new tv show: Lost In Space

[Thorin]

I wasn't expecting much when I heard there was a Lost In Space remake. You know what? I'm three episodes in and it's really good so far! All the characters have flaws and backgrounds and the science is mostly believable. Worth a watch if you're all explosioned out.

[Mr. Analog]

I wasn't expecting much when I heard there was a Lost In Space remake. You know what? I'm three episodes in and it's really good so far! All the characters have flaws and backgrounds and the science is mostly believable. Worth a watch if you're all explosioned out.

I'm torn, on one hand they've really captured the classic Irwin Allen gratuitous disaster adventure porn that kicked off the original (it can't get worse? Just wait!) But on the other hand the actors have almost zero chemistry together. Penny and Will are well cast and actually work well against the original characters. They seem to have meshed Don and Judy into one character which kinda works. Maureen is ok but they lay on the supermom schlock a bit thick and John is absolute nonsense. They've basically made him a caveman with one basic instinct "use knife".

The Robot concept as an alien warrior who's lost his memory is actually ok and even fits somewhat into the original. His lack of dialogue so far is concerning.

The biggest sin so far is the vastly underwhelming Dr. Smith. The Robinson family in the original show was supposed to represent mankind at it's best with Dr. Smith as the counterpoint representing mankind at it's worst, not outright evil per se but lazy, conniving, self-centered, greedy, stupid, pathetic BUT so charismatic you can see how he gets away with it. He became a pitiable character who Will felt bad for and eventually formed a friendship with.

The new Dr. Smith has the charisma of a dead fish and so far is being played up as a female Baltar (Battlestar Galactica)

I too have watched the first three episodes and I want to watch more and see it improve. I'm really hoping these actors start building some chemistry because as the original series discovered after about 12 episodes of constant peril there better be some relatable humanity there or it's going to wear thin awfully fast.

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[Thorin]

Okay, that was an excellent review and you're right on the points you make.  I did not ever watch the original Lost In Space, but I know that Joey In Space was a bad movie.  This one is definitely much better.

I think that we'll see each of the characters grow, including Dr Smith, who I expect will grow into their villain role.  There's also that whole "what's all the strange noises in the wilderness" element still to explore.

The only thing that's kind of thrown me for a loop is that I thought they were supposed to be marooned Swiss Family Robinson style, except in space?  I'm not sure how I feel about there being five or six other surviving families (or possibly a dozen, depending on the one image they showed).

[Mr. Analog]

The only thing that's kind of thrown me for a loop is that I thought they were supposed to be marooned Swiss Family Robinson style, except in space?  I'm not sure how I feel about there being five or six other surviving families (or possibly a dozen, depending on the one image they showed).

I'm glad you brought this up, since I last posted I've watched more episodes and I'm getting concerned that the writers just couldn't figure out how to write a small group and keep it intense, unless this is part of a season finale buildup to have them entirely stranded after having gotten separated from the others.

The original show premise was almost the same, Earth was overpopulated and the plan was to start sending out well-provisioned space pioneers. The Robinson's were supposed to be among the first and as a result everyone was highly trained as a unit and were also a family. So you had these people who were colleagues and family. They were supposed to be the utopian model. But in this Eden lurked Dr. Smith who, as an agent working for a "foreign power" was there to sabotage the mission and while successful was left onboard thanks to his own incompetence. The sabotage left the ship going far off course and eventually ended in the same scenario the new show is in; somewhere in space not where they planned.

So the show had three dynamics going for it at the start; The family trying to survive vs nature. The family trying to relate to each other as both professionals and family. A family of straight-laced goodie-goodies trying to reconcile their situation with the worst possible person ever (Smith)

The show starts off fairly intense (for the 60s anyway) and gradually becomes more camp until it flies right off the rails. It hits a sweet spot early on that any show could have run with, but once it starts to get silly it slides fast. It was designed as a family adventure show but began with a harder sci-fi premise than most before you start meeting space cowboys and ghost pirates.

One thing the original had was a tight cast that really played well off each other, as the show wore on other one-shot characters would come and go as they met aliens and the like but the core dynamic was 7 people and a robot and it really worked (even when it got campy)

Not sure if spoilers (also just conjecture) but putting it under the spoiler tag.

Spoiler

I have a feeling that the "black hole" they are seeing in their solar system is going to be the MacGuffin that starts the Robinson's planet hopping, I expect this to be some kind of wormhole type deal that will allow them to bounce around space. In the original show it wasn't explained how the ship moved or what velocities it could reach but they could travel from planet to planet with relative ease. Of course that wouldn't be believable in the new show's universe (except, y'know, a mothership that only has a single communication array or cargo with very different weights going unnoticed but whatevs)

[close]

[Darren Dirt]

it's really good so far! All the characters have flaws and backgrounds and the science is mostly believable.

Cool! I did *not* expect to hear that, considering the trailer gives away the likely story arc... which they usually do because a show/film is plot heavy instead of character heavy.

Nice to hear, I've got it on MyList but trying to get through my >100 movie titles before investing any more time in any series. (and yet for some reason 9 days ago I binged over that weekend the entire 1st season of "Salvation" because dammit I was just in the mood for impending-disaster plot-twist popcorn fun for some reason... I usually pace myself, weird... Is this the typical 10 eps that most non-network series tend to be?

[Mr. Analog]

Is this the typical 10 eps that most non-network series tend to be?

Yeah 10 episodes, at an hour long and with the pacing most episodes feel like a mini-movie. Where I'm at now is kinda sagging but from what I hear picks up soon.

The first two episodes will certainly grab you, after that things get kinda blurry.

OH YEAH one thing I don't like about it are the flashbacks, it's a cheap trick to try to do character building and it just falls flat. I want to see character growth through survival stress not just have it hand-waved through a cheap narrative trick (see this character was different BEFORE) gimmie a break

[Thorin]

Hmm, I found the flashbacks so far provide enough insight into the characters' personalities without overwhelming the current character development.  You're right that it's a cheap trick, maybe it just doesn't bother me as much.

The characters so far are mostly decent and all seem to have a reason for acting the way they do. Sometimes they're a little stereotypical, but characters' new actions seem to be in line with how they've been explained to think so far.  The only thing that's really bugged me is the absolute lack of military-style actions.  Like, setting up watches, daily patrols of the perimeter, that kind of thing.  You'd think pioneers setting out would have learned some basic group survival skills like that?  Also, I guess, the no-guns policy.

But like you said, it's kind of like mini-movies, I've been watching two episodes at a time and it's certainly drawn me in.  Still, The Expanse is the best sci-fi show currently airing, in my opinion.

[Melbosa]

This got renewed for Season 2

[Mr. Analog]

This got renewed for Season 2

GOOD NEED MORE

[Thorin]

Yay!  Now we just need another network to pick up The Expanse.  That's the best scifi on TV at the moment, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, Killjoys season 4 is coming out in mid-July!  Yay!

[Mr. Analog]

Yay!  Now we just need another network to pick up The Expanse.  That's the best scifi on TV at the moment, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, Killjoys season 4 is coming out in mid-July!  Yay!

Yes! I hope it continues. I gotta continue Killjoys I think I only watched a couple episodes

[Thorin]

Killjoys gets a bit to work into, I think I've said it before but it's like they're first-level characters in the first couple of episodes, and then start gaining levels and facing bigger badder bosses.