When a nearby volcano is about to erupt, the Jupiter 2 is in jeopardy. In order to avert this catastrophe, Don and Dr. Smith set out in the chariot with explosives to cap the volcano before it can cause any harm.
When Don and Smith arrive at the volcano’s base they are taken prisoner by a tribe of cavemen. They see the cavemen worshiping a giant computer. The tribe's spokesman, Rongah, says the computer is Protineus, their leader. Protineus thinks the presence of humans contaminates their future destiny and orders Smith and Don to be put in quarantine in a cave.
Meanwhile, the crew of the Jupiter 2 find they have lost communication with the chariot and John goes out in the space pod to search. Will and the Robot decide to conduct a secret search of their own and find the chariot covered in vines. Apparently, it has somehow become “primitive.” John meets up with Will and the Robot, and Will tells his father what he has seen.
Locked away in the cave, Don and Smith dig a hole so they can plant an explosive. They set the timer it and run for cover. Don almost falls to his death, but in a strange act of bravery Dr. Smith pulls him to safety and saves his life. They then discover that the entrance to the cave has collapsed and they are sealed inside. Having no method of escape, there is little they can do but sit and wait in the hope that they will be rescued. Since they have a lot of time on their hands, Don and Smith get to talking and they decide that they are friends.
John and Will sneak up on the cavemen while the Robot disguises himself as one of them and blends in. Rongah spots John and takes all three of them prisoner. John decides to challenge the authority of Protineus, and Will joins in, claiming that the Robot can do anything that the computer can do. The Robot then goes about impressing the cavemen with a variety of magic tricks until Protineus becomes annoyed with him and shrinks him.
While the cavemen are distracted by the Robot’s show, John rescues Don and Dr. Smith. As the volcano begins to erupt Rongah and Protineus ask John to help them and allow John to cap the volcano just in time to prevent an eruption. Protineus mends his ways and vanishes along with his tribe of followers. The Robot is returned to normal, and Don and Smith become enemies once again.
Background information[]
- Hyper-Atomic explosive does not detonate until the ambient temperature is 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
- If the natives can cause people and weapons to disappear and reappear at will, why do they need spears?
- John says the planet is very ancient, so why is there so much volcanic activity on the planet? Usually such instability would be present on a younger planet.
- It's amazing that Smith actually pulled Don out of that hole!
- This is the only episode where Dr Smith refers to Major West by his first name, during a touching sequence while both men are trapped in a cave.
- During the chanting scene the Robot says his tracks are killing him. How can a Robot feel pain?
- The transformation of Rongah into a gold, discus wielding man is meant to represent man's evolution from barbaric society into a more civilized form such as Ancient Greece.
- The Robot demonstrates an ability to perform magic.
- A willing suspension of continuity is required as this planet is supposedly the same one the Zahn had cordoned off as a private killing reserve in "Hunter's Moon." They apparently didn't notice the Space Primevals.
- Why did Don choose to bring Dr. Smith along on such an important mission, knowing how much Don hates him and how inept Don feels he is??
- Don drives the Chariot straight into a boulder. We can hear the CLUNK.
- When he is planting the explosive, why doesn’t the steam/smoke from the volcano burn John? I would think that leaning over a pool of lava would be hot, wouldn’t it? Also, surely it's more than 115 degrees in there, and hot enough to detonate the explosive.
- Does the Robot’s “disguise” actually fool the cavemen into thinking he is one of them? I know they’re stupid, but surely they’re not THAT stupid...
- Why does Will consider endlessly pacing back and forth to be “fun and games?”
- How does the Robot cause objects to appear and disappear? If he has had this capability all along then the Robinsons should have the ability to obtain any item they need by just having the Robot materialize it into existence. Maybe that explains all the props in previous episodes about which we asked "Where did that come from??"
- At the beginning of the episode Rongah says he and the other aliens are not worried about the volcano because their life force is contained inside it. He says their physical form is only temporary, implying that if the volcano explodes they will evolve to a higher plane. Yet at the end of the episode all of this is forgotten. Rongah and Protinus are afraid of the volcanic eruption and ask John to cap the volcano.
- The outfit Rongah wears after he transformations into a gold, discus wielding man is a modification of Raddion's outfit from the episode The Dream Monster.
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