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![]() By Dominic Jesse APRIL 13, 1998: Think family values. At least thats what the producers of Lost in Space were trying to do take a space sitcom from the 60s and update it with a family of the 90s, complete with modern-day problems and dysfunctions. But the family angle doesnt quite work, and the result is a Hollywood special-effects showcase with a cast that resembles the bridge of the Enterprise more than a real family.
The parents, John and Maureen Robinson, played by Oscar-winning William Hunt and Mimi Rogers, leave much to be desired as characters. Hunt, who captivated audiences with his performance in Kiss of the Spiderwoman, completely wastes his acting skill on the father, John Robinson, who plays less the sensitive father and more the bearded action hero who takes a second to kiss his wife good-bye before leaving the ship. Of the daughters, we have the smart young doctor Judy, played by Heather Graham, and the quintessential teeny-bopper, Penny (Lacey Chabert of Party of Five) who spends a good chunk of the film whining about all the boys and chocolate shes leaving behind on Earth. The son Will, played by Jack Johnson II, comes off as the whiz kid, the grade-school science-fair winner who experiments with time travel before hes old enough to date and builds the shows famed robot from scratch (his one witty line comes as he puts together the robot, saying, Mom always said I should try to make more friends). Then theres Don West (Matt LeBlanc of Friends fame), the soldier who acts like an immature Buck Rogers clone. He hits on Judy with such space-age lines as My quarters are your quarters, and gets zapped with high-tech responses like Why dont you just hang onto your joystick?
The whole family side to the movie, however, is barely developed. Near the beginning, viewers get faced with a rather used dilemma father Robinson, absorbed in his work, is ignoring his son, and at least by cramming the family into the Jupiter II, hell be able to continue his work without leaving the family on Mother Earth. But for the most part, the family operates like any other space opera dad goes on reconnaissance missions with hero West, Mom does DNA analyses on alien tissues, young Will battles aliens with a robot, and the daughters sit at ship controls much like Star Trek fixtures Sulu and Chekov. Its a pretty functional family, to say the least.
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Overall, though, Lost in Space doesnt come off as the 90s version of the television series. The screenwriting, by Akiva Goldsman resembles his work on Batman & Robin and Batman Forever rather than The Client. Like the Batman movies, its a serious situation offset by ridiculous characters. But while the Batman movies never even try to come off as serious, Lost in Space does. Then there are the special effects, which are being touted as the most advanced sci-fi effects yet (a dubious claim since the advent of computer design, when just about every special-effects sci-fi movie has used that label). In addition to stunning holographs and spacescapes, several alien creatures are nothing but binary. Blawp, the wide-eyed, monkey-like alien adopted by the Robinson family, is a generated image, as are the deadly space spiders that threaten the ship. The effects are awe-inspiring, but in these days where computerized image generation is taking off, not exceptional. In the end, it comes down to what youre looking for. Most of the admitted campiness of the show is gone. Fans of the original TV show who fondly cry out Danger Will Robinson! will find only a short twinge of nostalgia in Dr. Smith. Those who like deep sci-fi might not enjoy a tale that clashes the technology of the next millennium with the culture of the 1950s. For some good special effects, or to see what cute alien creatures Jim Henson Productions can still pull out of its hat, or to watch a movie that goes down smooth and leaves you feeling good, Lost in Space is a perfect family movie. In this sense, at least, it upholds some kind of family values.
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