Netflix's Reboot Restores Lost in Space's Family Core

Netflix has tried nearly every genre, and science fiction is one it has excelled in. One of its best offerings is a three-season drama that reimagines 1960s Golden Age television for a modern audience, honoring the original in a way the 1998 movie treatment did not.

The original Lost in Space premiered on September 15, 1965, as a take on Johann David Wyss' "The Swiss Family Robinson." It starred Guy Williams (John Robinson) and June Lockhart (Maureen), with Judy (Marta Kristen), Penny (Angela Cartwright) and Will (Bill Mumy), alongside Major Donald West (Mark Goddard) and the saboteur Dr.

Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris). Initially a gripping survival drama about a family working together, the series later leaned into Dr. Smith's buffoonery and became campier, though its charm endured. The 1998 film, by contrast, "dropped the ball" and earned only 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

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