When Lost In Space Was a Sci-Fi Adventure Series
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- Опубліковано 13 вер 2024
- Lost in Space was originally pitched as a sci-fi adventure show, not a campy comedy.
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The thing is, when you are watching this show as a 10 year old kid, you aren’t analyzing the tonal shift but simply having fun watching the series. Analyzing a show such as this, as an adult, forgets the fascination of youthful exuberance that it provided. Heck, I now wish I still had my model of the Cyclops as it would be worth a penny or two.
I had that model too! I also had a Lost in Space Lunchbox in fall 1965.
Well I had just turned 12 when the 2nd Season kickoff episode aired in September 1966 and right away I noticed and was utterly turned off by that tonal shift. However I was pleased a year later when the 3rd Season started and things became somewhat (though not totally) more serious.
Or a Will or two.
@@moboutmen :0
Carried a B9 Robot keychain for about 10 years. This silly show is still a guilty pleasure.
The two part episode ‘The Keeper’ with guest star Michael Rennie was awesome.
That was my favourite as a child, and it still is.
Yes, I liked that one and the other episode, “War of the Robots”.
I still remember the story about Guy Williams complaining to someone that the show was turning into garbage because it was focusing too much on the robot , Dr. Smith and Will. A producer bluntly told him to his face that without them, he wouldn't have a job. All this after he was sold on the idea that the show was about the family dynamic and that he and June Lockhart were the stars.
Thanks, watching this I was kind of wondering if there was any a bad feelings from the four adults when the show changed. Even as a kid I remember thinking that the adults were always relegated to some minor role (I don't believe I ever saw any of the original sex or so episodes I only saw the color reruns) like fixing equipment.
Williams actually went to TV Guide to complain and they did an article on this controversy. What finally happened is that Williams' agent got the producer Irwin Allen to feature more stories in the third and final season focused on the John Robinson character. However it is not true that Williams was ever 'sold' on the idea of Dr. Smith being in the main limelight and I'm sure he was not happy at all that Jonathan Harris was getting paid more than both Williams and June Lockhart.
I saw Williams interviewed on a talk show right after cancellation of the show was announced and he wasn't at all shy talking about how sick he became of the show, shocking the host.
John Robinson was a father figure to me. Huge crush on Penny too.
There's nothing wrong with using Smith, Will, and the robot as occasional comic relief. I thought this was effective in the first season, but it was overplayed in seasons 2 and 3. I actually thought the regular scuffs between Smith and West were great. At least there were a few episodes that featured John and the rest, but it should have flowed more like the first half of season 1 without all the silly camp.
Guy Williams was sadly underused. I remember him playing Zorro.
I was totally obsessed with lost in space as a child , it was my escape from reality , It inspired my imagination and entertained me with its adventures.
I absolutely loved this show when I was a kid-I caught it in reruns back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s when it came on WTBS Sunday mornings at 8:00 CT-I now have the whole series on DVD
I do too, but with few exceptions I watch only the first season. The rest are just too silly and childish.
RadioClash81.
WTBS, was or is this Tampa Bay?
Tampa Bay Station?
Just curious. ✌️
@@kenmanx1298 This one used to be called the Superstation WTBS out of Atlanta, GA-it’s just TBS now. We started getting it when we first got cable in 1978.
@@radioclash8175 👍 thanks.
I also forgot to mention that the costume for the cyclops is mostly made from coconut husks, and the cyclops would return in a much smaller size in "The Keeper" episodes.
In fact, most of Irwin's creatures have been shared between Lost in Space, Voyage to the bottom of the sea, and Time Tunnel
I noticed in Voyage to the bottom of the sea one, of the "dinosaurs", in one episode, was from his movie "The Lost World" and "Vatina Marcus" (indian girl on the plateau of the lost world) was in both also.
Don Matheson that played Super Android IDAK Alpha 12 and another character that had wife and young son on Lost in Space played Mark Wilson on Land of the giants also produced by Irwin Allen. Jonathan Harrison also appeared on one episode of that as The Pied Piper. It was similar to Lost in space but giants on the alien world instead of monsters.
