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History The show initially experienced some legal challenges. Ib Melchior, a notable science fiction writer, had conceived what was essentially the same idea (but with different characters) years before either the television series or the comic book. He had called his version "Space Family Robinson", which was also the original production name for Lost in Space. Although legal action went nowhere, Ib Melchior was hired as a consultant on the "Lost in Space" movie as a way of recognizing his original idea. Lost in Space followed Allen's basic philosophy that TV was supposed to be fun, as opposed to educational. His series, including Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants, were all very fast paced and exciting, often at the expense of logic. The series ran for three seasons on CBS, from September 15, 1965 to March 6, 1968 and it was famously bought by the network after they rejected a competing sci-fi series that was offered to them — Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek. Roddenberry claimed that CBS execs listened to his Star Trek pitch in order to glean ideas for doing sci-fi on a TV budget. The first season was filmed in black & white and was more serious in tone when compared to the two seasons that followed. It chronicled the adventures of the Robinson family starting in the year 1997, a group of Earth pioneers whose mission to colonize Alpha Centauri almost ends in disaster after a saboteur attempts to destroy their space ship. The second and third seasons were produced in color, and were more whimsical and fantastic in tone. The show was aired opposite the Batman series, and the production staff felt a lighter, campier tone was needed in order to compete. By the third season the writers tried to go back to more realistic stories, but it was too late. The show had good enough ratings to ensure a fourth season, but was abruptly cancelled. One story has it that Irwin Allen, in a heated argument with the network, refused to cut back on the special effects budget and walked off in a huff. However, one of Allen's writers claims the head of the network despised the show so much that this dispute was used as an excuse to kill off the series. In 1975, Allen returned to the original source material to produce The Swiss Family Robinson, a short-lived TV series based upon the novel. Characters and cast Cast trivia
Analysis
Music The theme music for the opening credits during the show's three seasons was written by John Williams. William's use of leitmotif introduced the Lost in Space (albeit in a sonorous, orchestral form) theme as that of the film Jurassic Park. The musical theme in the first two seasons was a bit "cartoony" matching the opening credit sequence. In year three, the opening theme was changed (again by Williams) to an exciting faster tempo action theme and featured a pumped-up countdown from seven to one to launch each episode. The third-season theme was also echoed in the closing credits of the motion picture. John Williams (then known as Johnny Williams) also composed many of the much-praised background scores for the series, which have been released on CD. He also wrote themes and musical scores for Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel and Land of the Giants. Much of the incidental music in the series was written by Alexander Courage, most famous for writing the theme music to Star Trek, and contributing complete episodic scores for both shows. Courage contributed six scores to the series, his most recognizable, "Wild Adventure" included his key theme for "Lorelei", composed for organ, woodwinds, and harp thus cementing this highly recognizable theme with John Williams' own "Chariot" and main theme for the series. Producer Irwin Allen was the sort of fellow who never threw anything away and found ways to recycle stock material and footage. In the unaired pilot episode "No Place to Hide" the opening theme music, and much of the incidental music was craftily borrowed from the 1951 classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still." Conceptual dilemmas The Jupiter II spacecraft and its technology represented a considerable engineering achievement given the short amount of time since space flight began on Earth... the first manned landing on the moon is identified as being in 1970. Other industrial nations must also have been making parallel achievements because at least one of them was willing to sabotage the American effort to allow their own efforts to succeed. However, somehow John and Don were able to surpass even those efforts and produce faster-than-light flight which was used in episode Some sort of replication technology is repeatedly implied, although not shown until the episode "The Space Vikings". Dr. Smith, in particular, seems to come up with numerous devices, costumes and other "needs" for his assorted enterprises; for example, the many barrels for his home-made brew in "The Prisoners of Space". The Robinsons also seem to be able to come up with milk and eggs, and presumably some meat products. The most logical deduction is that the Jupiter II has some sort of a protein sequencer to produce limited amounts of foods (until additional colonists arrived at Alpha