Sci Fi Sunday - A Lost in Space Retrospective

Good morning and welcome to another edition of Sci Fi Sunday. Kay and Reno are taking a break, so today I'm going to discuss what I basically began last week - my look back at Lost in Space: the TV show vs the movie.

In 1965 CBS launched a science fiction series created and produced by a filmmaker who would come to be known for his disaster films - Irwin Allen. As I said last week, it concerned the voyages of the family Robinson, searching for a planet circling the closest star, Alpha Centauri, in order to see about colonizing it. They were to be the pioneers in this brave new world. How odd that they only sent one person who was not a family member (Dr. Smith doesn't count, he wasn't send, he was trapped onboard). Makes you think of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden - they had two sons, Cain and Abel. How did they populate the world? Also, don't think it's a coincidence that the family's name was Robinson - obvious shades of the Swiss Family Robinson.

It began in black & white, and went to color during the second season. Only running for three years, by the end of its short run, it had evolved from a sci fi adventure into a campy sci fi series, similar to Batman. Do any of you doubt that Batman was done tongue-in-cheek? Hello, have you ever watched it? From Adam West's deadpan delivery to Alfred's dusting of the Batcave to Aunt Harriet's naivete - it was all meant to be taken in fun and in no way reflects the graphic novels.

Interestingly, the character of Dr. Smith was intended to be killed off, but they saw the error of that course of action and he remained a staple of the series and of its plots for the entire run. In fact, he evolves over those three years from determined, cruel and vicious saboteur to whining, cowardly, good-hearted (if you search real hard) millstone/albatross about the Robinsons' collective neck - and the most interesting character in the series for sure. The parents were pretty well dull stuff - Professor Robinson (played by hunky Guy Williams) had little to do. He was a stern but distant father, who spent a lot of time not at the ship, doing scientific type stuff. His wife Maureen (played by veteran Lassie actress June Lockhart) was matriarchal, concerned and protective, but her role was limited. She does stand up for Dr. Smith on a regular basis, but she's been known to tell him off when the occasion warrants, and seems to be surprised when he shows his true nature yet again.

Of the two daughters, Penny is far more interesting. Judy (Marta Kristen) is just there, and for the most part  just wants to go home and get her old life back again. Penny (Angela Cartright, also of Lost in Space and Make Room for Daddy) is a companion to Will, and often accepts Dr. Smith as a mentor. I remember when they found her a pet - a bloop (looked a lot like a chimpanzee!) that she named Debbie. Penny had a tendency to daydream, and some interesting episodes came from those musings (including one featuring Michael J. Pollard, of Bonnie and Clyde fame). Major Don West (Mark Goddard) was the co-pilot of the expedition and Judy's fiance. He got to fight and steer the ship. He especially hated Dr. Smith, and would gladly have booted him off the island. Er, spaceship. In a parody of The Defiant Ones (Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier), West and Dr. Smith find themselves chained together after having escaped a chain gang on a prison planet. Interesting episode.

That leaves the core of the show - young Will (Billy Mumy, later of Barnes and Barnes who gave us the memorable song "Fish Heads"), Robot (Bob May) and Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris).  Will was at an impressionable age, and he needed his father, but John Robinson was just too busy, so in absentia Will turned to Dr. Smith for guidance/mentoring. It seems an unlikely pairing, but it worked well, and provided a great deal of Dr. Smith's humanity. Will was also very fond of the Robot, and was often responsible for his programming. He treated him like another person, rather than a mechanical object, which was something that Dr. Smith often failed to do, although he also had no compunction upon calling on the Robot in times of need. Or in forcing him into laboring for him. Dr. Smith was rather lazy, and loath to do anything that was beneath him, including manual labor. When forced to do so for the sake of the party, or simply because they forced  him into it, he was prone to complain about his aches and pains. Even now, his cries of "The pain... the pain..." resonate in our memories.

So then in 1998 New Line Cinema made Lost in Space into a film. It did not do well. Looking at the cast,  one would be surprised at that. Until one watched the film. I confess that I've seen it a few times and own it, but that's because of who's in it - Gary Oldman - and for no other real reason, despite my liking for the tv series. If only the writers of the movie had bothered to pay attention to the TV series, they'd have done better. The trouble was that they had pretensions of being a serious film, which Lost in Space should never have been. It should have followed its origin and inspiration and stayed true to its roots - camp, pure camp. Just because the movie plot went into the ludicrous and stupid doesn't make it camp by any means.



Gary was the best thing in the film but alas, even he could not save it. There had been talk of a sequel, but that was scrapped when the film didn't make what they'd hoped it would. Or anything. But let's play a game for a minute, shall we? Let's pretend that I've been given the project of writing the sequel so Lost in Space, and that we have a green light to go ahead with it, carte blanche to do as we wish. So what will I do? Let me tell you.