I loved this show. I felt like I was right there with the Robinsons. I still love it even at 64.
The first season of Lost In Space as great sci-fi is, in my opinion, only surpassed by Doctor Who. It was simply wonderful. However I love the entire series, even after the silliness and camp were added. I still wonder to this day however what Lost In Space might have been if it had continued along a more serious vein.
For a serious sci-fi show to survive, it needs exceptionally good sci-fi writing and science-based concepts - similar to what we see in the original series of Star Trek.
@@rookmaster7502 But _Star Trek_ didn't survive very long as a first-run network show.
Voyage to the bottom of the sea and the man from uncle got campy towards the end as well. Maybe they were running out of ideas.
I just wish it would have continued for another season or two. Stanley Adams was great as the Carrot Man.
how is it good sci fi it was totally unblievable as Sci FI on its premise. Star Trek did much better scientifically.
I'm glad for the change. The campiness is the primary reason this show is remembered. It has a unique feel that I don't believe has been matched by any other non-animated series. Maybe Land of the Lost, but that was limited by the prehistoric setting. As a science fiction series it had more room to breathe.
As good as the first season was, without the conversion, this would probably just be another forgotten sci-fi show that came out among the glut during this period.
Myself and my eldest (now in his mid-30s) still occasionally blast out the occasional "Oh, the pain. The pain of it all" - never gets old.
The fact that it stands the test of time, is tribute to its creative genius.
But it could have been so much more!
@@leelarue1354 - I think they read the room perfectly.
At 19, I saw this show from day 1 in 1965! It was set in the far off year of 1997, which seemed like it
would never come! But presto, that 'futuristic' year is now 25 years in the past! It goes to show you
that 'Sci-Fi 'shows should never be set too close to the present day! Look at the movies "Escape from N.Y.",
"The Terminator", "Back to the Future", "Soylent Green", "1984", "2001", "2010"! All have come and gone!
Don't forget a 2001 a space odyssey
@@statewidefilms I did include "2001, a Space Odyssey" & its sequel "2010"! I just shortened it.!
I saw that film on an Army base in 1968 & was both captivated & disappointed by some parts
of it! ( By the way, at age 4 in 1950, I appeared on t.v. (one time) with Buster Crabbe, i.e.
"Flash Gordon" & "Buck Rogers", who pioneered futuristic sci-fi movies! Great memories!
@@rongendron8705 you are a star . I missed the read more button thingy . Buster . Oh my.. your a solid sci fi nut like me. I'm in Australia.. worked late tonight . Time for some shut eye . My 1 minute of fame on tv was talking to a children's character called Fat Cat in Perth 40 years ago... ha ha. A man dressed up in a fluffy suit. LOL
@Account NumberEight 10 million miles wouldn't even get you close to mars.
Doctor Smith was the one that dreamed up " special guest star" , that had not been used on any show before 👍👁️💥👁️✌️
In interviews, Jonathan Harris has always taken credit for the move to camp.
Once I saw Star Trek, Lost in Space became too silly for me. I always preferred the early episodes, especially the 1st. Thanks for the re-cap.
First Season of Lost In Space Was the Best.
Captain Action -- you were one of my favorite toys in the 1960's - early 1970's.
Saboteur Smith from the first season was a proper villian but his campy twist on the remaining seasons was both the best and worst thing to happen to the show. One fan theory that kind of makes it more palatable is that Smith wasn't in a cryotube like the rest of the Robinsons and therefore was affected by various anomolies when the Jupiter 2 was lost, which explains his spiral into madness. 😄
The ladies in that cast was an impressive bunch! June Lockhart as Maureen Robinson, Marta Kristen as Judy Robinson, and Angela Cartwright as Penny Robinson. (Judy Robinson always got my attention when she was on screen back then!)
..was in Love with Angela Cartwright'.. wanted to Marry Her'.. unfortunately couldn't Afford Her'.. At That Time All i Could Save was'a Poor Many a Few Cently to My Name in'a Cave'.. For Penny to Rent me Her Fame Game n Fave' 👉🙀💁🏻♂️¢¢¢¢¢¢🛸🤦🏻♀️🎬🎥📽️😹👈
I still pause any views of Marta's backside -and I was watching this in 1965...
