Mark Goddard Tour

On Sunday, 5^th October 1997 I sailed on the beautiful Sydney Harbour aboard the Major Cruise with Mark Goddard. This was the first event of the 1997 Blast off Tour. Upon 2.05 p.m. I arrived at the Sydney Aquarium Wharf in Darling Harbour and joined a group of excited fans waiting to meet Mark for the first time.. At this time the Goddards' were still at a performance of the Wizard of Oz at the Sydney Entertainment Centre with organizers Glenn and Anne. At 3 p.m. the LISA fans had arrived and started boarding the Aussie Legend (a luxurious catamaran.). The performance of the Wizard of Oz finished at 3 p.m. and hurriedly made their way to the war. At 3:10pm Mark arrived waving a plastic sword purchased for his son.

"I bless you in the name of Dr. Zachary Smith," he said. When he saw the Aussie Legend he exclaimed, "This doesn’t look like the Jupiter Two."

Before the cruise embarked Glenn introduced us to Mark’s wife Evelyn and his youngest son John. For the next two and half-hours we will cruise the most beautiful waterways in the world. Mark showed us how well he was acclimatizing, he greeted us with "G’day mate," and drank a few Fosters Light Beer supplied by the pretty first mates. We asked him why he still looked as good as he did in 1966 - did he work out? "I have a six year old son, who works me out," he answered. I haven’t had any face jobs, I just put it down to good genes, although I am not wearing them at the moment." As the Sydney Opera House came into view behind Mark a bevy of Camera flashes ignited to capture the moment. Mark called his wife, Evelyn to share the photo shoot with him.

"You know I saw a performance of Jonathan Harris’ performance in Sydney and when he took questions from the audience Jonathan was asked about Mark Goddard to which he replied, "He’s just been married again and she doesn’t look a day over 21. Well here she is, this is Evelyn!" The crowd applauded with a fan yelling, "she’s the best 21 year old I ever saw!" Mark passed around a photo of the LIS Cast dressed in black for a commemorative October 16^th 1997 issue of TV Guide saying that the photographer was very meticulous taking more than six hours to achieve the results. "Unfortunately the Robot didn’t want to wear black that day," said mark chuckling. Mark talked openly about the movie saying it would have been impossible today using the original cast as leads in a LIS movie. "Maybe seven years ago when Guy was still with us…it would have been possible but not now." He liked Steven Hopkins, the great effects and the hundreds of technicians who have put their talent into the movie. He also liked the movie because he’s in it!!…as the General.

"You know when I started my career about forty years ago I played a deputy on Johnny Ringo, then I played a lieutenant on the Detectives. I was a major on Lost in Space and now I’m a General. Maybe I’ll be a President in my next role….."

Mark also reminisced about 1965, when LIS first aired recalling that the blast off date of October 16^th ’97 seemed a lifetime away and yet here we are. He also told us stories of his time on the set of LIS. Did you know Irwin Allen only visited the set when there was trouble? And with a full coterie of ‘yes’ men. By 5.20 p.m. the catamaran veered it’s way back to dock. It was an eventful day for so many fans for meeting an actor they have admired for years. This actor is now their friend. All had a wonderful afternoon with much laughing but sad that today was about to end. Before disembarking we were rallied together and introduced to Mark. Jumping on the promenade to speak, silence filled the atmosphere. Even the captain climbed down from the bridge to listen.

With a great smile on his face Mark said "It’s really great being in Australia, my thanks to LISA for bringing us down and thank you all for coming out. This is very special to Evelyn, John and myself being here in Australia and very meaningful to me to meet you all after all these years of watching LIS. I know I’ll always be Major Don West to you and Don West I’ll be to myself too - he has a place close to my heart. I hope you enjoy my part as the general, I hope to make that an ongoing part for awhile…maybe. It’s because of you fans that NLC is making a movie and that’s the only reason. Wherever I go I always thank the fans…..Thank you for being loyal to the show because it’s not easy, but now LIS is back after 32 years, a movie an upcoming animated series a possible new series. Now we can all talk through the internet, we feel very close to our fans and we’re a good cast of people, June, Jonathan, Bill, Marta and Angela. God bless Guy - he’s not with us anymore. On behalf of all the rest of the cast, I know that they would be saying this too, thank you for being fans of LIS and god bless you all!"