Okay, the film opens on a strange planet, naturally, where the Jupiter 2 has either crash-landed or been brought down on for some reason or other. Not a space station, but an actual planet in a far off galaxy or whatever. (Yeah, I'd look up  more details if I were really writing it). First thing I'd do is send John and Maureen Robinson off to do some adult stuff/scientific stuff, never or barely to be seen throughout the rest of the film. Why? I'll tell you why. Because frankly they stunk up the screen first time around. Mimi Rogers, as Maureen, was incredibly bad (you might remember her for a not memorable role in the first Austin Powers film). William Hurt as John Robinson - I love William but his performance was spotty at best, and at its worst, was phoned in. So get rid of them early on.  Buh-bye, don't let the door hit you in the ass. Yeah, let them  have the Chariot, I don't care.

Okay, now we take Will and Doctor Smith and sent them out so that they get themselves into a situation where Dr. Smith is forced to protect Will (and maybe a little of Will protecting him), but it reinforces the bond between them, developing their almost father/son relationship. Here is the crux of the plot. These two will interact with natives of the planet. There will be danger. There will be laughs. There will be fun. Oh, and they get to take the Robot, no question about that.

Meanwhile, back at the Jupiter 2, we have Judy (Heather Graham)  and Penny (Lacey Chabert) and Major West (Friends' star Matt Leblanc). Just for fun, we take Penny, who is a pubescent teenager, after all, and have her crushing on Don (the only non-related male for miles around). Poor Don is stuck between these two women/sisters and has to maneuver through this tricky situation and come out intact and still engaged. Fun and laughs there, perhaps some tender/serious moments. Ditto with Will and the good Doctor.

I haven't decided who or what the aliens are, or what the primary crisis will be, but there you have it. The first movie focused on gadgets and science and took itself far too seriously. It lost its humanity. The series was done with fun and love, the movie with massive fail. I'm fairly confident there will not be another movie, at least not in the foreseeable future. Maybe in time, and then, alas, probably not with my Gary. Their loss.

The TV show had a lot of guest stars, another trait it shared with Batman. One of my favorites involves Michael Rennie as the Keeper, a sort of collector of specimens about the universe. That was a two part episode (as was the pilot for Star Trek, starring Jeffrey Hunter as Commander Pike). Sorry, rambling now. Werner Klemperer (Colonel Klink of Hogan's Heroes fame) is in an episode as well. I'd like to take a moment to note here that the Robot in Lost in Space is NOT the robot from Forbidden Planet. That was Robbie. They both spoke, but they look nothing alike. Forbidden Planet is a great sci fi film, I'll have to talk about that another time.

So if you're new to Lost in Space, and are interested in watching it, let me suggest that you watch the TV show, by all means, and then if you're still interested, give the movie a try. But I did warn you.

For those of you who've seen it, what did you think of either the show or the movie? What were your favorite episodes? Favorite characters? Least favorites? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Sci Fi Sunday - Remembering Doctor Smith

Morning and welcome to another edition of Sci Fi Sunday! Reality Check should be back next week with  another exciting episode, but today I wanted to do something different. Today I want to do a brief retrospective of my favorite character in the sci fi classic series Lost in Space - tv series and film - Dr. Zachary Smith.




Now anyone who has talked to me for longer than, say, two minutes, is aware that my favorite actor in the world is Gary Oldman. So a logical supposition would be that he is why Dr. Smith is my favorite Lost in Space character. Not so. I was 8 years old when the original TV series began to air. I think I was hooked immediately, both by the show and by Dr. Smith. I can probably attribute that to the fact that for years and years I had crushes on and interest in men who were far older than myself. At 12, I crushed on Burt Lancaster and Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins from Dark Shadows) and many more. So picking Dr. Smith as my favorite character was not surprising.

Here's Jonathan Harris, who played Dr. Smith (a later pic, as the show originally began in black and white. Yes, I'm that old. Don't laugh). I had never heard of him as an actor, but I did notice that his name received special status in the cast credits at the opening of the show. Ironically, my 21 year old daughter Sarah had a crush on Dr. Smith herself. And even now she likes men who are too old for me. Go figure.

But I digress.

Let me show you my movie Dr. Smith too.  Isn't he adorable?  That's Gary Oldman, of course, from the 1998 movie. I saw it at the theatre a few times, took my kids to see it too. Did I love it? Not exactly. I watched it for Gary. The film is flawed, but I'll save that rant for another time. Today is just about Dr. Smith.

