Forgotten Villains: Lost in Space’s The Keeper

By Owen Quinn author of the Time Warriros and Zombie Blues

Photos copyright CBS

I was recently made aware of just how many movies and television shows the younger generation have never heard of, never mind seen. So to that end, we look back at some characters you really need to see before you kick the bucket.

Now you should really know who the Robinsons are in Lost in Space. As Earth is dying they are sent to Alpha Centauri in order to begin colonisation efforts for the rest of the planet. However they have a saboteur on board, one Doctor Smith, who intends for the mission to fail and the entire family to die. If you’ve watched the recent television series and the Matt Le Blanc movie from several years ago then you will be familiar with this but the original series that began it all featured many aliens and villains. It was a huge hit and quickly the focus moved from the Robinsons to the villainous Doctor Smith. Trapped with the Robinsons he was always seeking a way home forming a close bond with young Will Smith. Smith became something of a naughty child as he took every opportunity to get home. He invariably fell foul of his own machinations and alien of the week but in the only two parter of the three year run, the Keeper proved to be the most dangerous of all.

Lost in Space also had many famous actors take part in the show so for the role of the Keeper they cast Michael Rennie from the classic movie The Day the Earth Stood Still. The classic 1951 movie is given a small homage when the Keeper is questioned as to how he can speak perfect English. He replies that he learned it from broadcasts that came from Earth just as Klaatu did.

His presence is discovered when Doctor Smith is caught in one of his cages thanks to a hypnotic signal. The Keeper travels the universe collecting two of every species and keeping them on his ship. Upon meeting the Robinsons he decides he wants two of them for his collection.

The Keeper is as arrogant as he is charming as seen in a conversation with Don West upon seeing him with Judy Robinson. He comments on what a handosme pair they are. Don retorts they are not animals but intelligent beings. Smirking the Keeper simply says, “You’re entitled to your opinion of course.”

This is an intersting insight to the Keeper’s character as he does not see either of them as humans with a potential future but mere animals that can be caged and admired by him. He decides the younger ones would be a better fit and lures Will and Penny to his ship dazzling them with the alien animals and almost gets them into a cage. They try to escape but he uses his staff to control them. He almost succeeds but Dr Smith is also mesmerised and knocks the staff out of his hand. Despite numerous attempts to steal the children, the Keeper finds them too much of a nuisance to bother with and intends to leave. But Dr Smith takes his chance to steal the Keeper’s ship and accidentally lets loose all the animals inside.

The resulting stampede results in some animals being killed. Furious the Keeper tells the Robinsons unless they deliver Will and Penny to him, he will leave all the animals loose. With so many savage beasts now in the area, the Robinsons, John and Maureen and Don and Judy offer themselves.While the Keeper’s morals recognise it as a noble gesture, he refuses their offer. He takes the opportunity for self gain and fully intends to take full advantage of it. However he is injured by one of his animals and it is only Will and Penny’s compassion that makes him realise these humans are not mere animals to be caged. They are beings of compassion and self sacrifice. These qualities break through the Keeper’s mindset allowing them to stay free. He learns that not all beings are specimens for his zoo.

In the closing moments, he displays a sharp sense of humour when he tells the Robinsons he has rounded up all his animals but has left one to punish them. In the clearing they find a cage and in that cage is Doctor Smith.

Michael Rennie’s performance is flawless and of a standard that only he could bring. He made the Keeper a multilayered character that can engage and repulse you at the same time. it certainly raises the show’s respectability level.

This episode is deep for the show but highlights again that the Robinsons and Doctor Smith’s greatest weapon is their love for each other. It is this quality shown even for a rascal like Smith that breaks through the Keeper’s alien views to leave them in peace. Many villains on Lost in Space were pantomime and one dimensional but the Keeper stands head and shoulders above the rest to shine bright all these years later in a simple tale of what separates us from the animals.