Darlings, I Am Telling You, The Robot Had Dr. Smith's Number!!!!!!

Girls, with the year winding down, I don't know why the subject of TV pedophiles should pop into my head. I think it has to do with the collusion of nostalgia emanating from my "Green Acres" rant, and pining for Angela Cartwright during her "Sound Of Music" days. Because Angela figured on lots of TV nostalgia, going all the way back to Danny Thomas, but the one that keeps surfacing in MY mind is "Lost In Space."

With state of the art visuals that today would look tacky, this was a dramatization of the comic book series "Space Family Robinson", that, in turn owes itself to Johann Wyss' novel "Swiss Family Robinson." And though it was broadcast during the closing years of my generation's childhood innocence, there was one bit of business focused upon that even I, of tender years, could get, back then.

That was the dramatic dynamics between the Robot, Dr. Smith (Jonathan Harris) and Will Robinson (Billy Mumy).

Dr. Smith endeared himself to viewers (NOT!) in the opening episode, "The Reluctant Stowaway," wherein, for spy reasons, he snuck onto the ship, only to have it take off, and he be trapped in space on the journey with them!!!!! Girls, I can tell you, neither he nor the Robinsons were thrilled.

And as the series went on, it became apparent that whenever Doctor Smith got Will alone, he would regard him so leeringly, you wonder how the censors got this on the air. Long before we knew the definition of the word "pedophile," we knew that whenever these two got alone, sparks would fly from the elder. And that each time the robot caught them, he would pipe up, "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!"

Girls, we knew enough not to trust Doctor Smith, but we never knew why. Years later, when we figured things out, it also clarified why we felt uncomfortable whenever Fred Rogers would leer, "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Won't you come to my neighborhood.?"

I mean, what were the TV makers doing, foisting pedophile characters on innocent children???? You have to wonder, darlings!!!! Which is why, as far as "Lost In Space" is concerned, though I always wanted to be Angela Cartwright as Penny (and who can forget the episode where her screen sibling, Kym Karath, aka Gretl Von Trapp, guested as a space Princess?), the REAL hero of the show was the Robot?????

I have to wonder--how many others back then, caught on to all this??? Did the creators???? Did the actors??? And what would they all think of this now??????

But I am telling you, darlings, the Robot DID indeed have Doctor Smith's number!!!!!! Millions of boys and girls tuned in each week just to see if Will would make it safely to puberty!!!!!

Let us hope all my boys and girls made it safely to puberty!!!!!!!

But I STILL wanted to be Angela Cartwright as Penny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!