“Lost in Space” reminds us that some remakes are worth it.
The original “Lost in Space” science-fiction TV series, which ran from 1965 to 1968, is such a time capsule of its era that it feels more like a history book than a peek into the future. An update of “Swiss Family Robinson” for the space age, it was the story of a nuclear family adrift in the galaxy with a dad who looked like JFK (his first name was John, too), his loyal pilot Don West, mom Maureen and two daughters, Judy and Penny, who generally let the menfolk run things, young Will, his protective robot, and, of course, cowardly and effeminate Dr. Smith, the exact opposite of jut-jawed and heroic John Robinson.
To add technical insult to sociological injury, the special effects were not special and barely qualified as effects.
The new “Lost in Space,” a 10-part series dropping Friday on Netflix, maintains the basic plot and characters but updates them in intriguing ways and has 50 years of updated technology to play with. The result is not as subversive or darkly emotional as the 2004-09 “Battlestar Galactica” reboot that streamlined that clunky ’70s-era series into a meditation on religion, politics, power and humanity, but it’s an engaging, more family-friendly thrill ride with what feels like at least five cliffhangers per episode.
The new Robinsons bear only a passing resemblance to their predecessors. They’re a broken, blended family where military dad (Toby Stephens from “Black Sails,” not looking like JFK) is still a hero, but he’s separated from aerospace engineer mom (Molly Parker) and their family, including 18-year-old doctor and medical savant Judy (Taylor Russell), who’s biracial and the daughter from Maureen’s previous relationship. Closer to their original characters are sarcastic teenager Penny (Mina Sundwall) and precocious 9-year-old Will (Maxwell Jenkins).
They are brought together by a planetary emergency after a large meteor lands in the Yukon, sending up a huge cloud that threatens the future of life on Earth. They’re selected as one of a group of several families to colonize Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own.
But they end up crash-landing on a strange planet where they encounter three of the most reimagined characters: a wisecracking Don West (Ignacio Serricchio), a pilot and smuggler with a heart of gold like Han Solo; Dr. Smith (Parker Posey), a woman as conniving and menacing as the original doctor was campy and comical; and the robot, a strange creature of alien manufacture whose motives and intentions are not quite clear. “Danger, Will Robinson,” indeed.
“Lost in Space” gets better as it goes along, the effects are not an embarrassment, and while it might suspend disbelief a few too many times — the Robinsons should have been dead many times over the course of the 10 episodes — its lapses don’t disrupt enjoyment of the story.
Admittedly, it lacks the import of such other current sciencefiction series as “The Handmaid’s Tale” or “Mr. Robot.” Yet, as a show meant for a wider variety of age groups — a rarity in streaming sci-fi — it mostly hits the right notes. “Lost in Space” is worth finding.