When I was growing up, most of my friends were into “Star Trek.” But I was kind of a weirdo (was?). My favorite ‘outer space’ show was “Lost in Space.” Yeah, I know. You really can’t get any kitschier than “Lost in Space.” I mean what with those cool retro 60s outfits and silver jumpsuits that the producers knew we’d be wearing in 1997. Heck, even the space ship took on the appearance of all of those ‘flyin’ saucers’ that were seen in the skies by rednecks everywhere during that period. There weren’t any sleek looking nacelles on the Jupiter 2, no sir. But you know what “Lost in Space” had that other show didn’t have? Will Robinson. That’s right; this series offered us someone our age that we could identify with. After all, what’s more awesome for a kid than to be in space? Of course, this was tried many years later with a certain Wesley Crusher on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” However, unlike Will Robinson, Wesley’s popularity could be pretty much summed up by the joke I heard all too often at the one Sci Fi Convention I actually attended, which was that he should be beamed into a bulkhead.

And by heard often I mean 37 times… by the same guy… at the same forum….

“Lost in Space” originally aired for three seasons from 1965 through 1968, a full season before “Star Trek.” It became a cult phenomenon before anyone even heard of Captain Kirk. Though the series still has its fans, “Lost in Space” just didn’t launch as immense a fan base as Trek did. It’s only real claim to recent fame was a so-so big budget movie remake a few years back. This film just didn’t capture the spirit of the original series, so any other opportunities for remakes remain steadily on the back burner. At least fans can still revisit the series through conventions and the recent release of the first full season on DVD. (Perhaps this will be the start of something big!)

The world of “Lost in Space” took place in a futuristic 1997, where the Robinson family shot off into outer space in search of Alpha Centauri. There goal was to find a habitable star system within the reach of man’s technology. Their ship, the Jupiter 2, was the work of years of research and the most advanced spacecraft of its time. Unbeknownst to our intrepid family, just prior to their initial takeoff, the ship was invaded by one Dr. Zachary Smith. His intent was to destroy the ship; however his attempt only succeeded in knocking out the guidance system which caused the ship to be… ahem…lost in space.

The first season was shot in Black and White (though the show would later go to color), the special effects were just slightly cheesy, and the villains tended to overact just a tad. And somehow all the planets the ship landed on looked just a little bit alike. But you know what? “Lost in Space” was still a heck of a lot of fun. It never took itself too seriously and made for a perfect family show.

I mentioned before one of the things that made the show so accessible for kids was the inclusion of Will Robinson. Cast in the role was Billy Mumy, who had already made a bit of a name for himself on episodes of “The Twilight Zone.” His Will Robinson character had just the right combination of earnestness and mischievousness that most of us watching could totally see where he was coming from. A fan favorite, we were all thrilled when Mumy showed up years later in “Babylon 5”, in what thankfully became a major character. Of course, acting as his foil was the villainous Dr. Smith, played by Jonathon Harris. His cries of “Oh the pain…the pain…” were always delivered with a ‘drama queen’ flourish, but then he could surprise us a few moments later with a devilishly evil grin over his latest attempt to be rid of the Robinsons.

The new DVD set that Fox just released if a “Lost in Space” fan’s dream. It includes all 29 episodes from the first season (I really love these full season sets), but that’s not all. They’ve also thrown in the original unaired pilot, “No Place to Hide.” This pilot differed greatly from the way the series eventually went in terms of plot. You see, here there was no Dr. Smith or even the famous Robot. Some of the footage was still used in the 1st episode as well as the 4th episode, “There Were Giants in the Earth”, but not having these two main characters really made a difference in the show’s dynamics. I was even surprised to see a certain big-eared monkey who would show up in later episodes.

Unfortunately there aren’t very many extras on this set. Aside from the unaired pilot the only other inclusion is the original CBS Pitch that was put together for advertisers. It runs just under six minutes and ‘sells’ the show to those who might want to use it to sell their products. Even back then, sponsors were everything.

I definitely need to mention the packaging, as Fox seems to be leaning more towards a box set that holds individual super-slim cases. I really like these a lot more that the traditional foldout disc holders. Granted, those tend to look really nice as far as artwork, but they are a bit awkward to handle. They’re still using those holders on some of he other releases like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Angel” and “The X-Files”, but I think that is only because the earlier season sets started out that way and they are just trying to be consistent within a particular series. The newer series sets like “Firefly”, “Family Guy” and several others are using these super-slim cases which use up little space and are easier to handle. Each case in this set features a different member of the cast on the cover as well as episode synopsis and air dates on the back. Really nice work.

No matter where your loyalties lie in terms of Sci Fi shows, “Lost in Space” is well worth your time to check out for the first time, or as it is in my case, an opportunity to re-visit your childhood days of TV viewing.

Episodes:
The Reluctant Stowaway
The Derelict
Island In The Sky
There Were Giants In The Earth
The Hungry Sea
Welcome Stranger
My Friend, Mr. Nobody
Invaders From the Fifth Dimension
The Oasis
The Sky Is Falling
Wish Upon A Star
The Raft
One Of Our Dogs Is Missing
Attack of the Monster Plants
Return From Outer Space
The Keeper- Part 1
The Keeper- Part 2
The Sky Pirate
Ghost In Space
The War of the Robots
The Magic Mirror
The Challenge
The Space Trader
His Majesty Smith
The Space Croppers
All That Glitters
The Last Civilization
A Change Of Space
Follow The Leader
No Place to Hide (Unaired pilot)

Starring: Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Jonathan Harris, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Billy Mumy, Angela Cartwright, Bob May
Extras: Original Promotional Short, Unaired Pilot Episode
Specifications: Full Screen, B&W, Mono
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: 1/13/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website

We'll give Lost in Space: Season 1 an A.