Sci-Fi Lost In Space (1965-1968)

7HEUSEDB3RTH

Part Member, Part Machine
Title: Lost in Space

Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

First aired: 1965-09-15

Creator: Irwin Allen

Cast: Guy Williams, June Lockhart, Mark Goddard, Marta Kristen, Angela Cartwright, Bill Mumy, Jonathan Harris, Dick Tufeld, Bob May

Overview: The space family Robinson is sent on a five-year mission to find a new planet to colonise. The voyage is sabotaged time and again by an inept stowaway, Dr. Zachary Smith. The family's spaceship, Jupiter II, also carries a friendly robot who endures an endless stream of abuse from Dr. Smith, but is a trusted companion of young Will Robinson
Lost In Space (1965-1968)

 
The original Lost in Space with Robbie? I guess I would consider myself a fan as I remember watching it in repeats.

Looking back on the show there are likely some elements of it that would not be considered "Politically Correct" these days but it was a good show for its time.

The 're-imagined' movie from a few years ago, with Matt LeBlanc and Lacey Chabert, I did not care for. It seemed to start off on a strong foot but then just lost with the 'Dr. Smith is a spider' angle.
 
I saw the movie, it sucked! The reason I ask is I, after being a fan since I was 8, found out Mark Goddard (Mj. Don West) lives down the street, he autographed all my old VHS's. He is so damn cool...
 
I saw the movie, it sucked! The reason I ask is I, after being a fan since I was 8, found out Mark Goddard (Mj. Don West) lives down the street, he autographed all my old VHS's. He is so damn cool...
That is pretty cool. Do you know if kept any of the props from the show? I'm sure he has some interesting stories to tell.
 
I'm not sure, I don't see him much anymore. As you can imagine, he isn't particuarly young. But he is still a special ed teacher, which is pretty awesome. I'll ask him next time I see him.
 
You may have not know his face or voice, but if you spent your childhood watching Lost In Space on TV, then you have seen his work. Bob May, the actor inside of the 'the robot' on the series, has died at the age of 69.

From FoxNews:
Bob May, who donned The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69.

May died Sunday of congestive heart failure at a hospital in Lancaster, said his daughter, Deborah May.

He was a veteran actor and stuntman who had appeared in movies, TV shows and on the vaudeville stage when he was tapped by "Lost in Space" creator Irwin Allen to play the Robinson family's loyal metal sidekick in the series that debuted in 1965.

"He always said he got the job because he fit in the robot suit," said June Lockhart, who played family matriarch Maureen Robinson. "It was one of those wonderful Hollywood stories. He just happened to be on the studio lot when someone saw him and sent him to see Irwin Allen about the part. Allen said, 'If you can fit in the suit, you've got the job.'"

Although May didn't provide the robot's distinctive voice (that was done by announcer Dick Tufeld), he developed a following of fans who sought him out at memorabilia shows.

"Lost in Space" was a space-age retelling of "The Swiss Family Robinson" story in which professor John Robinson, his wife and their children were on a space mission when their craft was knocked hopelessly off course by the evil Dr. Zachary Smith, who became trapped in space with them.

May's robot was the Robinson family's loyal sidekick, warning them of approaching disaster at every turn. His line to one of the children, "Danger, Will Robinson," became a national catch phrase.

The grandson of famed vaudeville comedian Chic Johnson, May was introduced to show business at age 2 when he began appearing in the "Hellzapoppin" comedy revue with Johnson and his partner, Ole Olsen.

He went on to appear in numerous films with Jerry Lewis and in such TV shows as "The Time Tunnel," "McHale's Navy and "The Red Skelton Show." He was also a stuntman in such 1950s and '60s TV shows as "Cheyenne," "Surfside 6," "Hawaiian Eye," "The Roaring 20s" and "Stagecoach."

He was particularly fond of his Robot role, once saying he came to consider the suit a "home away from home."

Lockhart said May wore the suit for hours at a time and learned the lines of every actor in the show so he would know when to respond to their cues. Because it wasn't easy to get in and out of the suit, he kept it on during breaks.

"He was a smoker," Lockhart remembered. "From time to time (when he was on a break), we'd see smoke coming out of the robot. That always amused us."

May and his wife lost their house in November when a wildfire destroyed their upscale mobile home park in the San Fernando Valley.