(Side Note by Kevin J. Pellew:- when I told people that I had met Mark Goddard the most asked question was "What was he like?". I took my family on the Harbour cruise. My son Chris was around ten years old and had never been on a cruise nor met a star so this was a big thing for him. He met Mark and had a photo taken with him, as did I. Every now and then Mark would call out to Chris and ask him some question about Sydney Harbour and Australian history. Towards the end of the day as we were approaching the dock the crowd gathered around Mark to say their good-byes. I was looking for Chris because in all the confusion of saying goodbye we had been separated. Suddenly Mark called out to me saying, "Kevin, he’s over there," and pointed adding, "Chris is over there." In all the confusion and bustle Mark had been keeping an eye out for Chris. He had also remembered both my name and Chris’s. There were a lot of people on that cruise and not all of them were there to see Mark yet he had shaken hands and talked with them all. Throughout the day there had been photo’s taken with all of the LIS fans and had been introduced to each and every one of them. And he had remembered their names. That’s the kind of man he is. That’s what he’s like.)

On Wednesday the 8^th Of October I attended the Major Intergalactic Dinner night held in the Grenfield Station Restaurant in the Bankstown District Sports Club, Sydney Australia. Only 40 people could attend making this function a very exclusive. The VIP fans stared arriving at 7.00 p.m. and were ushered into a deluxe dining train where the restaurants special guests dine. By 7.45 LISA organizers handed out complimentary Major West 1997 Blast off Tour Souvenir programs as a special gift. At 7.50 the Goddards arrived to a rapturous applause. Mark shook hands with and said hello to every diner. A further treat was in store when Mark handed out promotion cards for the new range of LIS cards by the Inkworks Company. Mark told us that he had personally signed six hundred special trading cards for Inkworks. Additionally he and Jonathan had signed plaques for replica laser pistols being made for the ICONS Company.

The seating arrangement was well thought out, being a large rectangular format where the Goddards sat at one end and everyone sat around them. This was a perfect forum as everyone could be seen and heard and dinner was served from the centre rather than behind.

As we settled Mark and Evelyn were given gifts of appreciation, Evelyn was given more flowers - everyone liked her! There was a lot of smiling and laughing as conversation flowed happily. Mark came around to each diner and signed autographs for us. Mark signed anything put before him exclaiming that he was just so happy to be here in Australia. Mark stood and asked us to raise our glasses to propose a toast to US, being thankful to LISA in sending a petition to the English Equity on behalf of NLC to allow original cast members June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright, Marta Kristen and he to appear in the LIS movie.

Mark enjoyed the Australian interviews he had done so far. All of the interviewers were great Lost in Space fans and this placed him in the unfortunate situation of the interviewers knowing more about LIS than he did! A highlight of the night was seeing Mark get out of his chair and demonstrate (below) where he went gliding down in the Jupiter 11 elevator. (There was no lower deck - the lower deck existed on another soundstage)

Mark effortlessly entertained us with his own sense of humor starting with a joke about a frog and a princess. Soon the night started to turn into a joke telling event, some were good, some were average, but we laughed at all of them. Mark talked about the many times that he got into all sorts of mischief with Bill Mumy "There probably wasn't one moment away from the cameras, that Billy and I were up to no-good". Mark also told us the most asked question so far on this tour was "Did I have any romance with Judy (Marta)? Mark didn't mind though, because it's the same in the U.S. "Everyone's curious about did we or not, (Mark covered Evelyn's eyes) I'll tell you on the movie night". Evelyn smiled saying: 'I can tell you all now, they necked in the dressing room on Lost in Space. " We responded as classroom students "ooohing".

Mark told us he is very protective of Guy and June; "There has been stuff printed about them that's not true. They were great friends, and there was no affair. I was with them all the time and if there was, then it would had to have been a threesome, and I'm not into threesomes!" Surprisingly, the cast member of Lost in Space asked about the most was Guy Williams. Mark said "Guy was from the old school, if acting, he had the physic, the looks, he could fence, he was great in the action parts of the show. He was a great person and was my friend Numero uno ".

(Following pictures copyright Inkworks)

Friday 10th October 1997 saw the Blast-Off Movie Night held in the Bankstown District Sports Club in Sydney. Tonight Mark would present The Reluctant Stowaway, (the first episode) and his personal favorite; The Anti-Matter Man. We were also told tonight we will see a 'premiere world exclusive Special’. At 7.25, Mark arrived and mingled with a large audience of fans making sure he spoke with everyone. When he saw me, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'I already know my mate Steve. "

At 7.40, the MC spoke from the stage lectern to welcome the audience and our special guest. He introduced him as "The One, and Only; Mr. Mark Goddard". "Thank you very much, " said Mark. "You cannot say the one and only Don West anymore though!!" Mark decided to begin by answering any and all questions. He told us how much he is enjoying doing media interviews here and claimed he could keep doing them for a long time.

