Lost in Space

The 1960s was a great decade for television, or so to me. 'The Addams Family', 'The Munsters', Doctor Who', 'My Favourite Martian', 'Batman', 'Star Trek', 'Bewitched', 'I Dream of Jeannie', 'Dark Shadows', 'I Love Lucy', 'McHale's Navy', 'Green Acres', 'The Avengers', and they are just a few examples of very good to classic shows from that decade.

'Lost in Space' may be an uneven show, no this is not one of those rarities where there was not a dud episode throughout. Then again some of the aforementioned shows had rocky moments and inconsistency in their runs too, but it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the above. When it was good, it was very good and even more than that on many occasions. However, when it was not so good, it was pretty bad to embarrassing. Overall though, it was a very good and influential show that did a lot with a unique concept.

Its best and most consistent season was the first. It had a darker and more sombre tone than the campier nature of the succeeding two seasons, with a real maturity, some suspense and sense of mystery and wonder. Yet it also didn't forget to be fun and full of adventure while treating its stories with intelligence and wit and its audience with respect. The monsters were mostly impressive in design and there were some memorable ones, likewise with the staging of the encounters with them, which were suspenseful and sometimes funny. There was a much better balance of characterisation, and the cast enjoy themselves without going over the top.

However, 'Lost in Space' was at its weakest in the second half of Season 3, where it felt like a different show. While it was understandable for the tone to be lightened to gain more viewers, it did cause a wide divide quality-wise and like the lightning up was taken too far. Not completely unwatchable, with "The Anti-Matter Man" being among the show's better episodes. It was during this period where farce replaced endearingly campy silliness (say what you want about Season 2 being silly, and it was admittedly, but it was still at least entertaining and endearing), repetition and near-incoherence was all over, camp was taken to extremes and the characterisation lacked balance and got over the top in some instances with far too much emphasis on Dr Smith and the robot. Most of the show's worst episodes were in this period too, with "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" gaining infamy as a hilariously terrible episode for good reason.

Visually, 'Lost in Space' looked good on the whole. Preferred it in black and white myself, being a little more atmospheric, but the colour has a 60s charm that holds up well. The sets are very imaginatively used and there are impressive special effects (as well as the odd hokey ones) for the monsters. The music is rousing and haunting with one of the most memorable main themes for a TV show that decade.

Regarding the writing, a lot of it was funny, clever with its fair share of suspense and emotion before getting too silly in Season 3. Some of the catchphrases or memorable quotes are iconic, Dr Smith has the best lines often (especially the repeated ones). The stories were mostly highly engaging and made the most of a unique concept at the time, space has often been portrayed as being wondrous and mysterious and 'Lost in Space' conveys that very well. There are some interesting themes that it covers too, both in its ideas and topics that are of relevance now.

Characters are not easy to forget, especially Dr Smith (regardless of whether he is used too much or a caricature later on, he is a fascinating character and has some of the best lines, he is a character we should hate but there is just something so lovable about him) and the robot and it is hard not to love the dynamic between them, or be endeared by Will. The cast do seem to be enjoying themselves thoroughly and that they know which tone they're going for.

Jonathan Harris' Dr Smith is an unforgettable creation and a genre character landmark, anybody asked about what role they associate Harris with would most likely choose his role here. Very like they would with the roles of Adam West in 'Batman', Ray Walston in 'My Favourite Martian', Jonathan Frid in 'Dark Shadows' and Elizabeth Montgomery in 'Bewitched'. Equalling him, let alone topping him, is impossible, and even if achieved is a monumental task as proved (and nowhere near as successfully) in the film version three decades later. Guy Williams, Bill Mumy and June Lockhart are all very good as well and the robot and its dynamic with Dr Smith is one of the show's greatest pleasures.

