I’m old, guys. So old, that as a tiny, tiny child I watched the original Lost in Space during its original run from 1965-68. The phrase “Danger, Will Robinson” is part of my DNA, and part of why I’m a scifi fan to this day, along with original Star Trek, which ran at about the same time, and Twilight Zone reruns.
I have mixed feelings about the upcoming Lost in Space reboot. Few filmmakers and TV showrunners have been able to match the spirit of combined optimism and camp that ran through television in the mid 1960s, which peaked in the 1966-68 Batman series. The Star Trek franchise has shown that, as long as the basic spirit of the original is remembered, a universe can grow in many different directions and have great success. But few fictional universes have the strongly articulated world building that Gene Rodenberry gave to Star Trek.
Lost in Space has a lot going for it in its basic story. It’s an archetypal tale of a pioneering family setting out for parts unknown and running into unforeseen danger and adventure. They bring an intelligent duo of leaders, a couple of allies and a potential betrayer with them. Plus, there’s a cute kid who functions as a reverse ET, discovering the universe with wonder and reckless abandon. They have a spaceship that can be repaired and used to explore the galaxy, providing endless fodder for new storylines.
Watch the trailer after the jump.
Modern TV series prefer to go dark, and leave most of the humor out. Modern scifi fans loathe having children included, and this family has 3. Netflix’s Stranger Things became a hit while focusing on a group of kids and including horror, scifi and humor, so it can be done. Lost in Space is in the right place to be turned into a quality show and a hit.
And this trailer looks hella fun. Playing “follow the bouncing spaceship” will keep you occupied for a couple of plays. The characters seem serious, but Will is lively. Professor Robinson used to be a pirate king, so surely he won’t run that tight a ship now that he’s moved from the Caribbean to space.
The 1998 Lost in Space movie was a disappointment. It was badly cast and took itself way too seriously, like much of the 90s. That’s a pitfall that Netflix series also have a tendency to fall into, so we’ll have to wait and see which way this series goes when Netflix releases it on April 13th.
Full length trailer:
Release date announcement:
Photos:
Photos and videos courtesy of Netflix.
Metawitches 
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