Netflix: Lost In Space Review

It's a rare thing for me to binge watch anything but when it came to the new "Lost In Space", given the reputation for Netflix quality, my nostalgia impulse was overwhelming. Besides, the weather sucked.

Spoiler free...for the moment.

Let me start by saying I liked the show quite a bit and think it's worth anyone's time. It needs to find better footing with character development and pacing, but that's not unexpected for a new show. Secondly, let's dispense with the comparisons right off the bat. This is not your campy television show from the 60s, nor is it a serialized version of the 90s movie. In fact, there is very little resemblence to either of these earlier iterations beyond the basics.  While there are some small nods to the earlier series and movie, in general the new show is its own invention. This is part of the problem.

The original show had a great premise that was just implemented in a weird way, a family on their own, in space, trying to survive. What could be simpler or more compelling? Despite the strong premise though, the original tv series just ended up being weird in attempt to save itself and was quickly cancelled. But thanks to syndication, and a generation of latch key kids growing up watching it in the 70s, Netflix has once again tapped into our nostalgia nerve. The new series attempts to bring the show back to its origins (something the feature movie tried as well) of family adventure without the goofiness, and in doing so has created something wholly new and potentially wonderful. But it needs work.

Big nod to the producers for preserving some of the original series theme music! It was always one of my favorites.

Role call.

The Robinsons. The key players are all here, but the roles have changed dramatically. Foremost is the change in leadership from John Robinson to Maureen. No longer the warm hearted, stand by your man character content with keeping the Jupiter 2 looking Tide clean, this new and improved version of Maureen Robinson is now fully in charge. A not so surprising framework change following the trend of strong leading women characters in storylines these days. With such a strong female lead, it appears the writer took the obvious counterbalance of making the John Robinson character a big strong war veteran. She's the brains and gives the orders, he's the muscle and knows how to follow them. Quite a twist from the original show and a testimony to the current culture. The kids? Well, they're kids and that's always a tough sell in the sci-fi storylines. How to be relevant and cute at the same time? There is then the kid character of all kid characters, Will Robinson. This is where the writers have their hands full. The irony is that the writers must overcome in stories, the very cliche the original show helped create, the cute yet brilliant kid smart enough to solve big problems, yet innocent enough to create them. Good luck.

Don West. There's an obvious choice here to cast this character as something of a antithesis to the original characters boy scout nature. Cast as something of an unscrupulous character, this Don West skirts very close to the "lovable rogue" mold that's already starting to wear a little thin on audiences. Remind you of anyone? If the writers had made him a pilot, and a great one at that instead of a "mechanic" you would have been calling him Han Solo by now. Whether they can define the character as rogue-ish without falling into trope remains to be seen. I thought it was fine so far though.

The Robot. Obviously the producers and writers had a hard time with this one. First you must appreciate just how wildly popular the robot was from the original series. The Robot was one of the most popular characters of the original show despite its completely impractical design. Even it's name, B-9-M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot (which doesn't even make for a decent acronym for crying out loud) was impractical. The success of the character was due to two things, the adoption of a natural speaking dialogue rather than a cold logical one and the voice of the wonderful Dick Tufeld. Together, the Robot was able to develop as a character along with the rest of the crew, especially with Will Robinson, and Dr. Smith.

Which brings us to Dr. Smith.

Suffice to say, from what I've been reading online so far, the character of Dr. Smith is going to be the most problematic for the show going forward. This is hardly a surprise given the fact that the original actor who created Dr Smith, Jonathan Harris, was by far the most charismatic  of the group. Harris invented Dr Smith. The lines may have been handed to him, but it was his delivery that made the character. He was despicable and delightful almost simultaneously. A very hard act to follow. The choice to recast Smith as a woman must have been a wildcard shot to try and avoid comparisons. A somewhat lazy solution if you ask me. The Smith character just needed someone with the vision to play it. Gary Oldman practically phoned in his performance in the movie and managed to pull it off. Part of the problem with the new show is that the writers ignored the fundamental elements that made the original character great and thought a simple gender swap would solve potential issues. It didn't.

So all the players are there, but the ground beneath them is shaky at best. It's a good show though and has potential so with the hopes the producers and writers are in the mood to improve things, let's take a look at what can be improved going forward. I'm not going to pick on particular plot holes or character actions I thought were dumb (there are plenty of those), but focus more on the characters themselves. All series come down to interpersonal dynamics to make or break the show, no matter the setting. After all, had it not been for the personal dynamics of Dr Smith, Will Robinson, and the Robot in the first show, this show wouldn't exist.

So for season 2, maybe we can straighten a few things out?

Spoilers Ahoy!

Let us never mention the poop fuel again. Ever.

