Television Review: Lost in Space

Synopsis:

How long have we waited for Lost in Space’s return? Bill Mumy wrote a treatment for a major motion picture after Star Trek’s successful return to the big screen back in the 80’s, but Irwin Allen had no desire to return to his television projects after becoming a huge Oscar award-winning film maker. Though everyone else, cast and crew, were for it.Â We did have a brief return in 1998 in a fair movie adaptation of the source material, but it didn’t do the box office that the studio wanted so there were no sequels. In this reviewer’s mind this films big failure was not casting Bill Mumy as the aged version of Will Robinson. They had Mumy in mind for another cameo, which he refused to do. What a missed opportunity, imagine the box office this movie would have done if Mumy had returned. There was also a pilot back in 2004 but was not picked up, you can see that pilot in its entirety on YouTube. But now, after 20 years, Lost In Space fans are treated to the return of the iconic characters once again. But will Netflix do the series justice!?!

It’s 2046 and the pilot begins with the Robinson family playing Go Fish. Uh…yeah, hardly an exciting way to start a sci-fi action series. So, I don’t know. However, the soft music in the back ground is the classic Drift Away by Dobie Gillis. Foreshadowing what’s about to happen. The ship begins to shake and the Jupiter 2 crash lands on the planet below. And, just like in the original series , the planet they land on has serious climate change issues as the temperature varies wildly from sunset to sunrise. The characters are well fleshed out and we get the subtle touches from the way the characters were introduced in the original, the loving parents, John and Maureen (Tobey Stephens and Molly Parker,) the genius son, Will (Max Jenkins,) the two daughters Judy and Penny (Taylor Russell and Mila Sundwall) absent from the first episode are Major Don West, the Robot, and Dr. Smith, and here’s where we get some subtle changes. A few episodes in we get Don West, (Ignacio Serricchio) who isn’t exactly the straight-laced, square-jawed hero we saw in Mark Goddard’s version of the character. He’s more of a Han Solo type, a rogue smuggler who is on the mission for financial gain. We also get a very different Robot, who wasn’t built on earth at all, but is alien in origin and kind of adopted by Will. But is he to be trusted? then there’s Dr. Smith. This time, Smith’s a woman and I was ecstatic when I heard that Parker Posey was going to play Dr. Smith, and I wasn’t disappointed. She’s beautiful and awesome.

In case you’re not familiar with Ms. Posey, it’s because she hasn’t been much of a leading lady, more of a character actress, but she always steals the show, a great actress that was severely underused in such films as Superman Returns (Kitty Kowalski) and Blade Trinity (Danica Talos) But now her acting chops can finally shine as the chief antagonist/antihero. And she does not disappoint. In one scene she’s imprisoned by the Robinsons and begins grilling John, making him question weather or not Maureen loves him and you can tell she’s getting under his skin. She is the Hannibal Lecter of this series.

I must say nothing will replace the original cast for me as someone who grew up with the series, but this is the best attempt so far as I have a couple more episodes to watch and I hope they get a second season soon. In the end this show is a great homage to the original, but updated for todays audience. The cast does justice to the iconic characters and, while makingÂ you think of the original, brings their own touch to the characters. The stand out is Parker Posey, who succeeds in bringing life to the treacherous Dr. Smith, whom Johnathan Harris made his own as the series progressed. Originally the saboteur, he became the likeable rogue who was a pain in everyone’s side and Parker is every bit his match. As of now the critics are mixed on the show. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 75% as of this writing and metacritic is not so kind with 59 out of a hundred. But the show is back and hopefully, as long as they don’t do a remake of that talking carrot episode, will stick around for a while! (**** 8.7 rating)

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Created by: Irwin Allen
Developed by: Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless

Starring:
Toby Stephens
Molly Parker
Ignacio Serricchio
Taylor Russell
Maxwell Jenkins
Parker Posey
Mina Sundwall

Executive producer: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Zack Estrin, Kevin Burns, Jon Jashni, Neil Marshall, Marc Helwig
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Production company: Sazama Sharpless Productions, Applebox Entertainment, Synthesis Entertainment, Clickety-Clack, Legendary Television
Distributor: Netflix

Author Profile

Kevin Given

Kevin Given has studied with â€œ Longridge Writers Group â€ and â€œ Writerâ€™s Boot Camp â€ a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the â€œ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter â€ franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of â€œ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter â€ # 1 and â€œ Files of Karl Vincent â€ # 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series â€œ Dracula Rising â€ (working title) and developing â€œ Foul Blood â€ into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given