@@flashgordon6238 .. The Natural Beauty of Her Pretty Face n Eye's ☝️🙋🏻♀️🙏
I prefer Lost in Space as a straight SciFi adventure. I liked the addition of the robot but not Dr. Smith. He always frustrated me. Even as a kid, I knew Season 2 and 3 was campy and wished it had taken itself more seriously and explored more SciFi based stories. Interesting how they just phased the monkey Bloop out of the series without any explanation.
Agreed, LIS was a good as a straight up Sci Fi and they could have done much more with it as a straight sci-fi series. The family atmosphere would have differentiate it from military based environment of ST .
@@stuarthirsch 100% agree, I had high hopes for this show the 1st episode, never watched it much after the Smith idiot was introduced.
Dr Smith wrecked the show.
Dr Smith was the best part of the show, if there was no antagonist then it'd be very boring. Hell, I loved his screams, his relationship to the family and his cunning schemes
The funny thing is Dr Smith was supposed to die if I remember correctly. The pilot episode if you have ever seen it was really dark. The Earth was on its last legs like the planet in Raised by Wolves. Dr. Smith being an agent of the other Super Power was the bad guy trying to stop the good guys from saving their people by finding an new planet thus dooming everyone on Earth.
The Jet Pack scene isn't "special effects" it's a real jetpack, that's why it looks so good for 1960's
YES!!! It was also seen (very briefly) in the 1965 film "THUNDERBALL".
Your content is so comforting. I have pretty much no one to discuss these old shows with. I'm 30, but was born to older parents and so my pop culture knowledge is definitely wonky.
Same here, enjoy it, wonkyness and all 👍🏼
I would have loved the show to have kept more focus on the other characters with more serious episodes to see a family struggling with surviving hostile environments. It would have been particularly good to see if the relationship between Don and Judy would have developed/ The parents were also strong characters. I don't like how it became mostly about Will and Dr Smith and childlike.
As a small kid I did notice the tonal shift from the first season, but couldn't put my little finger on exactly why until many decades later. I always prefered the first season as the stories were just better written.
Our father would watch it with us in the 1st season, but he definitely lost interest as it started getting silly (I didn't!).
Danger Will Robinson.. Danger.. Danger ⚡
"Doctor Smith is incapable!"
"Of telling a lie, you tin plated trashcan!!"
Dr Smith was a comedic villain, a role solely created by the actor who played him, Jonathan Harris. The character transformation was loved and encouraged by LIS producer Irwin Allen.
Although I've never read or heard it mentioned anywhere, I'm certain that Harris got the idea, or was inspired by, the 1960 Irwin Allen sci-fi classic film, The Lost World. If you've ever seen it, you'd immediately see the remarkable character resemblance between Dr Smith and Costa (actor Jay Novello), the hispanic sidekick of Fernando Lamas (Manuel Gomez in the film). Costa was very much a Dr Smith kind of person: cowardly and greedy, his sole interest in the excursion being the diamonds, caring nothing of the scientific mission. I'm sure Harris was well aware of Costa's role in this Irwin Allen film, and so largely modeled the Dr Smith character after him.
The most recent Netflix seems to have done justice to the original intent of Lost in Space. The focus rarely wavers from sci-if adventure problem solving and family’s drama. It’s not particularly campy at all, though there are a few moments with Don’s chicken and Penny’s teen drama that could characterized that way. Dr Smith is radically reimagined into a pretty serious character. On the whole, I quite liked the show.
it was awful filmed in monchrome blue and dull gloomy and dark and grainy nd blue and dull
@@esecallumI agree. I watched the first episode of the first season and the characters were sulky, the dialogue was dull and there were four potential catastrophes in the first half hour. And yes it was shot in dark gloomy blue.
Every few months I get together with a bunch of friends for a pizza night at a nearby pizza place. We call our pizza club the Zumdish (dedicated Lost In Space fans will understand). And, yes, we are old enough to have seen it when first broadcast (in Australia).
