LOST IN SPACE
I don't know about you, but I flipped my wig when I found out the first season of the original Lost In Space series was now on DVD.
Even before Star Trek, I was watching Lost In Space. I remembered its creepy music, early compositions by John Williams, who extended many of his motifs when he became a household name with the scores for Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, et. al. I remembered some of the undoubtedly hokey but at-the-time unearthly interpretations of aliens and their behaviors.
To be honest, the show sucked. Hard. It was full of terrible preaching, bad comic relief from Dr. Smith, reams of ridiculous science, and gross inconsistencies in its own internal logic. Its budget made original Star Trek episodes look Spielbergian by compare.
After about the fifth episode, you can practically hear the planning sessions in which Dr. Smith's comic role was boosted for ratings. And I don't know how many ounces of styrofoam boulders they used (maybe they just used the same ones over and over), but it seemed like every episode had a landslide that resulted in Don West's ankle being pinned under a massive rock that weighed about as much as a box of Kleenex.
Unfortunately, the entire first season doesn't hold up under serial scrutiny. But the first two to four episodes hold a spark of something mildly revolutionary, Swiss Family Robinson derivations notwithstanding. And in the pilot episode, Dr. Smith was actually a convincing bad guy.
Even before Star Trek, I was watching Lost In Space. I remembered its creepy music, early compositions by John Williams, who extended many of his motifs when he became a household name with the scores for Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, et. al. I remembered some of the undoubtedly hokey but at-the-time unearthly interpretations of aliens and their behaviors.
To be honest, the show sucked. Hard. It was full of terrible preaching, bad comic relief from Dr. Smith, reams of ridiculous science, and gross inconsistencies in its own internal logic. Its budget made original Star Trek episodes look Spielbergian by compare.
After about the fifth episode, you can practically hear the planning sessions in which Dr. Smith's comic role was boosted for ratings. And I don't know how many ounces of styrofoam boulders they used (maybe they just used the same ones over and over), but it seemed like every episode had a landslide that resulted in Don West's ankle being pinned under a massive rock that weighed about as much as a box of Kleenex.
Unfortunately, the entire first season doesn't hold up under serial scrutiny. But the first two to four episodes hold a spark of something mildly revolutionary, Swiss Family Robinson derivations notwithstanding. And in the pilot episode, Dr. Smith was actually a convincing bad guy.
posted by Andrew @ 11:21 PM
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