After the 1998 attempt to adapt the 1960s sci-fi series Lost in Space into a theatrical version, hope for a successful reboot was pretty slim. The Netflix teaser for a new Lost in Space series two weeks ago didn’t give audiences much to go on, but a full-length trailer released this week may reveal just enough to pique sci-fi fan interest. Nicely creepy sci-fi thriller music from composer Christopher Lennertz (Galavant, Agent Carter, Supernatural), slick new spacesuits by Oscar-winning costume designer Angus Strathie (Moulin Rouge, Deadpool, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem), sweeping cinematography by Sam McCurdy (Merlin) and Joel Ransom (The X-Files, Continuum, Band of Brothers), movie level special effects, and a robot–a completely different robot from the original–with a sleek futuristic design. And he speaks some familiar dialogue. And what’s it about the cold of space–namely, winter parkas–that just draws us in every time? Ten episodes–it’s on Netflix, so that really means we’re looking at a ten-hour sci-fi movie heading our way next month.
As for the robot, unlike in the original series he’s not a member of the crew, but he appears to have more of the role taken on later in the old series by famous Forbidden Planet and The Twilight Zone “guest star” Robby the Robot, a new encounter young Will Robinson discovered later in the series. Robby was a Robotoid, a robot with the additional faculty of independent decision-making, regardless of programming. So he wasn’t a borg, but something more than a robot. Did the new series writers decide to combine the two robots into one? Robby the Robot was the most famous sci-fi creation for generations of fans, so it makes sense that the new series will try to tie him in somehow. But the classic B-9-M-3 robot was also a sci-fi icon. The more humanoid look of the new robot looks a bit familiar. Maybe he is just an advanced cousin of the robot Isaac from The Orville. Nah. The relationships between Will and the robot, and Will and Dr. Smith, were key to the original story, and look to be important again here.
So who’s in?
Molly Parker (Dexter, Deadwood) plays mom Maureen Robinson, Toby Stephens (Die Another Day, Space Cowboys) is dad John, and the kids are played by Taylor Russell (Falling Skies), Minda Sundwall (Freeheld), and Max Jenkins (Sense8). Engineer Don West will be played by Ignacio Serricchio (Bones, The Young and the Restless). And Parker Posey (Superman Returns, Best in Show) is the notorious Dr. Smith.
Here’s a new, better look at Netflix’s Lost in Space:
Here is Netflix’s description of the show:
Set 30 years in the future, colonization in space is now a reality, and the Robinson family is among those tested and selected to make a new life for themselves in a better world. But when the new colonists find themselves abruptly torn off course en route to their new home they must forge new alliances and work together to survive in a dangerous alien environment, light-years from their original destination. Stranded along with the Robinsons are two outsiders who find themselves thrown together by circumstance and a mutual knack for deception. The unsettlingly charismatic Dr. Smith (Posey) is a master manipulator with an inscrutable end game. And the roguish, but inadvertently charming Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) is a highly-skilled, blue-collar contractor, who had no intention of joining the colony, let alone crash landing on a lost planet.
Look for the first season of the new Lost in Space series April 13, 2018, exclusively on Netflix. Learn more about the history of Lost in Space here.
C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com
