Did Star Trek's high quality help Lost in Space?

[Melakon]

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.

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.

That explains the endless extravagant dance parties, coupled with the permanently unfixable boat-hole.

Do you really think the Professor was in any hurry to be rescued from a lifetime with Ginger and Mary Ann, as the man most capable of producing superior offspring?

 

[Tim Walker]

Comparing STAR TREK and LOST IN SPACE is like comparing HILL STREET BLUES and CAR 54 WHERE ARE YOU.

Fixed that for you.

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.

Gilligan's Island in space? A fair description. The early episodes of the first season seemed to attempt serious science fiction. After that, about the only thing that interested me was the character development of robot.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Since the Robot wasn't even in the credits, I think he'd be most analogous to the Professor and Mary Ann in GI's first season ("...and the rest...").

 

[Melakon]

Yes, but who can forget Bob May's memorable characterization as the guy stuck in the suit? And he had to click that light for the voice all the time. Dick Tufeld had the easy part.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Yes, but who can forget Bob May's memorable characterization as the guy stuck in the suit? And he had to click that light for the voice all the time. Dick Tufeld had the easy part.

It's all about the performance. Ask anybody.

 

[Noname Given]

It had to be frustrating for the rest of the cast. You still get a check, but you don't get a chance to work.

I heard that's the main reason LiS didn't get a Season 4. CBS wanted it, but Guy Williams had had enough of playing second fiddle to Smith and the Robot - and Irwin didn't want to do the show without the Professor Robinson character.

 

[Noname Given]

They did and, arguably, it made more sense on Land of the Giants. Smith tried to kill them all a few times in the first few episodes, but he and Will, for no reason whatsoever, became good friends. Barry and Fitzhugh grew closer because they were the outcasts and Barry's late father was a Navy officer. Fitz masqueraded as one in the pilot and wore the uniform throughout the series. Barry was an orphan who had no father figure in his life, but Will had the perfect family. There was no reason for Will to latch on to Smith like that.

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 have to admit that I like that they tried to tell a more serialized story in Season 2 of Land of the Giants - where the audience found out the nation they had landed in was a fascist state; and the state became interested in the 'little people' once they realized they came from a world with technology more advanced then their own, etc.

I also still recall and really like the second season opening theme for the series:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6f39xCBlKw

 

[Melakon]

I heard that's the main reason LiS didn't get a Season 4. CBS wanted it, but Guy Williams had had enough of playing second fiddle to Smith and the Robot - and Irwin didn't want to do the show without the Professor Robinson character.

I know Williams had to be upset. I'd first seen him when Zorro was in first run, it made him a big star. He was the main draw for me in LiS, which is probably why I lost interest midway through Season 1 as Smith gained more prominence.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

He was the main draw for me in LiS, which is probably why I lost interest midway through Season 1 as Smith gained more prominence.

I had no problem with Guy, but in truth he was way down the list for me. I watched LIS for the music, the Jupiter 2 (set and miniature fx), the robot and assorted other hardware, Marta and Angela, and the action scenes. Later I developed an appreciation for Jonathan Harris as a comic performer and Bill Mumy as a superior child actor. The kid could act.

It just goes to show, different viewers take away different things.

 

[Maurice]

There are a lot of rumors as to why the show was not picked up for a 4th season, but I've never heard the claim that Guy Williams was to blame.

 

[Metryq]

There are a lot of rumors as to why the show was not picked up for a 4th season, but I've never heard the claim that Guy Williams was to blame.

"Apology video for Will."

 

[Maurice]

^^^?

 

[Metryq]

That's a line from the LOST IN SPACE movie where William Hurt played Prof. Robinson. The writers made him the complete opposite of the Robinson played by Guy Williams—a larger than life hero-type who could face down an alien game master at his own version of Russian roulette, or lead the first interstellar colony mission. It's similar to the writing for PHANTOM MENACE where the Force was turned into a disease and heroism reduced to dumb luck. That wasn't Zorro's fault, either. Something else let the air out of the basketball.

On top of everything else, Billy Mumy wasn't a puppy anymore. So the "naive child falls for Smith's double-talk" scenario became less plausible. "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" is proof that the show had long since jumped the shark and nuked the fridge.

 

[Maurice]

Quote from the film. That's all I needed. Thanks.

 

[Ssosmcin]

It had to be frustrating for the rest of the cast. You still get a check, but you don't get a chance to work.

I heard that's the main reason LiS didn't get a Season 4. CBS wanted it, but Guy Williams had had enough of playing second fiddle to Smith and the Robot - and Irwin didn't want to do the show without the Professor Robinson character.

I have never heard this. And considering the number of episodes where John Robinson was reduced to a cameo, a voice on the radio or just plain written out, it's safe to say Irwin had no real love or need for the character or the actor. He probably would have been just given Mark Goddard Williams' lines, out in a one-line explanation for the change (if that much) and let the series rely on Smith, Will and the robot to carry the series as usual.

 

[johnnybear]

The main reason season 4 was cancelled was due to Irwin himself! The network had renewed the show for a fourth year but cut the budget right down, something that Irwin could never agree to and so he cancelled the show himself!
JB

 

[johnnybear]

Strangely enough each of Irwin's shows runs in line as it were! Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea-4 seasons: Lost in Space-3 seasons: Land of The Giants-2 seasons: The Time Tunnel-1 season: Strange that!
JB

 

[Maurice]

^^^Incorrect. The Time Tunnel was ran in the 1967-68 season, before Land of the Giants, which ran two seasons starting in 1968.

 

[Talos IV]

"The Hungry Sea" is just a plot-thin survival adventure. Typical of Irwin Allen. The only point of interest is the scene where the Robinsons pray after safely crossing the ocean, which was one of the last attempts (so early, too) to show the characters as having more to them than just barking at explosions, aliens and Dr. Smith.

Thinly plotted, yes. But with a superb John Williams score, imaginative SFX/model work, and some truly memorable dialogue (such as Don quoting Shelley -- "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"). Of all the LIS episodes I saw in childhood, this one stood out the most.

 

[johnnybear]

^^^Incorrect. The Time Tunnel was ran in the 1967-68 season, before Land of the Giants, which ran two seasons starting in 1968.

I didn't put them in the order of their debuts, Maurice but in the order of longevity!
JB