Mr. Zumdish was that guy who made that Popping Sound with his mouth.
Yeah, that’s the one where Dr. Smith turned the place into a vacation resort.
Ahh to manage an intergalactic department store
The first season of "Lost in Space" had a unique character all it's own. Once filmed in color film, that's where it got it's campy makeover. I think that it wasn't a good idea to make it so silly, but Johnathan Harris and his comedic skills made the show a legend with his "Special Guest Star" billing, which gave him free license to take the show in a more campy direction. Harris, along with Billy Mumy, and Bobby May, along with Dick Tufeld as the voice of the B-9 Robot, who also served as the narrator for the first season, made the show a cult classic. Billy and Johnathan were extremely close friends during the run of the show.
I grew up watching Lost in Space reruns. As a kid I couldn't understand why the B&W episodes where better than the color ones. As an adult it's obvious, but still love the whole run. Well, most of it.
Same thing on "The Adventures of Superman", season 1&2 were outstanding, but the switch to color softened the story lines into pure camp.
Even at 8 or so, I easily noticed the cheesy re-use of monster costumes on this and other Irwin Allen shows like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea 🌊😀
Back in the 60s, they had their budgets and they stuck to them!
Brings back memories of my neighborhood.
A new boy came to my junior high school. It was Billie Mumy. He stated his favorite TV show was Star Trek. Around that same time, my friend and I went door to door on Halloween. To our surprise, William Shatner opened the door.
They probably chose to live close to work. Twentieth Century Fox was near by.
Did William shatner give you and your friend some Halloween candy? From Ms. Harper Stacey.
@@harperstacey9604
No .. he said we were too old..... 14?
And it was too late...
That was in the late 60s.
Now that I am in the late 60s, I still haven't thought of a trick.
@@dans9463 What a cheapskate! William shatner could have given you and your friend some Halloween candy. He doesn't sound like a nice person. From Ms. Harper Stacey.
@@harperstacey9604
On Rosh Hashanah, I forgive him..
I think my friend and I knocked on his door late in the evening. We didn't especially know it was his home.
Season 1 was great, and had a slightly more serious tone, particularly in the first half of the season, than the later series. Seasons 2 and 3 had a handful of good episodes, but season 1 was the best. Johnathan Harris was perfect as Smith. I understand Harris's position that in order to remain a regular character on the show, he had to tone down the evil Smith a bit to make him a somewhat likable protagonist. I just think he overplayed the part in the subsequent seasons. But oh man he had the best man scream ever.
Loved this show and watched every week with my sister. This was my first obsession with space and sifi. It thankfully has never disappeared.
Oh how I loved Lost in Space! Been a sci-fi fan ever since! Thank you for sharing!
Took the words I was going to say..
Can't wait to watch this! As a child of the 60s (and a sci-fi fan) I noticed just about all his shows started out serious enough (at least for a 13--year old) but then after a while they went irredemably juvenile.
I used to watch Lost In Space when I was eight years old, and I loved it. I have fond memories of this, thus I really enjoyed this video.
Harry Mudd as Dr. Smith would have been interesting.
It's also worth noting that the theme song was written by John (Johnny) Williams well before Star Wars.
Even as a little kid, I loved the black and white stuff because they were more into the sifi and I hated the campy comic stuff and Dr Smith being a whinny coward got on my nerves. I related to will as a fellow kid, had the hots for penny, wanted a robot like theirs, wanted to shoot major west, the others I never got into. Loved the effects!
That date, 1997, thirty years the future reflected to naive optimism of the time. Little did they know that NASA would completely abandon manned space exploration, not to ment tion the way our society has gone to hell. We dream of a "Star Trek" future while in reality we plummet toward "Road Warrior."
Thanks to Joe and Kamala and the other idiots who are destroying our country.
Loved it then, love it now. Season 1 definitely was more "balanced" regarding the participation of the entire cast and I like it more as an adult, but at 10, who knew. And almost ALL of Irwin Allen's television projects slowly veered into silly and outrageous, so it was to be expected.
