Alpha Control: a Lost in Space Podcast

Welcome Galactic Castaways, this is Alpha Control the podcast about Irwin Allen’s classic 1960’s Sci-Fi Adventure television series LOST IN SPACE. Listen to a comprehensive review of one episode of the show per podcast! We also release special shows and interviews focusing on subjects directly related to Lost in Space. Alpha Control is an interesting, fun walk down memory lane with two fans who grew up watching Lost in Space that finally get the opportunity to share their knowledge and love of the show with a wider audience.

Special - 2024 Happy Holiday Spot 12/07/2024

Special - Calling Alpha Control: RON GROSS 4.0 05/25/2022

Special - Calling Alpha Control: RON GROSS 4.0 CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: RON GROSS 4.0 EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome back AGAIN a very special friend of the Alpha Control Podcast; the “Artist-Laureate” of Irwin Allen’s original Lost in Space - Mr. RON GROSS. Ron is an incredibly talented & prolific graphic artist who is skilled in both traditional and digital rendering techniques. Many of his beautiful creations employ a distinctive hybrid production methodology that he personally developed. Ron's Lost in Space related works include assorted box art illustrations for both Polar Lights and Moebius Models. In association with Kevin Burns of Synthesis Entertainment, Ron also designed the official 45th and 50th Lost in Space anniversary logos. Fans of the series are most familiar with his stunning calendars & poster art based on the original Irwin Allen television properties. As well as an officially licensed - Limited-Edition Lost in Space Deluxe Trading Card set from Monsterwax, featuring his own dazzling Artwork, as well as a fascinating series ‘In Universe’ storyline released in 2019. RON’S BIO: Ron grew up in Aurora Illinois and resides in the greater Chicago area to this day. After retiring from a distinguished career as a Sales Executive, Ron's fully devoted himself to his passion for creating art. When we spoke with Ron last time, we focused on his THEN “newly-released” book, "Fantasy Worlds Beyond: The Irwin Allen Art of Ron Gross". Published in Spring 2021, this beautiful Art Book burnished his well-deserved fame among serious Lost in Space aficionados. Now Ron has followed up his many accomplishments, with yet another fantastic project: his newly released book, "Lost in Space: The Initial Adventures." More than 5 decades in the making, this richly illustrated novelization of the multi-episode story arc that launched series contains a variety of "lost scenes” throughout - as well as Ron’s own speculative exploration of the mysteriously planned, but never developed sixth episode of the story arc titled; “Refuge of the Damned”. A topic that has intrigued Lost in Space fans for years. So, today we’re going to speak in-depth with Ron about his fabulous New Book & how he managed to make this childhood passion a reality. So, sit back, relax & enjoy “ACT IV” of our compelling ongoing conversation with gifted Lost in Space graphic artist & author Mr. Ron Gross. PODCAST INFO: This interview was conducted on 25 APR 2022. LINKS: EMAIL: [email protected] /episode/index/show/alphacontrolpodcast/id/23223935

Special - Calling Alpha Control: DR. STEVEN D BLOOM PART II 03/23/2022

Special - Calling Alpha Control: DR. STEVEN D BLOOM PART II CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DR. STEVEN D. BLOOM PART II EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome a special guest to Alpha Control; Dr. Steven D. Bloom. As well as being a big fan of LIS & Science Fiction in general, Steve is the author of a fascinating book titled, The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction. Published in 2016 by McFarland; the book explores a wide range of Sci-Fi Movies, TV series, Books & Short Stories by exploring their underlying concepts of physics & astronomy. Written for those of us who are NOT real ‘rocket scientists’, Steve’s entertaining & highly readable book assesses the accuracy and plausibility of many of the complex concepts that often appear in science fiction, such as Interstellar Travel, Time Travel, Teleportation, Robots, Alien Life as well as other genre fixtures. STEVE’S BIO: Steve Bloom grew up in the New York City suburbs where in the early 1970’s he would rush home from his neighborhood school to watch re-runs of Lost in Space. There began his love for science and astronomy in particular. Later, he would go on to major in Astrophysics at Columbia University and then earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Boston University in 1994. After that, he continued doing research as a post-doctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center located outside Washington DC in Greenbelt, MD and then at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Today Dr. Bloom is a professor of physics and astronomy at Hampden-Sydney College, located near Farmville, Virginia, where he lives with his wife, daughter and cat. As I mentioned last time, when we got together to record, Steve was VERY generous with his time! Which is why I decided to split our conversation into TWO Special Calling Alpha Control interviews. Today, we’ll pick up the discussion where we left off last time, talking about LIS & Steve’s wonderfully informative book on the “science of science fiction”. I think you’ll be both delighted & amazed by some of what you learn in this interview. So, sit back, relax & enjoy Part II of this intriguing conversation with DOCTOR STEVEN D. BLOOM. PODCAST INFO: This interview was conducted on 6 JAN 2022. LINKS: EMAIL: [email protected] /episode/index/show/alphacontrolpodcast/id/22228934

