”, but with an interesting twist.  “The 1966 Chronicles” was a series of TV episode commentaries, but written AS IF I WERE IN 1966, seeing these shows for the FIRST TIME, with the only the knowledge of prior seasons – and with ever so much the hint of an anomalous “glimpse of the future to come”.

Maybe you watched an old TV like this in 1966!  I wish I watched it with her!

So, if you were hanging out with me, or reading my writings on THE DAY AFTER THE SHOW ORIGINALLY AIRED, this is more or less what you’d get.  

The commentaries that made up “The 1966 Chronicles” were limited to those TV series that aired in Fall 1966, that were released on DVD at the time (prior to mid-2008), and were in my DVD collection.  That way I ACTUALLY DID watch the episode, and then commented on it. 

Thus, there were no reviews of BATMAN '66 and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (not yet released), or BEWITCHED (didn't have it then, have it now). 

There were 22 installments in all, before I moved on to Blogging, and they are all eligible to become Blog posts, if you desire. 
 

So, let's go with the Fall 1966 premiere episode of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, “Monster from the Inferno” - which, coincidentally, just aired on ME-TV Saturday evening / Sunday Morning, November 30, 2014, OVER FIFTY YEARS after the series premiered! (How about that!)

VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA: “Monster from the Inferno”  (Airdate: 09/18/66)

“Fantastic!  The closer we get, the more these readings resemble human brain waves!”

So declares Admiral Harriman Nelson, to open the third season of what, after an outstanding second year, has become my favorite prime time TV series of 1966. 

 And what a delight it was to see that establishing shot of the Submarine Seaview gliding through the depths toward the eager Sunday evening viewers of ABC TV.  Yes, Richard Basehart as Admiral Nelson and David Hedison as Captain Lee Crane, two of television’s most unflinching heroes, are back for another year of underwater science fiction thrills.  

By now, the rest of the crew are practically old friends – Lt. Cmdr. Chip Morton, crewmen Kowalski and Patterson, and returning after an absence of the latter part of last season is the character of CPO Francis Sharkey!  Sharkey was last seen recovering from having been badly busted-up in the mid-second season episode “The Sky’s on Fire” many months ago but, happily, appears fit for duty again! 

Sharkey's back (Left) and so is Doc (Right). 

Something's Out There!  

And, just in time too… as the “Monster” from the title is a big, boulder-sized, disembodied BRAIN, fallen to Earth from outer space and radiating waves from the ocean floor that have caused a “thousand mile communications blackout”, which Nelson’s crew and “special guest visiting scientist” Lindsay (actor Arthur Hill) have come to investigate.  

The Brain makes First Contact.

Lindsay quickly falls under the influence of the creature, after having received a massive shock from it in the show’s teaser.  The Brain communicates with its newfound thrall, slowly at first before building in both Earth/English vocabulary and overblown intensity.  “In the water… I entered your mind… I speak to you alone…” 

Its telepathically transmitted dialogue is an odd mix of both spooky and hammy – delivered in the familiar voice of the LOST IN SPACE Robot, by the Robot’s voice actor Dick Tufeld!  Yes, really… Will Robinson!  

The Brain is taken aboard and stored in the ship’s lab specimen tank.  In short order, it also enslaves Crane, “takes over” the Seaview by interfacing with its computer banks, and energizes itself by drawing power from the sub’s nuclear reactor.  

As it becomes more powerful, it also becomes increasingly arrogant, spewing such over-the-top gems as: “In time, there shall be others like me – and then man will live to serve us – and only to serve us!”  And, of course, the expected:  “I grow in power all the time!  FEEL MY POWER!” 

The Brain ultimately kills a rebelling Lindsay.  Nelson frees Crane from its influence, and overloads it with energy by pulling the dampening rods from the reactor.  Our lobed friend hardly goes quietly.  

“I will not be defeated!  We were created to rule!  No living creature in the universe has ever stood in our way!  The galaxies have bowed their heads to us!  There cannot… There MUST NOT be defeat!”  And, while we wonder if there are any “Anger Management Clinics for Huge Cosmic Brains” in outer space, Nelson ejects the creature back into the depths of the sea – where its over-energized form explodes into oblivion! 

