This installment comes from the final half of season one of the show and it is another example of the change in format from adventure and survival to farce and fantasy. Dr. Smith (Johnathan Harris), Will (Billy Mumy), and The Robot (voice of Dick Trufeld) come upon a jewel-laden crown. When Smith decides to try it on, the act unleashes a lightning furry, and Will helps his friend remove the crown. To assure Dr. Smith that the crown is harmless, Will dons it. Suddenly, trumpets blast and humanoids aliens appear, announcing that the wearer of the crown is to be the "king" of their home world, Andronica. Though flattered by the offer, Will turns them down. However, after sending the lad and The Robot on their way, Smith tells the entourage's leader (Liam Sullivan) that he is descended from kings and would make a perfect ruler for their planet, suggesting that he be considered.
After Dr. Smith departs, the leader transmits a message to his superior, a hairy-faced alien (Kevin Hagen) that is a true citizen of Andronica. The ensemble that Smith and Will had met were nothing more than cybernetic creatures of the real Andronican.
Smith becomes King and is to be shortly whisked away to the planet. However, the Robot has detected something sinister from the Andronicans and submits his findings to the rest of the Robinson family. It is decided that a rescue attempt is to be made before Smith departs. The alien intercepts the conversation and decides to solve the problem by "making" a duplicate Smith and passing it off as the real thing.
The new Smith is everything the old Smith wasn't: hardworking, considerate, inventive, and self-sacrificing. The Robinsons suspect nothing. However, the real Smith discovers that an Andronican king is no more than a figurehead and is to be ultimately sacrificed during a planetary celebration. He manages to escape and return to the Jupiter 2 to the surprise of the rest, who thought all the time that the doppelganger was the "real McCoy".
When the Andronican humanoids come to claim Smith, the "false" one pretends to be the real Smith and goes off to the planet, leaving everything "normal" as it should be.
Of course, this is not one of the best of the first season, but it benefits from the performances of Hagen and, in a dual role, Harris.
Hagen had previously appeared on Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," and would later portray "Inspector Kobick" on the producer's "Land of the Gisnts." Though most television fans remember him as "Doc Baker" on the long running "Little House on the Prairie" show.
After Dr. Smith departs, the leader transmits a message to his superior, a hairy-faced alien (Kevin Hagen) that is a true citizen of Andronica. The ensemble that Smith and Will had met were nothing more than cybernetic creatures of the real Andronican.
Smith becomes King and is to be shortly whisked away to the planet. However, the Robot has detected something sinister from the Andronicans and submits his findings to the rest of the Robinson family. It is decided that a rescue attempt is to be made before Smith departs. The alien intercepts the conversation and decides to solve the problem by "making" a duplicate Smith and passing it off as the real thing.
The new Smith is everything the old Smith wasn't: hardworking, considerate, inventive, and self-sacrificing. The Robinsons suspect nothing. However, the real Smith discovers that an Andronican king is no more than a figurehead and is to be ultimately sacrificed during a planetary celebration. He manages to escape and return to the Jupiter 2 to the surprise of the rest, who thought all the time that the doppelganger was the "real McCoy".
When the Andronican humanoids come to claim Smith, the "false" one pretends to be the real Smith and goes off to the planet, leaving everything "normal" as it should be.
Of course, this is not one of the best of the first season, but it benefits from the performances of Hagen and, in a dual role, Harris.
Hagen had previously appeared on Irwin Allen's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," and would later portray "Inspector Kobick" on the producer's "Land of the Gisnts." Though most television fans remember him as "Doc Baker" on the long running "Little House on the Prairie" show.
