Sirens, Beasts, and Machines

" . . . listen closely to what I tell you now . . .

First you will raise the island of the Sirens,

those creatures who spellbind any man alive,

whoever comes their way. Whoever draws too close,

off guard, and catches the Sirens’ voices in the air . . .

The high, thrilling song of the Sirens will transfix him . . .

Race straight past that coast!"

-- the goddess Circe’s warning to Odysseus

**(from Homer’s Odyssey)**

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"Poor Dr. Smith . . . it looks like he’s been hypnotized!"

-- Judy Robinson, in "Wild Adventure"

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Ahh, yes . . . this television show—deemed low-brow and campy by many—actually put forth quite a few clever literary and cultural allusions during its three seasons. One of the most memorable guest characters is the green girl Athena, who twice encounters our favorite space family during their travels. The Robinsons first meet Athena in the early second season episode "Wild Adventure" (she is listed merely as "Lorelei" in the episode’s closing credits). Athena is the Lorelei or Siren who lures the susceptible Dr. Smith away from his cabin--("I'm co-ming!" he intones in hypnotic response)--into his spacesuit, and out the hatch of the Jupiter 2. The Robinsons again meet Athena in the later second season episode "The Girl from the Green Dimension," where she wreaks havoc by indirectly causing Will Robinson to be turned into a green-skinned boy.

We first meet the character of Verda in the second season episode "The Android Machine." (Verda—or, perhaps, Verda V.2—is also seen in the second season episode "Revolt of the Androids"; Verda V.2 is treated on the Catfights in Space pages entitled Hot Honeys and Lovely Ladies.) When she is ordered through the Galactic Department Store by Dr. Smith, Verda believes she is just a regular android, but she soon discovers that she has a certain amount of free will. In addition, she is susceptible to a process of humanization. These attributes are explained when, toward the end of the episode, Celestial Department Store manager Mr. Zumdish reveals that Verda is really a Special Deluxe Android Model 77B.

Imagine a catfight between Athena and Verda. Who would win? The Siren or the machine? Well, Ms. Effra realizes she may get quite a bit of contrary mail on this subject, but she will assert that the winner of a catfight between Athena and Verda would be Verda. Oh, sure, Athena might initially throw Verda some "sucker punches," due to her ability to fly and float through the air. But Athena has her weaknesses; for example, she feeds on the precious fuel deutronium. Verda’s power supply is not so precious; like the Robot, she can be recharged with less expensive fuel. And, as "The Girl from the Green Dimension" makes abundantly clear, Athena is a Siren in the service of two masters: deutronium fuel and her lover Urso. Athena’s brief flirtation with Dr. Smith is only a temporary ploy to get more deutronium and to make Urso jealous.

It takes a while for Athena to figure out that Dr. Smith is really not "strong and brave," whereas Verda gets wise to Dr. Smith’s true attributes fairly quickly. Right from the start, Verda is curious about the world that surrounds her and about the attributes of humans, and she is able to learn from this curiosity. She is articulate, teaching Will and Penny about the galaxies and the history of space travel. She develops a strong moral conscience and a sense of altruism; she demonstrates this by placing herself between the Robinson children and danger. In sum, Verda’s burgeoning process of humanization would enable her to triumph in a catfight with Athena.

From a Siren versus a machine . . . to a Beast versus a machine: an interesting catfight could certainly take place between the female—and feminine—dragon Gundemar (from the second season episode "The Questing Beast") and the Female Robot (from the third season episode "Deadliest of the Species"). Sir Sagramonte, a knight, has been traveling the galaxies for 40 years in search of a dragon upon which he has never laid eyes. The dragon he seeks is Gundemar, who has led Sir Sagramonte to the planet that is being temporarily inhabited by the J2 party. Will Robinson makes the acquaintance of Sir Sagramonte, who takes the boy as his page. Penny Robinson makes the acquaintance of Gundemar, who—being a veritable Emily Post—gives Penny a brief tutorial in etiquette. Helpful as always, Penny looks for a suitable resting place for the weary Gundemar.

"The Questing Beast" is a controversial episode for many Lost in Space fans: due to episode features such as Sir Sagramonte’s eyeglass-wearing basset hound, many people believe this episode is simply too silly. Yet other fans point out that this episode is actually a rich morality play: Will Robinson learns the importance of having a dream and of pursuing a quest, Penny Robinson gains more experience in serving as an arbitrator or mediator (a role similar to the one she plays in the second season episode "The Golden Man"), and Dr. Smith finally gives an honest account of himself and offers Will these pearls of wisdom: "Don’t be in such a hurry to grow up, dear William. It isn’t really worth it."

The Female Robot in "Deadliest of the Species" is initially housed in a space capsule—a capsule that lands on the Robinsons’ planet. As the Robinsons soon learn, that capsule "contains the parts of a fantastically superior robot who was so evil that she nearly destroyed an entire civilization before she was captured. Her parts were so superior in construction they could not be destroyed, so she was dismantled and locked away in the space prison capsule in an endless orbit forever" (Eisner and Magen, Lost in Space Forever, p. 235). The leader of Zeta Law Enforcement tries to get the Robinsons to help "locate the capsule before the Robot can be reassembled and her evil unleashed upon the universe" (ibid, p. 235). Unfortunately, Robot B-9 finds the space capsule, falls in love with the Female Robot, and (initially) helps her with her evil plans.

The Female Robot can be likened to Genesis’ Eve or to the figure of Pandora in Greek mythology. (Indeed, Dr. Smith insults the Robot by referring to him and the Female Robot as an "elephantine Adam and Eve.") One might also see in this episode a prefiguring of the nuclear disarmament issue; what do we do with lethal materials that could end all life on Earth? (Okay, enough highfalutin’ thematizing.) In any event, the Robot realizes that his true allegiance is with the Robinsons and with the force of good; thus, he helps to destroy the Female Robot. Coda: At the very end of "Deadliest of the Species," he rebuilds the Female Robot into a kind of robotic Stepford Wife. (So much for the feminist sentiments the Robot offers in the second season episode "The Colonists!")

The winner of a catfight between Gundemar and the Female Robot? Although most Lost in Space fans think that Gundemar ist nicht wunderbar, Gundemar would triumph over the Female Robot. We find out toward the end of "The Questing Beast" that Gundemar hasn’t quite been running from Sir Sagramonte and his lance; she has actually been giving Sagramonte the opportunity to hunt her. Gundemar has true wisdom; it is she who knows that a man needs to have a quest, an important goal in his life—or else his life becomes meaningless. Thus, Gundemar is the instigator and author of the lesson Will Robinson learns. She is the beast that leads Sagramonte and enables his space travel in the first place. In contrast, the Female Robot from "Deadliest of the Species" is not the instigator and author of her own fate; she did not create her own programming, and she has little control over that programming. She even must use the Robot to help her out of the space capsule. In short, Gundemar leads and does, while the Female Robot is led and is done to.


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