Survivors include his wife Judith; his daughter; his son, Martin; and four grandchildren.

Funeral services are pending.
 
Lost In Space - I saw an episode of the 1960s Sci-Fi TV Classic on Detroit's Channel 38.1. It was broacast in B&W, so it had to have been from their first season (1965).
cool.gif
biggrin.gif


It was funny seeing the pre-women's lib dialogue. Professor John Robinson, Major Don West and young Will Robinson are away on a mission. Wife Maureen Robinson is left behind on the "Jupiter 2" with grown daughter Judy, pre-teen daughter Penny, and cowardly, egocentric Dr. Smith. The women fret that their men are away and not able to protect them from the undetermined menace of a creature that they hear howling. That setup allowed Dr. Smith to say his trademark line "Never fear, Smith is here!" :lol:

The menace was an alien who wore a gorilla-suit and a devil-like face. Scary!
rolleyes.gif


I remember the show was more popular than Star Trek. How far in the future is the series set? 1997!
tongue.gif


I recall the series is Irwin Allen's space-age adaptation of the novel The Swiss Family Robinson. The astronaut family Robinson, accompanied by military pilot Major Don West and an "enviromental robot", set out to explore & establish a colony in Alpha Centauri for an overpopulated Earth.

Prior to Jupiter 2's launch (October 16, 1997), the ship is sabotaged by enemy spy, mission physician Dr. Zachary Smith. He slips aboard the spaceship during countdown to sabotage the astro-navigation while everyone are in cryo-statis. He also reprograms the robot to kill the crew.

Dr. Smith is unable to leave before the ship launches, so he is forced to save himself by reviving the crew from suspended animation in order to avoid a meteor shower that he had steered the ship into. Smith pretends to be innocent and onboard by accident.

The robot emerges from its bay saying "Crush, Kill, Destroy". Although it has deadly electricity arcing from it's claws, the simple minded robot is rendered inoperative when its power pack is removed. The Professor and the Major save the ship, but consequent damage leaves them lost in space far from Earth. They eventually crash-land on an alien world, later identified as Priplanis. Low on fuel, the Robinsons must mine ore for the necessary fuel they need to lift off, while surviving various adventures.

Originally portrayed as a sinister & self-serving villain, Dr. Smith (whom Allen originally intended to kill off) became the series' source of conflict & comedic cowardice, exploiting the forgiving nature of the Robinsons. Most of us would have jettisoned Dr. Smith from the airlock in their circumstances.
laugh.gif
 
Great series! In competition with Star Trek at the time, but both series were produced in a excellent fashion. I saw the movie in the 90's it was ok, a little boring at times, but again the SFX was great. Fan or not what say you?
lost-in-space.jpg
lost_in_space_3.jpg
lostinspace.jpg
LIS-lost-in-space-25804918-1280-818.jpg
I wonder if they will get a new tv series out there before us Gen-xers pass on?
 
I liked Lost in space, but the only complaint I had was that the size of the ship didn't fit the inside sets they had to show for the series. Thus it was like the Tartarus from Dr. Who, bigger on the inside than the outside. Still it was a great show and back then I thought Penny was quite...she was my age. The new movie was nice too, the whole Time travel thing did make me think of Star Trek.
 
We grew up watching everything Irwin Allen ever did and loved the original series all the way around especially Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright and Johnathan Harris.

The 1999 movie was ok, it had a great update for the theme music but Randy fell in love with Lacy Chabert (Penny) and we still watch everything we can find with her in it. Mostly she's on Hallmark Channel but she has been in several hit TV series and movies since then.
 
We grew up watching everything Irwin Allen ever did and loved the original series all the way around especially Bill Mumy, Angela Cartwright and Johnathan Harris.

The 1999 movie was ok, it had a great update for the theme music but Randy fell in love with Lacy Chabert (Penny) and we still watch everything we can find with her in it. Mostly she's on Hallmark Channel but she has been in several hit TV series and movies since then.
Yeup Lacy was a looker, I reckon she still is. It was a cute movie, but not too much like the series...
 
I liked Lost in space, but the only complaint I had was that the size of the ship didn't fit the inside sets they had to show for the series. Thus it was like the Tartarus from Dr. Who, bigger on the inside than the outside. Still it was a great show and back then I thought Penny was quite...she was my age. The new movie was nice too, the whole Time travel thing did make me think of Star Trek.
Yah, the ship had odd construction, I think the film had 3 levels, upper and lower deck, and the engine room, where Will battled the fog monster, the ship should have been larger outside to match the inside. Cool series non the less....
 
