'Lost in Space'

The Netflix reboot series Lost in Space hasn't received the best reviews. I have no idea why! I'm settling down to binge re-watch (yes, I am one of THOSE people!) what has become one of my favorite series. As I start the first season over, I am reminded why it blew me away upon its release in April 2018. I watched the original reruns of shows like Lost in Space, Green Acres, The Munsters, The Addams Family, Knight Rider, and The Love Boat growing up in the 1980s. Those were the best years of my childhood and I am always nostalgic for these shows! Even weekend morning cartoons were the best! Who else misses Bugs Bunny and the original Looney Tunes? You know you loved this one, too! Read on as I share my fondness for what is one of the better (remade) series that Netflix has for us...

The Lost in Space experience revolves around The Robinson Family and their fight to survive a sometimes hostile, but completely unexplored planet. Since we ruined Earth, and its oxygen is almost depleted, a group of humans (Robinson Family included) are enlisted to travel to Alpha Centauri. The new planet is ready and able for human life to colonize it. Not surprisingly, they get lost! It is only mankind's first ever intergalactic quest to rehabilitate on another planet, no big deal. While traveling through a completely different galaxy than their intended destination, they suffer a surprise attack to their mother ship. Following emergency protocol to evacuate, families on board eject in their pods. The first few minutes seem boring, but hold on and pay attention! During the first episode of season one, The Robinson Family face sticky situations and find themselves in suspenseful, dire circumstances! Without ruining anything on the show if you haven't seen it, they find the planet is pretty hospitable for life. As long as they can get used to dinosaurs, electric tornadoes that hail diamonds, the last package of Oreo cookies within a few hundred million (trillion??) lightyears, and oh yeah...the discovery of Hawkins radiation (a black hole) threatening to engulf them! The Robinson Family faces one near-death ordeal after another!

Enter 'Robot'

The show really revolves around the youngest member of the Robinson family, Will Robinson. Young Maxwell Jenkinswas cast into this starring role, and I think he more than pulls it off!He develops a special bond with a strange AI of unknown origin, after an emotionally moving train of events. This is where the show really gets good! The major characters, and their performances, are reflected in 'Robot'. For a while, I think I had a crush on 'Robot', as did the evil Dr. Smith when she met the family. A longtime fan of Parker Posey, I think she portrays an excellent Dr. Smith! Originally a man, Dr. Smith is someone you wish would just get eaten by a dinosaur already...or get lost. However, Dr. Smith is cunning and becomes scared enough to know she needs stronger people if she wants to survive. Dr. Smith was always a weasel, so she sticks around. Her main goal is clear: protection that only Robot can provide her. That's the old co-dependency that Dr. Smith was always famous for! Poor Robot is her victim only due to the AI's basic simplicity. If only anyone had said: Danger, Robot! Danger! I found Robot so awesome that I replaced the picture I had on my laptop with the above photo for my screensaver! The flashbacks that Maureen Robinson has of young Will pretty much draws the first season together around Will Robinson and his BFF, Robot. Maybe in season's two or three we discover who created 'Robot'?

Here's an article by the 'Lost in Space' creators Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless! I honestly believe they gave Robot a femininity, despite what I read! This is shown in her subtle movements for the camera. Obviously, she is very different from the original model. That one had a mechanical man-voice, and was more like a can opener compared to this 2018 model! Young Will Robinson may have had an absent father, but his mother was always there. The unspoken message that our Earth is considered 'Mother Earth', and that we face the dangers of global warming because every day we take our planet for granted when she gives life to us, is not lost. The maternal aspect becomes clearer as Robot sticks with Will. She is ever protective, even over-protective, just like Maureen wishes she had the physical capabilities to be. Robot even responds when rejection comes later.

I am impressed with Netflix's cast of strong women! Besides just Parker Posey, as Dr. Smith, and Molly Parker as Maureen Robinson, Sibongile Mlambo plays Angela. Sibongile is also in Siren, which I am WAAY behind watching! The actress that I think perfectly portrays the rebellious teen Penny Robinson, Mina Sundwall, is who I would love to see cast as a Viking warrior, Joan of Arc, or some other kind of crazy heroine! A Japanese newcomer to acting, from a famous samurai family, Kiki Sukezane as Aiko Watanabe is pretty cool too! Their choice to make Judy Robinson biracial, whose role belongs to Taylor Russell, was a nice surprise for all us mixed chicks! Judy's character was also changed to become John Robinson's step-daughter, a half-sister to Will and Penny. I absolutely have not forgotten the actor Toby Stephens, who plays the dad, John! What is it with all these shows with sexy British men? Where was I when his show Black Sails was on? (Don't mind me! I just finished watching Uhtred on The Last Kingdom!)

It's nice to watch the updates Netflix has made to Lost in Space! They are pleasant surprises that reflect our changed world! All the subtle character changes, with the same plot, make it completely fresh compared to the 1965 series...and even from the 1998 movie! I am really excited about what the directors have planned for us with the second season of Lost in Space!

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