Agreed. Voyage to the bottom of the sea started as a good sci-fi movie and good TV series, but the 3rd and 4th season were so stupid I didn't even want the DVDs.
As a 7 year old when lost in space first came out, I remember everyone in school about this "amazing space show that was fantastic" most of them saying this. I did find it great and the first season was pretty good. But then 2 things happened, the next year Star trek premiered and that really wowed me a lot, then at the same time LIS 2nd year began to descent into ridiculous camp that now i cannot stand to watch, although some 3rd season episodes are really good. Unfortunately I wish the show had maintained the high quality of the first 10 episodes of season one, I think it may then had lasted 4 or 5 seasons. The same with Star Trek, there would have been more serious competition, and by retaining its quality in the 3rd season it may have also survived into the 4th maybe even a 5th year. My analysis is coming from seeing voyage to the bottom of the sea how it managed to survive 4 years, although this show went into camp to many times. This thing about the campiness being a problem came for the network execs who wanted to cash in on the batman craze at the time. One more note something talked about others who have written or stated why LIS failed, is a big mistake Irwin Allen did in letting Jonathan Harris ham it up to much about Dr. Smith, his ridiculous antics i think ruined the show( I at 7 years did notice this at that time and started not seeing the show to much, only concentrated on Star Trek).
Jiffy Pop and Leisure Track Suits of the Future
I was 10 when it came out. I remember gluing 2 paper plates together to make a model of the Jupiter 2, cut some slots in the bottom for the retracting landing gear. Who else did that?
Oh man, that brings back memories. Yep, glued two paper plates together, cut out the windows and used scotch tape for panes and fashioned interior pieces with cardboard and toothpicks. Very cool!
The first season is what I think of when I remember watching LIS as a five-year-old. Then I moved on to _Batman_ and _The Green Hornet_ . I barely remember the Dr. Smith show at all.
Fav growing up. Fav episodes include: My friend Mr. Nobody, Wish upon a star, One of our dogs is missing, Return from outer space, The Keeper, Ghost in Space, All that Glitters (My personal fav-is that Colonel Klink as Officer Bollocks?!), West of Mars, Blast off into Space, The Golden Man...
Totally agree with your choices. Great minds think alike
The space ship managed to leave the galaxy in record time!
This was one of my never missed shows. I can still hear 10-year old me debating with my best friend John, which was the better show; Lost In Space or Star Trek? Eventually Star Trek won out, but Lost In Space still has a place in my fandom heart!
Nice video. The first 5 episodes are SO different in tone that, as a little kid, I was confused when they appeared in syndicated reruns along with the campy episodes. It seemed like the robot and Dr Smith were entirely different characters here - the robot even moved differently, as they were still working out some logistics with the costume. My young self felt the same way about the Godzilla films, which I also saw on TV out of their original sequence. When I finally saw the first Godzilla movie it was so dark, somber and yes - scary - the tone felt unexpectedly jarring compared to later Godzilla entries. Those first 5 LIS episodes felt to me like a TV show based on the 1956 MGM film Forbidden Planet. Later LIS episodes felt more like they were based on Gilligan’s Island.
^Absolutely Valid Description.
I think early in the third season, they did try to get things more serious again, but things soon returned to the outrageous camp that the second season had been.
They did the Anti-Matter Man during the Third Season. One of Their Best Episodes.
Voyage to the bottom of the Sea went CAMPY in seasons 2 , 3 & 4.
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
Season 1 was great. And I like to watch seasons 2 & 3 also. There was never anything else like it. Absolutely surreal and hilarious with space pirates, department stores, circuses, and lots more.
Lost in Space, my favorite episode was when Wil Robinson teleported back to earth and was a “ Stranger in A Strange Land”. Also the Lost in Space Roto Jet Gun was best toy since Johnny Seven.
Wish I'd got one, they were cool, kinda expensive now
His returning to Vermont makes for a great retro-future comparison. In the real late 1990s, the state was Bernie Sanders, Civil Unions and Ben and Jerry's. Quite different than the isolated and backward portrayal by that episode.
