Post by Cyberstrike on May 18, 2018 20:45:49 GMT
So Netflix has done a reboot of Lost in Space a slightly more serious reboot than the original cheesy 60s series and the so-bad-it's-kind of-good 90s movie with some very strong female characters. It's not as dark as Battlestar Galactica reboot was and if you have kids and teens then it's a live action sci-fi TV show you can watch them.
The original series and the movie in particular focused on John Robinson (the father) and his relationship to his young and genius son Will, and Dr. Smith being basically the "evil" father to Will and the verbal sparring partner to the Robot, while the mother Maureen took care of the daughters, Judy the oldest child and who is doctor or med student and Penny the middle child who was going through puberty.
This time the series focuses more Maureen's relationship with Will and Dr. Smith who is now a woman played Parker Posy. Maureen is wearing the pants in this version of the Robinson family, and it's not to say John is a wimp by any means but this time he's solider who has been away from his family for a few years and he's trying to reconnect with the kids and save his marriage. While the kids now more used to listening to Mom and in one episode this drives Penny nuts with both of them wanting her do to important chores to fix up the Jupiter 2 (the name of their spaceship) and not knowing who to listen too or which chore to do first.
Judy the eldest daughter is from a previous relationship that Maureen had and she met John after she was born and only times is it ever brought up is when Judy explains this to Don West (in this series he's an engineer and a smuggler) and in a scene toward the season finale between John and Don and this time it's too get Don to cry, to say anymore would be a spoiler. Judy is a medical doctor (or maybe she's med student) and she gets frozen in a lake in the first episode and nearly dies and then the series shows how she handles and gets over her first near-death experience with the support of her family is very nice. It is nice to see a step-parent and child relationship treated with love from both sides and not the tied old "you're not my dad" or the abusive step-parent tropes. Judy tells Don that "John Robinson is my father." and John states that he feels like she is the closest to him personality wise.
Penny is the middle child, an young teenager (the show states that Judy is 18 this would make Penny about 14 or 15) who doesn't have her driver's permit yet but none the less drives the Chariot, their all-terrain vehicle, to save her parents. Out of the kids she seems the least developed, although she does blackmails a guy into being her boyfriend for a while though.
Will is the youngest and his relationship with his parents, the robot, and Dr. Smith makes up most of drama on the show and it's IMHO nice to see a complex mother and son relationship for a change. It's revealed that Maureen breaks the law to get Will accepted on the Jupiter-2 and in the final episode it shows how far both of them will go to protect the other. While it's implied that Will MIGHT be a genius it's never stated outright if he is or not. His relationship with his father while nowhere near as complex as the one with Maureen is more like them trying to get to know each other again.
The character to watch this show for is Dr. Smith played by Parker Posy (I hope I got her name right) whereas the late Johnathan Harris and Gary Oldman both played Smith as an over-the-top verbose villain, Parker Posy plays her version more akin to a sociopath determined to do anything to survive. She obliviously flirts with Maureen (sorry that is about as far as it goes), saves and threatens her family, (she also lies, steals, threatens, and kill other characters to achieve her goals) all in very subdued and very calm way that is IMHO very freighting and more menacing than Harris and Oldman ever was. Her backstory doesn't make her sympathetic it kind of explains why she does the things she does but it never lets her off the hook for it. Basically this version of Dr. Smith is an evil bitch who is only out for herself, if the series continues we'll see if she develops beyond that.
Then there is the robot who looks like what if Legion knocked up a Remnant, this robot is alien and obeys Will and later Dr. Smith for reasons that explained on the show.
Overall the series looks like if ME:A were a live action TV show. The first episode is filled with "how will they get out of this mess" type tension and the show does have a few curse words (I think "bullshit" is worst) and some creepy looking eels in one episode. There are some very cool Easter Eggs for fans of the original TV series. It's a really good even borderline great sci-fi show that while is occasionally cheesy about the most important thing in the whole universe: family and is a show that whole family can enjoy. The original opening music from the original series which this series does use an updated version was by John Williams (the same guy who did the music for Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jaws, ET, and many many more). I love the new arrangement it still sounds like Williams' score just updated for 2018. I give 4 out of 5 it's currently on Netflix. Go watch it.
