This Futuristic Netflix Sci-Fi Series Reimagined a Classic for the Modern Era

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Judy Robinson (Taylor Russell) and the Robot (Brian Steele) are seen looking up in Netflix's Lost in Space.

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The 1960s were very much a Golden Age for science fiction on television. Iconic television shows like Star Trek: The Original Series, Doctor Who, and The Outer Limits began their long-stretching legacies in the 1960s. Science-fiction series ran the gamut from sitcoms (My Favorite Martian) to more dramatic fare (The Invaders), and all points in between.

One of the most beloved science-fiction series to emerge in that time was Lost in Space, which premiered on September 15, 1965. The series, starring Guy Williams and June Lockhart, followed the adventures of the Robinson family, who get "lost in space" in the year 1997, and their three-season efforts to return home, or at least to their original destination. The popular series would get a movie treatment in 1998 (one year after the future of the original series) before Netflix took a crack at reimagining it for the modern era. It worked, with Netflix's take honoring the iconic series and carving out its own path.

The Original 'Lost in Space' Is a Product of Its Time

A black and white image of the cast of the original Lost in Space.

The original Lost in Space is the brainchild of Irwin Allen and one of four science-fiction TV shows (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants, and The Time Tunnel are the remaining three) that Allen created and produced in the '60s before pivoting to movies as the 1970s "Master of Disaster." Envisioned as Swiss Family Robinson in space, the series begins with the United States readying the Jupiter 2, a saucer-shaped spacecraft, for the first step towards colonizing space, necessary to alleviate the issues related to Earth's overpopulation. Its mission is to take a single family, the Robinson's — astrophysicist John (Guy Williams); Maureen (June Lockhart), his biochemist wife; oldest daughter Judy (Marta Kristen); Penny (Angela Cartwright), the middle child; and Will (Bill Mumy), their youngest, a child technology prodigy — on a five-and-a-half-year journey to an Earth-like planet orbiting the Alpha Centauri star.

They're accompanied by U.S. Space Corps Major Donald West (Mark Goddard) and, unknowingly, Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris), a saboteur working on behalf of an unknown entity. Smith reprogrammed the Jupiter 2's environmental control robot to destroy critical systems on board after launch, but unfortunately for him, he gets trapped aboard. Unfortunately for everyone else, the unexpected weight of Smith on the ship sends it off course and right into an asteroid belt. Coupled with the robot's programmed sabotage commands, Jupiter 2's hyperdrive is engaged, and, just like that, they are deeply and hopelessly lost in space.

Initially, the series was a gripping survival drama, with the Robinson family stuck on an alien planet, a unique and semi-serious spin on its literary inspiration. It was imaginative, family-friendly, boasted decent special effects, and was highly influential, ground zero for sci-fi tropes like the robot sidekick (R2-D2 and C-3PO of Star Wars) and the wunderkind (Wesley Crusher of Star Trek: The Next Generation). As the series progressed, the character development that had been a strength was sacrificed as the buffoonery of the cowardly Dr. Smith and his schemes, and Will and the Robot's continual thwarting of them came to dominate storylines. As a result, Lost in Space became campier, more akin to Batman. The costuming, much like Star Trek: The Original Series, was rooted in the era, as were the gender roles (for a biochemist, Maureen did a lot of meal prepping and gardening), and the monsters and sets were cheesy. But that was part of Lost in Space's charm, as was the unmistakable feeling of a family working together as a team.

Netflix Rights the Wrongs of the 1998 'Lost in Space' Movie

Major Don West (Matt LeBlanc) in the 1998 film Lost in Space.

The first attempt to reboot the series came with the 1998 Lost in Space movie, and it, quite simply, dropped the ball (27% on Rotten Tomatoes). The film didn't get what made the series special, with the first sign that it wasn't going to fully embrace the things that made the series so unique and engaging, and instead lean on the "Danger, Will Robinson" catchphrase.

Sure enough, the film went darker, ditching the fun camp and comedic spirit elements to make it more serious, crafting a ridiculously convoluted time-travel plot, and trading in the character development and the theme of family for explosions, body armor, and CGI spiders, including Dr. Smith (Gary Oldman), who becomes a giant spider-person (don't ask). Then it was Netflix's turn in 2018, and they certainly couldn't do worse than the film... and it thankfully didn't. Netflix made the family dynamic front and center again, only with significantly better effects and more balanced gender roles.

Netflix's 'Lost in Space' Puts a More Serious, Sophisticated Spin on the Classic Sci-Fi Series

In Netflix's Lost in Space, family isn't a plot convenience, but a vital part of the entire series, with each character allowed to develop and the family bond being what aids them in facing the extreme dangers they're confronted with. Maureen (Molly Parker) isn't gardening or making meals, but is an aerospace engineer and mission commander for the Resolute in 2046, while John (Toby Stephens) is a former U.S. Navy Seal. Judy (Taylor Russell), the oldest daughter, actually contributes as the mission doctor, having received her medical license at 18, while Penny (Mina Sundwall) is more than the cute middle child who loves animals and classical music, but a rebellious teen with a creative heart. Will (Maxwell Jenkins) is the same tech prodigy, but instead of befriending the ship's robot, he makes a connection with an alien robot (Brian Steele) he encounters after the ship crashes, saving the robot from a forest fire.

The biggest change made from the original series is in the characters of Don West and Dr. Smith, and that's for the better. West (Ignacio Serricchio) isn't the do-gooder of the original, but a ship mechanic who happens to be a smuggler of luxury goods (and has a lucky chicken, Debbie, a nod to "Debbie the Bloop," a chimpanzee-like alien Penny kept as a pet in the original). As the series progresses, he loses his self-serving ways and earns the trust of the Robinson family, and is embraced as one of their own by the end. It makes the character far more deep and interesting.

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Another character that is more interesting is Dr. Smith, who is reimagined as a true antagonist, a truly compelling villain and not the toothless buffoon Harris played. That could be because Dr. Zachary Smith is Dr. Zoe Smith (Parker Posey), who is actually petty criminal June Harris, who first assumed the identity of her sister to get on the ship. She assumes the guise of Dr. Smith by stealing and altering the credentials of a Dr. Zachary Smith when a robot attack on the Resolute forces her and the Robinson's to take an evacuating Jupiter ship.

Filled with humor and adventure, real dangers and complex themes, important life lessons, and the importance of family, Netflix's Lost in Space pays homage to the original series while feeling relevant and exciting, with the modern conveniences CGI affords to make it shine. And most importantly, it keeps the Robot's phrase "Danger, Will Robinson" in the pop-culture lexicon, and wipes away the stench of the 1998 movie while it's at it.