Did Star Trek's high quality help Lost in Space?
- Thread starter Talos IV
- Start date
Fixed that for you.
same here.
Will hanging around responsible John, Maureen and Don did not open the door to screaming, mocking one-liners and stupidly walking into alien threats every week.
Land of the Giants had its faults, but most of its episodes were of the serious variety. In no surprise, the worst episode featured Jonathan Harris as a dimension-hopping, Pied Piper of Hamelin. He did not do the series any favors.
I just looked at his IMDB page, and it's a mystery to me. No awards, no nominations. He did some guest spots on well known TV shows when he started his career at 10, through 14. But the year Giants came out, he did appear in a TV movie that got a directors guild nomination, and a nomination in an Emmy category. He might have gotten a boost from that. I'm only 4 years older, I might have heard his name before Giants.
In the case of Lost in Space, the actors' billing was influenced by the order in which they were signed for the show. Harris signed on last, and they compensated for his low billing by calling him the "Special Guest Star." And of course, he quickly became the absolute star of LIS in every sense.
It seems likely that the kid on LOTG, who has a very troubling history, simply got signed early to do the show. I never heard that he was especially talented.
Actually, billing isn't based on when you sign, but what you negotiate. The billing for LIS was likely negotiated for the pilot. Since Harris was added to the show once they went to series, he could not command billing above the existing cast, hence his being credited last.
That's entirely compatible with what I said. LIS's billing order was all wrapped up by the time Harris came along. The kid on LOTG got a higher spot because his rep negotiated for it before that show was locked down.
They ran the third-year theme for Tom Snyder's radio show around 1990 when he interviewed June Lockhart and Angela Cartwright. ''That's one funky theme!'' he commented. ''No wonder they were lost!''
And as I recall, they played the Tee-Vee Tunes version of the theme, which sounded like crap. For whatever that's worth.
And as I recall, they played the Tee-Vee Tunes version of the theme, which sounded like crap. For whatever that's worth.
The aired versions of the LIS 3rd season, and LOTG 2nd season, main titles are very exciting pieces of music.
Both comparisons work for me.
Not to offend the LIS fans here, but it always seemed to remind me of Gilligan's Island in space. Instead of the wacky Gilligan you had the wacky Dr. Smith... instead of the steady Skipper you had the steady Professor Robinson... and so on.
No, Professor Robinson is the Professor(of course). Major West is the Skipper. It's a stretch, but I think the Robot would have to be Mr. Howell.
Lost in Space did a lot of things well, but it didn't properly utilize all of its characters and consistently engage them in the story.
By contrast, Gilligan's Island is often interpreted as a microcosm of society in which the characters are representative of America. And I think each castaway has something that makes them resonate. They each speak a deep psychological truth. For instance, Ginger is fascinating because she wants to be loved by you. By you and nobody else but you. She wants to be loved by you, alone.
In the 1993 LOTG book, The Giants are Coming, Arngrim sheds some light on being cast for the show:
One could assume ABC wanted Arngrim to such a serious degree they would almost anything to retain him--including giving him billing over adult actors with as much--or more visibility / experience. It makes one wonder why, as it is not like he was the most in-demand young actor, or considered one on the fast tack to bigger things.
In any case, ABC was likely aware of how hesitant Arngrim was, so they jumped through a hoop. I'm not sure how wise a decision that was, as the Barry Lockridge character was never utilized on the level (i.e. getting your money's worth) as Mumy's Will Robinson.
They ran the third-year theme for Tom Snyder's radio show around 1990 when he interviewed June Lockhart and Angela Cartwright. ''That's one funky theme!'' he commented. ''No wonder they were lost!''
And as I recall, they played the Tee-Vee Tunes version of the theme, which sounded like crap. For whatever that's worth.
To quote Dr. Smith: "oh, the pain....the pain"
Tee-Vee Tunes' versions (notably on Television's Greatest Hits) were horrible. That 1980s synthetic, soulless sound ruined all it re-recorded.
And as I recall, they played the Tee-Vee Tunes version of the theme, which sounded like crap. For whatever that's worth.
The aired versions of the LIS 3rd season, and LOTG 2nd season, main titles are very exciting pieces of music.
I couldn't agree more,Zap! Both the music and the clips as well!
JB
Boop-boop-a-doop.
I see what you did there. And Ginger didn't need a mind-fusion to regain her memory, neither.
Wait, it was Mary Ann that thought she was Ginger. Mary Ann didn't need mind-fusion, the Minnow was her ship, her ship. The Professor realized that Mary Ann was the imposter.…
Hold on, Mr. Howell had a duplicate formed by the meteor that was irradiating the island….
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And as I recall, they played the Tee-Vee Tunes version of the theme, which sounded like crap. For whatever that's worth.
The aired versions of the LIS 3rd season, and LOTG 2nd season, main titles are very exciting pieces of music.
I couldn't agree more,Zap! Both the music and the clips as well!
JB
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Oh, the pain.... the pain.....
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