Soon Mark talked about Lost in Space's first episode The Reluctant Stowaway. He hasn't seen it for over thirty years, although he is now re-watching the series on videocassette with his son John. In the pilot No Place to Hide, he was introduced as Dr Donald West, but he became Major Don West in 'The Reluctant Stowaway'. He remembered the scene where Dr Smith revives him. It was filmed just after lunch and Mark regretted Jonathan having eaten garlic that day! He also remembered the scene where he had to combat and disable the Robot before it went on its rampage, which he illustrated by holding up a T-shirt which, had a photograph of the scene transferred onto it.

He compared the ease of disabling our Robot with the one in the motion picture. The new Robot, he says is "very intense, very destructive and very scary-looking, and really powerful." The new Robot is like a 'Massive Machine Spiderman' that grows nine feet (three metres) tall. "The motion picture Robot is not internally operated and cost more than $300, 000 to build, not counting the cost of labor".

He had good feelings about his Major Don West role. He was happy to work with Jonathan and liked his casting as the antagonist. They had both worked together before on The Bill Dana Show. Originally, Mark didn't want to do the Lost in Space pilot. His agent wanted him to do it. Irwin Allen wanted him to do the pilot. Mark was an established television actor who had lead roles in Johnny Ringo, Robert Taylor's Detectives and Many Happy Returns. His star was on the rise and was unsure about working in science fiction.

'I said, I don't want to do science fiction. I don't like science fiction, I don't know about science fiction. I wouldn't know how to react to what's happening out there!! And if they told me I was going to deliver dialogue to a carrot, I don't think I would have done it. " But his agent was persistent and believed no-one would see the pilot. Irwin Allen directed the pilot - No Place to Hide. He recollected how Irwin held a film canister, which he would strike with a hammer during the planet quake sequence. When Irwin struck the film can, the actors would stumble from side to side. The cameras rolled in the opposite direction to the actors. Mark revealed that Lost in Space was sometimes filmed through the view port, and the huge walls of the Jupiter 11 were removed for some scenes for the cameras.

At 8.10 we saw The Reluctant Stowaway with brief scenes from the following four episodes. The Reluctant Stowaway was written by Shimon Wincelberg and was directed by Tony Leader. In 1965, this episode was called "cutting edge television". One scene that has spurred debate among fans is one that occurs before the opening credits. Dr Smith strikes a security guard, knocking him to the ground. Fans are divided over whether he killed the guard or merely knocked him unconscious. The Second Revised Shooting Final version of the script clears this up. It was originally written that the guard would be disabled; and the camera would close in on a ring worn by Dr Smith. The ring has a skull face design with a paralyzing needle protruding from the mouth.

The directions for scene number 136, note that the needle's effects were to temporarily paralyze the guard. This may have been inserted at the bequest of CBS, who did not want the guard killed. We do know that CBS requested that Dr Smith's mission be clarified to show he was a world citizen working for the highest bidder and not for personal reasons.

The first screening finished at 9.20pm to a huge applause and quickly Mark made his way back to the podium. He described the opening animated credits as "Pink Pantherish", suggesting to Mark that Lost In Space may have been planned as a light-hearted adventure from the beginning and would have changed even without Batman's influence. The most notable difference between The Reluctant Stowaway and other episodes is the huge cast of extras! It is really a classic of television. The script should be studied by all students of scriptwriting for its masterful build-up of suspense. Mark revealed we could see Paul Zastupnevich, the Lost In Space costume designer as one of the foreign journalists and that the realistic space-walking was accomplished by the actor, and not the film moving in slow motion.

The Chariot whirlpool sequence reminded Mark of how fascinated he was by the sight of water in Australian sinks spinning anti-clockwise! Mark also noticed a discrepancy in The Derelict. John Robinson writes in his diary entry for 21st October 1997 that they had been in space twenty-four hours, even though the launch date in the previous episode was October 16th 1997! Mark remembers well, that it took hours to reset the cobwebs in the underground city during the planetquake scene (There Were Giants in the Earth). "The cobwebs were put up with a 'cobweb machine'. It took two to three hours for it to be set up. Action! ... Then Irwin asked for another take!"

