The History of TVs Lost in Space (Part Two) by Mark Phillips As Lost in Space was launched into syndicated orbit in 1969, Irwin Allen, still stinging over its cancellation, created a sequel proposal called Rodney the Robot. The Robot, separated from the Robinson family, manages to return to Earth and is adopted by a typical American family. Rodney, the name Allen always had in mind for the Robot, becomes a mechanical butler. The proposed half-hour situation comedy was ultimately rejected by CBS. With his other TV pilots shot down by the networks (among them Safari, Aladdin, How To Make A Man, City Beneath the Sea, and Man From the 25th Century) and with his ABC series, Land of the Giants, scraping bottom in the 1970 ratings, Allen high-tailed it for the lucrative world of motion pictures, where he scored with The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox found some success syndicating Lost in Space in the early 1970s. The series often ran five days a week on major independent stations. Sharp-eyed viewers occasionally spotted bloopers in the reruns, such as seeing Bob May's sneakers under his robot costume or a second season monster casting a shadow on "distant" mountains when he got too close to the set's cyclorama. By 1973, however, Lost in Space'ssuccess in syndication was fading. A new generation was used to color programming -- and black and white episodes were considered less desirable. Since it's first year had been filmed in black and white, and more and more color programming was available, sales of the Lost in Space series were weakened. Also, many older General TV Managers of that era never understood the appeal of Lost in Space. If pressed to pick a science fiction series to fill the slot, they would pick the syndicated champion, Star Trek. It was also in 1973 that Lost in Space first showed life outside of syndication. An Australian-made, Hanna-Barbera Lost in Space cartoon was aired on ABC's Saturday Morning Movie. Dr. Smith (voiced by Jonathan Harris) and the Robot were the only original characters to return. The Jupiter 2 was now an aero-dynamically sound rocketship. While the story was fair, the animation was mediocre and it captured none of the magic of the TV series. Despite its high ratings, most fans despised the cartoon, which quickly sank into oblivion. That same year, the first Lost in Space fan club appeared. Based in New York, the club produced a simple xerox fanzine and built up to a subscriber peak of 50 members. Fans were thrilled with "exclusives" like a Q and A interview with Jonathan Harris and behind the scenes photos. Club members also waged a successful letter-writing campaign to convince Pyramid books to re-release the 1967 Lost in Space novel. Unfortunately, Pyramid went out of business before it could make good on its promise. Lost in Space also retained its knack for controversy. A major L.A. TV station yielded to pressure and permanently banned the episode "Castles in Space" because many in the Hispanic community had vigorously objected to the depiction of Chavo, a Spanish bandit who reinforced negative stereotypes. 1973 also marked the first real salvo fired between the worlds of Star Trek and Lost in Space. Star Trek writer David Gerrold, in his book, "The Trouble With Tribbles", scolded Lost in Space as being, "A thoroughly offensive show. It has probably done more to damage the advance of science fiction as a serious literary movement than all of the big bug movies ever made." Gerrold's comments echoed the party line of many readers who took their science fiction seriously. And as Star Trek's fame grew, Lost in Space drifted further into obscurity. It was a frustrating turn for its fans, who, by 1975, found that its reruns were getting harder to find. Although TV managers were deluged with letters from fans of the series, whenever Lost in Space was programmed into the schedule, frequently at unpopular hours, its ratings were often disappointing. It was an indication that Lost in Space was losing its mainstream appeal and shifting gears into cult status. As Fox film producer Kevin Burns states, "Lost in Space became as orphaned in syndication as Star Trek had been in prime time." While Star Trek enjoyed a re-birth of merchandise in the 1970s, Lost in Space had only a meager embrace with licensed toys, including Ahi's walking robot, walkie talkie and laser gun. Released around 1973, these are now highly-prized collectibles. The general public was soon having trouble remembering the Robinsons. On a 1976 game show, a contestant was asked to name the family Lost in Space for three years. The contestant paused and then yelled triumphantly, "The Smiths!" When CBS did a 1978 TV retrospective, shows like Gilligan's Island, The Munsters and Daktari were featured, but Lost in Space was conspicuously absent. THE REVIVAL OF Lost in Space Then, the turnaround. Star