"Netflix Lost In Space Series - Questions" Topic

After reading over some of the comments on this other thread, I decided push on past Episode 1 and keep watching:

TMP link

A) Now I'm in the middle of Episode 3 and keep getting the feeling that the father is being punished for having served in the military. As if he can't be trusted now that he's a vet, or as if serving was some sort of crime against humanity. Is that attitude going to continue throughout the series? ‘Cause that's already getting old.

B) Also, are the show's writers actually trying to target a US* audience? Or is their primary focus Canada, the UK and the rest?

Inquiring minds want to know. Well, mine at least.

Dan
* Requiring that the father get direct approval from the Colony District Overseer for getting a gun to protect his family is the elephant in the room there. One of a few actually. I thought his role in the team would at the very least involve security matters, human or alien. The family is organized as a self contained unit, are they not?
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I enjoyed the show from the start. They do ease up on dad, but I believe it was because he spent so much time away from the family and it could have been for any reason.

Not sure about the Canada thing, except that all other worlds tend to look like Canada. Stargate effect.

Hate the show, watched first 2 episodes. To much of a mash up of othwr sci fi, instead of focusing on the family going it alone in space.

I liked it from the first episode, just finished EP10 last nite.

There's a lot of character development/background that occurs in the first few episodes. The attitude towards John does change though.

So far I've really enjoyed what they've done with the series. It's not the original series by any means, but for a change, I thought that the new series has done well to pay homage to the original, while doing some new interesting things.

I think the characters do become more interesting and are starting to show a lot more depth. Dr. Smith has been a real surprise. I think that Parker Posey has done a fantastic job with the character.

With that all said, the series may not appeal to everyone. It has been renewed for a second season, hopefully it won't jump the shark.

Cacique Carib:

I'm with you. I couldn't get through the first episode. I am tired of shows (form Disney to Hollyweird) in which the dad is the bad guy or a boob. How dare he serve his country as a Marine?! Is military service hard on families? Yes. But that doesn't make him the enemy or a bad guy.

Real military families meet in the middle. When home, you have to spend extra time with your family. When away, you work hard to stay in contact. That's the way it works. Does it always work out? No. Now THAT would have been an interesting plot device.

The mom and the kids are geniuses, and the dad is an idiot. Tired of it. I am ready for something new and interesting.

Buck
32 years in the Army

I felt that the initial 3 episodes were difficult to get through, however, it pays off and it had me on the edge of my seat by the 8th episode. Give it a shot.

I watched the whole series and considering watching it again. I liked it.

a)I never got the feeling about him not being mistrusted by the gov. I think the no-gun rule is just the political correctness thing getting inserted in the writers agenda. Seems like the original John and Don always had guns, but different times. But John and his wife DO have issues; that's evident from the start.

2)I think VCarter is right; all worlds resemble Canada no matter what TV or movie I see.

Because a massive exposition dump the first episode explaining every little thing is SOOOO much preferable.

Hey Scum1234,

Is that what you think I'm asking for here? If so, you must have missed something.

The two questions are super basic, they (the writers) should have foreseen them coming miles away, and they don't need to be turned into a huge mystery for a later reveal. If anything, the unnecessary obscurity distracts from what I think is the real plot.

Dan
PS. Dude, do you post like once a month or so? Is "Scum1234" a real account? :)

A. So the hate towards the Dad is deserved in that he was left not to "serve his country" but because he re-upped to actually get away from his family! This gets hashed out and is hopefully resolved by Season end, but we wont really know until Season 2.

* I think this was for The Governor to keep track of who has a gun and how many they are in the camp. It is still kinda dumb, but maybe actual guns were available on the main ship and didn't get loaded because of "The Accident".

Haywire

Perhaps having the humans picked off on the main ship, without anyone able to offer any return fire, might be part of their safety protocol on board that ship.

But once the individual Jupiter ships detach, it seems like each family member on those ships has set tasks for a long term self-contained situation. At least one in the family should have the authority (and equipment) to protect against hostiles that may want to harm his unit.

It's too bad that the father's place/purpose on the ship apparently takes more than 3 episodes to be revealed. With his military experience I would think he was the ideal candidate for that security role. It certainly doesn't look like they asked him aboard because they were overly close to him.

Dan

I watched them all. Continuity errors and a poor regard for physics. Good setup for next season, lots of shake my head moments at supposed colonists/survival types.

CC,

I was imagining the main ship was going to be in orbit for a while and using Heavy Shuttles to offload a bunch of supplies once the Jupiters got settled. Maybe even to set up the "Main Town"

The dad comes off looking good over the course of the season. Absolutely heroic, actually. It isn't at all like a stupid Disney dad(which I'm heartily sick of as well).

Great characters. Thoroughly enjoyed by my sci-fi hating wife, as well as my teenaged daughters.

I watched all 10 eps and really enjoyed it. As Lucius says the Dad comes off looking good, very likeable. Dr. Smith is quite a slimy schemer, well played. Like the robot, it definitely could be intimidating at times. Enjoyed the whole cast, really glad it got renewed.

Never watched it, never will. The gun thing just further clinches it.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Mike

Yeah, the ridiculous role of the father, the gun thing (also with the vet father, though it's somehow okay for an 11-year old kid to control a walking arsenal) and then the absolute lack of communication in the group.

I'm just surprised they are all still alive at the end of Episode 4.

Dan

The PC mom was so anti-gun that the father was forced to fight off the snake creatures with a knife. Strangely enough I know people like that who are that anti-gun.

I like to think that series will eventually show that the universe is a dangerous place and you might need a firearm to protect you and your family.

I think if you base your opinions on the depiction of the dad after only a single or handful of episodes, you're really not getting the full story behind him. I would keep watching if the rest of it is OK.

