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Now, before you call me crazy just hear me out. The original Lost In Space came out around 1965. There was also a Lost in Space movie that came out in 1998, both of which I have never seen. But I can say this, it is definitely not your parent’s Lost In Space. Like a lot of reboots, this has left me pleasantly surprised. Not only me but my kids also. We voraciously ate up every episode that Netflix had to offer and by the way, there are only 2 seasons so far. So let’s jump right in.
The show starts off with us meeting all the Robinson’s. We have John, the father, Maureen, the mother and their three kids; Judy, Penny, and Will. At first, you wonder is this show gonna be cheesy because the family is sitting at a table playing Go Fish and just chatting. Then all of a sudden things change very quickly and the family is no longer drifting in space but getting ready to crash on an unknown planet. After landing the family scrambles to prepare for an untouched world, but Maureen is hurt. They hurry and scramble out of the ship and try to access their situation. Which turns out to be an icy world.
I will also say this; the show is very visually pleasing. Crisp shots and worlds that look real. It is not corny by any means and the CGI is pretty darn awesome. I was shocked that the show looks so sophisticated. It is very well done and some of the shots are amazing. I also like the diversity of the characters. Some faces you recognize and a lot that you don’t. Mostly, it just drags you right in and emotionally attaches you to the show in the first episode.
As you can expect with Robinson’s there is one danger after another. As they are dealing with these new set of circumstances, the show flashes back and forth between the past and they are now present. You learn a little bit about their family dynamics and the relationships the family has with each other. It may throw you off a little bit that Judy is biracial and how could she possibly have a white father with a white mother, but we’ll get into that a little later. The family is also not as solid as it may seem at first, there is a lot of turmoil between Maureen and John because he was a Navy Seal and was gone a lot. As you will find out, the reason why they left earth is because conditions on earth were deplorable.
So, on this new planet, they are just trying to survive after crash landing, and while gathering supplies, Judy gets trapped in the ice. This planet has extreme weather and Judy is frozen in the water and now they have to figure out a way to get her out before her air runs out. She is in a spacesuit. Will then has the idea that they can get her out faster by gathering magnesium to help melt the ice. So they decide to go and look for it. While they’re gone, Penny and Judy bond a little and you can feel the sense of urgency and the fear at losing one of their own all the while trying to stay strong for one another.
Fast forward because I don’t want to give you every single detail. So Will and John gather the magnesium and they literally fall into another disaster. Will and John are separated by hundreds of feet of ice. Maureen has a broken leg and Judy is stuck in the ice. Penny has to take charge and operate on her mom and John has to leave Will in a strange place on an uncharted planet with who knows what lurking about. John has to make a hard choice. But Judy is in more danger than Will because she only has a few hours of air left. It must have been a hard decision as a parent to choose one child over another. We also learn a little tidbit about Maureen, she makes a way for Will to come with them to the new World, Alpha. No one in the family knows, yet…
Will is terrified but swallows his fear and goes exploring, he finds an alien spacecraft and then finds the alien itself. He runs for his life and scrambles up a tree but doesn’t realize that half the robot is in the tree too. So boy and robot are stuck in this tree and they come to a mutual understanding, silently. In the end, there is a fire that forces Will to act and help the robot. After which the robot, who looks rather deadly, saves will from the fire and takes him well away from it. The robot seems to change right before our very eyes and you can see that there is an instant bond between man and machine. The Robot, which at first had a very alien appearance, alters himself to look more humanoid. He has adapted and even changed his lights from red to blue, much to Will’s amazement. Will then returns to his family with the robot. After will explains that they are safe, we hear the infamous “Danger, Will Robinson”. The robot then saves Judy from the ice who has started to panic. The family with the exception of Will are still wary of this alien creature.
Now, the immediate danger has passed and we get to see how Robinson’s actually ended up in this situation in the first place. There is an incident on the Resolute, which is the home base for everyone headed to the New World. We meet a couple new characters and learn that the robot is not actually on their side, or is he. Not at first. We are introduced to a woman who looks like she will help, but is only about self-preservation and she makes sure she survives the danger. Who she, she is Dr. Smith or so she claims but she stole an identity. So who is she really? I guess we will learn more about that and what other dangers the Robinson’s will face.