Special - Calling Alpha Control: DR. STEVEN D BLOOM PART I 02/24/2022

Special - Calling Alpha Control: DR. STEVEN D BLOOM PART I CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: DR. STEVEN D. BLOOM PART I EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome a special guest to Alpha Control; Dr. Steven D. Bloom. As well as being a big fan of LIS & Science Fiction in general, Steve is the author of a fascinating book titled, The Physics and Astronomy of Science Fiction. Published in 2016 by McFarland; the book explores a wide range of Sci-Fi Movies, TV series, Books & Short Stories by exploring their underlying concepts of physics & astronomy. Written for those of us who are NOT real ‘rocket scientists’, Steve’s entertaining & highly readable book assesses the accuracy and plausibility of many of the complex concepts that often appear in science fiction, such as Interstellar Travel, Time Travel, Teleportation, Robots, Alien Life as well as other genre fixtures. STEVE’S BIO: Steve Bloom grew up in the New York City suburbs where in the early 1970’s he would rush home from his neighborhood school to watch re-runs of Lost in Space. There began his love for science and astronomy in particular. Later, he would go on to major in Astrophysics at Columbia University and then earned his Ph.D. in Astronomy from Boston University in 1994. After that, he continued doing research as a post-doctoral fellow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center located outside Washington DC in Greenbelt, MD and then at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. Today Dr. Bloom is a professor of physics and astronomy at Hampden-Sydney College, located near Farmville, Virginia, where he lives with his wife, daughter and cat. When we recorded this episode, I had a lot of questions for the Professor & he was VERY generous with his time. In fact, so much so, I’ve decided to split our conversation into TWO Special Calling Alpha Control interviews, where we’ll discuss Steve’s love for Sci-Fi entertainment, (especially LIS) and dig deeply into his wonderfully informative book on the “science of science fiction”. I think you’ll be both delighted & amazed by what you learn in this two-parter interview. So, sit back, relax & enjoy Part I of this intriguing conversation with DOCTOR STEVEN D. BLOOM. PODCAST INFO: This interview was conducted on 6 JAN 2022. LINKS: EMAIL: [email protected] /episode/index/show/alphacontrolpodcast/id/22228841

Special - Calling Alpha Control: ANGELA CARTWRIGHT & BILL MUMY 01/27/2022

Special - Calling Alpha Control: ANGELA CARTWRIGHT & BILL MUMY SPECIAL - CALLING ALPHA CONTROL: ANGELA CARTWRIGHT & BILL MUMY EPISODE SYNOPSIS: We welcome two very special guests to Alpha Control: Angela Cartwright & Bill Mumy. Although well-known to LIS fans as the talented young actors who played Penny & Will Robinson on the classic series, BOTH performers have played numerous roles in dozens of movies & TV shows and between them racked up hundreds of appearances on both the Big & Small screen. But if that wasn’t enough, these ‘gifted go-getters’ are ALSO multi-talented artists in a wide variety of creative fields. Angela’s life-long passion for art & photography, led her to pursue a second career as an artist, as well as a jewelry & clothing designer; eventually establishing her own art studio, which can be explored online at Angela Cartwright Studio.com. Bill on the other hand, has also achieved great success as a gifted musician, singer, song writer, voice artist & producer. In addition to his prolific catalog of solo songs & recordings, Bill is the co-founder of the off-beat rock duo Barnes & Barnes and veteran member of the band America. In his latest musical endeavor, he teamed up with musicians Vicki Peterson of the Bangles and John Cowsill of the Beach Boys, to write and record as the rock group, “ACTION SKULLS”; which has released two critically acclaimed albums; 2017’s ‘Angel Hear’ & 2020’s ‘A Different World’. What’s more, both actors are published authors. Angela’s titles include her award-winning coffee table book Styling the Stars: Lost Treasures from the Twentieth Century Fox Archive, & her Art books titled: Mixed Emulsions, In This House & In This Garden among others. She also conceived and collaborated on The Sound of Music Family Scrapbook along with her fellow ‘Von Trapp’ family siblings. Likewise, Bill’s lasting fascination with comic books propelled him into a career creating & writing scores of them for both Marvel & DC. And in the early 1990’s, he authored many issues of the celebrated "Lost in Space" comic book series for Innovation Comics. Later in 2005, he followed up with the acclaimed 360-page graphic novel, “Lost in Space: Voyage to the Bottom of the Soul”. With all that going on, it’s hard to believe this ‘talented twosome’ have also co-written three other terrific books: their first was their fantastic pictorial-memoir “Lost and Found in Space”, followed by “On Purpose”, a sci-fi adventure novel for young adults & finally their latest collaboration - the updated & expanded edition - “Lost and Found in Space 2”. As you can imagine, I’ve got a lot of questions for them both. So, get set to ‘Blast Off’ for this fascinating conversation with LIS Stars - Angela Cartwright & Bill Mumy PODCAST INFO: This interview was conducted on 18 JAN 2022. Don’t forget that from now until the end of FEB 2022 you can get 20% off the Deluxe Autographed Edition of their New book plus a set of limited edition trading cards using the cosmic Coupon Code revealed at the end of this interview! - Just go to NCPBooks.com at the link below for more information. OTHER LINKS: SHOP: ART SITE: FACEBOOK: EMAIL: [email protected] /episode/index/show/alphacontrolpodcast/id/21905945