Let's talk about the character for a minute. Alright, the basic premise of both the show and the movie. It takes  place in a future time (well, it was back then), when mankind needed to explore other systems in order to help deal with some of the issues on earth. The nearest star to the Earth is Alpha Centauri. NASA decides to send a family into space to see how well they weather conditions in space, see if it's feasible to colonize other planets, etc etc. The Robinson family is composed of Dr. John Robinson, his wife Maureen, his daughters Judy and Penny and his son Will. Also going with them is Major Don West, who just happens to be Judy's fiance. And a super intelligent amazing robot named .... Robot.

As the series begins, the family is preparing to go, and they are on the ship when a stealthy figure scuttles onto the ship. Dr. Smith, of course. He seeks out the robot and messes with his circuitry (cause he's a genius that way) and overrides his programming, giving him different instructions.

Sounds simple enough, until the good Doctor finds himself trapped in the ship, unable to get off, so as it's blasting off he has no recourse but to hide himself and strap himself in for what is sure to be a bumpy ride. Especially once the robot begins to follow its new programming string!

At first the Robinsons accept Dr. Smith's explanation  for being on board the ship. There isn't a lot they can do after all. What, turn around and take him back? That would jeopardize the mission. But Major West is suspicious from the get-go, and rightly so. These two will never be friends.  Mark Goddard played West in the show, Matt LeBlanc acquitted himself well in the movie.

As the series continues, the characterization of Dr.  Smith changes (more so in the TV version than the film). The brilliant doctor becomes more of a comedic element in the story, revealing  a somewhat unpleasant nature at times. He's lazy, pompous, arrogant, full of himself, rather untrustworthy, and known to sell the Robinsons out just for the chance to get back to Earth. I guess he's forgotten that he's a foreign spy and likely to be incarcerated if he ever does make it back. Oh well, that's Dr. Smith for you!

Dr. Smith develops an almost paternal relationship with Will Robinson, something the boy is sorely in need of,  cause his scientist father (Guy Williams in the series, William Hurt in the film) is always busy with something, and doesn't seem to have time to deal with his young son. The girls don't seem to suffer from this lack of attention as much as Will does, although I can see where Penny does sometimes regard Dr. Smith as a father figure too.

Dr. Smith and the Robot is another matter. Although Will shows himself capable of programming him, the  Doctor is often used as the interface between the space travelers and the cybernetic being. It's a true love/hate relationship. The robot often gets his feelings hurt by Dr. Smith's callousness, and his name-calling. Will and the Robot are close too.

Dr. Smith often screams like a little girl. He has constant aches and pains that prevent him from doing his share of the work. He utters such memorable phrases as "Oh, the pain, the pain!" and "My aching back!" He is a shirker and a slacker, a conniver and a trickster. And yet we love him.  In one episode, he and Major West end up on a chain gang together.   Another involves a very interesting space pirate, whom Will develops a fondness for (played by veteran character actor Albert Salmi).

In another episode, a green girl who's discovered floating around outside the spaceship, the Jupiter II, crushes on Dr. Smith, and can be heard uttering the immortal words - "Pretty! Handsome!  Pretty Doctor Smith!"

Well, I could go on and on, and I do promise to talk about the show vs the film at another time.  But I'll leave you for now with a picture of my favorite guy.

 Did you like the show? What about the movie? Who was your favorite character? Your worst? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie

Silver Flash #18: Yes He's My Ex: Movie, Three Words

Another Wednesday, another Silver Flash! This week we were given two prompts again - one was supplied by Pender Mackie, the other by Ryssa Edwards.  The prompts were: "Rise and shine, sleepyhead" and "Do me a favor would you? Dumb it down". As you'll recall from last week, Sonny and Tim were stuck in a room at the Bates Motel with three FBI agents and Dale Camel, and they were playing Charades. Tim had just gotten an idea. Let's see what he does with it. I hope you enjoy this week's offering, and check out the other Silver Flasher's stories; as always they will be listed at the end of my post. Without further ado, I give you

Movie, Three Words

We’re playing charades, it’s my turn, and I think I’ve just had a scathingly brilliant idea.  “Why don’t we pick teams and keep score?” I nonchalantly suggest. “Just for fun, of course. Sound good?”

My idea is met with enthusiasm and cheers from the peanut gallery. I half expect an argument about who’s on whose team, but that flows surprisingly smoothly. Agent Nelson holds out his hand toward Dale, who grabs it. The Olson twins latch on to one another. And Sonny leaps into my arms, winding his legs about me, placing excited kisses all over my face.

Well, that much is settled, anyway.

