One of the biggest surprises in OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger's Movie is the inclusion of a discussion on and several clips from one of Lost in Space's penultimate episodes, 'The Anti-Matter Man'.

Bud Clayman, the subject of the documentary, recounts how he always saw Guy William's John Robinson as the perfect father figure -- and how, to him, 'The Anti-Matter Man' perfectly reflected Robinson's other side, his opposite, and this scared the crap out of him.

 

 



John Robinson's evil twin scared the crap out of the  five year old me also, because I, too, totally related to Williams' John Robinson and always thought he was a pretty good example of a father. Although my focus was primarily on the exploits of Smith, Will, and The Robot, Williams was a solid anchor for the show's drama. Seeing this father figure treat Will, his son, with callous disregard for his feelings, hurt my own sensibilities, and opened a door in my psyche to acknowledging another side I sometimes saw of my own late father. When the good Robinson managed to kick the bad Robinson off the space carpet into an endless space abyss, I cheered loudly, and felt confident that the world was back in balance. Little did I know, but, hey, I was a kid. 

Clayman's doco (he directed it with some assistance) attempts to get us to understand how someone with all of the above conditions thinks. He gives us stream of consciousness voice-overs of himself in testy life situations that really convey the difficulty someone like himself has moving amongst the living.

The film features a wonderful sequence in which Clayman recreates 'The Anti-Matter Man' episode from LIS using green screen, costumes that come close to the originals, and himself as both John Robinsons.




Well worth catching for both its educational and solid entertainment value. An illuminating social document done right.