Jonathan Harris Shows What He Can Do

The man, Jonathan Harris.

Jonathan Harris gained fame a few years after the classic 1961 "Twilight Zone" episode ("Twenty Two") when he was cast as Dr. Smith. However, he had spent years perfecting the essence of the character in other roles.

In the first half-dozen episodes of "Lost in Space," Jonathan Harris played it straight. Then he let it rip, and a legend was born.

Harris took a lot of flak for "ruining" "Lost in Space" because, without direction, Harris turned his character from purely evil into, well, still evil but comically so.

Jonathan hamming it up with Vincent Price.

Anyway, for anyone who thinks that Harris couldn't play creepy, and play it well, "Twenty Two" also is a great showcase for the man and a must-see for "Lost in Space" fans.

Oh, you thought that all Jonathan Harris could do was play the simpering coward? Well, sure, he could do that, too.

In "Twenty Two," Jonathan Harris plays a doctor treating a stripper ("Dancer!" she corrects fiercely) who has been having recurring nightmares about a hospital nurse inviting her into the morgue (Room 22 in the basement) late at night by saying, "Room for one more, honey." Barbara Nichols plays the patient in suitably melodramatic form, looking more than a little like Marilyn Monroe.

"Oh, the pain, the pain...."

For those familiar with "Twenty Two," a few things really stand out about this episode, which has the usual "Twilight Zone" heavy-handed symbolism and ending:

• Notice that Harris really is subtly creepy in this episode where he basically just plays an ordinary guy, especially when he says that the next time they meet will be when he has a "ring-side seat" at one of his patient's stripper performances and wants her to "give me a subtle wink" (how that all got past the censors is an interesting question);
• The set-up is absolutely brilliant, including the overriding implication that science doesn't have all the answers, a common theme in "Twilight Zone" and one that still resonates: and
• The reaction that is provoked at the end, when the stewardess comes out and says "Room for one more, honey," is hysterically funny if you just picture it from the stewardess' point of view without all the previous foreshadowing. "Aaahhhhh!!!!!!," the Nichols character screams as she scrambles down the airplane ramp to get away.

The episode "Twenty Two" is an all-time classic "you had to be watching the earlier stuff for this not to be one of the oddest scenes of all time" moment. It also makes some people's lists of the creepiest "Twilight Zone" episodes.

Actually, Jonathan Harris could play drama and action just as well as his later humorous Dr. Smith act

It's fun on so many levels that "Twenty Two" is one of my favorite "Twilight Zone" episodes.

It is the overbearing script - overbearing in the sense of being relentless - of "Room 22" that helps make it so effective, so when I talk about the script that way, it's actually a compliment. And, of course, Harris' performance as the ultimate creepy doctor makes the entire episode work.

Jonathan Harris played Charles Dickens in "A Passion for Justice" on "Bonanza."

Rod Serling's brother was a pilot, incidentally, which explains why so many episodes such as "Room 22" revolved around odd situations involving airplanes.

"Spare me the poisonous barbs."

Probably the most misunderstood actor of modern times, Jonathan Harris, a true talent.  Anyway, watch the episode, it's great.

Jonathan Harris in his classic "Twilight Zone" episode "Twenty Two" in 1961.

2020