Lost in Space: the Reboot
I may be jumping the gun on this, but after seeing the first episode of Lost in Space, I’m thinking I want to be rescued from this series.
I grew up watching reruns of the original show, and although its later seasons got very campy, the space drama rose to the ranks of classic TV for its time. Netflix’s reboot of the modern version of the Swiss Family Robinson isn’t even on the radar.
No wonder they’re lost.
I appreciate the attempt; however, this mimic is lacking some essential ingredients of its ground-breaking predecessor. For starters, the Robinsons were a tight-knit clan. They had to be to survive everything the galaxy threw at them. Netflix’s doppelgangers are dysfunctional from the get-go. In the first five minutes, the family is about to die, and the eldest daughter gives her father shade, refusing to take his hand. But, good to know teenagers are moody no matter what solar system they're in.
And don’t get me started on Will Robinson.
In the original version, Will was smart and courageous. Who didn’t love him. He was everything a radioactive Bog monster could want in a son-in-law. But the new Will is average and neurotic. He goes around obsessed with not being good enough.
Billy Mummy would have slapped him.
All of this I could overlook if it weren’t for the episode’s structure and pacing. It’s never a good idea to throw the protagonists into mortal danger when we don’t care for them yet or even understand what their goals are. I wasn’t even emotionally involved yet, and there the showrunners were dangling an icy grave for Judy in my face. Really, if she had died, that would have made for a more interesting pilot episode. Then they could have put her brain in the robot so the rest of the season she can tell her brother to do his homework thru a voice box.
Reboots are tricky. I can’t think of many that have really matched the success of what they sought to imitate. Maybe, don’t change the recipe too much. It makes fans angry and takes away from the fun.
I grew up watching reruns of the original show, and although its later seasons got very campy, the space drama rose to the ranks of classic TV for its time. Netflix’s reboot of the modern version of the Swiss Family Robinson isn’t even on the radar.
No wonder they’re lost.
I appreciate the attempt; however, this mimic is lacking some essential ingredients of its ground-breaking predecessor. For starters, the Robinsons were a tight-knit clan. They had to be to survive everything the galaxy threw at them. Netflix’s doppelgangers are dysfunctional from the get-go. In the first five minutes, the family is about to die, and the eldest daughter gives her father shade, refusing to take his hand. But, good to know teenagers are moody no matter what solar system they're in.
And don’t get me started on Will Robinson.
In the original version, Will was smart and courageous. Who didn’t love him. He was everything a radioactive Bog monster could want in a son-in-law. But the new Will is average and neurotic. He goes around obsessed with not being good enough.
Billy Mummy would have slapped him.
All of this I could overlook if it weren’t for the episode’s structure and pacing. It’s never a good idea to throw the protagonists into mortal danger when we don’t care for them yet or even understand what their goals are. I wasn’t even emotionally involved yet, and there the showrunners were dangling an icy grave for Judy in my face. Really, if she had died, that would have made for a more interesting pilot episode. Then they could have put her brain in the robot so the rest of the season she can tell her brother to do his homework thru a voice box.
Reboots are tricky. I can’t think of many that have really matched the success of what they sought to imitate. Maybe, don’t change the recipe too much. It makes fans angry and takes away from the fun.
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