NETFLIX "LOST IN SPACE" Reboot News...

[emeraldknight47]

I love NETFLIX by and large. Being able to binge watch shows whenever I want to is great. The stuff they've done with MARVEL's characters is great. Hell, they brought us into the world of The Duffer Bros. "STRANGER THINGS," for which I will be eternally greatful.

That all being said, I was tickled poopless when I heard they were doing a reboot of LOST IN SPACE and was hoping that, with all of the successes they've had, that we would get a new LOST IN SPACE to love.

Then they just dropped this bomb; they've given the role of Dr. Smith to---PARKER POSEY?!?

WTH?

Don't get me wrong; she's a decent enough actress and I've enjoyed her in a number of projects, but she doesn't seem like a good fit for Dr. Smith. Not to sound sexist, but I don't think ANY woman would be a good fit for Dr. Smith. It is, IMHO, a recasting that smacks of political correctness and trendiness. Gary Oldman's take on the good doctor in the '98 film (the best thing about that undertaking, though, surprisingly, Matt LeBlanc did OK as Don West) was just about perfect, a good reworking of Jonathan Harris' portrayal of Smith (he has one of my fave lines from a movie: "Trust me, Major. Evil knows evil.")

I guess I'm too old and too set in my ways to see Dr. Smith as a woman.

Opinions and thought appreciated, as usual...

[Nostalgiabuff]

I had the same reaction as you. I will still give it a go but it really irks me when thy do this stuff. I mean what's next, are we going to see the next reboot of Trek will have a female as Cpt. Kirk?

[Nostalgiabuff]

for the record, I thought the movie version did a fantastic job of making the two female characters as strong and perfectly capable of holding their own, instead of just being damsels in distress

[palitoy]

Johnathan Harris was pretty effeminate and he was never physically intimidating. His evil Dr Smith was mostly sneaky, camp Dr Smith was well, pretty over the top.

I don't really see a big issue. I like Posey and she certainly has the chops to pull this off, why not wait and see? She's one of the good parts of Blade Trinity.

I'm sure below me will follow a string of "complaints about PC Culture" but have you ever thought they're just trying to make it interesting?

[PNGwynne]

The thing is, IMO season 1 Dr. Smith is the engaging version. I'm a great fan of Harris but I can't say I'm much a fan of LIS. Too, the film faltered badly IMO, although Oldman gave it a good try, the best that could be expected under the circumstances. I don't have enough buy-in to be upset by this. Casting another arch British actor could be done (and I'm not dead-set against that, theatre actors are perfect for Smith) but it seems like it would be another rehash.

I will say that I've been following Parker Posey's career since "Party Girl" and I'm a fan, I think she can totally pull this off. It's not the end of the world, we still have reruns. I refuse to be upset by non-traditional and diverse casting if it serves the character and story well. It's not only or intrinsically "PC demographic marketing." Look what a departure the Battlestar: Galactica remake was, and that show was acclaimed & embraced. Likewise the Star-Trek spin-offs.

[pmwasson]

The casting sounds good to me. Can't wait to see their take on it.

[Mikey]

I don't mind a female Dr Smith but not sure I like Posey.

Smith is a child in aa adult's body and I don't know if Posey could pull it off

I would rather see somebody like Molly Shannon.

I think one of the many reasons the movie failed was they totally miscast Dr Smith.

[Hector]

I friggin adore Parker Posey...I lover her in some of the Christopher Guest's mockumentaries like Best in Show and a Mighty Wind...the queen of the Indies...she would make a great female Dr Smith...I'm all in.

I just hope to God they cast an awesome child actor to play Will Robinson...nobody will ever match Bill Mumy...but that kid in the movie version sucked...please...cast a good one, please...

[thunderbolt]

Hey, maybe they can get Chandler Riggs for will.

I friggin adore Parker Posey...I lover her in some of the Christopher Guest's mockumentaries like Best in Show and a Mighty Wind...the queen of the Indies...she would make a great female Dr Smith...I'm all in.