Wars was released in 1977. Its universe featured lovable aliens, cute robots, intergalactic traders, knights, princesses and heroes. Star Wars' mega-success broke a stubborn barrier for science fiction, making the genre commercially acceptable. Its blend of action and humor gave Lost in Space something of a retro-respect in the science fiction community. In 1979, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror nominated Lost in Space as one of the best examples of TV science fiction. That same year, magazines such as Starlog and Fantastic Films featured articles on the series. Also in 1979, a growing superstation in Atlanta, Ted Turner's WTBS, began airing Lost in Space reruns, and the response was fantastic. It became a TBS mainstay for five years and Turner pointed to Lost in Space as an example of good family entertainment. Shortly afterward, several other Lost in Space fan clubs flourished, including LISFAN, which attained subscription levels in the hundreds. It was also an era when old TV series were returning as films. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) showed that a "classic" TV cast could be reunited for a successful feature film. The Mod Squad, Man from UNCLE and The Wild, Wild West all returned with their original casts. In 1980, Bill Mumy was determined to wrap up the saga of the Robinson family and he wrote a reunion script. Mumy, who had wonderful memories of working on the show, wanted to resolve the fates of the Robinsons. In his script, the Robinsons have been marooned for many years on a desolate planet. Will has become a recluse, Dr. Smith is an infirm old man and the others face issues of survival. CBS and the other cast members expressed interest in doing the film. Mumy presumed that Allen would be impressed by his groundwork to get the project airborne, but Allen, who still owned the rights, made it clear he wasn't interested. "If I do Lost in Space again, it will be my script. If I want you in it, I'll call your agent," the producer sharply told Mumy. Allen refused to even look at Mumy's script, feeling that it could open himself up to legal problems. Mumy later encouraged fans to write to Allen, who eventually received over 16,000 letters. But Mumy had succeeded in planting a seed of interest in Allen's mind. When Allen saw most of the cast (including Guy Williams) reunited on 1983's Family Feud game show, he gave serious consideration to a new Lost in Space film. Allen commissioned a market survey to be done during 1984-1985 to see if there was interest in such a film. However, the research was not encouraging. The identity factor of the title "Lost in Space" proved weak. Those surveyed who recognized the show's name expressed only a weak enthusiasm for seeing the series revived. In 1985, on The Merv Griffin Show, Allen reluctantly admitted, "I wish I had done a Lost in Space film 10 years ago," he said, "But now I think it may be too late." Meanwhile, some of the cast continued to appear on other entertainment shows, including America (1985), Kelly and Company (1987) and Instant Recall (1991). June and Jonathan also matched wits with Paula Zahn on the CBS Morning News (1990). Well-known personalities also began to express their fondness for the original series, including Tim Allen, Steven Spielberg, Jenny Jones, Luke Perry, Jimmy Osmond and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Michael Jackson, who briefly considered buying one of the original Robots in 1988, decided against it when he saw that the Robot had been severely changed for the Saturday morning show Mystery Island. It was around this time that the Robot experienced an interesting chapter in its re-birth. Kevin Burns, a long-time Lost in Space fan and 20th Century Fox producer, took up a friend's suggestion that he locate the original robot. A tip led Burns to Stage 2, where he found huge airline freight trunks labeled Friday's Robot (the Japanese, who had last used the Robot, had confused the Robinson family with Robinson Crusoe and simply called the Robot "Friday"). What Burns found inside the boxes was disheartening: "a big white refrigerator with claws" but at the core of this modified abomination was the beloved original. This was "The Hero" robot, used by Bobby May and seen in most of the original series. After obtaining permission from Fox to remove it, Burns contacted Greg Jein, a master model-builder for film and television. Jein himself had rescued the original Jupiter 2 model, the chariot, launch-pad and lazer guns from the trash bin. He also owned the second original robot, the stunt robot used in special effects scenes in the series. Jein examined "The Hero" robot and estimated a four to five thousand repair job. Jein had saved many extra parts for the robot, including a bubble-top and treads, and he completed a fabulous restoration. The Robot was now ready to join his