Netflix greenlights new "Lost in Space"

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I felt Dr. Smith's characterization was lacking as well. They actually had him say he was evil. Villains don't see themselves as evil!

Who the hell cares what they think? Just because somebody doesn't THINK they're evil doesn't mean they AREN'T evil. At least Smith was honest about it.

As for the movie, I always thought it was pretty funny that the original Jupiter design was used as a booster stage for the actual ship...it's like "Let's design a ship that uses the most UN-aerodynamic way to fly that's possible. How much more wind resistance can we cook up?"

 

[arch101]

There was a 2008 film???

1998- My bad

 

[DBR]

Was I the only one that liked the Lost in Space movie? I did, it wasn't my favorite movie but I enjoyed it and bought the dvd. But then I really never watched the show, so maybe that was part of it. Either way, I'll be happy to check this out.

I seem to recall being given a copy of the DVD when I ordered pizza once upon a time (or did it come in a box of cereal, maybe?) It came in a cardboard sleeve, and was one of the first DVDs I ever got

And yeah, I didn't hate the movie . . . I didn't love it, mind. I'd rank it along side comparable sci-fi of the same-ish time: Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, etc.

Regardless, I'm really looking forward to seeing/learning more about Netflix's version!

 

[Vendikarr]

The 1998 LIS was very entertaining I thought. Some of the acting is sub-par, and the kids could have been less annoying but the production design fit my idea of technology in it's stated time period more than most movies and a refreshing change from the "Alien(1979)" style interiors we'd been getting in most movies around that time. Even today I still think it's some of the best production design for a space-based movie.

The 2004 pilot is unfinished so that has to be noted. With a change in some of the casting I think it could have made it to series.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

RAMA

Wow i read the script years ago, but man, that was so much worse than I thought it would be.

 

[Cyrus]

Loved the original series. It was my favorite TV show as a kid. The 98 movie was OK. It got of to a great start but went downhill when old Will showed up. They should have let Bill Mumy play that character. I will check out the new series if I can though I don't subscribe to Netflix.

 

[Christopher]

It got of to a great start but went downhill when old Will showed up. They should have let Bill Mumy play that character.

They wanted him to. The role was written for Mumy in the first place, and he wanted to play it. But his schedule on Babylon 5 wouldn't permit it.

Also, the old guy giving Smith his orders was written as a role for Jonathan Harris, but he refused to settle for playing a bit part. Basically, they tried to get every surviving cast member to appear, but only managed to get Mark Goddard (as the General), June Lockhart (as the principal), and Marta Kristen and Angela Cartwright (as reporters). Plus Dick Tufeld reprising the voice of the Robot, of course.

 

[Starscream2112]

Don't know if this is true but I have seen this on several message boards today.

From a post by Kevin Burns in the Lost in Space memories Facebook group:

" Lots of progress on the new "Lost in Space" for Netflix. Several writers have been hired to join Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless and series show-runner, Zack Estrin. Season One will consist of ten full hour episodes at a budget of approximately $90 Million! But the BIG NEWS is that John Williams has agreed to "freshen up" his classic LIS music -- including the theme songs. Stay tuned! "

 

[Christopher]

But the BIG NEWS is that John Williams has agreed to "freshen up" his classic LIS music -- including the theme songs. Stay tuned! "

Oooh. I can take or leave the theme songs, but I love his episode scores for season 1. The new show reusing them in some form would be fantastic.

 

[Galileo7]

Don't know if this is true but I have seen this on several message boards today.

From a post by Kevin Burns in the Lost in Space memories Facebook group:

" Lots of progress on the new "Lost in Space" for Netflix. Several writers have been hired to join Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless and series show-runner, Zack Estrin. Season One will consist of ten full hour episodes at a budget of approximately $90 Million! But the BIG NEWS is that John Williams has agreed to "freshen up" his classic LIS music -- including the theme songs. Stay tuned! "

I hope they use John Williams Lost In Space season three main theme music. I liked it better than the season one and two theme.

 

[Kahless the Unforgettable]

As long as the Robot is done right and the casting for Dr. Smith and Will Robinson is spot on, I'll be all over this.

Everything else is pretty much window dressing as far as I'm concerned.

 

[mos6507]

" Lots of progress on the new "Lost in Space" for Netflix. Several writers have been hired to join Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless and series show-runner, Zack Estrin. Season One will consist of ten full hour episodes at a budget of approximately $90 Million! But the BIG NEWS is that John Williams has agreed to "freshen up" his classic LIS music -- including the theme songs. Stay tuned! "

Holy crap! If Trek 2017 tanks I guess there's this to look forward to.

 

[fireproof78]

Hollywood dips in to the reboot well again. I have mixed feelings on this.