[ "Lost in Space" threads merged ]

Somebody please remind me.... what was the premise of the original show as to why they were sending a family off into space by themselves?
 
Lost in Space ( 1965 )
Lost in Space: In the year 1997, Earth is suffering from massive overpopulation. Professor John Robinson, his wife Maureen, their children (Judy, Penny and Will) and Major Don West are selected to go to the third planet in the Alpha Centauri star system to establish a colony so that other Earth people can settle there. They are to go there on a ship of Professor Robinson's design, christened the Jupiter 2. However, Doctor Zachary Smith, an agent for an enemy government, is sent to sabotage the mission. He is successful in reprogramming the ship's robot, but in the process becomes trapped on the ship, and because of his excess weight, the ship and all on board become hopelessly lost and it now becomes a fight for survival as the crew tries to find their way back home.

https://images.{...}/thumbs/351374_Lost_in_Space_1965_75.jpg

Ratings: IMDB: 7.2/10 Metascore: N/A RT: N/A
Released:
September 15, 1965
Runtime: 60 mins
Genres: Adventure Comedy Family Fantasy Sci-Fi
Countries: USA
Actors: Angela Cartwright Bill Mumy Bob May Dick Tufeld Guy Williams Jonathan Harris June Lockhart Mark Goddard Marta Kristen

