Perdidos no Espaço

Interesting points here on the commemoration of the show's 50th anniversary. First off, it was creator-producer-director Irwin Allen's second television series after the phenomenal success of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea",and his first weekly television series for CBS. "Lost In Space" was the first big-budget, prime-time science fiction/fantasy action-adventure series for television that originally aired on its Wednesday night time slot in prime-time. "Lost In Space" ran for three seasons airing from September 15, 1965 until March 6, 1968 producing 83 episodes. Only the first season was in black and white producing 29 episodes that ran from September 15, 1965 until April 27,1966. The next two seasons of the series produced 54 episodes in color(Season 2 consisting of 30 episodes and the third and final season 24 episodes)that ran from September 14, 1966 until March 6, 1968 for Irwin Allen Productions/Twentieth Century-Fox Television and the CBS Television Network.

"Lost In Space" had a top-cast of well known and respected actors that included Guy Williams("The Legend of Zorro"), June Lockhart("Timmy and Lassie"),Jonathan Harris("The Third Man",and "The Bill Dana Show"), Mark Goddard("Robert Taylor's The Detectives",and "Johnny Ringo")and Marta Kristen("The Man From UNCLE"),and two of the best child actors of the era Billy Mumy("The Twilight Zone"),and Angela Cartwright("Make Room For Daddy").Throughout it's impressive three season run and 83 episodes(more episodes than Star Trek on NBC)it was usually the highest- rated show in its time slot(going up against NBC's The Virginian and usually coming in neck to neck with Batman on ABC,believe it or not). The series boasted top name writers for some of the episodes ranging from Peter Packer to Carey Wilbur, Barney Slater, William Welch, Allen Balter, Jack Turley, Robert and Wanda Duncan, Herman Groves, Irwin Allen, and William Read- Woodfield. Top name directors ranging from Don Richardson, Sobey Martin, Nathan Juran, Ezra Stone, Harry Harris, Sutton Roley, Jus Addiss, to Leo Penn, Irving J. Moore, Leonard Horn, Alvin Ganzer, Paul Stanley, and Alexander Singer.

Big name guest stars ranging from Albert Salmi, Michael Rennie, Kurt Russell, Warren Oates, Michael J. Pollard, Gerald Mohr, Henry Jones, Malachi Throne, Liam Sullivan, Vitina Marcus, Strother Martin, along with Mercedes McCambridge, Francine York, Sherry Jackson, Kevin Hagen, Daniel J. Travanti, Arte Johnson, Alan Hewitt, Lyle Waggoner, Al Lewis, and Richard Basehart. Spectacular art direction by William Creber(of Fantastic Voyage and Planet of the Apes),make-up by John Chambers(Planet of the Apes),and an iconic Robot designed by Robert Kinoshita(Forbidden Planet and Fantastic Voyage),and ultra-cool theme songs and music by John Williams(of Star Wars and Jaws fame). It had alien chimps(Debbie the Bloop in Season 1),one-eyed cyclopeses,and even talking carrots. What made the series stand out was it's cliffhangers during the first 2 seasons with the family facing constant peril and danger where it left viewers in suspense("To Be Continue...NEXT WEEK...Same Time, Same Channel)until the next episode and so much more. The format cliffhangers from the first 2 seasons would change over by the show's third and final season.

Getting to the episodes and let me say that the show's first season opens with five dramatic and suspenseful episodes that rival some of the best science fiction stories out there ranging from the pilot episode "The Reluctant Stowaway" to "The Derelict". Then there were the other three that also stood out from "Island In The Sky","There Were Giants In The Earth",to "My Friend, Mr. Nobody", the two-part episode "The Keeper",and "The Hungry Sea" where the first season hits a road bump with "Welcome Stranger" which was very dramatic in its impact. Then the show takes a lurching turn in "The Sky Pirate". Season 2 picks up where the Season 1 left off this time in color with several good episodes ranging from "The Prisoners of Space","Trip Through The Robot",and "The Ghost Planet". The third and final season of the series saw "The Anti- Matter Man", "Hunter's Moon", "Visit to a Hostile Planet",and "Condemned of Space" stood out as the best episodes of the series.