Centauri, presumably), and a matter replicator to produce limited amounts of non-organic materials. Smith would be a disproportionately-high user of these devices, threatening the Robinsons' ability to meet their real needs when Smith indulges in one of his impulsive hobbies. Comics Bill Mumy has remained active in show business and comics. For several years he scripted an authorized Lost in Space comic book for Innovation Comics. The intention was that the comic reflect the more serious tone of the first season episodes, but this was somewhat undercut by artwork that sexualized Judy and Penny, prompting some exasperated notes from Mumy in the editorial pages. The comic also established a romantic triangle between Judy, Penny (now depicted as someone in her late teens), and Don that was not present in the original series. (One amusing storyline in this comic book retcons the "serious episodes" -- which some critics claim ended about a third of the way through the first season -- as excerpts from Dr. Smith's diary, while the more humorous episodes were taken from Penny's diary. Also suggested is the idea that Dr. Smith is working with some of the aliens encountered in the early episodes, rather than with any terrestrial source, as evidenced by his efforts to make radio contact with some third party after the Jupiter II has left Earth.) Innovation comics discovered that Lost in Space was their best selling comic, outselling all their other comics combined. The series lasted for about a year and a half, and ended when Innovation comics went out of business. Unfortunately, this left a major story arc unresolved. Recently a trade paper back of the story arc entitled "Voyage to the Bottom of the Soul" was published completing the story. Prior to the appearance of the TV series a comic book named Space Family Robinson was published by Gold Key Comics and written by Gaylord DuBois. Since the TV series used many of the characters and situations from the comics the title of the comic book was renamed Space Family Robinson Lost in Space The comic book is not a spinoff of the TV series but was in print prior to the conception of the show. Cartoon In the 1972-73 television season, ABC produced The ABC Saturday Superstar Movies, a weekly collection of 60 minute animated movies, pilots and specials from various production companies, such as Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, and Rankin-Bass -- Hanna-Barbera Productions contributed animated work based Gidget, Yogi Bear, Tabitha, Oliver Twist, The Banana Splits, and most importantly, Lost in Space. Dr. Smith (voiced by Jonathan Harris) was the only character from the original program to appear in the special, along with the Robot (who was employed in flight control rather than a support activity). The spacecraft was launched vertically by rocket, and Smith was a passenger rather than a saboteur. The pilot for the animated Lost in Space series was not picked up as a series, and only this episode was produced. Film In 1998, New Line Cinema produced a feature movie adaptation, starring William Hurt as Professor John Robinson, Mimi Rogers as Dr Maureen Robinson, Heather Graham as Judy Robinson, Matt LeBlanc as Major Don West, Gary Oldman as Dr. Smith and Lacey Chabert as Penny Robinson, Jack Johnson as Will Robinson, and once again Dick Tufeld as The Robot's voice. Angela Cartwright, June Lockhart, Marta Kristen, and Mark Goddard from the original series all had cameos (Goddard played the General who gives Major West his orders for the mission, Lockhart played a teacher, Cartwright and Kristen appeared as reporters), but Jonathan Harris refused to participate. Bill Mumy was at one point considered for a key role in the film, that of an aged Will Robinson who appears in the 'Spider Smith' sequences, but another actor was cast instead. (Guy Williams, the remaining original cast member, had died some years earlier.) Lavish special effects were incorporated, and the story was similar to the more dramatic first episodes of the TV series. The film was notable for being the first new film of 1998 to open at Despite that, audience reaction was mixed and box office results (around $69 million in the domestic market compared with its $80 million budget) were insufficient to justify a planned sequel. The head of production at New Line Cinema said the moment the film made $150 million in the US, a sequel would be put into production, but alas, that never happened (the box office tally was not even half of that projected sum). A short-lived series of original novels did follow, however. The new Jupiter II was launched from Houston in a launch shell, called the Jupiter I, that is an obvious homage to the series spacecraft, complete with rotating propulsion lights. Even with the careful planning that created a spacecraft capable of containing the (rather roomy) interior shown, the creators gave such short shrift to exposition, that audiences were left confused about the purpose of the mission. Earth is deteriorating, and the rescue plan is to colonize Alpha Prime (the only other known habitable planet in galaxy) by sending the Robinsons on a 10 year journey there. Once they arrive, they are to build a hypergate identical to one on Earth through which travel between the