I just hope to God they cast an awesome child actor to play Will Robinson...nobody will ever match Bill Mumy...but that kid in the movie version sucked...please...cast a good one, please...

[Hector]

Hey, maybe they can get Chandler Riggs for will.

[emeraldknight47]

I friggin adore Parker Posey...I lover her in some of the Christopher Guest's mockumentaries like Best in Show and a Mighty Wind...the queen of the Indies...she would make a great female Dr Smith...I'm all in.

I just hope to God they cast an awesome child actor to play Will Robinson...nobody will ever match Bill Mumy...but that kid in the movie version sucked...please...cast a good one, please...

Or perhaps they can CGI Tom Welling back into being a child so he can play Will Robinson!

[hedrap]

Kelsey Grammer is the perfect Dr. Smith....

[The Bat]

I have absolutely no problem with the casting of Parker Posey as Dr. Smith. I'll be checking out this show.

[MIB41]

I think Lost in Space is very much a period piece and a snap shot of the sensibilities of a different era. It's also a show that essentially developed two identities. What it originally started out to be, evolved into a treatment follower once Batman became such a OTT hit. So a straight ahead sci-fi drama filmed in black and white, suddenly became a colorful (and comedic) excursion into the surprisingly cozy unknown where costume actors could virtually wear paper mache-like heads as long as they were psychedelic.So depending on which season someone was introduced to the series, largely weighs on what they think about the show in it's entirety.

So it's with this very diverse base that you have a extremely niche market to try and build a Netflix show around. I'll certainly give it a look. Anything that caters to this license certainly deserves a chance, but I'm less than enamored with what I've read thus far. It's completely understandable why fans would want someone closer to the popular profile of Dr. Smith since he was one of the most iconic characters of the show. For me, it has nothing to do with a general attitude about gender in roles, so much as where gender change could become problematic in finding the core of what made that original character work. Hollywood has a bad problem with inserting stereotype motivations with gender and a Dr. Smith that suddenly uses her gender as a tool to manipulate surrounding characters is straying from the source material.

I think you find more fertile ground to explore social themes if you place the show in the period it was created and let the material virtually write itself. When you have to force feed change into iconic characters, I think the writers are not understanding the charm which has allowed the show to endure for so many decades. This IS a character driven show, not just any family in space. It's a show with a 50's style conservative profile of family values and social sensibilities that often include lesson lectures at the end.

John Robinson is the head of the family with that "Father knows best" meets "Capt Kirk" meets 'Little House on the Prairie" morality play. He sets the standard from which Dr. Smith contrasts in such dramatic fashion by being a unethical weasel who prays on the innocence of the kids to cover up his unwavering pride in being a coward. Will is the dotting son who wants to make his dad proud, but too often gets himself in trouble because of his incessant curiosity to understand how everything works. Maureen Robinson is the proud wife and mother who lives to care for and protect her family whether it means washing clothes or picking up a laser rifle. Penny is that inquisitive little daddy's girl who is the female equivalent of Will who, for those reasons, always finds herself in constant competition with her brother. Don West is the classic pilot with James Dean-like looks that screams every inappropriate thought that can be conceived by the Robinson's oldest daughter Judy. And in the middle of all this you have a robot with even MORE personality looking for his place in this family network.THIS is the show. The gadgetry, campy monsters, and wobbly space ship is the environment they operate in.

So it's my initial thinking that the dynamic is once again getting lost on this idea of "today's family" in space with new effects to wow modern audiences. Like the movie, that would be missing the point. Lost in Space is the story of THIS family on that journey. Just like the re-imagined Star Trek, those most iconic characters must be attuned to what came before. So if they want to tell the story of the Robinsons in space with Dr. Smith, then tell the story everyone knows like they're doing with Star Trek. If the people making this project are somehow ashamed of the original property then make their own space adventure and call it something else.

[PNGwynne]

Posey is a character actor, I've no worries there. If her Dr. Smith is written as one-dimensional femme fatale, I'll be somewhat disappointed. But, as I said earlier, I think she can totally play an arch, sarcastic, and sinister Smith.