Space Opera Fans discussion

i noticed that literally nobody is talking about lost in space (original or new) so i wanted to ask if anybody has even seen it??? i'm a fan of the reboot, but i do want to watch the old ones :)

I love the new Lost in Space. I’ve watched all three seasons start to finish twice, while rewatching the first season at least five times. Individual scenes I’ve watched a dozen times.

Some people take shots at the show for its supposed lack of scientific accuracy, but I respond that it is A) better than most, including any version of Star Trek, and B) it’s based on a silly ‘60s TV series that included such things as a character getting turned into a broccoli stalk by a giant talking carrot. 😆 We’re grading on a curve here.





I was concerned about the robot at first, because it was too similar to Legion from Mass Effect 2 (2010), but it grew on me, and the resemblance is just superficial ultimately. The design is kind of on a continuum anyway, since robots like the one in Saturn 3 (1980) and AMEE from Red Planet (2000) also have similar designs.







AMEE in action: https://youtu.be/KTcOOzD-JQs

I definitely like the rapscallion version of Don West. Ignacio Serricchio is the most charming space rogue since Han Solo. And changing Debbie from an alien chimp into a chicken is a hoot. I also like all the changes they made to the family dynamic, making it much richer, especially once you learn everyone’s backstories, particularly Judy’s. Plus the actors are all great.

Edit: I forgot to add that it was a nice touch that Bill Mumy, the original Will Robinson, was cast as the real Dr. Smith. And June Lockhart was the voice of traffic control welcoming the Robinsons to Alpa Centauri. They’re just cameos, but it’s a nice touch.

I also want to mention the music. Christopher Lennertz’s original score is terrific, but they didn’t ignore the awesomeness that is John Williams’ soundtrack from the original series. Williams wrote two different but equally good theme songs for Lost in Space. I prefer the second version, but the original is solid, too.

The two themes: https://youtu.be/712ns4jnG-k

There’s also all the incidental music people forget about because theme songs take up everyone’s attention. The original Mission: Impossible theme is iconic, but plenty of the other cues are instantly recognizable, too, like the cool “IMF sets up the scam” track: https://youtu.be/konxDD_sg1g

Lost in Space had this, too, distinct cues for sweet romantic moments or scary action scenes. Here is the track for the tense lift-off from an alien planet: https://youtu.be/cvH4yA_K0A8 Of course, what was considered “tense” in 1966 seems rather tame today. If you listen closely, you can hear some specific sections Williams reused for Star Wars later.

In this scene from season 3 of the new LiS, Lennertz employs a modified version of the original Williams scary music, uses his own composition for the bulk of the scene, then at the dramatic moment drops in the second OG LiS theme. Perfection.
https://youtu.be/A_RetgA4FeY

Every time they did that it was great. I never get tired of it. In the first season there’s a similar tense scene to the above lift-off from the alien planet, except turned up to 11: https://youtu.be/AitG4cY2_DQ

Although people in 60 years will think that’s pretty tame, too, without the full-immersion VR and artificial amygdala stimulation.

wow! i didn't know about all of that. thank you so much for telling me this; that's so interesting. it makes me love the show even more than i already do, because everybody put so much thought into it.

i knew about the billy mumy reference, but i had no idea about june lockhart! that's so cool!