Yeah I also loved that episode, it was called "Return from Outer Space" my favorite one was either Ghost in Space or Invaders from the Fifth Dimension, Space Pirate was also great.
@@jeffturnbull9661 I was lucky enough to receive it for Christmas. Seven guns in one, as I recall.
Robbie the robot was actually in two episodes. I think the other one was called prisoners of space, or something like that? He was tending a prison where all the prisoners were in suspended animation and the clock that was supposed to eventually release them was broken.
He would "refreeze" you if you tried to escape and return you to your platform
Kind of remember a Gold Key comic book called Space Family Robinson. Great artwork and very interesting stories. Was somewhat similar to the tv series, but from what I can remember they traveled through the universe and visited various planets and would deal with a lot of situations. Don’t think the comic book series ever had an ending, just kind of disappeared….
It's on every Saturday night on MeTV...it's great just hearing the music again !
It was listed somewhere recently on the top ten episodes of the series and eight of them were from Season One, which makes sense. But like stated before, this is after the fact. As a kid watching this show, you were simply enveloped regardless of the quality. I was always waiting for the cliffhangers in seasons one and two and who would be involved. Of course the majority of the time it was Will and Dr. Smith. It was refreshing to see s change occur occasionally, like Judy and Penny in the lead-in to “The Colonists” or Don in “Blast Off Into Space” or a rare scene with John and Maureen in “The Derelict”. Still, back then, it didn’t take much to stir the imagination of a child.
Irwin Allen did the the same thing with Voyage to the bottom of the Sea Season 1 was serious Sci-fi then into monster of the week they even had a Leprechaun in one of the later episodes
I STILL WATCH IT ON METV ON SATURDAYS AND HAVE COMPLETE SERIES ON DVD AND 5 of the robots in good working order and announcing DANGER WILL ROBINSON.I WISH THEY HAD GAVE CLOSURE TO SERIES .I JUST TURNED 68 AND STILL LOVE IT WHEN I WATCH IT IAM THAT 10 YEAR OLD GLUED TO THAT BLACK AND WHITE TV IN SPACE HEAVEN
Loved this show growing up in Maryland.
When LIS first came on it was fantastic. I was in 3rd grade. All the kids in the neighborhood and school talked about it - and I ALWAYS made sure I was home by 7:30 on Wednesday night. The first season was actually scary at times. I did notice toward the end of the first year some of the shows did get a little goofy but all in all it was a great season. When season 2 began a swear I was looking at a different show. Yes the transition to color really changed the scenic atmosphere but the entire direction of it went totally off the tracks. It was AWFUL. I literally gave up on being home @ 7:30 on Wednesday after about the first 5 episodes. What a disappointment. The only reason I would tune in occasionally was to see Penny and Judy - especially Penny because she was closer to my age. Season 3 did improve in my opinion - except for a few terrible clunkers - and the 2 beauties were now wearing hot little dresses - which was really nice on the eyes- but it couldn’t touch season 1.
This was a long time ago but I was in the 1st grade when Lost in Space was first on Network television. I watched it on a 1947 Zenith Console television with a round picture tube. We had just got a 1965 Magnavox Color television. I tried watching the second season in color but my brother and I were more enamored with Batman I think playing at the time so I only saw the color second and third seasons on Hulu (when watching it was free) a decade years ago. I now have the series on DVD. Yes I do remember season 1 especially some well remembered episodes.
When you're a kid, a really good episode of a TV series is one you spend the entire lunch period the day after enthusing about it with your friends!
Daniel, you and I are exactly the same age, and your reaction to Lost in Space is exactly what mine was: enthusiasm & excitement for season 1, then disappointment in season 2 as it became clear, as you say, that this was "a different show." Never again would there be gems like the poignant "My Friend, Mr. Nobody" or the terrifying "Follow the Leader." But 4th grade wasn't a total loss: we now had Star Trek.
Yes I felt the same way.....I only stayed on with season 3 to see Penny. Oh there were funny moments with the battles with Dr Smith and the robot. But I wish they had taken the show a little more seriously. We did not need another "Batman" .
