The Death Clock

Bad guy of the week Corpsman Mallory has somehow snuck a machine into the sick bay that can create a fourth dimension. While Captain Crane is recuperating from radiation exposure his fourth dimension self awakens who then promptly kills Admiral Nelson and takes over the Seaview. Death Clock feels a bit rehashed as someone is once again"duplicated'. This was a common plot device in Star Trek and Irwin Allen's Lost In Space as well.

Seeing how this was made in the 60's there appears to be an anti-LSD message hidden in the script complete with "bad trip" hallucinations and time jumping from the present to the future and back again. Most interesting is seeing many of the regulars play against character. In addition to the bad Crane, Chip enjoys assuming command with the Admiral dead and the good Captain under arrest.

Kowalski and Patterson have no problem immediately shooting the good Crane not knowing his duplicate is the one up to no good. Chief Sharkey eventually becomes good Crane's ally even though hes not sure if he believes in the fourth dimension. Can they stop bad Crane in time? As usual Irwin Allen makes ample use of sparks and explosions in the rarely seen reactor room.

I enjoy these episodes that have hidden social statements, if you care to see them. 3 1/2 stars.