MONSTER FROM THE INFERNO Airdate: Sep 18, 1966 Writer: Rik Vollaerts Director: Harry Harris Music: Leith Stevens Guest Stars: Arthur Hill (Lindsay), Dick Tufeld (Brain Voice)

A brain-shaped alien from outer space takes over Captain Crane. This alien wants to use the Seaview as its body and then take over earth. This year  three opening episode is rooted in a 1945 Republic movie serial called The Purple Monster Strikes. That was Hollywood's first invasion-of-the-body-snatchers!  Voyage took a lot from old serials including effects man Howard Lydecker, composer Paul Sawtell, explosions, explosions, spys, and more explosions. Year two Voyage episode The Monster From Outer Space was almost a pilot for the body-snatcher theme that invaded year three. To me, The Monster From Outer Space proved that David Hedison was more interesting when taken over by something evil, so maybe someone else felt the same way and just went with the idea for a whole season! The Monster From The Inferno, the year three season opener, told viewers that the series budget was now cut and some of the quality direction from years one and two was now gone. Now there was no time to get those great camera angles but the series would survive because fun, fun, fun was now the game and the aliens and monsters were here! Year three is unlike the first two seasons but still just as good. Six elements all came together to make this episode great ... One. Leith Stevens. This guy was really busy during the 1966-67 US tv season! He did great music for Voyage, The Time Tunnel and the best score of his life time, the score for LIS's Blast Off Into Space. You always know when Stevens is doing the music. It  has that old Hollywood sound to it. Stevens is better known for his Destination Moon (1950) and War Of The Worlds (1953) scores. He died in 1970 which forever puts his music in the area of "Old Hollywood". Two. The Brain-Shaped Alien. It is nearly always seen in a great Seaview set that had a glass cage (the same cage was used for The Mermaid) and the alien in that set really looks good. You just look at it and wonder how a television show could  look so well produced, like a feature film. Unlike many, I have no problem with the various creatures that appeared in year three, but it is always nice when something really unusual, like a brain-shaped alien, comes along. Three. Dick Tufeld. He sounds less like The Robot and more like the LIS voice over man, but spoken with attitude! Some might say, who cares about a voice artist? Well I do. I have an ear for a quality voice and the fantasy voice work in The Monster From The Inferno compares well with Mercedes McCambridge in The Exorcist (1973) and James Earl Jones in Star Wars (1977). Was Irwin trying to tell us something by casting Tufeld in this role in the season opener? Many have said that Voyage and LIS came together in year three and this just seems to back that up. Four. Arthur Hill. The guest stars were so very important to Voyage and all other Irwin Allen shows. To me, Voyage was often the "Basehart with guest star show" and in The Time Tunnel the guest stars were much better than the two time travelling leads. Arthur Hill? He performs well when taken over by the brain. He can act. This actor has done a lot of work but, oddly enough, I remember him from guest starring roles in QMs The Invaders and a colour episode of QMs The Fugitive. Five. "That course will take us to Australia??", Chip saying those seven words was great to me. Why? I am Australian and love hearing my much-loved home country mentioned in this hour that is so removed from the real world. Those seven words put the hour in the real world for a second.  I had the same reaction to Time Tunnel's Visitors From Beyond The Stars when General Kirk says "a UFO was once seen in Perth, Australia". What was Australia like in 1966? They were still building The Sydney Opera House and I was born that year. Six. "We've had a busy day", says Nelson with laughter in his voice. Was that line in the script? I am guessing the answer in no. No Voyage writer would be able to think of something so natural. This hour had no humour or characterisation and Nelson ends the hour by making this so real light remark in a non-real show. It was those remarks that kept Voyage on the air for four seasons. There is no question about it. Remember that scene in year three's The Plant Man (the same creature from LIS's The Flaming Planet) where Nelson is in the flying sub and the giant plant man attacks the flying sub? What a silly situation to be in. After the drama of this situation happens, Crane radios Nelson in a deadly serious voice and says, "Admiral are you okay?" Nelson responds by laughing.  That one scene made the The Plant Man episode good. Thank you.

Special Thanks To StuOz for another great review.