MovieChat Forums > Lost in Space (1965) Discussion > Why were they so mean to Dr. Smith

Why were they so mean to Dr. Smith

posted 9 years ago by SEINFELDbeatFRIENDS
21 replies | jump to latest

Watching the First Five Episodes, I felt the Robinson's, mostly Don, showed Dr. Smith no respect. Okay he was working for another space team and wanted their mission to be ruined but him being on ship was accident and after that he tried his best to right the ship back to earth. They kept bashing him and ignoring him, even wanting to drift farther from earth (going back to earth could have been done before the Robot attacked them...which Smith tried to stop after lift off). Then Don even puts him in freezing tubes and they falsely accuse him of messing up landing rockets. The their hatred for him nearly got them killed when he tried to message about the weather change when they left Jupiter 2 in Chariot and Smith stayed. They would have been better staying at ship. Like he said it was smart he did not go off with those lunatics.

[–] TD2112 9 years ago

Well he sabotaged the ship. He is the reason they are lost in space.

[–] SEINFELDbeatFRIENDS 9 years ago

Also the reason they were not killed by an asteroid.

[–] TD2112 9 years ago

An asteroid they would not have never encountered had he not sabotaged the mission.
Let's say I cut the brake lines on someone's car but I call 911 after they crash saving their lives. The fact I called 911 and saved them doesn't absolve me of causing the accident in the first place.I'm still guilty.

[–] SEINFELDbeatFRIENDS 9 years ago

Watch the TIME MERCHANT. It is found out that if Smith does not enter the ship they go as planned and 4 months into flight an asteroid hits and destroys them. With Smith's added weight it threw the ship off course and safely away from the asteroid.

[–] Andthatismytwocents 9 years ago

And
LOST IN SPACE John Robinson stated "It's a mixed blessing son,A MIXED BLESSING"

should never went into space and then what kind of adventure is that?

[–] SEINFELDbeatFRIENDS 9 years ago

Andthatismytwocents you bring up a good point. When Smith found out from the RObot that the asteroid would hit the ship when he came back on OCT 16, 1997, why didn't he do something to stop the JUPITER 2 from even blasting off from Earth? Then they all would not be lost in space anymore.

[–] darkness_surroundz 9 years ago

i thinks as the show progressed, with Smith, like it or not, as part of the clan, the writers reinvented Smith into a not so bad guy after all personality for that episode

[–] TVholic 9 years ago

That's irrelevant. They couldn't have known that at the beginning of the series. All they knew for certain at that point was that Smith was a saboteur and he kept getting all of them into trouble time after time.

[–] neglndr 9 years ago

Dr. Smith was a selfess person who only looked after himself.

[–] dpcole7 9 years ago

But only as an incidental factor.

But, if I were a Robinson and knew that the serendipity of their survival was due to Smith's antics, I'd be a lot less hostile toward him, even if his cowardly antics were annoying.

Don's angst is understandable, but the Robinsons and Don really practiced the teachings they had learned since they always supported him, kept him fed, didn't eject him out of the airlock, and obeying "love thy neighbor", which Smith clearly was.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (1576) 8 months ago

They didn't know he was a saboteur, only an accidental stowaway whose weight caused the ship to go off course. That being said, he didn't deserve much respect. It was kind of a mystery why Will grew so fond of him and says a lot more about Will than Dr. Smith. Whenever there was danger, Dr. Smith shoved a kid in front of him, generally Will, sometimes Penny, both if he could get them. He professed affection for the kids but always put himself first.

[–] pmays2002 9 years ago

Probably because Smith constantly put their lives in danger.

[–] larkpraise 9 years ago

A few days ago I pulled my "Lost in Space" DVD collection as I hadn't watched it in a long, long, time and began watching from the first episode. In retrospect, it is a shame that the writers turned the show into camp after the first season (arguably the show's best). The first episodes were brilliant, suspenseful, poignant making excellent use of the cast. I find myself thinking that this show would have functioned a whole lot better without Dr. Smith. But, also, compared to today's wasteland television, I'll take Dr. Smith any day. I especially remember loving to hear him scream when he is approached or attacked by an alien.

Barack Obama IS DESTROYING AMERICA!!

[–] Itsamoomoo 9 years ago

He was a nuisance! The character really did ruin the show for a lot of people.

[–] darkness_surroundz 9 years ago

the Robinsons should have left him on the Derelict or shot him for espionage with intent to kill

[–] darkness_surroundz 9 years ago

the Robinsons should have left him on the Derelict or shot him for espionage with intent to kill

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kenburke0627 8 years ago

Because he kept trying to kill them?

D-U-U-U-U-U-H!!!

[–] kenburke (2293) 4 years ago

[deleted]