planets will be instantaneous. The new Jupiter 2 has a hyperdrive, but without gates (according to the film), travel through hyperspace is random and could drop the ship anywhere in the galaxy. This is, of course, exactly what happens when the ship is sabotaged and the crew must choose between a random flight through hyperspace or plunging into Earth's sun. One critic failed to see why the Jupiter 2 wasn't filled to capacity with hardware to build a hypergate. This also was given short shrift in the film. During an interview in one of the opening sequences of the film, Commander Robinson tells reporters, "once we have rendezvoused with the research colony on Alpha, I will supervise construction of a second hypergate." Apparently, an entire research colony has already left for Alpha Prime ahead of the Robinson family, presumably with all of the equipment and engineers necessary to complete the task. Fans of the original series noted the references to the Pod and the Chariot being ruined in the crash of Jupiter II. Second TV Series In late 2003, a new TV series, with a somewhat changed format, was in development in the USA. It was intended to be originally closer to the original pilot with no Doctor Smith, but including the robot. A pilot was commissioned by the WB network, directed by John Woo, produced by Twentieth Century Fox TV and Regency Television, and screened to executives in May of 2004. The pilot script featured the characters of John and Maureen, but an elder son, David, was scripted, as well as Judy, Penny and Will. There was no Doctor Smith character, but the character of Don West was described as a "dangerous, lone wolf type". The confirmed cast included Brad Johnson as John Robinson, Jayne Brook as Maureen Robinson, Adrianne Palicki as Judy Robinson, Ryan Malgarini as Will Robinson and Mike Erwin as Don West. It was not among the network's series pick-ups confirmed later that year. However, the producers of the new ''Battlestar Galactica'' show bought the sets. They were redesigned the next year and used for scenes on the Battlestar Pegasus, as creating whole new sets would have been too expensive. Episodes First season Second season Third season Complete box sets of all 3 seasons (and the original pilot film) of the original TV series have been released on DVD in North America, Europe, and Australia. Chronology Based on "facts" presented in the episodes, a timeline of events can be compiled. The Lost in Space Chronology The Adventures of the Space Family Robinson 1997-2000 Prior to 4.6 billion years ago- The first creature in the universe to leave his home and explore space was Formale from the fifth planet of Orion. In the 6000th year of his planet’s history, Formale (which means explorer in the language of his people) designed, constructed and piloted a spacecraft. Unfortunately, his explorations had a tragic end. (Verda instructs Will and Penny in early galactic history in “The Android Machine.”) Over 4.6 billion years ago - The Invaders from the 5th Dimension begin their travels. (One of the Invaders states that they have been traveling since before the earliest moments of Earth’s history.) 4.6 billion years ago – the Earth was formed. Millions of years ago –The pure cosmic force that will become Mr. Nobody gains consciousness on Planet Preplanus. (Mr. Nobody’s earliest memories are the formation of rocks on the planet.) Many thousands of years ago- People from the planet Quasti overthrow a despot named Kanto. They entomb his remains on Preplanus. (Kanto hints at this in "Follow the Leader.") Thousands of years ago- A humanoid alien civilization exists on Planet Preplanus. The Robinsons will later discover the ruins of this civilization in “There Were Giants in the Earth.” (It can be speculated that they existed 3000 years prior to the Robinson’s discovery. It is reasonable to assume this due to the condition of the mummified remains of one of the aliens.) October 12, 1492 - Christopher Columbus discovers the Americas. (The Robot was teaching Will and Penny this fact in “The Android Machine.”) 1780- Benedict Arnold betrays George Washington. (The Robot recounts this in The Ghost Planet.) 1793 - Alien recluse Tiabo moves to a desolate planet to escape from people. (Tiabo relates this to Dr. Smith in “Forbidden World.”) 1797 – An alien spacecraft containing the wishing machine crashes on planet Preplanus. (Will theorizes that the spaceship ruins are centuries old in "Wish Upon a Star".) 1798 - An evil Vizier captures a Caliph’s daughter and takes her to a place called Utopia. The Thief of Outer Space steals the Vizier’s slave and begines his quest to find the Princess. (The Thief has been looking for the princess for “200 years.“ This is revealed in “The Thief of Outer Space.”) 1858 - Alonzo P. Tucker is born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. 1876 - General Armstrong Custer is killed at The Little Bighorn. A.P. Tucker, age 18, is abducted by Tellurians for biological studies. Tucker is kept in a time-freezer to retard his aging processes. 1895- The Andromedan civilization melts down all the robots similar to the B-9 series robot as they are obsolete. (Mr. Zumdish notes that his people did this “over a century ago“ in “The Android Machine.”) 