The Gemini 12 was launched on October 16, 1997. On board are the Robinson family, Professor John Robinson (Guy Williams), his wife, biologist Maureen Robinson (June Lockhart), daughters Judy (Marta Kristen) and Penny (Angela Cartwright), and son Will (Bill Mumy). Also on board is radio astronomer, Don West (Mark Goddard). Due to the overcrowding of Earth, new habitable planets need to be located. The purpose of the flight is a mission to Alpha Centauri to test the possibility of colonizing the galaxy.
Takeoff is normal and the Robinsons are put in a state of suspended animation for the 98-year trip. A meteor shower damages the ship. Instruments on the ship inform Earth that fire has broken out on the Gemini 12. Communication with Earth is lost, and it is feared that the ship is either destroyed or lost in space. The ships automatic damage control manages to extinguish the fire, but the ship crash lands on an unknown planet.
When the crew is revived, they calculate that they have been traveling for three and a half years. The ship is damaged to the point where it won’t fly. Until they can find a way to fix it, the Robinson crew settles down and makes the best of the situation. They begin faming the land and investigating the local wildlife. But surviving the crash is the least of their worries. In this strange place they will encounter trials that will test their resilience and there are dangers around every corner.
The “Lost in Space" pilot episode “No Place to Hide” was created in 1965 and was produced by Irwin Allen. The episode was never aired and at one point it was believed to be lost. Eventually it was located and aired in 1993 when June Lockhart hosted a program that showed unaired pilots for the Sci-fi channel called “Pilot Playhouse”. The music for the first pilot was borrowed from “The Day the Earth Stood Still” 1951.
The pilot had some obvious differences than the actual show. There was no evil Mr. Smith or robot. The ship was damaged due to meteor strikes instead of sabotage. The name of the spaceship was called Gemini 12 instead of the Jupiter 2. The focus of the pilot was on the family and their ability to survive. Mark Goddard’s character was originally Dr. Donald West. In the series it was changed to Major Donald West.
It is speculated that the original pilot was never shown in its total, even in syndication, because Dr. Smith and the robot were not included in the original cast. Much of the original footage was re-used in the first few televised episodes of the series.
Reportedly, the giant Cyclops was played by former defensive end Lamar Lundy with the Los Angeles Rams. Lundy was 6’7”. Forced perspective was used to magnify his height. The special effects were done in color even though the program was black-and-white. The producers wanted to be able to reuse some of the effects should the show switch to color. At the time black-and-white film was still being used.