Bye-Bye-Brain! 

As Nelson and Crane reflect on the episode’s events, sans their usual episode-ending coffee, we viewers do the same, having just witnessed a rollicking good adventure, chock full of the type of fun and excitement that is the hallmark of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA!  

How good it is to have it back, as part of this wonderful year for television science fiction and adventure!  More fathoms of fun to come next week – with a werewolf on board!

If you dare, there are previous installments of “The 1966 Chronicles” on this Blog for you to explore:  

The Fall 1966 premiere of LOST IN SPACE.

The Fall 1966 premiere of STAR TREK.

The 1966 Chronicles: STAR TREK “The Man Trap”.

Some time ago, before Blogging, I had great fun working on a series of my own writings called “The 1966 Chronicles”.

It was thusly named because 1966 was – and will likely always be – my favorite year for general pop culture.

Thanks to various DVD collections, I was able to recreate a large portion of what the Fall 1966 Prime Time TV schedule was for me.

Unlike in 1966, I was now able to write about it and share those thoughts with others. But with a twist…

I wrote this series of commentaries AS IF I WERE IN 1966, seeing these shows for the FIRST TIME, with the only the knowledge of prior seasons (if any) – and with ever so much the hint of an anomalous “glimpse of the future to come”.

Previously, we devoted such a post to LOST IN SPACE (Go there if you dare!), so it only seems fair that we do the same for “that new show on the space block” – STAR TREK!

That means… I’m seeing STAR TREK for the FIRST TIME, after a healthy exposure to the previously existing science fiction shows of the day. Sounds like fun!

Race you back to 1966 to watch…

STAR TREK: “The Man Trap” (September 08, 1966)

1966 looks like a great year for us Science Fiction (…Is the term “Sci-Fi” in any sort of popular use, as of yet?) fans, with the return of VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and LOST IN SPACE, that new show TIME TUNNEL beginning tomorrow night, and the premiere of this new show… STAR TREK!

It’s a very funny looking ship they travel in, on this show.

Unlike the more classic “saucer-like” shape of the Jupiter II on LIS, this “Enterprise” really looks strange. A big disc with a “neck” leading to a body with two “wings” on diagonal poles, practically dragging behind it. I wonder how they could even LAND such a ship! Maybe they’ll always be “laser-beamed” down to different planets, as they did tonight.

Another strange thing is the ORANGE SKY of the planet they visited! (…Say, how do I know that, watching it in Black and White? No matter…) It really makes the place look strange and alien, as well as very sparse – with lots of sand, few plants, and some rocks – with a few ancient ruins thrown in for good measure.

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For all I know, since it doesn’t premiere in color until next week, maybe the planet on LOST IN SPACE has a weird sky color too though, even in B&W, it seems more lush and hospitable than this one.

They’ve got a really good captain, named Kirk, and a pointy-eared member of the crew called Mr. Spock – I think he’ll be a standout, despite his measured tones and odd appearance. Like LOST IN SPACE, there’s also a doctor on board, but I don’t think he’ll become a regular trouble maker like Doctor Smith.

Doctor Mc Coy was central to this plot but, like the doctor on VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA, I wonder if we’ll only see him when a doctor is needed for the story…. maybe, we might never even see him again! That would be too bad, even though Kirk and Spock look as if they can carry the show almost by themselves, just like VOYAGE’s Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane.

There’s a pretty extensive crew, of all different types of people. Not something you often see on TV. Love the daringly short skirts… even at age 11!

Actor Alfred Ryder, the Phantom U-Boat Captain from VOYAGE last year, was the guest star, and was very creepy here as well… but in a different way. In VOYAGE’s "The Phantom Strikes" he gives you the creeps BECAUSE he is a supernatural phantom. In STAR TREK’s "Man Trap", however, he gives you a deliberate feeling of "uneasiness" ... that SOMETHING'S not right, even if you haven't figured out what it is.

