LOST IN SPACE – THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON / CERT: 12 / STARRING: MOLLY PARKER, TOBY STEPHENS, MAXWELL JENKINS, TAYLOR RUSSELL, PARKER POSEY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space was one of the most popular science fiction adventure series of the 1960s and it’s often held in high regard by fans, who retain fond memories of Saturday evenings enjoying the show’s offbeat combination of camp space shenanigans, silly rubber monsters, melodramatic storylines and slapstick humour. But the truth is that the series hasn’t aged at all well and much of it is pretty unwatchable today; its original fairly straightforward, no-nonsense tone and pioneering spirit were quickly lost when ‘special guest star’ Jonathan Harris as Jupiter 2 stowaway Dr Zachary Smith started to dominate proceedings with his hysterical over-acting and arch, childish comedy. But the core idea of Lost in Space is so irresistible – frontier family voyaging out into the stars to find a new life and a new foothold in space for Humanity becoming hopelessly lost – that it’s been revisited several times since the original show bit the dust in 1968. A 1998 feature film underwhelmed and a 2003 TV reboot directed by John Woo stumbled with an unaired pilot episode. Third time lucky, then, for the return of the Robinsons and co as they set off on their journey into legend? Pretty much… but it’s a close run thing at times.
Irwin Allen purists were never likely to find the new, glitzy, hi-tech, and largely po-faced Lost in Space an easy fit. This is their favourite show refitted with an aesthetic of Star Trek: Discovery or The Expanse and for the first few episodes, it looks as if the entire concept of the show has not just been updated but also significantly retooled. In fairness, the new show sets off at a hell of a lick. Earth itself is in danger from some approaching cosmic phenomenon; a fleet of vaguely saucer-shaped Jupiter craft are ready to be launched from a space station facility called the Resolute, carrying the chosen few into space to find a new home. But the Resolute is attacked by robot aliens and its crew slaughtered. Fortunately the Jupiter fleet is launched but, flung off course by the explosion, sent hurtling down onto an uncharted planet. Our hero family the Robinsons – the dynamic is much as it was in the original series except, bowing to modern sensibilities, Maureen Robison (Parker) wears the trousers and is mission commander – crash in an icy wasteland. Maureen is injured and the Jupiter 2 sinks beneath the ice. The family’s adopted daughter Judy (she’s a bit of a smartarse and an unlikely medical genius) is trapped in the ice trying to retrieve some MacGuffin or other from the sunken spaceship and young Will (Jenkins) and dad John (Stephens) – he’s effectively separated from Maureen but still part of the family unit – set off to try and find a supply of magnesium which they can use to burn Judy out of the ice. But Will plunges into an icy ravine and emerges in a very Canadian-looking forest where he encounters a hostile Robot.
It’s a ripping, thrilling start to the series, its pace only hampered by some dry, saggy flashbacks but there’s enough going on here to pique our interest and keep us invested in the Robinsons and their plight, despite the slightly cookie-cutter feel of the family’s rather predictable dysfunctional relationships. Many eyes rolled at the casting of Parker Posey as a gender-swapped Doctor Smith but the show cleverly upends our expectations and turns the idea of the character – who retains the original’s deviousness but tones down the wild-eyed shrieking comedy – entirely on its head.
Unfortunately, the show stutters for the next few episodes. There’s little sign here of the ‘lost in space’ concept as the Robinsons reunite with their fellow stranded colonists and the show starts to wander and meander and looks in danger of losing its way. Perseverance is the key here as the series finds it second wind around episode six as it introduces a ‘race against time’ scenario when the colonists discover that they are stranded on a dying planet and various story strands throw the characters into new and genuinely edge-of-the-seat situations. Episode Ten finally sees the pieces in place, the Robinsons aboard the Jupiter 2 with a reluctant ‘Dr Smith’ and a radically-reimagined Robot, cut adrift from their fellow colonists and with no idea where they are or where they’re going. The stage is set for the upcoming season two which is, hopefully, where the new Lost in Space will really start to fly.
Lost in Space is a handsome production – big bucks have been spent here, no expense spared (it looks gorgeous and vibrant on Blu-ray) – and in the end, despite its narrative detours and misdirection, it’s a largely successful reboot, a thoughtful and intelligent modern reinvention of a ‘classic’ show whose reputation has taken a bit of a battering over the decades. Hardcore fans of the original will find this new version a bitter pill to swallow, but if they can set their misgivings aside, they’ll find that this is a respectful and well-considered reimagining that actually helps to rehabilitate the original show, rather than dishonour it.
