Netflix greenlights new "Lost in Space"

[Jedi_Master]

Anti-racism and diversity are pretty much the new form of racism. "We're not hiring you because you're a great actor, we're hiring you because you're a black actor, and that makes us feel great because we don't see color."

Assuming that actors who also happen to be persons of color are hired solely because of their skin tone isn't racist at all...

 

[Awesome Possum]

Assuming that actors who also happen to be persons of color are hired solely because of their skin tone isn't racist at all...

But why else would you hire a minority? It has to be SJWs and out of control political correctness.

I'll be really glad when this nonsense is gone and we can just enjoy a show without some rando screaming about how the cast being 70% white isn't enough for white people.

 

[BillJ]

Yes. Yes really. When you do things based solely on race, such as picking one actor over another actor because you feel by doing so you're making the superior choice, you're being racist.

If you have two actors of different ethnic/racial background and of roughly equal talent, how do you make the choice?

 

[sojourner]

You form a focus group to see which one is more appealing to your target demographic?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

If you have two actors of different ethnic/racial background and of roughly equal talent, how do you make the choice?

The cheaper one.

 

[BillJ]

The cheaper one.

Or, dependent on what demographic you aiming at, or trying to expand the demographic of the show.

A lot of these aren't based solely on talent, many times (from everything I've read) it can be a business decision.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I shouldn't be so flip all the time in these discussions, it's a defense mechanism I'm sure. That said, I've definitely seen some questionable choices if it's actually about getting the best actor for the role.

They need to give us some Jupiter 2 concept art to get the discussion back on track.

 

[Christopher]

I shouldn't be so flip all the time in these discussions, it's a defense mechanism I'm sure. That said, I've definitely seen some questionable choices if it's actually about getting the best actor for the role.

There have always been questionable choices in casting. Sometimes the "best actor" is the best-looking one, or the most famous one, or the one who was available after the first choice dropped out, or the one who's related to the producer, or whatever. And, yes, a lot of the time a white actor is chosen over a person of color who might've been better. That particular one has been the norm for generations, and it still happens plenty today.

 

[Mudd]

In America, it's still a lot easier to make the first cut for any job if you're white. Insisting otherwise is pretense, denial or the expression of entitled resentment.

 

[Saga]

That's the great thing about racists. Most of them have no idea just how painfully racist they are.

Physician, heal thyself.

 

[Ovation]

Yes. Yes really. When you do things based solely on race, such as picking one actor over another actor because you feel by doing so you're making the superior choice, you're being racist. (I'm sure your best friend is black, too, so you can show the world just how diverse and anti-racist you are.)

That's the great thing about racists. Most of them have no idea just how painfully racist they are.

This kind of idiotic drivel belongs in the dustbin of history, resting, as it does, on an unsubstantiated assumption regarding the selection criteria for casting decisions that dare to differ from "expectations". Years ago, Denzel Washington was cast as a newspaper reporter in a role originally presumed to be "white" in the book upon which the film was based. It actually generated news stories about the "bravery" of Hollywood for casting a black actor in a "white" role. Of course, nothing about the role necessitated a specific colour of skin, so it shouldn't have been newsworthy at all. The only story that should have mattered is the filmmakers landed an excellent actor for the part. Decades later, he took on another role, originally white, as it was based on a TV series where the main character was white. This time, no one cared about it. In each case, the meaningful criteria focused on the actor's ability to play the part. As it should be.

Moreover, "white" is as much a "racial" category as any other and there are few good reasons to specify it as a default for purposes of casting actors for entertainment. Choosing a non-white person to play a part where race is irrelevant to the character is NOT an act of racism. It does show a willingness to challenge unwarranted assumptions about what is and isn't acceptable for individuals of ANY colour to portray in entertainment. The number of roles where being white is essential to the character is exceedingly small. That the default has been a white actor for such roles is not a justification for continuing on that path. "It's always been that way" is rarely a persuasive reason for avoiding changes.

 

[Tribble puncher]

Ahem..... I'm not really sure if I will like the show or not, I thought the original show was boring as a kid....and when I saw the 2008 film...I couldn't get past how screwed up I thought it was on the parents part to rip their kids out of society and deny them the chance at any normal relationships or the chance to marry/crash their first car/get caught smoking behind the gym, etc. Plus I hated the yellow monkey thing. I remember one of the Kids was p.o.'ed about the very thing I mentioned (being forcibly removed from society) but that's really it.