@@jsgold2000 Third-season Penny was a good reason to stick around. But you're right; it did sure degenerate into "Batman in Space."
I loved this show. It always aired at the end of the cartoon run on Saturday morning. (I also had something of a crush on Dr. Smith)
Don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but the composer for Lost in Space's two different opening/closing themes is John Williams--he of Jaws/Star Wars/etc. fame. (Back then he was known as "Johnny" Williams.) 😀
Williams composed a kick-ass theme that was used from the second season on. His theme from season 2 of "Land of the Giants" was so good a friend and I surfing old TV shows watched the opening *3 times in a row!*
@@joestrike8537 👍
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This show, voyage to the bottom of the sea. the time machine. Mutual of Omaha s Wild Kingdom were my shows as a child...great stuff back in the 60s
Time Tunnel
I agree with you 100%! When the first season wasn't engaged in "survival science fiction," it could even veer into fantasy as with "The Magic Mirror" episode, which focused on Penny as opposed to what I like to call "The Evil Triumvirate" (Will, Dr. Smith, and the robot). I don't think Lost in Space could have ever been anything like Star Trek; ST was targeted towards adults while Lost in Space was a "family show" that had to appeal to kids as well as adults. Still, Lost in Space could have been the type of show that could introduce kids to serious sci-fi while appealing to adult audiences simultaneously.
Basically, "Lost In Space" was semi-serious sci-fi during the first half of Season One, but ceased to be so, with the exception of a handful of later episodes (like "Visit To A Hostile Planet" and "Anti-Matter Man" in Season Three).
Most of the first season was pretty good SciFi. Then it turned into a Dr. Smith comedy hour and suxed.
I remember watching this in the early 70s, I was 7 or 8 and Dr. Smith annoyed the piss out of me. 😂
I tried watching it the other day, it didn't age well.
All the kids I knew, hated it after it turned into the "Dr. Smith Show".
Although we did like Will and the robot.
Since colour TV would only be introduced in 1972 here in Brasil, I watched all seasons in black and white. Despite that, I remember the first season was different, more intense and I was afraid of Dr. Smith and specially of the Robot, which later would become my favorite character as he mellowed out. My kindergarden mates and I used to act out some of Lost In Space scenes and I always wanted to be the Robot. And yes, it would've been much better had it been kept as a true Sci Fi series.
S. Bar-David was a great TV script writer both here and on Have Gun Will Travel . . . .
Similar thing happened on Man From Uncle, first season pretty much a straight spy show,
Lost In Space and Batman were the best "Campy" shows ever. Danger Danger Danger
Lost in space TV show 1960s got a chance to be done again for TV in 2018 that got three seasons to have th
e same way to a hit In its own way that lost in space can be a big again on TV after all the years that have gone by
I think the show appealed to teenybopper crowd and Will’s adventures with Dr. Smith were interesting. Like “Leave It to Beaver in Outer Space.”
When I saw this show as a kid in re-runs, the size of the Jupiter 2 never made sense relative to the size of the interior sets. There’s just no way all that interior space could fit inside that little saucer. Plus the Dr. Smith character creeped me out.
the list of supporting actors on this show is beyond awesome
Great explanation of the series. Thanks. I do love the third season theme song. The brass kicked ass!
Oh if only it stayed the course of season one, because it was the best season by far! The first 10 episodes were awesome!
Judy was sooo beautiful !!!!
This was my favourite show back in the seventies when I was a boy. It was on every Wednesday night and my grandmother had to miss her telenovela because I had to watch this show. Will was my hero, and I had a huge crush on Penny.
The first 5 episodes are sci-fi gold in my opinion!!! After that, the tone of the show changed too much with Dr. Smith now whimpering and screaming in fear at every alien encounter. That first season of black and white is superior to the two that followed though.
Positive note the hardware , space suits, jet back pack, the chariot & later the craft that resembled a mini LEM & sets 👍👍!