I seem to recall being given a copy of the DVD when I ordered pizza once upon a time (or did it come in a box of cereal, maybe?) It came in a cardboard sleeve, and was one of the first DVDs I ever got

And yeah, I didn't hate the movie . . . I didn't love it, mind. I'd rank it along side comparable sci-fi of the same-ish time: Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, etc.

Regardless, I'm really looking forward to seeing/learning more about Netflix's version!

Starship Troopers I get, but Galaxy Quest? That feels like the one good film of the three.

 

[Adam]

Starship Troopers I get, but Galaxy Quest? That feels like the one good film of the three.

They are all three good movies for what they are: a sarcastic commentary on militarism, a simple family-friendly action adventure, a comedic nod to a certain scifi-franchise and its fans.

 

[Christopher]

Hollywood dips in to the reboot well again. I have mixed feelings on this.

Since the first version of Lost in Space fell short of its potential, I think it deserves a second chance to be done right. Of course there's no guarantee of success, but there never is, regardless of whether something is new or rebooted.

 

[ATimson]

Season One will consist of ten full hour episodes at a budget of approximately $90 Million!

$9 million per episode? Isn't that even more than Game of Thrones? Seems like an awfully big risk...

 

[Christopher]

$9 million per episode? Isn't that even more than Game of Thrones? Seems like an awfully big risk...

Well, I'm sure that includes the initial startup costs (development, leasing facilities, building the sets and recurring digital elements, etc.) as well as the per-episode budget.

 

[tharpdevenport]

$9 million like it's nothing? I remember a reason "Seaquest DSV" was cancelled was because the special effects in every episode made it too expensive a series to produce, and according to info' I found online, it was $2 million per episode (the highest at the time for an episode of a TV series).

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

$9 million per episode? Isn't that even more than Game of Thrones? Seems like an awfully big risk...

Everything about this is a risk:

• One--here we go again with yet another new version of a very old TV series--one that has not aged well, with content that ends up making the series the recipient of complete derision.
• Two--as seen in the 1998 remake, attempts to give audiences "that good 'ol Lost in Space feeling" came off as manipulative..forced, when the rest of the film tried so hard drag the concept toward some slick sensibility.
• Three--the original CBS-era audience...even the early syndication audience aged, many lost interest over the decades or passed on, which means the series will try to appeal to new viewers, that usually leads to changing the content to the point where what few things worked with the '65-'68 series will not be preserved, at least not beyond using it for nostalgia's sake.

I see this series fighting an uphill battle from the start.

 

[Marsden]

Everything about this is a risk:

• One--here we go again with yet another new version of a very old TV series--one that has not aged well, with content that ends up making the series the recipient of complete derision.
• Two--as seen in the 1998 remake, attempts to give audiences "that good 'ol Lost in Space feeling" came off as manipulative..forced, when the rest of the film tried so hard drag the concept toward some slick sensibility.
• Three--the original CBS-era audience...even the early syndication audience aged, many lost interest over the decades or passed on, which means the series will try to appeal to new viewers, that usually leads to changing the content to the point where what few things worked with the '65-'68 series will not be preserved, at least not beyond using it for nostalgia's sake.

I see this series fighting an uphill battle from the start.

I agree, but like I was just complaining about franchises, if it's good on it's own, it can be something worthwhile and make a name for itself, even if it doesn't have an original name.
If it's just a dark and gritty emo rehash of the old stuff that's touted as more realistic, well it's going to suck.

 

[Christopher]

One--here we go again with yet another new version of a very old TV series--one that has not aged well, with content that ends up making the series the recipient of complete derision.
...

• Three--the original CBS-era audience...even the early syndication audience aged, many lost interest over the decades or passed on, which means the series will try to appeal to new viewers, that usually leads to changing the content to the point where what few things worked with the '65-'68 series will not be preserved, at least not beyond using it for nostalgia's sake.

Actually those could cancel each other out. The reason the series didn't age well is because it abandoned the elements that worked early on -- the focus on survival in an alien setting, the ensemble cast of the Robinson family, Dr. Smith as a more morally ambiguous and potentially threatening figure -- in favor of clownish comedy and camp. As the '90s Innovation comic book showed, a version of LiS that recaptured the flavor of its earliest episodes would preserve the best parts of the original while still feeling new.

I think a lot of LiS fans are more fond of the potential of the series than they are of the direction the show ended up going. Maybe that's just my own point of view coloring my perceptions, but it seems to me that it's seen as a missed opportunity, a show that could've been better if it were done right.

(I still say we've already had a successful revival of the Dr. Smith character in a serious show, but they called him Gaius Baltar and put him in Battlestar Galactica.)