Alpha Control: A Lost In Space Podcast

  CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: RON GROSS 4.0 EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome back AGAIN a very special friend of the Alpha Control Podcast; the “Artist-Laureate” of Irwin Allen’s original Lost in Space - Mr. RON GROSS. Ron is an incredibly talented & prolific graphic artist who is skilled in both traditional and digital rendering techniques. Many of his beautiful creations employ a distinctive hybrid production methodology that he personally developed. Ron's Lost in Space related works include assorted box art illustrations for both Polar Lights and Moebius Models. In association with Kevin Burns of Synthesis Entertainment, Ron also designed the official 45th and 50th Lost in Space anniversary logos. Fans of the series are most familiar with his stunning calendars & poster art based on the original Irwin Allen television properties. As well as an officially licensed - Limited-Edition Lost in Space Deluxe Trading Card set from Monsterwax, featuring his own dazzling Artwork, as well as a fascinating series ‘In

  CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DR. STEVEN D. BLOOM PART II EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome a special guest to Alpha Control; Dr. Steven D. Bloom. As well as being a big fan of LIS & Science Fiction in general, Steve is the author of a fascinating book titled, The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction. Published in 2016 by McFarland; the book explores a wide range of Sci-Fi Movies, TV series, Books & Short Stories by exploring their underlying concepts of physics & astronomy. Written for those of us who are NOT real ‘rocket scientists’, Steve’s entertaining & highly readable book assesses the accuracy and plausibility of many of the complex concepts that often appear in science fiction, such as Interstellar Travel, Time Travel, Teleportation, Robots, Alien Life as well as other genre fixtures. STEVE’S BIO: Steve Bloom grew up in the New York City suburbs where in the early 1970’s he would rush home from his neighborhood school to watch re-runs of Lost in Space. There began his love for science and as

CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DR. STEVEN D. BLOOM PART I EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome a special guest to Alpha Control; Dr. Steven D. Bloom. As well as being a big fan of LIS & Science Fiction in general, Steve is the author of a fascinating book titled, The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction. Published in 2016 by McFarland; the book explores a wide range of Sci-Fi Movies, TV series, Books & Short Stories by exploring their underlying concepts of physics & astronomy. Written for those of us who are NOT real ‘rocket scientists’, Steve’s entertaining & highly readable book assesses the accuracy and plausibility of many of the complex concepts that often appear in science fiction, such as Interstellar Travel, Time Travel, Teleportation, Robots, Alien Life as well as other genre fixtures. STEVE’S BIO: Steve Bloom grew up in the New York City suburbs where in the early 1970’s he would rush home from his neighborhood school to watch re-runs of Lost in Space. There began his love for science and astr

SPECIAL - CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: ANGELA CARTWRIGHT & BILL MUMY EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome two very special guests to Alpha Control: Angela Cartwright & Bill Mumy. Although well-known to LIS fans as the talented young actors who played Penny & Will Robinson on the classic series, BOTH performers have played numerous roles in dozens of movies & TV shows and between them racked up hundreds of appearances on both the Big & Small screen. But if that wasn’t enough, these ‘gifted go-getters’ are ALSO multi-talented artists in a wide variety of creative fields. Angela’s life-long passion for art & photography, led her to pursue a second career as an artist, as well as a jewelry & clothing designer; eventually establishing her own art studio, which can be explored online at Angela Cartwright Studio.com. Bill on the other hand, has also achieved great success as a gifted musician, singer, song writer, voice artist & producer. In addition to his prolific catalog of solo songs & rec

SPECIAL ALPHA CONTROL: PARODY TV AD MEDLEY EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Happy New Year to all our fellow Galactic Castaways! While we toil away on pre-production for our next episode, please enjoy this Special Bonus Parody TV Commercial Medley! In the meantime, we will be back Next Time with another episode of Alpha Control, where Kurt & I get back to reviewing our beloved original Lost in Space. Until then, take care & will talk to you soon! PODCAST INFO: This Bonus Content was produced on  27 DEC 2021. LINKS: http://www.marccushman.com/books.html https://www.facebook.com/alphacontrolpodcast/ EMAIL: alphacontrolpodcast@gmail.com

