In this episode, the Addams Family displays their "spirit" for the most wonderful day in the life of an Addams - Halloween! We get to enjoy Fester-faced pumpkin carving, bobbing for apples on a teeter-totter, bite-sized salamander sandwiches, and porcupine taffy. Afterwards we are drawn into their "witch hunt" to prove to Mr. Thompson, their next door neighbor, that witches really do exist. The jokes and gags in this episode are typical "Addams Family" in nature, which are quite effective. With that said, I highly recommend this Halloween episode if you want to get a feel for what this series is all about.

I really enjoyed watching the "state of art" special effects: the spaceship's blastoff, the meteor bombardment, the crash landing, the domesticated alien animals, the jetpack, the ancient civilization with its scary mummy, and the inland sea with its whirlpool. For their day, I am sure they were captivating.

But my favorite scenes of all are the two with the giant cyclops. Now that is a great monster! The way Don says, "I don't believe it," with trembling fear in his voice couldn't be more convincing.

Therefore, I rank this episode rather highly. It remains highly entertaining, even after 40 plus years since its production.

This was an excellent episode from beginning to end. Superb acting, wonderful script, and early 1960's special effects that makes me love sci-fi shows from this time period. For me, this episode seemed to be a commentary on cults: how a leader can garner psychological control over his followers under depriving conditions, hold members with charismatic speaking skills, member suicides when escape is no option, and the eventual abandonment by the cult members when they finally see the leader was nothing more than a control hungry, self-appointed god.

When the captain chose to stay alone on the planet when his followers abandond him, it seemed a lot like a parallel of how cult leaders choose death rather than live in a world they cannot control. And I believe that is exactly the torment the captain is expressing when he chases after the departing spaceship. He realizes that he will have NO chance for his heart's desire: controlling the masses.

In this first episode of the series, we are introduced to the Bond family in a most unique way: exploring the bowels of an active volcano. It is good to see the family's unity and devotion to each others well-being in episode number one. It lays a solid foundation for the remainder of the series. We are also provided with the soon-to-be norm of King Kong rescuing the Bond family from the perils of Skull Island. This episode ends with the apparent extinction of the underground civilization, yet it leaves me wanting to know more about this strange race of humans.

This episode is full of scientifically and physically impossible achievements........pure fodder for all of you trivia hounds. Yet that is exactly why I enjoy this series. It is fun to both laugh and frustrate myself with the ludicrous events that unfold, such as the ridiculous idea of seven people being able to survive for 14 days on just a few gallons of water, or the mysterious “growing shoes and clothes” which gargantuan Zachary adorns. But in the end, Dr. Smith learns his lesson and everyone is once again full of generous smiles and abounding love for one another. Until the next episode….