It's interesting that the original series was not initially devised to have any camp. The first pilot did not even contain Dr. Smith or the robot. But the execs at CBS felt it needed some "fleshing out" so the cast and crew returned to shoot scenes that contained Smith and the robot. The pilot, with the added scenes, was spread out over four episodes. Smith would be the antagonist, a cold, murderous man who had no problem with killing even Penny and Will. And that's how Jonathan Harris performed the role. The intent was to have him attempt his nefarious ways for several episodes to create angst among the family and "fleshing out" their characters and then be killed off. But Mr. Harris was receiving a very high salary for his initially temporary performances (more than any other of the cast) and knew on what side his bread was buttered. He tempered his role, knowing it was a serious but family-centered TV show, wanting to appeal to children. The camp started, parents approved of allowing their kids to watch (it's not a good thing to let kids watch a show where a villain attempts to murder children), and it went off in another direction.
One of the best episodes, early in the series, was "Invaders from the Fifth Dimension." Aliens land their creepy ship on the planet, needing to repair their computerized system and the only thing that will do that is a human brain. They capture Smith but state his brain is too physically large so they would shrink it. Of course, he's not in favor of that so he convinces them he can deliver a brain of the right "size." He tries first with Penny, trying to convince her to come with him, coming off in his brilliant performance as some deranged pedophile. When that doesn't work, he tricks Will to come with him, basically abducting him, and delivers the child to the cold-hearted aliens. He didn't care what horrible things would happen to the boy. It was a truly creepy, classy, eerie and elegant episode, a far cry from "The Great Vegetable Rebellion."
So maybe this remake is returning to the original intent of the show, as a serious Sci-Fi adventure series. And it's interesting to note that this time Dr. Smith is a woman.
Gerard
