What I’m Watching: Lost in Space (Season Finale)

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 10 “Danger, Will Robinson” (B+)

It took me much longer than usual to get through this show, and that’s solely because of other commitments. This reboot has been really terrific, and this finale was appropriately satisfying. It was an expected relief to find out that John and Don did survive but were trapped up in space, and the setup of this episode worked well as Maureen tried to figure out a way to save them while Dr. Smith expressed just how little she cared about their survival. Locking her in the room with the robot was smart, but this show’s number one human villain knows how to figure her way out of a situation even if it’s with something besides brute force. Launching the tether again was a calculated move to ensure her own livelihood, and, for the moment, it seems to have worked. The presence of another robot helped our robot return to his protective state for Will, which made for an intense and cool moment. That he was able to recognize Will as a friend was a win, but it’s also a reminder that the robots are a threat, one that they may now face after being reunited but not with the Resolute. I was trying to figure out how this show would keep going if they made it to the space station, and stranding them somewhere far away from this hostile planet is a great way to start off season two, in which they’re actually lost in space and not on land. I’m pumped for it to return, and plan to watch it far more consistently next time!

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Molly Parker as June

What I’m Watching: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 9 “Resurrection” (B+)

I took an unintentional three-month hiatus from this show because I fell so behind on everything else, and it’s good to return to it for the final two episodes of the first season to wrap up my official coverage of the 2017-2018 season. Fortunately, it was renewed for a well-deserved second season back in May, so that’s reassuring to know as we (or really just me, since everyone else has presumably finished already) get closer to what’s sure to be an intense finale given how this one ended. I, like Will, believe that John couldn’t possibly have died, but it’s also crucial that this family stays lost in space rather than getting rescued by the Resolute to head towards some semblance of home. Dr. Smith is crazy but she’s not dumb, and I enjoyed Maureen’s attempts to convince her that she was in fact a rocket scientist and should be relied on for her intelligence. We saw Dr. Smith make some sort of pact with the Robot long ago and now it’s clear that it worked to a degree, with the Robot stepping in to prevent Maureen and Judy from escaping because he sensed “Danger, Dr. Smith.” Hopefully, Will can get it reprogrammed, but I suspect that our friends may end up being stranded on the planet even if everyone else leaves for the Resolute, with Dr. Smith taking on a new position of power thanks to her wielding of this weapon. The other big – if far less impactful – victory of this hour was Judy getting to tell Vijay that she really wasn’t interested in hanging out with him once they got back to the Resolute.

What I’m Watching: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 8 “Trajectory” (B+)

One potentially treacherous element was neutralized at the start of this episode, with Maureen and John working together to ensure that the Dhars’ jupiter didn’t take off, but that unfortunately wasn’t all the Robinsons should have been worried about in this hour. Maureen did her best to strip the jupiter of every piece that didn’t need to be on board, and Don was smart to advise that the weight calculations weren’t exactly correct since the actual ship wasn’t quite the same as the specifications on paper. The Robinsons simulating John’s journey into space was both an entertaining and effective exercise, closing the doors so that he could feel the g-force pull and then waking him up after he was out for nineteen seconds each time before Maureen announced that he was dead. Don didn’t respond quite as quickly, but having the two of them up there should have been a recipe for success. Will’s curiosity, as always, got the best of him, and Dr. Smith, ever the manipulative liar who had already been caught by Maureen, conned him into letting her out. Why she had to knock Maureen out at just the moment that she was going to give John and Don crucial instructions on where to turn next is a mystery, and I still think that they survived even though that explosion looked bad from the surface of the planet. I’m not as certain that the Resolute is still intact, but I didn’t imagine that they would make it anyway given this show’s premise of them being lost in space. On a less life-and-death note, Penny got the ultimate revenge on Vijay after he broke up with her while they weren’t even together, calling him a bad kisser as he ran away from her.