You had to be there to love the show as much as I did & still do. The production values were tops. Jonathan Harris was a great TV star of the 1960s. Reshaping his role as a comedic villain, he gave the show more depth. I felt bad for Dr. Smith, as he was made the heavy week after week. But I still love all the characters, & many of the guest stars.
I was a little kid so I loved it, it was a flat out comedy, Dr Smith was a riot.
Dr. Smith portrayed by Carrol O'Conner? Roger C. Carmel (of Star Trek "Harry Mudd" infamy)? Can't imagine it.
I remember watching it as a kid but when Star Trek came out I seen how goofy it was.
As a scifi kid in the 60s, they lost my watching after the first season when they started showing the direction they were heading.
While I would tune in some times, the shows I watched didn't jibe with the first season, and I would switch channels after a few minutes of watching...
Yeah we hated Smith but that was due to his brilliant acting, he made you feel that way. Loved the show and I wish other generations had been fortunate to have something like this growing up. The chariot was ahead of its time, now we have similar looking vehicles in Antartica etc.
There was a similar tv show in the mid 1960s,
some thirty years before this 1997 show.
I really liked it, I was eleven years old.
The first five episodes were surprisingly good. The model used for The Derelict had parts that moved and the Jupiter II maneuvered about it with remarkable control of movement. The music was interesting at first: 20th Century-Fox reused the theme from The Day The Earth Stood Still as title music for the pilot, Bernard Herrmann provided the theme for the jet pack flight and John(ny) Williams wrote subsequent music. But it was obvious that murderous Colonel Smith would have to be exiled or killed, so he was morphed into the sniveling, self-absorbed Doctor Smith and at that time the decision was taken that LIS would henceforth be "Family television" ( a kiddie show). The series steadily degenerated until a script was written based on the Frank Zappa composition "Call Any Vegetable". This has been called the worst hour in the history of network television, and LIS was put out of its misery soon after.
I've been waiting many years for someone to point this out! Of course I watched Lost in Space as a kid, but somehow as fate decreed, I never saw any of those 1st season b/w eps until I was in my early 30s, and I remember being shocked at how dark and stark and serious they were, and I immediately LOVED them. Each episode was like watching a new sci-fi movie each week! And Dr. Smith was originally a truly evil and dangerous man! Had I seen any of those 1st season eps as a kid, I most likely would have been bored, and I imagine that was much of their reasoning for the shift. However, as an adult, I definitely prefer that first season over the later campier ones. Just my opinion.
Lmao, I remember as a child hiding behind the couch watching Lost in Space, I was probably 5.
I grew up watching this series and loved it!
Thye Doctor Smith we got was Jonathan Harris protecting his job. He has stated himself that he realized that the saboteur was not sustainable, and that he would have to be killed off or left stranded by the family.
The tone was a failed attempt at cloning Batman's camp success. Irwin Allen argued that it's tone change was to make it more kid-friendly, but as a kid, I really wanted them to leave Smith on a planet when they took off to crash on the next.
The reboot series kept versions of both Smith & the Robot, but neither were reduced to bubble-headed boobies this time.
It was a great TV show to the very end to have last this long of time and it came back to TV in 2018 that it to was on TV for three seasons and was a great TV show both became big hits that people love lost in space fans
The first season was GREAT and then it somehow turned into Sesame Street?
It was Harris who said that if he played the straight saboteur they would have had to eliminate his character half way through the 1st series, before he killed the Robinson's and they were all out of a job. This is why he played the bumbling fool so the children could be kids and the real crew could play it straight. Either the boy or smith would get into trouble starting another campy episode with the robot raising the alarm.
I remember the episode where they were having to head south to avoid freezing to death. I turned to my dad and asked, "Dad, don't spaceships have heaters?" 😄 I was about 14 at the time.
I could never understand why they didn’t just get back in the freezing tubes until it passed. They started out frozen…
John to Don: "The solar batteries would never stand the strain. It's moving day Major West". Thats an explanation of sorts i guess. Lol.
Actually, a few years before Lost in Space came on the air there was a comic book 'Space Family Robinson' and it was also loosely based on Swiss Family Robinson.