Thank you Netflix for not bringing in the Bloop. Leave the Bloop out of this. I don't care what you come up with conceptually or how cute the marketing department thinks it is, or even if you think it's needed to save the show. The show will never need a Bloop. Leave the fucking Bloop out of this.  Thank you in advance for your compliance.

Since we're giving the Jupiter 2 the makeover on the inside with alien technology, can we maybe do something about the outside? Boring. The Robot had some morphing capabilities so can't we have a little for the ship? I get it, she's a colony ship, meant to be more home than exploration vehicle, but we can give her some bling now can't we? Maybe a spinning ring of light underneath? Big bay window? Mkay?

Speaking of upgrades, does the alien tech mean we can go wireless on the communications gear? I mean really, corded handsets? Breaker Breaker One-nine, this here is the Rubber Duck!

Does anyone eat in this family, or is the only family activity at the table playing cards? We could all use an idealized representation about dinner time being family time.

Penny Robinson. This character is at least more likeable than the original Penny, but just about as useless beyond a support system for Will. Let's see if we can't give her something better to do in the future. If she's supposed to be a writer, some voice-over (sparing) might add some perspective. Otherwise give her a job.

Judy Robinson. This character needs a lot of work if we're going to avoid just being the love interest of the only bachelor around. Is she supposed to be the doctor, or another teenage girl on the cusp of womanhood? Sharpen this tool a bit.

Don West. I like Don West. Probably my favorite character so far. The writers have him walking a tight rope though. Be careful.

John Robinson. A bit brutish and melodramatic. Not a great combination. I think I liked the original character a bit more from the perspective he was a scientist too. Geology would have been a good choice to compliment Maureen's skill set. Maybe he can take some online courses and get a degree, or two? Maybe come across a rapid teaching device on some alien planet? Hey, this is Lost in Space, anything is up for grabs. Did you not watch the original show?

Maureen Robinson. Although not my favorite character, I thought she was the most developed. I'd say let this one ride until others around her evolve a bit more and see how things go.

Don and Judy. Everyone knows in the original series that Don and Judy were rocking the chariot when no one was looking. Hell, we were all secretly rooting for the couple since they were the only available breeding pair around. It's clear the current writers are aware of this too and have the two flirting toward an apparent relationship. That's fine, other than the fact that Judy is "18" and Don is...obviously a bit older.

Judy and Penny. Speaking of Judy, why is she only 18? And why cast a girl that looks likes she's only 15 to play her? I mean Penny is supposed to be, what? 14-15? Did we need to have them so close in age? In the original, Judy was clearly a mature young woman (just ask Don..snicker) and Penny the young teenage girl. Having them so close together in age makes them almost competitive. This lack of age difference limits some of the depth and scope available from the various characters. I swear, the first time Penny and Judy get in a cat fight over the affections of some guy I'm going to quit watching. Maybe we can get an episode where Judy ages rapidly and snaps a few more years older in a short time to make her a little more age compatible with Don.

The Robot. I'd like to think the Robot is gone, for good, but I believe it's probably coming back. Obviously you can't have Lost In Space without the Robot. I thought the appearance and overall look of the machine sucked. Suffice to say some folks loved the design, I for one hated it. It was far to anthropomorphic for me. Did the original look anything like a man? We should have had an earth robot that became "infected" with the alien technology. I would have rather had Johnny #5, or even Wall-E possessed by alien tech and becoming semi-sentient rather than some guy walking around in hyper-extended prosthetics. Did you see those forearms? Remind you of anyone? I needs me spinach! Don't bring THAT robot back please. There's no reason the robot can't be small and adorable, it wouldn't be my first choice, but just about anything is better than before. After all, cute and small would explain why no one else wants anything to do with it, and it's more like a pet for Will. Something Dr. Smith can easily loathe. It doesn't need to be able to move boulders or hold SUV's, just be super smart (like ORAC from Blake's 7)) Oh, and the whole we can't let the Robot talk too much because no one can replace the original voice of the Robot thing? Grow a pair. Commit. Get somebody whose voice we can fall in love with...like Peter Cullen? Wait, scratch Cullen if you're going to make it small and cute. That just won't work.

Dr. Smith. I don't know much about Parker Posey, but it's clear she's a good actress. That may not be enough. In order to be Dr. Smith she's going to have to develop the character quickly away from where it is right now. To be fair, Jonathan Harris took some time to find Smith's voice. Just look at the first few episodes of the original series and you'll see what I mean. Smith needs to be charming. Smith needs to be cunning. Smith needs to be morally ambiguous. Smith needs to be charismatic. More importantly Smith needs to be like-able in his/her own way. Granted these are almost magical qualities to present on camera, but without them the character will simply be just another self interested bad player. Parker Posey needs to be like-able in her own despicable way, and she can't do it alone. The writers must come up with the right combination of actions and words to give her something work with first. Oh, the pain. The pain!

There. Now get to work. I'm anxious to see season 2!