► Season 1 - Click for episodes
E0 - No Place to Hide [ 1 Links ]
E1 - The Reluctant Stowaway - 1965-09-15 [ 4 Links ]
E2 - The Derelict - 1965-09-22 [ 4 Links ]
E3 - Island in the Sky - 1965-09-29 [ 4 Links ]
E4 - There Were Giants in the Earth - 1965-10-06 [ 4 Links ]
E5 - The Hungry Sea - 1965-10-13 [ 0 Links ]
E6 - Welcome Stranger - 1965-10-20 [ 5 Links ]
E7 - My Friend, Mr. Nobody - 1965-10-27 [ 5 Links ]
E8 - Invaders from the Fifth Dimension - 1965-11-03 [ 4 Links ]
E9 - The Oasis - 1965-11-10 [ 4 Links ]
E10 - The Sky is Falling - 1965-11-17 [ 4 Links ]
E11 - Wish Upon a Star - 1965-11-24 [ 4 Links ]
E12 - The Raft - 1965-12-01 [ 4 Links ]
E13 - One of Our Dogs Is Missing - 1965-12-08 [ 4 Links ]
E14 - Attack of the Monster Plants - 1965-12-15 [ 3 Links ]
E15 - Return from Outer Space - 1965-12-29 [ 3 Links ]
E16 - The Keeper (1) - 1966-01-12 [ 4 Links ]
E17 - The Keeper (2) - 1966-01-19 [ 5 Links ]
E18 - The Sky Pirate - 1966-01-26 [ 2 Links ]
E19 - Ghost in Space - 1966-02-02 [ 3 Links ]
E20 - War of the Robots - 1966-02-09 [ 4 Links ]
E21 - The Magic Mirror - 1966-02-16 [ 4 Links ]
E22 - The Challenge - 1966-03-02 [ 4 Links ]
E23 - The Space Trader - 1966-03-09 [ 4 Links ]
E24 - His Majesty Smith - 1966-03-16 [ 4 Links ]
E25 - The Space Croppers - 1966-03-30 [ 4 Links ]
E26 - All That Glitters - 1966-04-06 [ 4 Links ]
E27 - The Lost Civilization - 1966-04-13 [ 4 Links ]
E28 - A Change of Space - 1966-04-20 [ 4 Links ]
E29 - Follow the Leader - 1966-04-27 [ 4 Links ]
E30 - Follow the Leader - 1966-04-27 [ 1 Links ]
► Season 2 - Click for episodes
E1 - Blast Off Into Space - 1966-09-14 [ 5 Links ]
E2 - Wild Adventure - 1966-09-21 [ 4 Links ]
E3 - The Ghost Planet - 1966-09-28 [ 4 Links ]
E4 - Forbidden World - 1966-10-05 [ 5 Links ]
E5 - Space Circus - 1966-10-12 [ 4 Links ]
E6 - The Prisoners of Space - 1966-10-19 [ 4 Links ]
E7 - The Android Machine - 1966-10-26 [ 4 Links ]
E8 - The Deadly Games of Gamma 6 - 1966-11-02 [ 4 Links ]
E9 - The Thief of Outer Space - 1966-11-09 [ 4 Links ]
E10 - Curse of Cousin Smith - 1966-11-16 [ 1 Links ]
E11 - West of Mars - 1966-11-30 [ 4 Links ]
E12 - A Visit to Hades - 1966-12-07 [ 4 Links ]
E13 - Wreck of the Robot - 1966-12-14 [ 4 Links ]
E14 - The Dream Monster - 1966-12-21 [ 4 Links ]
E15 - The Golden Man - 1966-12-28 [ 4 Links ]
E16 - The Girl from the Green Dimension - 1967-01-04 [ 4 Links ]
E17 - The Questing Beast - 1967-01-11 [ 4 Links ]
E18 - The Toymaker - 1967-01-25 [ 4 Links ]
E19 - Mutiny in Space - 1967-02-01 [ 4 Links ]
E20 - The Space Vikings - 1967-02-08 [ 3 Links ]
E21 - Rocket to Earth - 1967-02-15 [ 4 Links ]
E22 - The Cave of the Wizards - 1967-02-22 [ 4 Links ]
E23 - Treasure of the Lost Planet - 1967-03-01 [ 4 Links ]
E24 - Revolt of the Androids - 1967-03-08 [ 4 Links ]
E25 - The Colonists - 1967-03-15 [ 4 Links ]
E26 - Trip Through the Robot - 1967-03-22 [ 4 Links ]
E27 - The Phantom Family - 1967-03-29 [ 4 Links ]
E28 - The Mechanical Men - 1967-04-05 [ 4 Links ]
E29 - The Astral Traveler - 1967-04-12 [ 3 Links ]
E30 - The Galaxy Gift - 1967-04-26 [ 5 Links ]
► Season 3 - Click for episodes
E1 - Condemned of Space - 1967-09-06 [ 4 Links ]
E2 - Visit to a Hostile Planet - 1967-09-13 [ 4 Links ]
E3 - Kidnapped in Space - 1967-09-20 [ 4 Links ]
E4 - Hunter's Moon - 1967-09-27 [ 4 Links ]
E5 - The Space Primevals - 1967-10-04 [ 4 Links ]
E6 - Space Destructors - 1967-10-11 [ 4 Links ]
E7 - The Haunted Lighthouse - 1967-10-18 [ 4 Links ]
E8 - Flight into the Future - 1967-10-25 [ 4 Links ]
E9 - Collision of Planets - 1967-11-08 [ 4 Links ]
E10 - Space Creature - 1967-11-15 [ 4 Links ]
E11 - Deadliest of the Species - 1967-11-22 [ 4 Links ]
E12 - A Day at the Zoo - 1967-11-29 [ 4 Links ]
E13 - Two Weeks in Space - 1967-12-13 [ 3 Links ]
E14 - Castles in Space - 1967-12-20 [ 1 Links ]
E15 - The Anti-Matter Man - 1967-12-27 [ 1 Links ]
E16 - Target Earth - 1968-01-03 [ 4 Links ]
E17 - Princess of Space - 1968-01-10 [ 4 Links ]
E18 - The Time Merchant - 1968-01-17 [ 4 Links ]
E19 - The Promised Planet - 1968-01-24 [ 4 Links ]
E20 - Fugitives in Space - 1968-01-31 [ 4 Links ]
E21 - Space Beauty - 1968-02-14 [ 3 Links ]
E22 - The Flaming Planet - 1968-02-21 [ 4 Links ]
E23 - The Great Vegetable Rebellion - 1968-02-28 [ 4 Links ]
E24 - Junkyard in Space - 1968-03-06 [ 4 Links ]
 
I think the third season theme is the best! It projects a lot more excitement and energy than the quirky sounds of the original theme.
 
TV show information provided by The Movie Database

Similar threads

Lost in Space (Netflix reboot, 2018)
    • Like
Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Drama
Creator: Irwin Allen, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless
First aired: 2018-04-13
2 3
Replies
41
Views
5K
Back
Top