The Deadly Games of Gamma 6 EPISODE SYNOPSIS: An alien trainer, Myko, with his troupe of gladiator fighters arrives for their yearly display of games which are televised throughout the galaxy. Myko tries to persuade Professor Robinson to enter one of the contests. John refuses, but Dr. Smith, hearing that vast riches are paid to the victor, volunteers to fight a little alien only half his size. Myko agrees but doesn’t tell Smith that his half-pint opponent can make himself invisible, or that the military leaders of the galaxy are watching the games, planning to invade any planet whose representatives appear to be cowardly. Sadly, Dr. Smith loses the fight to the little alien. So, in order to save Earth from invasion, John challenges Myko to a game of Cosmic Russian Roulette. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: Barney Slater, Director: Nathan Juran, Producer: William D. Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Guest Stars: ‘Myko’ – Mike Kellin, ‘Alien Leader’ - Peter Brocco, ‘Geoo’ – Harry Monty, ‘Gromack’ – Ronald

SPECIAL ALPHA CONTROL: SURPRISE "SHOW PROMO" EPISODE SYNOPSIS: While we toil away on postproduction for our next episode, please enjoy this Special Surprise Promo inspired by another one of our favorite TV shows from the era. It’s a fun one! In the meantime, we will be back Next Time with another episode of Alpha Control, where Kurt & I get back to reviewing our beloved original Lost in Space. Until then, take care & will talk to you soon!   PODCAST INFO: This promo was recorded on 2 November 2021. LINKS: http://www.marccushman.com/books.html https://www.facebook.com/alphacontrolpodcast/ EMAIL: alphacontrolpodcast@gmail.com  

The Android Machine EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Dr. Smith finds an alien machine; he presses a button & a silver-clad android named Verda appears. She tells him he has ordered her & now she is his property forever and cannot be returned. The children take to her & she becomes so attached to them that she tries to sacrifice herself to save them when they are attacked by a monster. When an alien arrives to demand payment for the android, Smith, anxious to get rid of her, says she is defective. The alien is prepared to have her destroyed, but the children plead with their father to save her by trading some of their valuable deutronium fuel for her. But when the alien discovers that Verda has become so human that she is willing to sacrifice herself for love, he declares that she is far too valuable to be destroyed. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: Bob & Wanda Duncan, Director: Don Richardson, Producer: William D. Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Film dates: 12 – 19 Aug 1966 (5 days), Air date: Wednesda

  CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: MARTA KRISTEN EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome a very special guest to Alpha Control; Marta Kristen. Well-known to LIS fans as the beautiful actress who played Judy Robinson, Ms. Kristen has had a fascinating life before, during & after her time on the classic series. MARTA’S BIO: Born as Birgit Annalisa Rusanen in Oslo Norway at the end of WWII. She spent the first four years of her life living in an orphanage until she was adopted by Prof. & Mrs. Harold Soderquist of Detroit, MI., who named Marta in honor of a social worker who helped her parents navigate her adoption process. Marta quickly adapted to her new family & home in the U.S. & displayed a talent for performing at an early age. As a teenager in Michigan, she was already acting in Summer Stock theatre by the age of fourteen. Then in 1959, a family trip to California marked a fateful turn in her life, as Marta was later ‘discovered’ by a Hollywood producer while on a date at a drive-in in Santa Monica. That in-tur

CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: RON GROSS 3.0 EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome back a special guest to Alpha Control; Lost in Space artist Mr. RON GROSS. Ron is an incredibly talented & prolific graphic artist who is skilled in both traditional and digital rendering techniques. Many of his beautiful creations employ a distinctive hybrid production methodology that he personally developed. Ron's Lost in Space related works include assorted box art illustrations for both Polar Lights and Moebius Models. Ron FAMOUSLY scratch-built his own 1:70 scale Jupiter 2 model that eventually became the design basis for the classic kit marketed by Polar Lights in 1998, thus filling the void for this decades-long awaited product. Ron has shared his novel scratch-building techniques with a wider audience, writing multiple articles for publications such as "Scale Modeler," "Fine Scale Modeler," and "Sci-Fi and Fantasy Modeler". In association with Kevin Burns of Synthesis Entertainment, Ron also designed the official 45th and 50th Los

