Lost in Space

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Episode 4! So the Resolute doesn't know anyone's position and was just sending out a blanket message. We open the episode in classic Lost in Space fashion -- Jupiter 2 on the ground, out of fuel, and serving as the "house" surrounded by a little plot of land. Maureen and John are off to find survivors from other Jupiters and decide to leave the kids with Robot and Dr. Smith.

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Although "leave the kids with Dr Smith" did get tiring after three seasons in the original.

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Oh, bad line. "He's an exobiologist. And he is literally an expert in alien biology."

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Episode 4 is directed by NuWho alum Alice Troughton, and Jupiter 11 has on board the Asian chick from Heroes Reborn (AKA, the only good thing about Heroes Reborn).

Of course, when the Robinsons arrive at Jupiter 11, there's trouble! Don West is alive! There are scary bugs coming their way!

Also, Red Shirt is still alive. Let's see how long that lasts.

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63 survivors and lots of Jupiters. But...the eels from episode three have infested all of them and eaten all the fuel. So everyone's stuck.

Did...they just give us 63 Red Shirts?

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The little touches of alien plant life are very well handled.

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Yeah, Don West is filling the zany Dr. Smith role. He's a smuggler and a criminal, but he has the campy Han Solo vibe and is generally harmless.

[RottingCorpse]

His character arc will be to learn the error of his ways and become an ally to the Robinsons.

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Ugh. Still don't care about Maureen and John's divorce talk and rekindling relationship journey.

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Dr. Smith gets some alone time with Robot and, yeah, she's great.

Except for boring Maureen and John, episode 4 stands the test.

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Episode 5 tells us what the apocalypse is -- it's the early stages of what was happening in the movie. Environmental collapse. No more blue skies. Life on Earth won't last much beyond three generations.

It also explains why Judy is mixed race (John is Maureen's second husband).

It also reveals Robot to all the survivors.

The drawbacks/warning signs: Will's mental/dream connection with Robot, and the 63 survivors trying to make due with meager supplies, is all very Earth 2. And while, yes, I own the Earth 2 blu rays and occasionally have a hankering to watch that show -- I'm the only one!

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Finally finished this! My god, I'm weirdly busy. I shouldn't be.

So the entire first season is just a prequel. We (spoilers, but who cares?) get everyone in their standard old school Lost in Space roles by the final scene and then they get space-warped away and truly lost in space.

Which means they spent 10 hours introducing us to characters who, by and large, were simply cut-outs of the same characters they've always been since 1966 with a few modern tweaks.

I'm not too sure I'm happy with this. I feel like, if you were just going to do a Lost in Space reboot that was right in line with the original, you could have gotten to that point much faster. We don't need to know the motivations for Maureen Robinson to save her family. Wouldn't anyone do that? And I again wonder if Posey is playing Dr. Smith or if she's playing Posey playing Dr. Smith.

Anyway... We'll get season two, I'm sure, and I'll give it a chance, but I don't see any need to re-watch season one ever.