1946 – Zachary Smith is born. His maternal grandmother is Irish. 1947 - The Jupiter II time-travels back to Earth in "Visit to a Hostile Planet" 1956 – Professor John Robinson is born. 1957 – Maureen Robinson is born. 1958 – The United States begins intensive research on space travel technology. (The reporter states that the Jupiter II is the culmination of nearly 40 years of intensive research.) The Keeper monitors radio communications between astronauts and earth to learn English. 1958- Sagramonte of Altair begins his quest to slay the “beast”. (It is stated in the episode “The Questing Beast“ that they have been chasing each other for forty years.) 1964 – Zachary Smith enters Oxford University to study medicine. He minors in robotic engineering. While at school, Smith becomes the Grand Master of the Oxford University Chess Society for three years running. While at Oxford, Smith had the lead in his college musical. 1966- Maureen Robinson, age 9, has an imaginary friend named Mr. Noodles that lives in her teddy bear. John Robinson, age 10, goes to school with a boy whose father owned a carnival. The boy taught John how to work a shell game. 1968– Don West is born. July 20, 1969- Apollo 11 the first manned lunar landing mission. (Historical fact, although John Robinson said it happened in 1970 in the episode "Visit to a Hostile Planet".) 1970– Zachary Smith graduates from Oxford University with a medical degree. December 7-19, 1972- Apollo 17 the final lunar mission in the Apollo Series (historical fact.) Soon after the final Apollo mission, the United States embarks on creating permanent lunar bases. The bases will have tracking stations that will help monitor future manned missions. To facilitate this massive project the United States Space Corps is proposed. NASA is renamed Alpha Control. 1973– The United States Space Corps is formed. 1974– John Robinson, age 18, enters college. He joins the Football team and becomes a three letter man. 1976– John and Maureen Robinson are married. 1977– Judy Robinson is born. 1978- John Robinson completes his undergraduate studies. On graduation, he receives an offer to play professional football. He declines in order to pursue his doctorate degree. Don West, age 10, becomes adept at using a slingshot. (The Keeper part 1) 1980– Professor John Robinson earns his doctorate in Geology. June 18, 1982– at 0600, Jimmy Hapgood on board the Traveling Man, a spacecraft with a rudimentary FTL engine, is launched on a mission to Saturn. He becomes lost in space due to a navigational error. (Welcome Stranger. It can be theorized that the ship has FTL capability because Hapgood has been to many different planets in his travels.) 1983- Alpha Control launches a test vehicle equipped with a suspended animation tube. The vessel, containing a small dog as a test subject, becomes lost in space. (Professor Robinson theorizes that the dog must have been part of the space programs early experiments in suspended animation. It is proposed that this occurred after Hapgood’s flight because he did not have suspended animation equipment in Traveling Man.) 1984– Penny Robinson is born. 1986– Will Robinson is born. Don West, age 18, enters the United States Space Corps Academy. 1988– Intensive research and preparation begins on the Jupiter II mission. Because the Earth is overcrowded and polluted, it is determined that a new home must be found to insure the future of humanity. A series of deep space telescopic probes conclusively establish a planet orbiting the binary star pair Alpha Centauri as the only one within range of American technology able to furnish ideal conditions for Human existence. Other countries race the United States in reaching this goal and the danger of sabotage is a constant danger. (The Reluctant Stowaway points out that the flight has been preceded by nearly a decade of research and preparation.) Smith’s great Aunt Maude dies. Smith is at her bedside. 1990– Don West graduates from the United States Space Corps academy. 1995- Will Robinson eats fudge that Penny made for the Space Scouts. He keeps it secret and has bad dreams. (Will tells Smith of this in Wild Adventure. The date is conjecture.) Prior to the Jupiter II mission - The Robinson Family is selected from more than two million volunteers for its unique balance of scientific achievement, emotional stability and pioneer resourcefulness. 1996- Alpha Control launches a series of unmanned fuel barges to the edge of the Siribidus Galaxy. These will act as refueling stations for the Intergalactic Probe 22 mission. (It is mentioned that this occurred a year prior to launch of the Jupiter 2 mission. “Wild Adventure“.) October 16, 1997– The Jupiter II is launched. (The Reluctant Stowaway) October 21, 1997– At 1800 hours, all attempts to contact the Jupiter II are determined to be futile. Alpha Control declares the ship and its crew Lost in Space. (The Derelict) The Robinson family and Major West are assumed to be dead. (Return to Earth) By October 30, 1997– The Jupiter II crash lands on an alien planet. ("Island in the Sky". The date is inferred in that, despite hypervelocity, no severe time dilation occurred and a year later, Alpha Control notifies the Jupiter II that they were lost in space a year earlier.) There were Giants in the Earth November 4th, 