The Prisoners of Space EPISODE SYNOPSIS: The Earth People are indicted by the Galaxy Tribunal of Justice for crimes committed in space. Their camp-site is enclosed by an energized fence keeping them all prisoner. They are summoned, one at a time, to answer charges. A visual memory machine recounts all their adventures to date. Smith, afraid of being found out, tries to escape but is forced to return by the Robot. The Tribunal eventually finds the Robinsons not guilty but Smith guilty on all counts. While the Tribunal is debating his punishment, the Robinsons think of a way to save him by declaring him insane. The Tribunal accepts this defense and orders Smith for the future to be placed in the custody of the Robot. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: Barney Slater, Director: Nathan Juran, Producer: William D. Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Film dates: 5 – 11 Aug 1966 (5 days), Air date: Wednesday October 19, 1966 (no summer release) PODCAST SYNOPSIS: Intro-Welcome, Production Notes, Show review, Next Week

Space Circus EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Marvello and his Space Circus arrive. They stage a performance for the benefit of the Robinsons and discover that Will has unexpected clairvoyant powers. Marvello would like to take the boy with him as part of his troupe, and Smith, eager to exploit the situation to his benefits arranges to be the boy’s manager. He meddles with the Robinsons’ food purification machine, leaving them only four days’ food supply and makes Will believe that he should sacrifice himself to make one less mouth to feed. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: Bob and Wanda Duncan, Director: Harry Harris, Producer: William D. Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Film dates: 28-04 Jul-Aug 1966 (6 days), Air date: Wednesday October 12, 1966 (no summer release) PODCAST SYNOPSIS: Intro-Welcome, Production Notes, Show review, Next Week Preview, Outro. This podcast was recorded on 11 NOV 2020  LINKS: https://lostinspaceforum.proboards.com/thread/1009/space-circus http://www.jacobsbrownmediagroup.com/lost-in-space-c

EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome back Lost in Space Music expert Mr. Jeff Bond to Alpha Control for an exclusive interview. Jeff is an accomplished Author, Music Critic & Album Producer. He’s written several books on Sci-Fi related topics including The Music of Star Trek, The Art of Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline, The World of Orville & of course THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN; the deluxe 600+ page limited edition coffee table book which takes readers on a visual journey through the mind and career of legendary producer Irwin Allen. Notably for us, Jeff along with his colleague Neil Bulk was Album Producer on the beautiful LOST in SPACE 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Collection, released in 2015. In addition, in 2018 he co-produced again with Neil Bulk, a 4-disc LOTG 50th Anniversary Soundtrack collection. Now his latest project; which he teased for us last time; the definitive 4-disc Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Original Television Soundtrack Collection which was recently released in early summer 20

Special - Calling Alpha Control: JEFF BOND EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome Back Lost in Space Music expert Mr. Jeff Bond to Alpha Control for an exclusive interview. Jeff is an accomplished Author, Music Critic & Album Producer. He’s written several books on Sci-Fi related topics including The Music of Star Trek, The Art of Star Trek: The Kelvin Timeline, The World of Orville & of course THE FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN; the deluxe 600+ page limited edition coffee table book which takes readers on a visual journey through the mind and career of legendary producer Irwin Allen. Notably for us, Jeff along with his colleague Neil Bulk was Album Producer on the beautiful LOST in SPACE 50th Anniversary Soundtrack Collection, released in 2015. In addition, in 2018 he co-produced again with Neil Bulk, a 4-disc LOTG 50th Anniversary Soundtrack collection. Now his latest project; which he teased for us last time; the definitive 4-disc Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Original Television Soundtrack Collection whi

Special - Calling Alpha Control: PAUL LUBLINER & MIKE CLARK  EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome BACK our old friend & LIS Super Aficionado Mr. Mike Clark & he’s accompanied today by his friend & colleague Mr. Paul Lubliner to Alpha Control for an exclusive interview. Both Mike & Paul have been life-long fans of the Fantasy Worlds that Irwin Allen created on his 1960’s TV series. Today they are well known to the LIS fan community for collaborating on the fantastic documentary film, ‘RESTORING THE GEMINI 12’. The film which Mr. Clark produced in 2016 has over 400,000 views on YouTube & it chronicles Paul’s amazing work restoring to original condition, the 50 year-old 4 foot filming miniature of the Robinson’s Spacecraft that was used to produce special effects shots for the unaired pilot ‘No Place to Hide’. After LIS was picked up by CBS in 1965, much of that SFX footage would be recycled in several episodes of LIS & the Gemini 12 would be re-designated as the Jupiter 2. Recently, Paul &a

