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Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series produced between 1965 and 1968 by television producer Irwin Allen. Allen based his space adventure series on a Gold Key comic book, Space Family Robinson, as well as the classic adventure novel Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss.
Lost in Space followed Allen's basic philosophy that TV was supposed to be fun, as opposed to educational. His series, including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants, were all very fast paced, often at the expense of intelligence.
The series ran for three seasons on CBS, from 1965 to 1968.
The first season was filmed in black & white and was more serious in tone when compared to the two seasons that followed. It chronicled the adventures of the Robinson family, a group of Earth pioneers whose mission to colonize Alpha Centauri ended in near disaster.
The second and third seasons were produced in color, and were more whimsical and fantastic in tone.
Characters
Professor John Robinson (Guy Williams) is the commander of the Robinson family expedition. He is an expert in astrophysics and applied planetary geology.
Doctor Maureen Robinson (June Lockhart) is John's wife, and a trained biochemist. She is the mother of their children, Judy, Penny and Will.
Major Don West (Mark Goddard) is the pilot of the expedition's spacecraft, the Jupiter 2. Don is romantically interested in Judy, and inherently distrustful of Dr Smith.
Judy Robinson (Marta Kristen), Penny Robinson (Angela Cartwright) and Will Robinson (Bill Mumy) are the three children in the expedition. Of the three, Will is the most noteworthy - he is the youngest, brightest and a particular friend of Dr Smith and the Robot.
Doctor Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris) is the doctor of environmental psychology in charge of preparing the Robinson party. A failed attempt to sabotage the mission saw him stranded aboard as a "reluctant stowaway", from which the pilot episode takes its title.
The final member of the expedition is the Robot, a Model B-9 environmental-control robot.
The first, unaired pilot did not include the character of Doctor Zachary Smith, portrayed by Jonathan Harris, nor the Robot. The Robot (aka Model B9) was performed by Bob May in a special stunt costume, with voiceover by Dick Tufeld.
Since the series, hobbyists around the world have built at least 15 detailed replicas of the Robot, although the original outfit still exists in deteriorated condition.
Analysis
The general public now most recognizes Lost In Space via the memorable, oft-repeated warning lines of the Robot, "Warning! Warning!" and, of course, "Danger, Will Robinson!".
Although it has a cult following, the science-fiction community often points to this show as the perfect example of TV's bad record at producing science-fiction, comparing it unfavorably to its more intellectual contemporary, Star Trek.
The series has also been criticized because of the notion that the Robinsons and their pilot would tolerate the presence of an unrepentant backstabber such as Doctor Smith, who repeatedly attempts to betray or undermine them for his benefit. Although Smith is often chastised and even banished at times, the Robinsons always, sooner or later, take him back.
Some viewers found the show quite beautiful, with full-colour special effects and spacescapes courtesy of the astronomical community. Stylistically, the series was oustanding: silver, tapered space-suits, laser guns and a number of spectacular props and sets, including the control cabin of the Jupiter 2.
Although the series' first season took a fairly serious approach, many of the show's second- and third-year episodes were quite juvenile, with stories about space cowboys, space hippies, space pirates, space beauty pageants, and, of course, the infamous episode The Great Vegetable Rebellion, featuring one of the few intelligent space carrots in cinematic history. (Two of the show's stars did not appear in the following episode, as punishment for being unable to keep from laughing during the filming of what they saw as a travesty.) The show's shift in tone may have been due to the fact that it was in direct ratings competition at the time with the ultra-campy
Batman TV series. It should be noted that the venerable Star Trek had its own share of space hippies, pirates, and cowboys.
Music
The theme music for the opening credits during the show's three seasons was written by John Williams. Movie triviasts have said that echoes of this musical score can be heard in Williams' soundtrack to the movie Jurassic Park.
The musical theme in the first two seasons was a bit "cartoony" matching the opening credit sequence.
In year three, the opening theme was changed (again by Williams) to an exciting faster tempo action theme and featured a pumped-up countdown from seven to one to launch each episode.
John Williams (then known as Johnny Williams) also composed many of the much-praised background scores for the series, which have been released on CD. He also wrote themes and musical scores for Irwin Allens's The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants.
Spin-offs
In 1998, New Line Cinema produced a feature movie adaptation, starring William Hurt as Professor John Robinson, Mimi Rogers as Dr Maureen Robinson, Heather Graham as Judy Robinson, Matt LeBlanc as Major Don West, Gary Oldman as Dr. Smith and Lacey Chabert as Penny Robinson, and once again Dick Tufeld as The Robot's voice.
Lavish special effects were incorporated, and the story was similar to the more dramatic first episodes of the TV series. While marginally successful, audience reaction was mixed and box office results were insufficient to justify a planned sequel.
In late 2003, a new TV series, with a somewhat changed format, was in development in the USA. It was intended to be originally closer to the original pilot with no Doctor Smith, but including the robot. A pilot was commissioned by the WB network, produced by Twentieth Century Fox TV and Regency TV, and screened to executives in May of 2004.
The pilot script featured the characters of John and Maureen, but an elder son, David, was scripted, as well as Judy, Penny and Will. There was no Doctor Smith character, but the character of Don West was described as a "dangerous, lone wolf type".
The confirmed cast included Brad Johnson as John Robinson, Jayne Brook as Maureen Robinson, Adrianne Palicki as Judy Robinson, Ryan Malgarini as Will Robinson and Mike Erwin as Don West.
It was not among the network's series pick-ups confirmed later that year.
Episodes of the original TV series have been released on DVD.
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