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It's decent. Small review and observations

posted 7 years ago by fani (454)
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I watched the original Lost in Space in the late 90s as a rerun on some channel and it was good. I recall liking Dr. Smith's snivelly rendition of that char and the rest of the cast rounded it out nicely. Obviously it was an exaggerated show but I feel a few chars did well and overall it was a campy but fun 60s show. The movie Lost in Space with Joey Tribbiani and the ultra hotness of Heather Graham and venerable Gary Oldman still couldn't save the movie and its stupidity.

This Lost in Space is different and several things have been changed, some of which are eyebrow raising. I really wanted Dr. Smith to remain a male. There's something that connects more with him being male tbh - watching him mentor Will nefariously and manipulate him. Him being male also means John can take him on as a man rather than a woman where other issues come into the picture.

A few things I don't like about the show are -
- Dr. Smith being female
- The Robot seems over-engineered and not quite fitting in to this
- The ultra macho Maureen Robertson and very much commanding over John seems irritating
- The dysfunctional things about the family and the soap opera type crap with her having a biracial daughter from first marriage and the problems with John all seem forced and needless tbh. They should've just left the chars as they were in the original - a more closer family from the start rather than them discovering themselves and bonding like the sisterhood of Yahyah lesbians movie (or whatever it was called).
- The pilot guy seems ok but is trying way too hard. It just came across annoying
- The episodes are well produced but lack a punch. Many situations just seem forced for the sake of it.
- Explanations don't quite exist nor many other endings to plot strings that just dangle and disappear without resolution

The biggest problem with the show is the bullshit manufactured drama for the sake of it -
- the Jupiter has to land in icy water
- Don West's Jupiter has the fuel but it has to be dangling and fall off
- Dr. Smith is stupidly evil just because
- The fuel carrying back has to encounter the geysers that knocks the chariot fuel tank to its side and kills one guy and fuel is of course lost to create drama
- Will has to free Dr. Smith and get tied up
- They get trapped in the tar pit just because it has to be drama. Everyone knows they're never gonna die
etc. etc. etc.

It's all manufactured needless bullshit drama tbh. For this reason, the show became very bland and annoying

Overall, the acting is quite good however. The kids to the adults do a great job and they all seem likeable for the most part and personable. Even Dr. Smith is ok.

So far, the 10 eps of S1 are just average imo. My rating at present - 7/10

[–] Keelai (36155) 7 years ago

I agree with most of your review except for a few things:

*I thought Dr. Smith being female is a better decision to avoid comparisons with Jonathan Harris' unforgettable performance.
*The crises are over-the-top, but I remember the original family having a crisis in every episode too. This show's melodrama including infighting does seem more forced though.
* The character development of Judy, Penny, Don, Maureen and John is better than the 60s counterparts. The 60s adults were dull except for Smith, of course. The boy portraying Will isn't as strong an actor as Billy Mumy's and I don't like the new bland robot.
* Not one non-white person in the original show. This show's diversity is a plus.
* I hate the new music. The 60s opening theme and soundtrack were perfect and composed by John Williams (Star Wars, Superman, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET...)

This show is better than I expected, but it has a few problems: 7/10. I still prefer the camp original 9/10.