‘Lost In Space’ series reboot in the works

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Deesky, Oct 10, 2014.

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  1. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Indeed! I have yet to be disappointed in anything Gary Oldman has done...
     
  2. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I just can't help it! I cannot say a bad word about the series I just love it too much!
     
  3. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    Oh yeah. Same here. I love it still.

    It's just that the first 6 episodes or so of the first season should have been the blueprint for the rest of that season as well as the 2nd, with an emphasis on drama centering on the Robinson family's struggle to survive.

    But toward the end of the first season, and then full bore into the 2nd , the writers cut back too much on the drama in favor of camp and comedy, often to the extreme, and...too many episodes became the Will/Robot/Dr. Smith Hour with the other cast members becoming mere occasional talking props.

    I also felt ripped off that after an entire season of being "grounded" , the Jupiter 2 is only in space for two episodes before it crashes again ...on another planet!

    But I still watched it, and still enjoyed it.

    As I said in a previous post, the real star of the show in the 2nd season, for me, was the Jupiter 2 itself. I could not get enough of the interior of that ship and I would have given anything to be part of the Robinson expedition just to live inside it.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2014
  4. Commander Lucius Emery

    Commander Lucius Emery Forum Resident

    I liked the 1998 movie. Better than the two Star Trek reboots. CGI of "The Bloop" wasn't very good and ultimately drags in time paradox.
     
  5. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    That was the original plan, but the network ordered changes based on ratings and test audiences. I think it was Irwin Allen's initial idea to do a fairly straight family-oriented drama, but input from the network caused them to veer into comedy and self-parody... and the ratings went up. Series star Guy Williams was really p!ssed-off, because he had been told he was the star of the show, so imagine how he felt when Dr. Smith, the robot, and the kid were suddenly carrying about 80% of the show. I think the rumor was that Williams walked off the show for a week or two in protest, but eventually came back.

    I think the problem there was related to budget and the limitations in what you could do with 1964-1967 TV effects. It was a lot more affordable to just stick the actors on a set in a big soundstage on the lot than either a) going on location or b) staying in space for long periods of time. The physical limitations of cranking out an episode every 7-8 days is really tough on crews, and there are limitations in available time and money in getting the shows done -- even today. Back then, Lost in Space was considered a fairly expensive show.
     
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  6. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    understand totally..I too wanted to be a part of the adventure! Damn! such great memories of that time...
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2014
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  7. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Jonathan (Dr. Smith) was scheduled be be killed off in the series...It was he who changed the format...
     
  8. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Yes, actor Jonathan Harris revealed in interviews over the years that he lobbied for a bigger part and he also rewrote quite a bit of his own dialogue -- including the memorable insults he had for the Robot.
     
  9. Deesky

    Deesky Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Who can forget the classic bubble-headed-booby! :)
     
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  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    True, and Jonathan was a gentleman and very funny in real life. I worked on a bunch of 1980s cartoon shows for which he did voices, usually as the villain. A lot of them you'd never recognize as "Dr. Smith."
     
  11. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes...I heard this direct from Jonathan "the Actor"....
     
  12. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    yes, he was in Darkwing Duck...as the voice of Phineas Sharp. My son loved the show when he was very young...
     
  13. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio

    The "bloop" in the movie was horrible and looks like a badly rendered rubber facsimile of a cartoon character.
     
  14. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    I sometimes envy you (in a good way) for some of the folks that you have met and worked with...
    This is definitely one of them...:righton: :)
     
  15. Uncle Meat

    Uncle Meat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Houston, Tx, US
    I think it got worse as it went along, and seems like the budget got tighter as well.... but I REALLY love the opening theme music, for all the seaons, one of the best part of the shows was listening to the opening and closing music...
     
  16. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    It did get worse. I posted about that. Irwin Allen shot the budget for the shows with first rate writers for the first several episodes. He did that with all his shows. Many started off with a cold, creepy Cold War vibe, then ended up with talking carrots and the like.
     
  17. Lucidae

    Lucidae AAD

    Location:
    Australia
    Lost in Space could only have existed in the 1960's. It worked because of its retro-futurism, the perception of science fiction through the lens of that decade.
    Things like saucer shaped spaceships, giant mechanical robots, laser guns, etc. might have been fascinating concepts back then, but they're laughable today.
    It was a simpler time, when a show could be anchored by a family and rely on its own inter-personal relationships and procedural storytelling.
     
  18. docwebb

    docwebb Forum Resident

  19. kevintomb

    kevintomb Forum Resident

    I have been watching the original show in re-runs and it is 90 percent silly, childish and dumb.

    Every once in a while something works or seems a bit cool.

    The first several episodes were so far greater than the rest though.

    Sad that it turned into a small childrens show for the most part.
     
  20. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio

    As I posted Vidiot earlier, I am envious in a good way that you actually got to meet Mr. Harris....:righton:
     
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  21. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    My pal Mike was the one who really knew Jonathan well, friendly enough to go out to dinner with him a few times and arrange for him to visit some fan conventions. My only contact with Jonathan was on the phone when he called me one time to thank him for letting him know (through Mike) that Hanna-Barbera had forgotten to credit him on a cartoon show. That resulted in a big fine for HB and Harris wound up getting more money for that particular show.
     
  22. Remurmur

    Remurmur Music is THE BEST! -FZ

    Location:
    Ohio
    Sorry I misunderstood but I do enjoy this story ! :righton:
     
  23. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    thanks...He was a dear friend of mine...
     
  24. F_C_FRANKLIN

    F_C_FRANKLIN Forum Resident

    Jonathan was a genius. As a kid, I only wanted the "serious" Lost in Space, as an adult I'm a bigger fan of the show once Jonathan had complete control over his character and dialogue.

    The thing is, if you watch the "serious" Lost in Space, a lot of it is really silly now (John Robinson in a spacesuit doing a repair. His cord comes loose, and he plummets down on to a planet *and survives*), so I prefer the "sillier" fun stuff where Harris and Mumy shined.

    Try watching the "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" TV series now, all of it is dull as dirt.
     
  25. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    well many of us were children when the show first ran...and for those who didn't like the change there was always Star Trek of which also had it's moments of silliness...
     
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