I put Sonny gently onto his feet and I tell him I’ll take care of his mussed hair, and then I make a show of patting myself down—as if I’m searching for something. “I can’t find my comb.” I pretend to pout for their benefit, to show how distraught my loss truly is. At least to me. “I think it fell out in the car. Can I go look for it?”

Will this work, I wonder?

Nelson is giving me a shifty-eyed look, while I’m just praying that Sonny doesn’t offer me the use of his. Or anyone else’s. Surprisingly, he remains mute. Thank God for small miracles, right? “Okay,” he reluctantly agrees at last—Nelson, not Sonny—but when I hold out my hand for the car key, he grins at me, knowingly.

“I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind.” As if to remind me that I’m not free to come and go as I wish. Or maybe he thinks I’m trying to hijack his car. Without Sonny? Not very likely. Seems like this FBI guy has serious trust issues.

“Sure, come along.” I flash him a wide smile. He’s obviously confused by my mixed signals. What did he expect me to do? Break down and confess I was planning to steal his car? Snap my fingers and cry never mind? Well, he’s wrong. Let him wonder.

Damn. Less-than-great minds think alike. Sonny’s gotten it into his head somehow that I’m leaving without him, and he attaches himself to me, gripping me tightly, and sobbing. “No, no, Tim, don’t go.” It takes me a few minutes to pry him off of me and soothe him back into some semblance of calmness. Nelson stands by the door, tossing his car key up and down, playing catch with it. I can hear Dale from the next bed; he’s making kissyface noises at the agent, which I try to block out.

 As for the other two, one’s pulled out his cell phone, the other asks him what he’s doing. “Calling the missus,” he answers, before speaking into the phone. “Hey, rise and shine, sleepyhead. It’s your widdle wake-up call from your widdle snookums.”

Jesus.

I kiss Sonny softly, before following Nelson to the car.  I make a show of looking for my comb in the back seat—in actuality it’s in my pocket. He stands guard, leaning against the bumper, playing toss the key again. I emerge triumphantly, comb in hand, and we head back to the room. I lag behind him, pretending to tie my shoelace. I make sure that when I do enter the room, the latch doesn’t quite catch.

Okay, let’s get to it.

I gave the last correct answer, therefore it’s my team’s turn to go. Sonny jumps excitedly up and down. I nuzzle his cheek to get him to quiet down, whispering the name of the movie in his ear, telling him that I’ll need his help on the last word. It so happens that he and I have seen this one together, more than once. That should definitely help.

I have everyone’s full attention now. The twin Johnsons are sitting at the table, which they’ve pulled as far to the side as possible, to give more space in which to play the game. Nelson is sitting on Dale’s bed, with Dale in his lap. I’m grateful for this odd coupling—it’s diverted Dale’s attention from Sonny. And hopefully Nelson’s thinking more with his dick than his brain. At least long enough for this to work.

With no appearance of anxiety, I begin the charade. Movie, three words. This time they manage to get that much.

First word’s easy. I hold my thumb and forefinger very close to one another. The obvious answer is small word. “The” is always easy to guess.

Next word’s harder. There are two ways I can think of to do this, but considering the audience I’m playing to, I’m unsure of which way to go. Oh what the heck, let’s try it.

As I’m about to begin, I hear a hiss and a rather loud stage whisper from Agent Nelson.  "Do me a favor would you? Dumb it down."  His eyes are almost rolling out of their sockets, in Dale’s direction, as if he’s insinuating that I should make it easier for the idiot. Yeah, right. Whatever.

I pull out an imaginary zester and an imaginary lemon and pretend to rub one over the other.

“Laundry?” suggests one of the Johnsons. “Chicken soup?” offers the other.

Makes you wonder sometimes about the level of competency in our federal agencies.

I repeat the motions, but the bulb isn’t coming on, so I change tactics. I spread my arms out wide, encompassing the room, the world, whatever.

“Everything?” Dale says.

“Big? Large?” That from Agent Nelson. At least he’s on the right track.

Sonny is dancing about like he’s gotta pee, from excitement. I can tell he’s dying to give Dale a hint, so I rein him in gently, and whisper to him. He mimics my arm-waving motion perfectly.

“Great!” Agent Nelson nails it.

I nod enthusiastically at the man, while Sonny’s grin grows bigger. I signal for the third word. Two syllables.

Here’s the tricky part.

While they’re trying to figure us out, I grab Sonny, race with him to the door, and we’re outta there!


to be continued




Don't forget to check out the other Silver Flashers!


Ryssa Edwards   m/m
Pender Mackie    m/m
Lily Sawyer      m/m
Victoria Blisse     m/f


Have a fabulous week, stay safe and see you next time!


♥ Julie