Netflix developing 'Lost in Space' remake!

[Christopher]

I've watched few episodes of the original, and they were OK. I love campy, cheesy stuff but it was just to cheesy even for me.

Well, it depends on the season. The first season starts out pretty solid -- family-friendly but not campy or goofy at all (and in black and white, which gives it more atmosphere). It gets somewhat more comedy-oriented as the season progresses, but the show doesn't embrace all-out camp until season 2, a change that was made to compete with Batman (the same thing that drove The Man from UNCLE's embrace of camp in season 3 -- though neither show seemed to understand how to do it right). Season 2 was terrible, and most of the cast was marginalized, with only Dr. Smith, young Will, and the Robot being central. Season 3 tried to play it a bit more straight for a while and feature the ensemble more, but eventually fell back into season-2 habits.

 

[Paradise City]

LIS just fell into an abject shambles. IIRC, in one episode, Dr. Smith's "cousin" visits the planet with all the ease of earth being just around the corner all along. It's like the writers just got to a point and said to hell with it we'll write anything.

 

[Galileo7]

I've watched few episodes of the original, and they were OK. I love campy, cheesy stuff but it was just to cheesy even for me.

Well, it depends on the season. The first season starts out pretty solid -- family-friendly but not campy or goofy at all (and in black and white, which gives it more atmosphere). It gets somewhat more comedy-oriented as the season progresses, but the show doesn't embrace all-out camp until season 2, a change that was made to compete with Batman (the same thing that drove The Man from UNCLE's embrace of camp in season 3 -- though neither show seemed to understand how to do it right). Season 2 was terrible, and most of the cast was marginalized, with only Dr. Smith, young Will, and the Robot being central. Season 3 tried to play it a bit more straight for a while and feature the ensemble more, but eventually fell back into season-2 habits.

Agree. Excellent analysis of the highs and lows of the three seasons of the original Lost In Space series.

 

[Owain Taggart]

They'd have to keep the title, the character names and jettison pretty much everything else.

Hence why they would have nothing to lose. If it bombs, then everyone will promptly forget about it just like the other recent versions. They're already essentially starting from zero, so chances are any tweaks and changes will likely be seen as a vast improvement on what's been done before.

Netflix has done a pretty good job with most of their original programming. I have faith they can do a pretty good job with this.

That too. I feel Netflix in general is choosy about what makes it onto their service, which results into more attention to detail. To me it suggests a commitment to getting it right where others failed.

 

[theenglish]

Hence why they would have nothing to lose. If it bombs, then everyone will promptly forget about it just like the other recent versions. They're already essentially starting from zero, so chances are any tweaks and changes will likely be seen as a vast improvement on what's been done before.

Netflix has done a pretty good job with most of their original programming. I have faith they can do a pretty good job with this.

That too. I feel Netflix in general is choosy about what makes it onto their service, which results into more attention to detail. To me it suggests a commitment to getting it right where others failed.

That's a good point to. Also, even their failures have still been noble attempts. Arrested Development didn't really capture the spirit of the original series but I liked that they tried to do something different with it. Hemlock Grove didn't really work for me, but I liked how they tried to create a solid, atmospheric story.

 

[Guy Gardener]

I really disliked Hemlock Grove so much, that I haven't bothered to watch season 2 and 3.

Someone is watching.

Hmmm.

I think we know who.

Oh the sitcom Crazy Ex Girlfriend today...

"You're a Bella and he's an Edward, you belong together."

"Tip of my tongue, tip of my tongue, what's that from?"

"Twilight! How can you not know Twilight!??! It's the greatest ever love-story ever told since Shakespeare... ... ...In love."

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Looks at thread title and then looks at recent posts.

Okay...

 

[Guy Gardener]

Okay.

You want us back on task?

"I hope the Jupiter II doesn't look like a hemorrhoid pillow."

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

The relief might be welcome?

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKwwcCpa2Ag[/yt]

 

[Redfern]

...But I can see them getting rid of the robot...

But...but...I like the Robot!

What kid back then didn't want an "uncle/grandpa" robot protector?

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[JD]

It'll probably be a very very different robot, but it's gotta be there. The robot is pretty much the most famous part of the show, and I just can't see them getting rid of that.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I've watched few episodes of the original, and they were OK. I love campy, cheesy stuff but it was just to cheesy even for me.

