Second Season Episodes - A Visit To Hades (episode 41)

Smith's greed leads him to a place resembling Hades, which is actually an intergalactic prison for a devilish political offender. 

Smith tries to confiscate a lyre but is whirled through space to a fearsome place of fire and brimstone. The appearance of Morbus, a Mephistophelian fellow, confirms Smith's worst fears that he is in Hades. Morbus commands Smith to smash the lyre. It does not break, but it does materialize Morbus, who is the prisoner of the harp and has tried for eons to free himself.

Meanwhile, Judy is bemoaning her fate of having no other choice for a mate than Don, so she is charmed to meet Morbus. John Robinson is suspicious of him and wants some questions answered by the Robot, but when it is questioned, its power-packmelts. Suddenly Morbus is doubled up by a pain in his head and traces the source to Smith, who is plinking away on the lyre. Smith has discovered the instrument hurts Morbus and uses the threat of playing it to get him to promise to send him back to Earth.

Morbus has him playa combination of notes calculated to get him there, but instead Judy and Morbus vanish to the Hades-like place, where he tries to explain he is a political prisoner, exiled from Lyre for plotting a revolution. The lyre is the key to his prison, and he would be free if he could only smash it. The others, meanwhile, experiment with the combination of notes, and Smith, John and Don arrive at Morbus' prison. Judy decides she does not wish to spend the next few thousand years with Morbus.

Morbus tells Smith he is not Satan and has no power to help him. Don demands his girl, which leads to a fight. But Don's blows glance off Morbus as though he were made of iron, whereupon Judy seizes the harp to smash Morbus, but hits Don instead. The lyre breaks into pieces and Morbus recognizes the key is broken and he is free at last to go home and plot another revolution.

Ray says: "A Visit to Hades" is a very good episode with a great script and "hell" of a good acting. Gerald Mohr is fantastic in his character as the devil Morbus from Hades. Jonathan, Mark, and Marta make this episode a fun one to enjoy if you like the camp aspect of LIS, which I do. 

**Side Note- On September 11, 1968, a Visit to Hades became the very last episode to aired on CBS, bringing Lost In Space to an end.

Jonathan Harris Comment

I like filming the episode a "Visit to Hades" for the simple reason Gerald Mohr was such a nice man to work with. There was a scene where I had a chocolate cake and had to cut the centre of it out and then push it back together. Being I created the Smith character after ever child I had ever known I knew I could cut the cake, push it back together, and not get into any trouble doing it.

The children loved seeing this scene because I could get away with it. While they on the other hand would get spanked for it.

Mark Goddard Comment

"A Visit to Hades" was a Hell of a lot of fun to film. Mainly because I got to work with Gerald Mohr, again. Seven years earlier Gerald did a guest spot on "Johnny Ringo", in an episode called "Love Affair". Glory Dehaves, was my love in that show and needless to say, she was killed by the villain, Gerald Mohr. So, Gerald popped up again as the bad guy (if you call the devil a bad guy), but didn't kill Marta. Thank God! 

Filming