 

[RandyS]

Ahem..... I'm not really sure if I will like the show or not,

Of course not. How can you be until you see it?

 

[JD]

Yes. Yes really. When you do things based solely on race, such as picking one actor over another actor because you feel by doing so you're making the superior choice, you're being racist. (I'm sure your best friend is black, too, so you can show the world just how diverse and anti-racist you are.)

That's the great thing about racists. Most of them have no idea just how painfully racist they are.

Do we know for a fact that Taylor Russell was cast because of her skin color? Couldn't she have just been cast because she was the actress they liked best for the role, and decided to cast her despite her skin color.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Do we know for a fact that Taylor Russell was cast because of her skin color? Couldn't she have just been cast because she was the actress they liked best for the role, and decided to cast her despite her skin color.

This is supposed to be from the casting call but who knows with the internet? If accurate, it seems to suggest that it would've been something they were specifically looking for when casting FWIW. Interestingly, the listed casting call does not call for an actor to play Doctor Smith.

[JUDY ROBINSON]To play 18 years old, the oldest of the three Robinson children. Judy is Maureen's biracial daughter from her first marriage. Athletic, confident, her edge comes from her willingness to push herself harder than anyone else. She never knew her biological father, and John adopted her as his own. She took her parents' breakup harder than anyone, and resents John for it. She’s the only trained doctor amongst the surviving Colonists. In a coming of age journey, she finds herself struggling to live up to her responsibilities...SERIES REGULAR

 

[JD]

Oh, I didn't realize that casting call was floating around. I have to admit, her being from a previous marriage didn't occur to me, but it works.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I just googled out of curiousity to see if anything was out there and that's what came up.

 

[Ovation]

A doctor at 18? Doogie Howser in Space?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

What the hell, might spark some new convo, here's the whole casting sheet per internet, take with a grain of salt.

[JOHN ROBINSON]40s, the dad. A seasoned combat veteran with the self-possessed strength of a born leader. When the family's spaceship crash-lands on an unknown planet, he maintains a goal-oriented attitude. We see he and his wife draw together in this emergency, but the truth of their relationship is they’re estranged. John insisted that he come along to protect his family from the unknown dangers they might face. This is a chance to make up for the mistakes he’s made in the past, and earn a place back in the family. Faced with difficult decisions that test even him, John must face one potential disaster after another (most of them involve trying to find the lesser evil)...SERIES REGULAR

[MAUREEN ROBINSON]Late 30s - 40s, the mom. An aerospace engineer with a fearsome intellect. A driven and demanding woman both in and outside her home. It's Maureen who makes the decision to bring her family into space. She wants her children to have a chance at a new life on a better world. Her endless optimism is infectious. She’s convinced there is no problem that can’t be solved if you apply your mind to it. But there are things she can’t just fix like they were some engineering problem. It will be up to her to figure out a way off this planet, but as big a challenge will be to forgive her husband and rekindle the love they once had...SERIES REGULAR

[JUDY ROBINSON]To play 18 years old, the oldest of the three Robinson children. Judy is Maureen's biracial daughter from her first marriage. Athletic, confident, her edge comes from her willingness to push herself harder than anyone else. She never knew her biological father, and John adopted her as his own. She took her parents' breakup harder than anyone, and resents John for it. She’s the only trained doctor amongst the surviving Colonists. In a coming of age journey, she finds herself struggling to live up to her responsibilities...SERIES REGULAR

[PENNY ROBINSON]To play 15 years old, the middle child in the family. Quick-witted and contrarian, but her sarcastic and tough exterior covers a romantic soul. If the Robinsons have a black sheep, she’d be it. She’s the most social person in her family, with the best sense of humor of any of them. Penny grew up the victim of middle-child-syndrome, caught between a superstar older sister who could do no wrong and a baby brother who everybody was afraid couldn't do anything right. She didn't want to leave her home on Earth, and struggles with the loss of everything and everyone she knew...SERIES REGULAR