At 10.10pm, we saw the trailer for the Lost in Space motion picture, followed by rushes of Mark's scenes in the film. In the United States the trailer was shown with the summer fantasy films Men in Black, Contact and Spawn. Mark received phone calls about it from Los Angeles to New York. His school students reacted upon seeing the trailer with; "What's this? Oh my God! Wow!" Mark said he was apprehensive about appearing in it. He hadn't been on a studio set for seven years and now he had to work with William Hurt, an Academy Award winning actor.

William put him at ease by using a surfing analogy. "Did you ever go surfing? With surfing, you just go with the wave. You wait for the wave, you let it come and then you go with it. Just take the wave in and it takes you in. You don't fight it, you don't go against it, you go with it". He was great to work with, " Mark said of William "What a gentleman. Philosophical, a real heavy duty guy ".

Mark then presented exclusive scenes from the Lost in Space movie, sent to him just before he came to Australia. This would be shown publicly for the first time - a special world exclusive for LISA.

After Mark's introduction we saw a huge Mission Control set with Mark and William walking along a high gantry deep in conversation. The General asks John whether pre-flight checks show they are ready to launch after moving the mission forward three months. The General cites an enemy force "The Sedition" as getting braver. John calls the General 'Ben' and acknowledges the Sedition is getting stronger having already killed Daniels (the original Jupiter pilot) & then attacked the Hypergate installation. The General is worried about a launch dome attack.

John concedes they're just not renegade terrorists. He tells the General "a military presence" is necessary on the ship, but his family is also on the mission, so a new pilot must have "more than spit and polish". The General replies that he has the man for the job (Don West) in mind. Suddenly John realizes he's forgotten Will's science fair and records a reminder to himself to video an apology. (The clapperboard reveals filming took place on 17th March 1997).

We witnessed two different views and takes of these scenes. At the end of the rushes, we roared with approving applause. Mark is expected to return to London in December 1997 to loop/re-record dialogue for his scenes. Mark predicts Lost in Space will become one of the best science fiction films of all time, vindicating the vision of Irwin Allen and his creative team.

At 10.20pm we saw The Anti-Matter Man. Mark's favourite episode was written by Robert Hamner and Barney Slater and directed by Sutton Roley. In this episode, opposites of John and Don have been imprisoned in an alternate universe for years, waiting for a chance to enter our world. The duplicate John gets his chance when an atomising unit opens a portal between the universes. This episode's popularity is due in part to the hard-core science fiction story. All antimatter stories are inspired by a speech made by scientist Paul Dirac in 1933 when he won a Noble Prize for Physics. He suggested that in space there existed stars, planets and possibly even intelligent beings made out of anti-matter, a substance opposite of matter. Writers of these stories often ignore the problem of when matter and anti-matter meet; both disappear in a tremendous explosion that leaves behind pure energy.

The writers of this episode do allude to the incompatibility of both forms of matter. Before Will and the Robot enter the anti-matter world, they find themselves in a trans-dimensional area. The Robot tells Will "Our bodies have not yet adjusted to molecular displacement" suggesting a conversion is taking place in the trans-dimensional area, which the Robot states are "between any number of dimensions".

This episode benefited enormously from Sutton Roley, the most creative television director at the time. You can tell a Roley directed program by his use of high angle shots, low angle shots, moving shots and his use of wide-angle lenses. Coloured lights, shadows and broad lenses created the Shadow World. Mention should also be made of the set decoration by Walter M. Scott and James Hassinger and art direction by Jack Martin Smith and Frank 0. Barnette, whose simple use of forced perspective and distorted colour makes a standard planet set look very different.

Mark gives an acting tour de force here, and so does Guy Williams. But we nearly missed out on it. Originally Drun, the Shadow World's version of Don, was not meant to be an opposite Don West but another character altogether. I predict that this episode will be a big seller when it comes out on video in Australia. The episode finished at 11:15pm and Mark quickly walked back to the lectern saying that the episode holds up very well and believed Guy acting dual role was very good. It gave him a chance to stretch his role just as his own role was. Mark liked playing the evil Drun where he had a scar across his face. Mark also mentioned that he would have loved all the episodes of the show to have the quality that this episode had. "The episode is strong with a 'Good verses Evil' plot running through. It's a real feel-good piece."

The night continued with Mark mingling, still answering questions and still signing autographs. You could tell he was happy, staying until l am. Most people stayed, not wanting the night to finish. Fortunately for us the Major Convention was scheduled to begin at 12.30pm the next day, so we could sleep in after our big movie night out.