FORBIDDEN WORLD EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Evading a missile sent after them by the Cyborgs they have just escaped, the Robinsons crash-land on another planet. Smith, Will and the Robot are captured by an alien, Tiabo, and taken prisoner. Tiabo tells them that an army of thousands is mobilizing against them. When he leaves, allegedly to report to his superiors, they escape and go back to warn the others. Smith, who has been drinking copiously from a small keg, discovers that the liquid contained a high explosive. He has become a walking bomb. Will returns to Tiabo to plead for and antidote and discovers that the Alien’s story was invented to frighten them away. He is the only inhabitant of the planet. Will assures him that they are leaving shortly and returns with the antidote just in time to save Smith from being detonated by the Robot to save the rest of the expedition PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: Barney Slater, Director: Don Richardson, Producer: William D. Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Film dates: 20-2

CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DAVID SCHECTER  EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome Sci-Fi & horror Movie music expert Mr. DAVID SCHECTER to Alpha Control for a special interview. David is a highly accomplished & widely published writer/ editor, as well as a music, book & film critic. Since the mid 1990’s, he’s also been a producer, writer, publicist, and co-owner of the acclaimed CD label Monstrous Movie Music; specializing in soundtracks from classic science fiction & horror films. Over the course of his professional career, David’s formed friendships with several personalities of interest to Lost in Space & Sci-Fi fans including composer Herman Stein & actress Francine York among others. DAVID’S BIO: Mr. Schecter is originally from New Jersey. David graduated from University of Colorado, Boulder with a degree in Anthropology. His goal early on was to get into show business writing comedy & he later studied screenwriting & advertising copywriting at UCLA. Professionally, David cut his teeth

The Ghost Planet EPISODE SYNOPSIS: The Jupiter is drawn irresistibly into the orbit of a strange planet. It is inhabited entirely by Cyborgs under the control of a gigantic Cybernetic Brain. The Cyborgs want to capture the Castaways and use them as slave workers. Smith is gullible enough to leave the spaceship, followed by Will. The Robot, who has been sent to reconnoiter the situation, swears allegiance to the Cyborgs and is set in charge of Will and Smith who are put to work on an assembly line. However, he is really waiting his chance to rescue them and helps the family make a fast getaway with the Cyborgs in hot, but vain, pursuit. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: Peter Packer, Director: Nathan Juran, Producer: William D Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Film dates: 11-19 July 1966 (6 and 1/4 days), Air date: Wednesday September 28, 1966 (May 17,1967) PODCAST SYNOPSIS: Intro-Welcome, Production Notes, Show review, Next Week Preview, Outro-Goodbye. This podcast was recorded on 18 April, 2020    LINKS:

WILD ADVENTURE EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Out in space, Smith tries to change course from Alpha Centauri to Earth. The first time, he jettisons the reserve fuel by mistake; next, he heads the ship straight into the sun. Don only just gets it out of the gravitational pull in time, and they are fortunately able to replenish their fuel supply from a string of refueling barges that John remembers have been placed not too far from their path. But a charming Green Space Lorelei, who feeds upon atomic fuel, hypnotizes Smith out of the spaceship in the hope of getting fuel from him. Don goes out and rescues Smith, but now it is too late to head for Earth; they are speeding rapidly out of the galaxy and are once more lost in space. PRODUCTION OVERVIEW-Writer: William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter, Director: Don Richardson, Producer: William D. Faralla, Executive Producer: Irwin Allen. Film dates: 29-11 Jun-Jul 1966 (7 days spread over 8), Air date: Wednesday September 11, 1966 (May 10,1967) PODCAST SYNOPSIS: Intro-Welcome,

SPECIAL - CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DR. JACOB SHAPIRO EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome Astrologer to the Stars Dr. JACOB SHAPIRO to Alpha Control for a special interview. Since the mid 1960’s many famous denizens of Tinsel Town turned to Jacob for Horoscope readings, Back adjustments & guidance. His career spanned over three decades & during that time he managed to help, heal and handle a long list of renowned clients from a variety of professions; such as actors, producers, politicians, authors & musicians. JACOB’S BIO: Mr. Shapiro is originally from Philadelphia & attended Brandeis University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. After a brief stint as a travelling salesman for the Electrolux Corporation, he made a dramatic career change when he left the States to pursue a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine degree from Port Au Prince University in Haiti. After graduating, he returned to the States & set up a thriving practice in Southern California, near Los Angles. Following