human cast mates at Gary Sohmers' 'Northeast Collectibles Extravaganza' in Boston. The robot was shipped wet, only hours after final restoration, to the December 1990 convention, where it appeared on stage with all of the Lost in Space cast members (sans the late Guy Williams). The convention drew 32,000 fans, with nearly 8,000 attendees there primarily to see the 'Lost in Space 25th Anniversary' celebrations. Irwin Allen took notice and he invited Jonathan Harris to lunch to discuss plans to do a Lost in Space reunion feature. Harris was skeptical that such a project could be pulled off. "You should have done it ten years ago," Harris lamented. "I think the ship has already sailed, Irwin." Nevertheless, Allen gave Harris permission to convey a directive to fandom. Harris was allowed to say, on Allen's behalf, that a Lost in Space film was "a possibility, nothing definitive." The cast was astonished by the Boston convention's success, and they realized how strong the interest was in the series. Still, June Lockhart summed up their frustrations about the stalled movie with, "We've all been watching our weights and keeping in shape for a film that never happens!" Irwin Allen died in 1991. His widow, Sheila, felt it was important for Allen's dream of a Lost in Space film to be realized. After bidding wars among major studios, it was the new production company, Prelude Pictures, that finally bought the feature film rights and New Line Cinema eventually made a substantial offer to make the film. With Akiva Goldsman writing and Stephen Hopkins set to direct, the film was finally on its way. Mark Goddard, June Lockhart, Angela Cartwright and Marta Kristen agreed to make cameos. During this time, Lost in Space continued to flourish: The USA Networks ran the series in 1989, to huge ratings. The Sci-Fi Channel picked up the show in 1992, and it became of one their most popular offerings. A Lost in Space comic book by Innovation debuted in 1991, with Bill Mumy as one of its writers. In addition, TV shows like the Simpsons spoofed Dr. Smith and the Robot, while magazines such as People, US and Entertainment Weekly featured profiles of the cast. Columbia House Video began to release all 83 episodes via mail order in 1996 while Australian fans convinced Fox Australia to release Lost in Space on video, which turned out to be its best video seller ever. GNP Crescendo's release of the original music in 1995 was a big success and the Robot was again reunited with his Lost in Space co-stars for The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, a Foxstar documentary for the Sci-Fi Channel that featured rare film clips from the series. And while NASA had distanced itself from the series in 1965, today's space pilots grew up with the show. Shuttle Discovery pilot Ken Reightler invited June Lockhart to Cape Canaveral to watch the shuttle's launch. Lockhart also visited NASA's jet propulsion laboratory to watch the Pathfinder probe land on Mars. When she saw the pictures it had transmitted from the red planet, she remarked, "That looks just like our Lost in Space set." Star Trek writers have also made some amusing concessions. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Conundrum", watch carefully as Jonathan ("Commander Riker") Frakes plays chess -- one of the chess pieces is clearly that of the Robinson's Robot! William Shatner and the Robot also teamed up as hosts of the 1997 TV special, TV Guide Looks at Science Fiction. Recently, both Star Trek and Lost in Space fans groaned when TV Guide, in its 1997 summer issue, "The 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time" voted Space's infamous "Great Vegetable Rebellion" as number 76, over Star Trek's classic "City on the Edge of Forever" (ranked 92). The Space cast still make appearances on TV (including Jonathan and the Robot on Good Morning, America in 1997). The original cast and robots regrouped at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum for the Foxstar/Gary Sohmers convention, 'Lost in Space Found in Hollywood,' in April 1998. Looking at Lost in Space today, it's easy to pick at its flaws. The fact is, it thrilled, scared, excited and inspired a generation, many of whom became astronauts, writers, scientists and technicians. It succeeded far beyond its three network years. It veered off course conceptually, often choosing space camp over true adventure, a decision that remains controversial to many of its fans. But its flexible format and likable characters have been reborn. The Lost in Space motion picture is charting new territory by taking the Robinson family out of the past and into the far future. Mark Phillips, a free-lance writer in Victoria, Canada, is co-author (with Frank Garcia) of the McFarland book, SCIENCE FICTION TELEVISION SERIES: 1959-1989. Back to Alpha Control

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