What I’m Watching: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 7 “Pressurized” (B+)

Another episode, another life-and-death situation where a member of the Robinson family nearly sacrifices themselves for the good of their relatives. Though they had to fight off some frightening quicksand, John and Maureen ultimately had a therapeutic time in close quarters discussing things they hadn’t previously verbalized. Maureen not arguing with John when he said he was fine after she offered to take over was the start of it, and then he was trying to show off when she gave him a hard time but had to cut the show short since they were already too far in to escape. After supporting without hesitation her decision to alter Will’s test results, John was very eager to give his own life to save Maureen, and fortunately she realized just in time that there was a way for them to escape which gave them a fun laugh once they finally made it. A PHD in engineering doesn’t necessarily mean that she’ll fix the air conditioning, but at least their relationship is stable. Judy’s patient dying after her valiant efforts to keep him alive was a blow to everyone, and the only thing it strengthened was her relationship with Don. Vijay telling his father about the planet’s prospects led to a surprisingly selfish decision from Victor, and I can’t imagine that he’s really abandoning everyone else and that, if he is, he’ll get away with it. As usual, Dr. Smith is up to no good, and she may have already orchestrated events that won’t make Don and Judy’s eventual arrival with important news about her identity as crucial or effective as it should be. Penny trying to cheer Will up was nice to see, and for once neither of them appeared to be in imminent danger.

What I’m Watching: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 6 “Eulogy” (B+)

Another episode, another life-and-death situation that managed to turn out okay for the Robinson family after a handful of close calls. Maureen’s discovery that they can’t stay on this planet is an ominous one that’s clearly going to eat at her, and the fact that a conversation she thought was just with her husband was overheard means that it will soon become public. The official decision that the robot can stay but all of its movements need to be documented was something that Will initially didn’t understand but his father helped him to see when he showed him that he had to do his own work sometimes. Dr. Smith proved especially destructive in this hour, coaching Angela so that she would try something violent, resulting in John getting hurt and Will having the robot plunge off the cliff to his death. Hopefully Dr. Smith won’t be able to inflict all that much more damage now that Don and Judy are well aware that she is not who she says she is. Don encouraging Judy to use the rover’s “sunroof” was entertaining, and I love that she twisted his “princess” remark into something else. He did seem to be genuinely honored that she thanked him for his heroic action, and it’s good to see him being accepted given how we know this crew will continue to be stranded. Penny’s big plan to get Vijay to kiss her was hilariously derailed, but she still managed to make it work in a pretty spectacular and unforgettable way.

What I’m Watching: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 5 “Transmission” (B+)

All of a sudden, we have tons of people on this planet hanging out right by the Robinsons’ ship, yet we still managed to get individual storylines for all our main characters. The most important interactions were those between Don West, Dr. Smith, and the Robinson family members who got more information about who the two of them are as a result. Don being mocked by Judy for being less than brave about his broken nose was by far the most entertaining part, and everything else just demonstrated how masterful and manipulative a liar Dr. Smith continues to be, especially when she gets backed into a corner. She dismissed Don’s accusations of stranding him and leaving him for dead, going so far as to claim to forgive him for not finding the meaningless treasure she sent him out to find. She also spun a story when confronted by Judy about what Don really did and then proactively got John distracted by spilling the beans about Will and the robot. Fortunately, the robot showed up just in time to stop that dinosaur creature, and Will was able to control it after his kill command nearly went too far and took out some of the innocent people from the colony. Maureen’s solo mission, which almost got her very injured, was commendable, and we’re now seeing just how far she’ll go to make sure that anyone she loves is protected, no matter the circumstances. The Resolute isn’t coming for them anytime soon, but at least Maureen is focusing on the right ideas.

What I’m Watching: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 4 “The Robinsons Were Here” (B+)

I guess it makes sense that there are a whole bunch of humans who crash-landed on this planet, and that they would have some way of communicating with each other as they try to figure out how to contact the Resolute. Maureen’s discovery of the downed satellite dish explains that, as we knew from the show’s title, they won’t be going anywhere soon since they have no way of beaming a signal back up to the home station. Victor, played by Raza Jaffrey from “Homeland” and “Smash,” clearly wasn’t any voting Robinson family member’s choice to represent the colony, and I can imagine that he and Maureen will butt heads going forward as he attempts to assert himself and call the shots. Maureen and John had a therapeutic conversation about their priorities prior to their departure from home, and I think it’s putting them on the right track. The kids had the opportunity to bond too, going on a grand adventure to relocate the robot and then getting back to the ship just in time to avoid suspicion. The clapping to make the flowers bloom and the amazing purple lights were nice touches along the way, as were the handprints below Penny’s signature. Dr. Smith is being very proactive in trying to neutralize the robot as a threat and make him an ally, though I’m not sure how that will end up working. We also have Don West, a man with his own aims who is now in close proximity to the Robinsons and represents the biggest danger of all to Dr. Smith.