Overall, an uneven show but a very entertaining one and a very good one at its best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

SPACE FANTASY... STAR TREK certainly utilized elements of whimsy but not to this degree ...I think especially of an example such as the space circus episode,or the wonderful episode in which Dr. Smith turns slowly into a stalk of celery (an acting tour de force, by the way...)...Stunning use of archetypes such as the innocent young lad, the brave companion and the cowardly uncle...many have complained of the cardboard quality of the so called "main characters" of this series, but what an interesting use of them. The so called adult "stars" being only paper backdrops, intentionally made so, so as to throw into relief the richness of these archetypes and the genuinely mythic adventures in which they find themselves.The "special guest star" status of Jonathan Harris is one of the great ironic tricks of network television. A very underrated series.

There are a lot of people who gripe about how the show set out to be dead serious and later became corrupted by the "camp craze" that started with the Batman show. But I like this series from beginning to end, with my only regret being that the show didn't get properly wrapped up at the end.

I like this show because you could see the love Will Robison felt for his father and unlike the dysfunctional television families of today, John Robison had great love for his son; and the bond between John and Maureen was also unshakable. This was a warm and caring family, and I liked that more then some of the silly plots.

That's not to say that I didn't like the plots: often they were silly and made me laugh-- probably when they were trying to be serious, and made more so by the limited budgets and special effects of the '60s. But if you made the same show today, using the most expensive CGI effects, the new show would not have the same warmth and charm, and it would die within a season. It's so sad that writers today don't know anything about what a family should be. Look at the recent movie; see how the producer's '90s view had a troubled Will Robinson, and a self-centered Penny, along with a soulless John Robinson who had all the charm of a brick.

I am glad that Lost In Space is on DVD as well as video and that people can see a great classic television show. So what, there were giant talking carrots! It was one of several funny episodes that I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world. There were some that stank, too, and I wouldn't miss those either. It was overall, a great series. And without Lost In Space, there would not have been a Star Trek. People forget that, too.

I give my respects to the late, great, Jonathan Harris. Doctor Smith, I'll miss you...

One of the most memorable TV series of all time but whose quality was quite uneven in the three seasons that it lasted. The first season was without a doubt the best, it focused on the adventures of the first family of space settlers who departed from Earth to a planet called Alpha Centaury. Dr. Smith, a collaborator of the project and at the same time a spy in the service of an enemy power, enters the ship to sabotage it, but is trapped in it at the last moment, so the ship will drift in space. Riddled with danger. There were excellent stories in the first season, Dr. Smith was a Machiavellian villain who only thought of himself and did not hesitate to betray the Robinsons in order to achieve his goals. The problem arose in the second season, the series competed directly with Batman, which had quickly established itself as an instant success, in order not to lose audience LIS began to copy Batman's camp style and this greatly reduced its content, the series became childish and even silly at times, the stories focused exclusively on Will Robinson, the Robot and Dr. Smith who had already lost his twisted character to become a buffoonish character. For season 3 the production tried to make a change of direction and return to the quality of the scripts of season 1, a new intro was made and a space capsule was added with which they could descend on other planets without the need to land the ship . The quality was an improvement but they were never able to get back on track. Despite all this, the series is a highly recommended classic.

I think this was the best thing that Irwin Allen ever did. Although the show drifted far away from its original synopsis,the adventures of a family in space, it eventually became the story of a boy and his robot. Bill Mumy became a hot talent in Hollywood after the series and his role as Will as the likeable son is one of TV's most endearing roles. Johnathan Harris was the villain we loved to hate as he became of another of the screen's most versatile character actors. The man showed great talent arguing with an inanimate prop and making it the hero of the show. The unnamed robot, ironically, became more dimensionally than anyone else in the show, and forget Mary Anne vs. Ginger, how many guys had crushes on Penny Robinson than on Judy ? Penny was the adorable ingenue next to the obvious Hollywood presence of Marta Kristen, the first Marilyn Monroe of the galaxy. John and June Robinson, however, slowly became less the leaders and heros of the series as they became closer to Ward and June Cleaver as they spilled out parental advice and punishments. Don West, however, remained mostly the same character without any developments in his character and past, but that can be directly blamed on the series focus between Will, the Robot and Dr. Smith while everyone else became just a little bit more than supporting roles. Despite these few faults, I still think its one of the best things to ever grace television.