The worst episodes that came out of Lost In Space's three-year run consisted of the worst of them all "The Great Vegetable Rebellion",and from there the episodes got even worst and some outrageously over the top and ridicious ranging from "The Thief of Outer Space", "The Space Croppers", "Princess of Space", "Castles of Space", "The Questing Beast", "The Girl From The Green Dimension", "Space Beauty", "West of Mars", "The Curse of Cousin Smith",and "Mutiny In Space".

When "Lost In Space" was abruptly canceled in the Spring of 1968 after three seasons and 83 episodes the powers that be over at CBS didn't waste any time in finding a replacement on it's Wednesday night prime time schedule for the 1968-1969 season which was the another action/adventure series from creator-producer Ivan Tors called "Daktari" that eventually replaced "Lost In Space".

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.

I guess I'm alone in my views these days, but I've never agreed with the critics (or the vast audiences) that adore contemporary TV series like "Seinfeld" or "Friends."

For me, the best decade for TV (by a million miles) was the 1960s. It was truly a unique decade for television. Series produced then are totally unlike anything produced previously or since. I don't know what it was (perhaps someone spiked the water back then), but TV in the 1960s was unique. There was a certain sense of wonder, a certain sense of the fantastic---and a definite 60s vibe of surrealism that crept into every show from "Green Acres" to "Batman" to "Gilligan's Island."

And for my money, the best show in TV's greatest decade was "Lost in Space." It's impossible to describe what watching this show was like in the 1960s. It's an experience that simply can't be re-produced today. For a start, America was still an optimistic nation and we had an ambitious space program that would soon take us to the moon. For everyone who was young in the 60s, it seemed highly plausible that, we too, would get a chance to ride a rocket into space within our lifetimes. Little could we fathom that, after 1972, America wouldn't even land a person on the moon for 35 long years.

Today's TV shows are stiflingly dull and seem to be created by committees that cynically use focus groups to create their sterile product. "Lost in Space" is a million miles away from this creative process. In fact, it's the total opposite (and all the more brilliant for this).

The greatest science fiction always had a sense of wonder and mystery. "Lost in Space" captured the mystery of space---indeed, the show itself was actually quite bizarre. It's a far cry from the over-rated "Star Trek," which, instead of giving us a sense of mystery, followed an (increasingly stale) by-the-numbers formula.

And "formula" is precisely what one did NOT get in viewing "Lost in Space." Indeed, this show is so strange that, viewing it today, it seems like a relic from a lost civilization. It's hard, in fact, to really even fathom who the producers were targeting as their audience.

Naturally, there are cynics who hate this show, and fall over themselves pointing out the plot holes and the ignorance of "realism." To those folks, I say: Chill out. Even TV's "realistic" shows are NOT as realistic as they hyped to be. "Star Trek," for example, has plenty of flaws in its science. Even a highly-praised show like "ER," the medical drama, has plenty of inaccuracies (as any medical professional will tell you).

In many ways, "Lost in Space" does a wonderful job of capturing the essence of what made the 60s the greatest decade of the 20th century for TV, film, music, and culture in general. It's something we'll never re-capture in today's stale culture, dominated as it is by dull, overpaid celebrities. We've gone a long ways downhill from The Beatles to "American Idol."

I'm glad to say that "Lost In Space" had a big influence on my childhood while growing up. Countless hours were spent "playing" Lost In Space in our basement. I barely, barely remember the first run except that the robot scared me, so I truly came in during the first syndication run. At age 42, I still enjoy all of Season One. The Magic Mirror, My Friend, Mr. Nobody, and Follow The Leader are all great examples of this show. It's unfortunate that the other two seasons went the way of Batman and became just plain silly and cartoonish. However the first season had action packed space adventure, a crash landing, jet packs, laser rifles, the chariot, scary monsters including the Cyclops and fantastic music by John Williams, (the best music ever created for TV in my opinion.) The Jupiter Two sets are still fantastic and believable today, including the fabulous creation of the Robot. The ensemble cast was excellent, and I for one wish that Smith had remained evil and menacing during the run of the show. It may not have been as intellectual as Star Trek but it was good, clean, scary fun!

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