Lost in Space Forever

Lost in Space Forever is a long overdue tribute to a TV program that rarely gets a fair shake. Let us not forget that LIS was canceled with higher ratings than Star Trek ever got in prime time. This is a fan's tribute to the cast and phenomena that was Lost in Space - papier mache´ caves, saran wrap forcefields, talking dragons and all.

While Trek embraced technology and used it to overcome obstacles, the Space Family Robinson was a contemporary family, overcoming threats with family bonds, trust, affection and a pet robot.

With Jonathan Harris and Bill Mumy back in costume, and Bob May back in the robot, it is a loving remembrance of the idealized American family that every child wanted, and by association, had via the program.

I purchased the DVD on-line out of curiosity because I am a big LIS fan. The retrospective of the show didn't present much that I didn't already know. The BIG payoff was Jonathan Harris, Bill Mumy and Bob May reprising their rolls in full costume on a Jupiter II set built for the special. I was amazed at the money that was spent not only on the set but to shoot the sequence on 35mm film. Harris delivered his lines as if the show had never ended. His ability to bring that character back to life so accurately after so long sent a chill up my spine and made me appreciate his acting abilities more than ever. The supplemental material includes extensive behind the scenes coverage of the making of that segment. It was very touching to see Harris and Mumy awkwardly appear on set in their recreated costumes and laugh and reminisce. The raw footage of special effect shots from the original show was good for some chuckles too. Any LIS fan should appreciate this one.

I am a die-hard LIS fan, and I absolutely LOVED this special plus the DVD extras. John Larrocat hosts this special with Bob May/Dick Tufeld as the Robot that led to the shows origins, through all 3 seasons and up to the theatrical motion picture. And at the very end of this one-hour special we are given a super treat of Jonathan Harris & Bill Mumy reprising their roles as Dr. Smith and Will Robinson in their 3rd season costumes in a short scene that made me think that if they and the rest of the remaining cast did the same for the theatrical feature (with as much care as the crew did in recreating the original upper deck of the Jupiter II)-- like Star Trek did -- the movie would have been a huge success, and like Star trek, would have spawned sequels.

All they'd have to do is explain, like Star Trek did, how they all got older and that (because of Guy Williams' death) John Robinson died 5 years sooner than he was supposed to because of the deal he made with The Time Merchant from the 3rd season. Then, Lost in Space: The Movie would be a continuation of the story, like "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was, with a new adventure they'd encounter, then Lost in Space II, Lost in Space III, and so on. That final scene in this special showed me the potential is endless! If you own the DVD you'd want to replay that last scene over and over again because it is so cool!!

The DVD has special features like behind the scenes of that final scene in the special and you can see how Jonathan Harris and Bill Mumy enjoyed doing it, test shots of the special effects primarily of the giant cyclops, the little robots, and -- my favorite: the Jupiter II and space pod flying, landing & taking off!

Another unique treat in the DVD extras is an audition/conversation with Guy Williams being introduced to the show by Irwin Allen (offsceen), and you can see how and why he was so easily chosen to play John Robinson.

John Larroquette with the help of the Robot details in a rather cursory fashion the history of the television show Lost in Space, its evolution over its three year run, its popularity afterwards, and, of course, the main reason for the special a tie-in with old to the then new Lost in Space film coming out. We are given an inside look to things like a Guy Williams screen test, very, very brief interviews with the Lost in Space cast, a look at a cartoon of the show I had never seen, and finally a major treat with Bill Mumy and Jonathan Harris reprising their roles more than 30 years later. The skit is easily the highlight of this DVD as Harris is dead on again as Dr. Smith with his alliterative put-downs, his cowardly looks, and his general character briefly yet succinctly in tact. Mumy does a decent job doing what he did so many years ago and so much younger. I thoroughly enjoyed this love letter to the show, understand why it was made(to promote the new movie), and look forward to re-watching more Lost in Space for many more years to come. It was not the greatest science fiction show of all-time to be sure. It does not have the philosophic foundation of Star Trek(a much better written show or the depth of character of others either). Its first season is outstanding science fiction, and even though I much prefer that season to what the show became, the other two seasons were always fun - and that is a testament to the general quality of what was being produced, and the relationship between Will Robinson and Dr. Zachary Smith and Robot. Seeing the three of them again rekindled some nice memories of sitting down in front of that old floor console watching their misadventures.

This muck was such a stinker and I am not a man given to writing bad reviews. This vile mess was supposed to be a tribute to Lost in Space an otherwise great if silly Science Fiction show produced in the 1960's. With the exception of a few touching scenes about the robot and, past cast members it was a whiny stupid senseless inane mess.