The original series and the movie in particular focused on John Robinson (the father) and his relationship to his young and genius son Will, and Dr. Smith being basically the "evil" father to Will and the verbal sparring partner to the Robot, while the mother Maureen took care of the daughters, Judy the oldest child and who is doctor or med student and Penny the middle child who was going through puberty.
This time the series focuses more Maureen's relationship with Will and Dr. Smith who is now a woman played Parker Posy. Maureen is wearing the pants in this version of the Robinson family, and it's not to say John is a wimp by any means but this time he's solider who has been away from his family for a few years and he's trying to reconnect with the kids and save his marriage. While the kids now more used to listening to Mom and in one episode this drives Penny nuts with both of them wanting her do to important chores to fix up the Jupiter 2 (the name of their spaceship) and not knowing who to listen too or which chore to do first.
Judy the eldest daughter is from a previous relationship that Maureen had and she met John after she was born and only times is it ever brought up is when Judy explains this to Don West (in this series he's an engineer and a smuggler) and in a scene toward the season finale between John and Don and this time it's too get Don to cry, to say anymore would be a spoiler. Judy is a medical doctor (or maybe she's med student) and she gets frozen in a lake in the first episode and nearly dies and then the series shows how she handles and gets over her first near-death experience with the support of her family is very nice. It is nice to see a step-parent and child relationship treated with love from both sides and not the tied old "you're not my dad" or the abusive step-parent tropes. Judy tells Don that "John Robinson is my father." and John states that he feels like she is the closest to him personality wise.
Penny is the middle child, an young teenager (the show states that Judy is 18 this would make Penny about 14 or 15) who doesn't have her driver's permit yet but none the less drives the Chariot, their all-terrain vehicle, to save her parents. Out of the kids she seems the least developed, although she does blackmails a guy into being her boyfriend for a while though.
Will is the youngest and his relationship with his parents, the robot, and Dr. Smith makes up most of drama on the show and it's IMHO nice to see a complex mother and son relationship for a change. It's revealed that Maureen breaks the law to get Will accepted on the Jupiter-2 and in the final episode it shows how far both of them will go to protect the other. While it's implied that Will MIGHT be a genius it's never stated outright if he is or not. His relationship with his father while nowhere near as complex as the one with Maureen is more like them trying to get to know each other again.
The character to watch this show for is Dr. Smith played by Parker Posy (I hope I got her name right) whereas the late Johnathan Harris and Gary Oldman both played Smith as an over-the-top verbose villain, Parker Posy plays her version more akin to a sociopath determined to do anything to survive. She obliviously flirts with Maureen (sorry that is about as far as it goes), saves and threatens her family, (she also lies, steals, threatens, and kill other characters to achieve her goals) all in very subdued and very calm way that is IMHO very freighting and more menacing than Harris and Oldman ever was. Her backstory doesn't make her sympathetic it kind of explains why she does the things she does but it never lets her off the hook for it. Basically this version of Dr. Smith is an evil bitch who is only out for herself, if the series continues we'll see if she develops beyond that.
Then there is the robot who looks like what if Legion knocked up a Remnant, this robot is alien and obeys Will and later Dr. Smith for reasons that explained on the show.
Overall the series looks like if ME:A were a live action TV show. The first episode is filled with "how will they get out of this mess" type tension and the show does have a few curse words (I think "bullshit" is worst) and some creepy looking eels in one episode. There are some very cool Easter Eggs for fans of the original TV series. It's a really good even borderline great sci-fi show that while is occasionally cheesy about the most important thing in the whole universe: family and is a show that whole family can enjoy. The original opening music from the original series which this series does use an updated version was by John Williams (the same guy who did the music for Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jaws, ET, and many many more). I love the new arrangement it still sounds like Williams' score just updated for 2018. I give 4 out of 5 it's currently on Netflix. Go watch it.