Back in the ’60s, the big science fiction rivalry was between Star Trek, which used science fiction to explore the social issues and philosophical problems of its time, and future disaster movie impresario Irwin Allen’s Lost In Space, which was basically a family trapped on a spaceship with a wacky sitcom neighbor, Dr. Smith, and his pet robot, who for some reason they don’t fire out of an airlock the first time he nearly kills them all. And since Star Trek is back with the superb Star Trek: Discovery, Netflix has decided it’s time for the Space Family Robinson to take another shot for the stars.
The basic premise is the same: The Robinsons (Mina Sundwall, Max Jenkins, Molly Parker, Taylor Russell, and Toby Stephens) are a family selected to colonize a distant planet, since we’ve done such a terrible job of caring for the Earth. But they’re knocked off-course, thanks to sabotage, and must somehow survive in the broad, uncaring universe. The role of Doctor Smith, this time around, will be filled by Parker Posey. We even hear Robbie the Robot’s catchphrase “Danger, Will Robinson!” at the end of the trailer.
This isn’t the first time the series has gotten a revival attempt: In 1998, a splashy blockbuster mostly notable for finally booting Titanic from the number one spot at the weekly box office arrived, with Gary Oldman playing Dr. Smith and Matt LeBlanc as an action hero. It was much more serious than the campy original and it looks a bit like Netflix is hoping to strike a balance between the two extremes. We’ll find out April 13th.
(via Variety)