1997- (A few weeks pass during the course of this adventure) The Robinsons learn to plant crops safely in the alien soil and domesticate ostrich-like animals. The Hungry Sea November 8th, 1997 Welcome Stranger November 15, 1997 The Robinsons meet Jimmy Hapgood. The Robinsons dub the planet Priplanus. My Friend, Mr. Nobody November 22, 1997 Penny befriends a being of pure cosmic force. The Robinsons start drilling in Priplanus’s surface for raw materials to synthesize rocket fuel for the Jupiter II. Invaders from the 5th dimension November 29, 1997 Ancient aliens from the 5th dimension try to steal Will’s brain. The Oasis December 6, 1997 Drought conditions occur on Priplanus. Dr. Smith grows to three times his normal height after eating alien fruit. The Sky Is Falling December 13, 1997 An alien family lands on Priplanus. The aliens, known as Taurons, leave behind a matter transfer device. Soon after they leave, Professor Robinson gives Dr. Smith the responsibility for the hydroponic garden. Wish Upon a Star Will and Dr. Smith discover the wishing machine in the wreck of an alien spaceship. At least four days pass during the course of this adventure. Smith has been away for four days. The Raft The Jupiter II runs out of fuel. Professor Robinson and Major West design and construct a prototype plasma engine. Dr. Smith begins writing his book. One of Our Dogs Is Missing Professor Robinson, Major West and Will go on a scouting expedition. Maureen, Judy, Penny and Dr. Smith find the recent wreckage of a small spacecraft. The spacecraft contained a small dog in suspended animation. Lost in space in 1983, the ship crashed on Priplanus and released the dog. Attack of the Monster Plants The Robinsons begin to extract dutronium fuel from Priplanus. During the course of this adventure, the Robinsons lose all of the fuel. Return from Outer Space Early January 1998. It is after Christmas and the Launch of the Jupiter II is referred to as have happened “last year.” The Robinsons begin to search for new veins of radioactive ore to refine into Dutronium. Will is sent back to Earth via the Tauron matter Transfer device. A local reporter notifies Alpha Control of Will’s visit. The Robinsons begin to construct their irrigation system. The Keeper (1) The Keeper (2) March 1998 (The Robot mentions the month in this episode.) The Sky Pirate John mentions it is 1998. Ghost in Space The Robinsons again attempt to extract Dutronium from deep within Preplanus. War of the Robots The Magic Mirror The Challenge The Space Trader The Robinson's food and Water supply is damaged. His Majesty Smith The Space Croppers The water pipeline is completed. All That Glitters The Lost Civilization A Change of Space Follow the Leader Under the influence of the ancient spirit of Kanto, Professor Robinson creates a Fuel synthesizer unit and repairs the Jupiter 2 Blast Off into Space The blasting for Cosmonium by Mr. Nerim causes the core of Preplanus to become unstable. The Jupiter 2 launches from the surface of the planet with mere moments to spare as the planet explodes to cosmic dust. The Robinsons head for Alpha Centauri. Wild Adventure The Jupiter 2 is near the Siribidus Galaxy. They head inadvertently towards Sol and make brief contact with Alpha Control. Smith meets the Green Girl for the first time. The Ghost Planet The Jupiter 2 lands on the automated planet. They escape and the Android ruler launches a homing missile to destroy the ship. Forbidden World Attempting to avoid the missile, the Jupiter 2 crash lands on a neighboring world. The Jupiter 2 is once again stranded o an alien world. The missile detonates harmlessly on the planet’s surface. Tiabo, a hermit, at first tries to scare the Robinsons away. Seeing that they are harmless, he moves to the other side of the planet to be alone once again. Space Circus The Prisoners of Space The Robinsons are held accountable for Smith’s attack on the bubble creatures from “The Derelict.” The Android Machine The Robinsons encounter Verda and Mr. Zumdish. The Deadly Games of Gamma 6 The Robinsons discover that the planet they are on is named Gamma 6. The Thief from Outer Space The Curse of Cousin Smith This episode takes place on June 28, 1998. (Smith mentions it is 180 days until Christmas.) West of Mars A Visit to Hades The Wreck of the Robot The Dream Monster The Golden Man The Girl From the Green Dimension The Questing Beast The Toymaker Mutiny in Space The Space Vikings Rocket to Earth The Cave of the Wizards Treasures of the Lost Planet Revolt of the Androids The Colonists Trip Through the Robot The Phantom Family The Mechanical Men The Astral Traveler The Galaxy Gift Condemned of Space Visit to a Hostile Planet Kidnapped in Space Hunter's Moon The Space Primevals The Space Destructors The Haunted Lighthouse Flight into the Future Collision of the Planets The Space Creature Deadliest of the Species A Day at the Zoo Two Weeks in Space Castles in Space The Anti-Matter Man Target: Earth Princess of Space The Time Merchant The Promised Planet Fugitives in Space Space Beauty The Flaming Planet The Great Vegetable Rebellion Junkyard of Space 2198 Dr. Smith becomes the property of the Space Trader. (The contract comes into effect after 200 years.) 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