Lost and Found
The First Family of Sci-Fi Finds New Life

In 1965, Irwin Allen (creator of television's "The Time Tunnel" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea") had an idea of telling the story of the Swiss Family Robinson in a science fiction setting. The working title for this story was "Space Family Robinson," but it became better known as "Lost in Space". In its three year stint on television, the show became notorious for its campy dialog and horrible special effects. This weekend, Lost in Space hyperspaced its way into theaters with an entertaining story that honors rather than mocks the original.

While the original television show depicted an idealized family of the 1950s living in the far futre, so Lost in Space (the movie) has taken an idealized family of the 1990s and placed them aboard the Jupiter 2. All families today should be so well-adjusted. Mom, Dad, and older sister, Judy, are all doctors. Penny is a typical pre-adolescent dealing with the trauma of leaving her world behind. Will (Jack Johnson) is a robotics prodigy whose biggest problem in life is a lack of attention from his father. Yes, the family has its squabbles, but they still are a model representation of a nuclear family.

The story is classic science fiction. Faced with an Earth environment which will be unable to support life in 20 years, Dr. John Robinson (played by the brooding William Hurt) is going to travel (with his family) to another world. Once there, the Robinsons hope to help build a "hypergate" by which the rest of Earth can instantaneously travel to their new home. Waring rebels on Earth have murdered the pilot of the Jupiter Mission, forcing Dr. Robinson to choose a new, hot-shot flyer named Major Don West (played by Matt LeBlanc).

When the family physician, Dr. Zachary Smith (Gary Oldman) is bribed by the bad guys to sabotage the ship, he gets stuck on board. When he realizes he cannot stop the destruction, he awakens the cryogenically frozen Robinson family to assist him. While they manage to stop the rampaging Robot, they find the Jupiter 2 hurling toward the sun. Their only hope is to activate the hyperdrive which (without a gate to lock on) will hurl them at random around the universe. Before you can say "Danger, Will Robinson!" the family is hip-deep in aliens and trouble.

The performances by the cast are all fine, but Hurt has the benefit of having a character with depth. John Robinson's struggle to save the planet and still be a father to his children makes him wonderfully human. Hurt does an excellent job of making the audience believe in him and empathize with his plight. Oldman is over the top as Dr. Smith. His delightfully evil persona seems to ooze through his pores and he prevents his character from becoming silly.

Mimi Rogers plays Maureen Robinson, the matriarch who struggles to raise the children without much help from her husband. While she makes excuses to her children for his absence, she berates him for putting his work ahead of the family. Through it all, however, Rogers lets us see that love is the underlying emotion for her actions. Heather Graham manages well as the only adult child of the Robinsons. As Judy, she is daughter, sister, and love interest to Maj. West. Graham handles all these facets well and makes her character believable.

Penny (Lacey Chabert), in my opinion, is the most overlooked member of the cast. Her screentime is a gem. The girl is so typical in her adolescent angst that one immediately identifies with her. She is an unwilling participant in the Jupiter Mission and the apparent underdog. One hopes she will adjust, learn to cope, and find a way to fit in. Unfortunately, Lost in Space is a guy movie and she soon gets lost in story.

The special effects used in Lost in Space are wonderful. Most notable are the effects surrounding the technology in the spaceship and the spaceflight sequences. The animated alien "Blawp" which Penny befriends looks more like an animated muppet than a living thing. Its animated form becomes distracting, making it seem less real.

Perhaps my biggest disappointment was in the Robot. If you've seen the previews (or a Long John Silver's commercial), you've probably noticed the new and improved Robot: sleek, red and metallic blue, track wheels, and two swiveling mechanized arms. This is a cool robot. In a major mistake for the sake of nostalgia, this robot gets destroyed and replaced with a 90s version of the old Robot from the series which looks just plain silly.

The nature of the Lost in Space storyline lends itself to episodic television. Every week the Robinsons go somewhere new, every week they still end up far from home. In the cinema, this movie has great potential for sequels, provided that an audience can be found. Rumor has it that the entire cast is contracted for two sequels if the first does well. Considering it is an April release, New Line Cinema must not think it can compete with the summer blockbutsers.

With the exception of some mild profanity and sexual innuendo, Lost in Space is a good, wholesome science fiction romp that kids will love (boys more than girls). For the SF fan, there is a cameo by June Lockhart as Will's principal, and more than enough aliens and special effects to provide two hours of fun entertainment.

MY RATING: 7 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 130 min.