Damon.

As previously mentioned, the father plot line is a lot more complicated than what you guys are reading into the first few episodes. If it was like that week after week, then I'd agree.

It is rather obvious by the last episode that the values that the father represents(which were not initially recognized by his own family), are the ones that will save them in the end.

Look, nobody hates helpless, moronic Disney fathers more than I do – it is one of my regular rants. "Lost in Space" is the exact opposite of that. John Robinson, while not exactly Ward Cleaver, is a great character.

Lucius

So how much longer before it turns? I just finished Episode #4, and there are just 10 episodes, right?

Dan

Guys. Lighten up.
If you are subconsciously harkening back to TOS, it was pretty "off" too.
Consider. They are supposed to found a brand new colony, AND, ahem, populate it. There's a pretty older daughter. There's a younger daughter. And there's the brother Will Robinson. Moving right along…

Dr Smith was supposed to be an evil sabotaging villain, and be on for only the first few episodes. Then the producers noticed the errr…. relationship between Will and Dr Smith. So Dr Smith became a regular. "Danger Will Robinson", indeed.

Lost in Space is an odd show to get upset about. It was screwed up from the beginning. Hollywood being what it is today, what makes you think it would have gotten any better?

Here's the odd part, Winston. We are talking about it because it is that rarest of rare things – a Hollywood re-make which is light-years better than the original.

I loathed the original series, and have never met anyone who will admit publicly to liking it. It stayed on the air for three years only because it had the coolest robot ever to grace the screen.

Cacique Caribe – I can't remember the exact episode, but I'd have to give you a spoiler to tell you. It involves the robot . . .

Was never much of a LiS fan … But I do have a @ 3 inch dia. Jupiter 2 in my 6mm SF inventory …

I think it is like this one I found on eBay … auction I got it for @ a Buck at like a Bargainport years ago …

Lucius

Alright then, I started Episode #5 now. Let's see how it goes.

And you're right, the original was a silly little show. The movie … I don't know what the hell they were trying to do with that.

But the series is expecting some old original series fans (now adults) to sit through it, so it has to be a semi grown up show. Otherwise they could have called it anything else and they could have freed themselves completely from under the shadow of the original, and maybe saved themselves a little money with a different name.

Dan

@Lucius
The "gritty" remake of Battlestar Galactica was superior to the cartoony original.

Anyway, I'm too busy catching up on Ray Donovan to watch this anyway.
Then I'll be finishing Dexter and may start Breaking Bad.

Count me as a "fan" of the original series, but only because it was so dumb. It's certainly not a recognition of its quality.
Add to that, "Danger Will Robinson! Warning!" Is a cool dorky catch phrase to have used all these years.
Inevitably, people who recognize the phrase just snort and shake their heads.

Is the next rant going to be about "The Handmaid's Tale"?
"Fifty Shades Darker"?

Winston

I'm not interested in 50 shades of anything, even though I think Dakota Johnson is very cute and seems competent in other films.

As for Handmaid's Tale, reading the Margaret Atwood novel and then watching the 1990 film with the late Natasha Richardson were more than enough for me. That tank is full. Actually, the novel alone was enough for me, and the only reason I chose to see the movie was because of the cast, specially Natasha. I really had a crush on her.

I'll never forget going to see the movie with a friend and then afterwards, as we were discussing the Republic of Gilead uniforms and equipment, as well as the flag design, we got really ugly looks from two ladies who looked like they'd had more than their share of training in the glaring at men department. That was one creepy pair.

Dan

EDIT – Wait. Come to think of it … they were probably offended because both of us thought Natasha was as hot as always. Too funny. I can see why saying such a thing right after coming out of that movie would earn us evil looks from hardcore "feminists". Ha, priceless!

Watched 3 episodes. Then stopped. Dunno why, actually. It's not that I didn't like it, but I lost interest. Maybe I will try again.

And that colony "leader" needs to have someone put him in his true place, and I hope it's one of the girls that does that. Geesh, what a piece of work that Khan guy is (or is it Khar?).

Dan

After reading an ecstatic rave review in the NYT of Handmaid's Tale, I figured that wasn't for me.
So, reviews can be helpful. I think I spent my limited novel reading time on a Flashman book. Was it Mountain of Light?

Yes. But that doesn't make him the enemy or a bad guy.

It does to Hollywood and those who are pushing certain Agendas.

Surdu205: "But that doesn't make him the enemy or a bad guy."

Mithmee

What Surdu2005 meant to say (now I sound like I'm at my old job) is that his military service shouldn't make him into an enemy or a bad guy. It should not be used as a reason to cast a negative shadow on his character.

The fact that it seems to be used that way speaks volumes about the writers and execs, and about what they are trying to do.

By the way, I've just watched Episode #5. The colony leader and the survivors put all their faith on a 4-foot tall perimeter force field and, if breached, they have no weapons whatsoever to defend themselves against deadly fauna on an alien planet. Ridiculous. Irresponsible. Incompetent. Maybe this is a pro-gun show after all, disguised as a "progressive" production. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

Dan
PS. I have no idea what this is about, but I've never seen the original robot look so happy before:

Yes, that's what I meant.

Perhaps because I don't have an ax to grind, I didn't get the impression that his military service made him a "Bad guy" at all.

Though his voluntary long-term deployments were a source of friction with his family. Was there something else I missed?

Though his voluntary long-term deployments were a source of friction with his family. Was there something else I missed?

This is how I interpreted things as well. The issue wasn't him being in the military, but volunteering for deployment as a means of getting away from his wife.

Damon.

Who's the "Babe" in the tin foil jump suit ?

I don't believe anyone questioning the show has "an ax" to grind. If the writers deliberately wrote the father/military character in the way it came across then it is to their shame and deserves criticism.