That is why of all Irwin Allen sci-fi series, Lost in Space has suffered the most criticism, and aged worse than the other three--deservedly so. For all of the "season 1 was serious" claims, season one dropped any attempt at consistent, fantasy adventure with a dramatic tone early on. The silly side truly started in season 1, with Dr. Smith no longer being a sinister cutthroat, but a screaming sissy using the robot, and manipulating Will.

This "serious" 1st season included embarrassing disasters such as "The Space Croppers" (space hillbillies--as 20th century exaggerated as The Beverly Hillbillies), "His Majesty Smith," "The Sky Pirate," or "Welcome Stranger," with a lost astronaut in a cowboy hat--and this was episode six. Six. The Allen formula for junk/kiddie material hit LiS long before the excesses of season 2.

Despite Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea eventually giving in to the "monster of the week" formula, it was still head and shoulders over LiS with drama and the believably of its principal cast.

 

[One Lucky Red Shirt]

Hey i enjoyed the lost in space movie. I thought it was ok. One of the first dvds i ever got. I only seen a few of the episodes on metv. All i can say about that is wtf lol. Very cheesy n bad.

 

[RJDiogenes]

The "serious first season" was really just the first half dozen episodes or so, which was basically the original pilot, expanded with new scenes. That's the real reason that Smith stayed with the ship while the family went South-- he wasn't in the original pilot.

 

[Redfern]

It also explains why the Robot was dismantled and "stowed" when they returned north. Like Smith, the Robot was not in the pilot.

I highly recommend watching the original pilot "No Place to Hide" if you can. It's included in the DVD collection as part of the first season pack. And I assume it's included in the Blu-Ray collection as well. If you don't have either, well, I suspect it might be found on-line, somewhere. It's amazing how many events were packed within a 65 minute running time. It certainly gives one a taste of what the series "could have been".

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Christopher]

The "serious first season" was really just the first half dozen episodes or so, which was basically the original pilot, expanded with new scenes.

The pilot footage was incorporated into episodes 1, 3, 4, and 5. It was only gradually afterward that Smith became increasingly comedic and increasingly central. The first wholly post-pilot episode, #6 "Welcome, Stranger," was perhaps the most thoughtful drama in the show, as the Robinsons found an opportunity to send the children home and had to wrestle with the complicated decision between keeping the family together and seeing to the youngest members' safety. Episode #7 "My Friend, Mr. Nobody" is where Dr. Smith's greedy persona first emerges, but it's mainly a Penny-centric episode that's really rather touching (and has one of the most beautiful musical scores that John Williams has ever written).

And as I said, while the first season did trend increasingly toward humor, it never got as stupidly campy as season 2 was from the start.

 

[Drone]

Spot-on comments about episodes 6 and 7, especially the latter. I've read a number of comments that suggest the sophistication and subtlety of his music, from the first season and MFMN, specifically, should have merited him at least an Emmy nomination. I guess that Academy recognition wasn't likely to go to that kind of show, in 1966 anyway.

I've also seen that he doesn't refer to his work on the show at all, although not necessarily repudiating it. I don't know if this is accurate or if it also applies to other early TV work, some of which did receive Emmys. Do you happen to know anything of the verity of all this?

 

[RJDiogenes]

It also explains why the Robot was dismantled and "stowed" when they returned north. Like Smith, the Robot was not in the pilot.

True. I don't think there was even a lower deck in the pilot.

I highly recommend watching the original pilot "No Place to Hide" if you can. It's included in the DVD collection as part of the first season pack. And I assume it's included in the Blu-Ray collection as well. If you don't have either, well, I suspect it might be found on-line, somewhere. It's amazing how many events were packed within a 65 minute running time. It certainly gives one a taste of what the series "could have been".

I couldn't agree more. Despite the naive execution, the original concept was real Science Fiction.

 

[Karzak]

^^ A few weeks ago, I discovered that the original pilot was available for free download (in HD!) on the iTunes Store. I downloaded it immediately. I don't know if it's still available for free, but it's still up there listed as one of the special features of the Season 1 iTunes set.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ That's great info. I have it on the DVD set, but hopefully some of the other folks here will have the opportunity to see it if it's still there.