[WILL ROBINSON]To play 11 years old, the youngest. Will is creative, empathetic, and naturally sensitive. He's the smallest and weakest member of the family. Likeable and quick, curious but not confrontational. Picked on growing up, he didn't have many friends. He was eager to pack up and leave Earth and go just about anywhere. Will suffers from panic attacks, and doesn't want to be the one who lets down his family. After the family crashes, Will has to find courage he never thought he had. This unique boy, who wasn’t supposed to be there, will prove to be the key to everyone’s survival...SERIES REGULAR

[DON WEST]Mid 20s, he’s no colonist. He’s a well-paid roughneck, part of a sub-class of highly-skilled but blue collar contractors. He also smuggles in luxury goods on the side. A roguish exterior hides a heart of gold. Once he finished his contract, he’d have been on the next trip back home with enough money to set himself (and those he loves) up for life. He has a cynical view of the colonization of space. They say it's an egalitarian brave new world, but people like him would never be allowed to live there. Now that he's crashed along with "the elites," he's going to have to forge new alliances, and find in the Robinsons the family he never thought he'd have...SERIES REGULAR

[ROBOT]An intimidating robot who becomes Will's loyal servant... and in the end, friend. But like many characters in this series, Robot contains many mysteries yet to be revealed...SERIES REGULAR. This will be a voice-over and/or motion capture/bodysuit role.

STORY LINE: In 2046, the Jupiter 2 travels through a rip in the space-time continuum, and crash-lands on a distant planet, at an unknown distance from Earth. And there the ROBINSON FAMILY must build a new life for themselves, with a little help from their friends, and no help at all from their enemies (both human and alien)...

 

[Christopher]

What the hell, might spark some new convo, here's the whole casting sheet per internet, take with a grain of salt.

Hopefully that salt is warranted, because I'm not crazy about a lot of this. It seems they're making the same mistake as the movie -- assuming that family drama requires a dysfunctional, unhappy family. I hated that aspect of the movie; it really undermined the characters. I think there are ways to create interesting dramatic conflicts within well-adjusted families, especially ones placed in crisis situations where they might sincerely differ over priorities or approaches (as was done quite well in the original series's "Welcome, Stranger"). But too many writers just lazily fall back on the cliches of dysfunctional relationships as a source of conflict.

Also not crazy about making him a combat veteran rather than a professor and a man of peace. It's as if they're deliberately making every character the exact opposite of what they were originally. The loving parents become estranged exes, Judy becomes confident and driven, Will becomes a timid screw-up, Major West becomes a roguish civilian roughneck. Also, the jobs and specialties are completely reshuffled. John is in West's role of the military man, Maureen is in John's role of the aerospace engineer, Judy is in Smith's role (and Maureen's, somewhat) as the medical specialist. Most ironically of all, Don West is taking over the lovable-rogue role of Dr. Smith, who was West's constant adversary in the original.

I can understand trying to balance out deficiencies in the original characters, e.g. make Judy more useful, Will less perfect, etc., but it seems an odd choice to make every character so different, so that they're pretty much In Name Only. I mean, at least the Battlestar Galactica reboot's characters were mostly recognizable in their functions and personalities, even if they were taken in different and more complicated directions.

[JUDY ROBINSON]To play 18 years old, the oldest of the three Robinson children. Judy is Maureen's biracial daughter from her first marriage.

I note that she's the only character whose race is specified at all. That implies that they assumed white was the default, as so many people in the industry still do. Of course, as written, it could just have easily been an all-black or all-Asian or all-Latin family with Judy being half-white or half-something else. But that was probably never gonna happen.

[PENNY ROBINSON]To play 15 years old, the middle child in the family. Quick-witted and contrarian, but her sarcastic and tough exterior covers a romantic soul. If the Robinsons have a black sheep, she’d be it. She’s the most social person in her family, with the best sense of humor of any of them.

Okay, I actually like this, because it reminds me of Lacey Chabert's Penny from the movie, and she was the one really good thing in that movie.

STORY LINE: In 2046, the Jupiter 2 travels through a rip in the space-time continuum, and crash-lands on a distant planet, at an unknown distance from Earth. And there the ROBINSON FAMILY must build a new life for themselves, with a little help from their friends, and no help at all from their enemies (both human and alien)...

Friends and human enemies? And there are references to other survivors. So I guess it's a larger group than just the family.