As for what “IT” is, the “Man Trap” turns out to be a shape-shifting alien creature, of the type we’ve already seen on LIS and VOYAGE, but maybe a bit more predatory. Watching it go through multiple iterations of the ship’s crew was well done. Especially the final scene, where it attacks Kirk in human female form and is killed by Mc Coy.

This STAR TREK shows quite a bit of promise. But, then again, I’m predisposed to like this sort of thing to begin with… so we’ll have to see where it goes. I’ll be back next week, after stopping first to watch F-TROOP.

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…Still gotta wonder where they came up with the design for that ship, though! Looks too much like a duck – but ducks DO fly, and fly FAR, so I guess it’s all good!

Blast Off: Circa 1966!

Cue announcer Dick Tufeld’s disembodied voice:

“Last post, as you recall, we discussed the unique ‘tradition’ of kicking-off the fall season with a viewing of the LOST IN SPACE episode ‘Blast Off into Space’”.
Thanks, Mr. Tufeld. And, while on that subject, why not discuss the episode in more detail. But in more of an unusual way…

Some time ago, before Blogging, I had great fun working on a series of my own writings called “The 1966 Chronicles”.

It was thusly named because 1966 was – and will likely always be – my favorite year for general pop culture.

Thanks to various DVD collections, I was able to recreate a large portion of what the Fall 1966 Prime Time TV schedule was for me.

Unlike in 1966, I was now able to write about it and share those thoughts with others. But with a twist…

I wrote this series of commentaries AS IF I WERE IN 1966, seeing these shows for the FIRST TIME, with the only the knowledge of prior seasons – and with ever so much the hint of an anomalous “glimpse of the future to come”.

So, return with us to those days of yester-decade… when Black and White broadcasts turned to color, and when Adam West’s version of BATMAN was a nationwide craze. The “WAYBAC Machine” is set for Wednesday September 14, 1966. This is as close to “what it was really like for me” as possible. Hope you survive the experience.

LOST IN SPACE: “Blast Off into Space” (09/14/66)
It was a terrible choice that no eleven year old should have to make! Watch the unfolding of the eagerly anticipated second season of BATMAN, or the unexpectedly spectacular second season, color premiere of LOST IN SPACE. Faced with just such a choice this evening in 1966, I opted for BATMAN.

So, while the Caped Crusader battled his way into what would be a repetitive and less distinguished sophomore season on ABC, the real action, this night, would occur on the distant planetary home of the Space Family Robinson on CBS.

LOST IN SPACE looks like a completely different show in color! The varied hues of the Robinsons’ quasi-uniforms, the scrub and brush adorning the planet, and even the blue-green sky are all vivid and alive – or as “alive” as a soundstage can be. It would have been a nice touch to have an unusually colored sky, as I just saw on the new series STAR TREK last week, but this looks good.

Even the animated opening title and credits sequence looks rejuvenated, opening with a burst of colored lights that dissolve into stars and planets, and some changes in the animation, especially for the “Special Guest Star – Jonathan Harris” segment. (Imagine if I could actually see the colors on my Black & White TV!)

To the story: Space colonists John and Maureen Robinson, their children Judy, Penny, and Will, their pilot Major Don West, the ever-faithful Robot, and nefarious stowaway Doctor Zachary Smith still inhabit the unknown planet that has been their home since the third episode of the previous season. Fortunately for them, their spaceship, the Jupiter II, has been repaired and made ready for flight during the first season finale “Follow the Leader”. Unfortunately for them, they will have to suddenly depart, sans direction and flight plan, as the events of this season opener unfold.

A grizzled old prospector-type named “Nerim” (…an anagram of “miner”), played by actor Strother Martin (He of the famous cinematic line “What we have here is a failure to communicate!”) is blasting beneath the surface of the Robinson’s planet for a life-giving liquid substance he calls “Cosmonium”. The blasting causes severe planet quakes and has destabilized the planet to the extent that an obliterating explosion is imminent.

