Roush Review: ‘Lost in Space’ Reboot Waits Too Long to Take Flight
Danger, all Will Robinson and Lost in Space fans. In this not-so-brave new world of reboots and revivals, some classic TV properties stubbornly resist rebirth.
While not as awful as the movie remake of 20 years ago, which was a low point in the film careers of Oscar winners William Hurt and Gary Oldman (if not Matt LeBlanc), Netflix’s lumbering 10-episode misfire is just as forgettable. That’s something you’d never say of the cheerfully cheesy Irwin Allen original (1965–1968), a relic beloved by this child of the ’60s.
Recapturing that aura of innocent intergalactic campiness is likely impossible, but playing it straight saps the high concept—Swiss Family Robinson on a spaceship!—of its giddy sense of wonder and, most crucially, fun. Suffering from a profound case of Spielberg envy, with echoes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. and Jurassic Park (although you may wonder where the dinosaurs disappear to after one random fight scene), the new version has an even more fatal flaw: It wants to be Lost in space.
Almost the entire first season takes place on a mysterious island—sorry, planet—where the Robinson family crash-lands while en route to the colony of Alpha Centauri in their Jupiter 2 vessel. Before long, they’re joined by other stranded travelers in their own Jupiter ships, all seeking fuel and a plan to get off this unstable way station. Somehow I expected perils more thrilling than rescuing a child trapped in the ice and, later, the estranged mom and dad (Toby Stephens as John and Molly Parker as Maureen) figuring their way out of a vehicle sinking in a tar pit while healing their marriage.
Hokey might be acceptable if it all weren’t so poky. The dreaded Netflix bloat, with some episodes lasting more than an hour, renders even action scenes sluggish, resulting in a curious lack of urgency.
At least there’s the Robot. You’d think. Looking like a Terminator married to a giant headlight, it’s basically a huge mechanical puppet, either friend or foe depending on who’s in control: young, bland, insecure Will (Maxwell Jenkins) or devious Dr. Smith (a miscast Parker Posey, unable to find menace within her mannered neuroses).
Only Ignacio Serricchio, as mercenary mechanic and unrepentant booze smuggler Don West, brings a spirit of infectious irreverence to these adventures. Otherwise, it’s a long slog to the climax, which ends where the series should have begun. The lesson: Space may be infinite, but our time isn’t.
Lost in Space, Series Premiere, Friday, April 13, Netflix
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R
Matt, I read this review in the TV Guide this morning. While I have not yet seen the show as it has not premiered yet, I have some comments. First, I will be making my own judgement when I see it tomorrow. But some of the comments you make fascinate me. I watched the original as a kid, and while it was not great television, it was typical 60s family programming. You mentioned that it was fun because it was camp. Uhh no. They made it more camp in the last season to compete with the campiness of Batman which took the first half hour of competition with LIS. You complained that this Netflix version lands on a planet and does not leave there. In the original series, in episode 6, the Jupiter 2 crash lands on this alien world, and does not leave for the remainder of the season (some 20 odd episodes). At the beginning of season 2, they leave, and crash land on another planet for the entire season. It wasn't until season 3 that they continually hopped planets (which got the show cancelled as the network said it was too expensive and wanted to cut its budget in half). After all, the idea behind the original series was to make it the Swiss Family Robinson of space. The entire plot of the original pilot had them crashing and then figuring out how to survive. It wasn't meant to be Star Trek. Again, I will make up my own mind after watching it, but by your comments, I wonder if you watched the original show at all, or knew anything about it.
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"The dreaded Netflix bloat, with some episodes lasting more than an hour"
I wonder why Netflix keeps doing this. Why doesn't Netflix just make more episodes of shorter duration?
Weirdly enough, the Netflix-made episodes of Longmire were ones that I didn't binge, while the A&E-made ones I binged hard on.
Maybe Netflix could learn a thing or two about binge watching from cable TV?
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G
I kept complaining about this and people looked at me like I was crazy.
They should edit for TV length in case they ever want to syndicate. It would also make showrunners learn to get to the point.
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B
All - where is your sense of imagination .. this was a great start of a reboot .. and I was a Fan of the original series. I liked what was done here... kept me thinking.. all good from my perspective and now the journey does begin 🙂
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Poor Molly Parker fell into the same trap as Amy Acker with The Gifted.
She was probably also fooled into thinking that her character would be badass and well-written. They both deserve better.
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G
This show actually is my type. But I barely have time for all my broadcast and cable shows . So I probably wont even sample it.
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