I've always had a soft spot for the original 60s Lost in Space series so when Netflix announced a reboot of the show, I was immediately intrigued. To me, Lost in Space was a property that was always primed for an update; especially after the abysmal 1998 movie starring William Hurt & Gary Oldman. After viewing the first episode, I do see a lot of promise. However, there are areas that do need improvement.
What Lost in Space has in its favor are some very splendid visuals and production design. You can tell Netflix spent a pretty penny on this. From an impressive early sequence of Judy Robinson jumping into freezing water to retrieve a desperately needed power source to Will Robinson stumbling upon a supposed alien crash site, to quote John Hammond from Jurassic Park, Netflix really "spared no expense" on this one.
Despite this, the writing, pacing, and acting left a lot to be desired. It's not to say the characters are bad, they're just not compelling beyond a few select traits (such as Judy Robinson having a keen sense of medical knowledge). It's a shame too because I am a fan of Molly Parker due to her stint as Alma Garret on HBO's Deadwood. While this is only the first episode, nothing has really grabbed me about these protagonists yet.
The episode also dragged to a certain degree. It felt like we were stuck watching the Robinson family stab ice for an eternity to free Judy Robinson from a frozen death. Even when a solution is seemingly found, the ice freezes up again and we're back to square one. Issues aside, some changes to the Lost in Space concept are intriguing. The look and design of the robot is neat and Dr. Smith's gender change is a unique twist on the character.
The first episode of Netflix's Lost in Space isn't perfect, but it did enough for me to check out subsequent episodes. Considering this show is getting a third and final season, I may be able to watch all three seasons without feeling like I'm wasting my time.
What Lost in Space has in its favor are some very splendid visuals and production design. You can tell Netflix spent a pretty penny on this. From an impressive early sequence of Judy Robinson jumping into freezing water to retrieve a desperately needed power source to Will Robinson stumbling upon a supposed alien crash site, to quote John Hammond from Jurassic Park, Netflix really "spared no expense" on this one.
Despite this, the writing, pacing, and acting left a lot to be desired. It's not to say the characters are bad, they're just not compelling beyond a few select traits (such as Judy Robinson having a keen sense of medical knowledge). It's a shame too because I am a fan of Molly Parker due to her stint as Alma Garret on HBO's Deadwood. While this is only the first episode, nothing has really grabbed me about these protagonists yet.
The episode also dragged to a certain degree. It felt like we were stuck watching the Robinson family stab ice for an eternity to free Judy Robinson from a frozen death. Even when a solution is seemingly found, the ice freezes up again and we're back to square one. Issues aside, some changes to the Lost in Space concept are intriguing. The look and design of the robot is neat and Dr. Smith's gender change is a unique twist on the character.
The first episode of Netflix's Lost in Space isn't perfect, but it did enough for me to check out subsequent episodes. Considering this show is getting a third and final season, I may be able to watch all three seasons without feeling like I'm wasting my time.