Take Three: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 3 “Infestation” (B+)

Every new thing we learn about Dr. Smith, or the woman using that name, makes her even more difficult to like and more of a threat to the Robinson family now that she needs to depend on to survive. Drugging and tying up her sister, played by Selma Blair, who was already planning to leave her everything she wouldn’t need when she went up into space, shows how manipulative and self-serving she is. It didn’t take her long to get spotted on board the ship, and she didn’t bother to stop the ejection of the man who recognized her and knew she wasn’t actually Jessica Harris into space. Timing seems to have worked out in her favor, since the ship was under attack before she could be punished according to the not-yet-created justice system, and now she’s going to do whatever she can to protect herself from discovery even though just being nice and helpful to the Robinson family is probably her best bet. It was interesting to see her bond with Will while they were both trapped by the robot, arguing that self-preservation is nothing to be ashamed of, something that the kindhearted Will doesn’t believe. I liked the suspenseful music playing as it appeared that Dr. Smith was going to take Maureen out after she made the mistake of explaining that only one or two people could survive, and, as usual, this episode upped the ante, making it seem like all hope was lost until it finally wasn’t. Their triumphant departure was marked by a relatively smooth crash-landing back on the surface, and now they have to find this other signal that Dr. Smith doesn’t want them to, and the gun that the robot printed may come into play since she saw Will hiding it. Judy continues to experience post-traumatic stress as a result of her near-suffocation, and getting pinned by a heavy machine definitely didn’t help, though she hung in there and persevered admirably.

Round Two: Lost in Space

Lost in Space: Season 1, Episode 2 “Diamonds in the Sky” (B+)

Consider me impressed. This second installment delivered the same thrill as the first episode, making it seem like our main characters were actually in sincere danger and might not make it out. It’s evident that the family members won’t perish so early on in this show’s run if ever, and therefore it’s particularly commendable that this show can raise the stakes high enough to make it suspenseful. Setting a show on a planet with only a few people inhabiting it means you don’t have the luxury of red shirts to send off on away missions to die while the important series regulars remain immune. After Judy survived her ordeal under the ice, it was great to see Penny spring into action and go off to save her family despite not having too much experience with the rover. Bringing the Oreos along with her was a nice touch, and I like that Maureen was happy to see that as soon as they were reunited. Dr. Smith, or at least the woman pretending to be Dr. Smith, did a masterful job of manipulating Don into buying all of her lies and then setting her up to be rescued while he was nowhere to be found. I’m not usually fond of fill-in flashbacks that show how things we didn’t realize were happening actually were, but it worked well enough here. The fact that the robot made her scared is the one positive sign that its presence may force her to behave, because something tells me she’s going to do anything possible to get ahead at the expense of anyone in her way.

Pilot Review: Lost in Space

Lost in Space (Netflix)
Premiered April 13

I’m confident that I’ve seen the original “Lost in Space,” but I honestly don’t remember anything about it other than “Danger, Will Robinson” being a key catchphrase. As a result, I was going into this remake without much context at all, and I’m pleased to report that this was an engaging opener. The stakes felt very high and these characters quickly became believable, forced to confront dangerous circumstances all on their own as a family. When I mentioned this remake to my mom, she asked about a stowaway aboard the ship, something that was only hinted at as the pilot closed, though Dr. Smith is an adapted character here, with Parker Posey’s mysterious criminal taking a man’s coat from him and stealing his identity while jumping aboard a ship. The familiar face that I knew here aside from Posey was Molly Parker, who I’ve liked since “Swingtown” and has more recently earned an Emmy nomination for her recurring role on “House of Cards.” She has exactly the right composure to play the wife of an absent husband who took it upon herself to make sure that all of her kids – including one who shouldn’t have – passed the necessary requirements to be able to head into space for colonization. Actress Taylor Russell, who plays Judy, was particularly impressive in this hour as it seemed like she wasn’t going to make it to episode two after she got stuck under the frozen water. The production values here are great, and this is a world I’d love to visit again, hoping for just as much intrigue in episode two and beyond.

How will it work as a series? They got lost in space and now they’re stuck on a mysterious planet. As they get to know this new world that they’ll call home, I imagine that we’ll see extensive flashbacks that explain how things got to where they are now and help to develop the characters. As long as that balance stays consistent, I think this show should remain interesting and very watchable.
How long will it last? Reviews don’t seem to be as overwhelmingly positive as I might have expected, and in fact they’re on the lower side of decent. The real question is how many people have already watched and will watch this show, including those who were fans of the original and those who have never heard of it. I think that Netflix will choose to invest in this one for a second season, but we’ll have to see how the numbers stack up.

Pilot grade: B+