Despite Doctor Smith’s unsuccessful attempt to secure some of Nerim’s Cosmonium (“Take one drop at bedtime, and live forever!” thinks he), the Robinsons lift the Jupiter II off the doomed world just as it goes-up in a spectacular explosion.

Digression: Despite the promise of immortality, I’d be somewhat hesitant to down a swig of Cosmonium. As described in the episode, the liquid is constituted of “Little bits of Sun” and, therefore, is depicted as yellow, with a very slight “frothy head”… a flask of which looking for all the world – and universe, for that matter – like the freshly-deposited contents of a doctor’s specimen jar! End of Digression… and aren’t we glad of that!

“Blast Off into Space” is the finest episode of the series to date, no mean feat considering the high quality of many of the first season episodes. It is livened by an exciting new music score by composer Leith Stevens (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Twilight Zone, The Odd Couple) which, anachronistically looking into the future, is only used sparingly for the remainder of this season, but is rolled out for a number of the better third season shows.

Writer Peter Packer’s dialogue is particularly sharp and entertaining. Examples include:

Doctor Smith’s realization of the value of Nerim’s Cosmonium.

Smith: (Incredulous) “…The quintessence of the living force? Why, that’s beyond price!”

Nerim: (Snaps) “Beyond any price you could come up with, Mister!”


John Robinson informs the others of his findings that the planet will soon disintegrate into “cosmic dust”.
Smith: (Pompous, Dismissive) “Cosmic dust, Professor? Cosmic dust, indeed.”

John: (Annoyed, Sarcastic) “Doctor Smith, would you prefer Gamma Rays?”

Young Will and Smith, as the ship is in trouble due to Smith’s admitted trading of a valuable piece of equipment to Nerim in an attempt to secure a flask of Cosmonium:
Smith: “Try to explain to them that it was only a vagrant impulse.”

Will: (Annoyed, Coldly) “You’ll have to explain it YOURSELF… I don’t know what a vagrant impulse MEANS!”


But, the most amazing aspect of “Blast Off into Space” is its special effects. I cannot say enough about the utter MIRACLES that special effects wizards L.B. Abbott and Howard Lydecker performed on a television budget, using 1966 technology!

The earthquake scenes merit praise enough, with their “pitching and rolling”, sparks flying, rocks falling, equipment being crushed, and actors being tossed about. And then there were bits with both the Chariot (all terrain vehicle) and the flying jet pack. But, such things, though almost unseen anywhere else in TV, were common for series producer Irwin Allen.

However, the Jupiter II liftoff and planetary destruction scene is simply the BEST special effects sequence EVER made for television during the pre-CGI era! (…Um, what’s CGI?)

The ship slowly rises, fighting the dying world’s gravity pull, as massive plumes of fire and smoke shoot high into the air! Explosions are everywhere! Boulders are hurled. Flames abound. The Jupiter II takes a direct hit from a towering fireball! Chaos reigns aboard ship until, in one final, ultimate blast, the planet explodes, leaving vast amounts of (presumably cosmic) dust and debris in its wake.

At last, the Jupiter II and the Robinson party are free to again wander the heavens in search of their intended destination, Alpha Centauri, or another, friendlier planet to call a temporary home.

The words above do not do justice to this incredible effort. To truly appreciate the SFX spectacle described here, you must see the sequence for yourself… and see it through “1966 Eyes” to marvel over what a few very talented individuals could do, when asked to deliver a memorable season (and color) premiere episode.

If I had the ability to “look into the future” from my vantage point here in 1966, I would safely say that there would be NO EQUAL to this work of sheer special effects genius until future generations of technology would make such things more commonplace… and, frankly, much less exciting.

If “Blast Off into Space” is any indication, the second season of LOST IN SPACE will offer unparalleled thrills and might very well be the best of what 1966 television has to offer. (“Naive Irony Alert” anachronistically placed here…)

Back in 2010. Should we make “The 1966 Chronicles” an occasional feature of this Blog? I completed 22 entries in all, before moving on to Blogging. The Comments Section is open.