Lost in Space, I always thought it would be a good show to reboot and was excited when Netflix decided to do just that. After all, it’s been over 50 years since the original series premiered on TV. And now, after three seasons the reboot of Lost in Space has come to an end and I’m already sad. I have loved this show since the beginning. Of course, I love the original having grown up watching it on syndication just like the original Star Trek series. But I consider the Netflix series the one true reboot of Lost in Space. Even though there was a movie that came out in 1998, it just never captured the essence of the original show. The storytelling in Lost in Space was better suited for a TV series or a streaming Series in this case. I’ll just go ahead and tell you that it ended perfectly. While I’m sad that it only lasted 3 Seasons and 28 episodes, it was well done and one of the most underrated shows on Netflix. At its heart, Lost in Space is a story about a family coming together to beat the odds when it comes to survival as they’re trying to find a new home. I have very few complaints of the way Netflix did this story even having new takes on the robot and my favorite character, Dr. Smith. Of course, they changed that character to a woman starring Parker Posey, but she was brilliant. She was just as brilliant as Jonathan Harris who played the original Dr. Smith. But the whole show has been great as it has shown the Robinsons struggling day in and day out while getting lost from the rest of the party going to Alpha Centauri, therefore, getting lost in space. Molly Parker and Toby Stephens were fantastic as John and Maureen Robinson. Now I can’t say that I liked the casting for the Robinson kids, but they definitely grow on you as the series progresses and really come into their own by season 3. In fact, season 3 really focuses on how the kids have grown and taking on more responsibility. Season 3 starts out with all of the kids being separated from their parents and having their own little colony for an entire year while having to rely on each other without their brilliant parents to help them.

The main theme in season 3 is self-reliance because the Robinsons are split apart. But we also delve deeper into the story of why the robots have a connection to Will Robinson and what drastic actions he’s willing to take in order to save the entire Colony that’s going to Alpha Centauri. All the questions that we’ve had as an audience about the true intentions of these robots do get answered and while I’m not going to give away any spoilers, I will say that they’re not much different than humanity when it comes to choice and free will. I’ll just leave it there. I always thought it was interesting that you had the character of Judy Robinson being adopted and that her origin was different from the original series when they cast a young African American actress by the name of Taylor Russell who audiences have gotten to know with the Escape Room movies. But it is in season 3 that we meet her real father and find out her true backstory. Everything comes full circle not only for her character, but her real father’s connection to the entire story. Again, I won’t give any spoilers. I think the writers and producers set out to have a very clear story that didn’t involve “Jumping the Shark” like too many popular streaming or TV series tend to do by keeping it on too long just because it’s popular. You can honestly say that Netflix’s Lost in Space is really just a three-act story where it’s the parents having to teach their kids how to survive in the first season and then all hell breaks loose for everybody in the second season, while the third season is about the kids taking their own destiny by the reins and becoming the saviors of the entire colony so to speak. However, the heart of the story has always been how the Robinsons can overcome all of these obstacles to accomplish their mission.

I honestly can’t find much fault with the reboot. Not only were the visuals and cinematography fantastic, the casting was almost perfect in a lot of ways. I didn’t always like the kids in the beginning of the series and one of the complaints I’ve always had was they dealt with childish squabbles, but that’s also common among teenagers and the intensity of those squabbles would certainly increase when their circumstances become more dangerous as they fight for survival. It just became annoying at times. Obviously, the actors playing the kids weren’t too strong of actors or as seasoned as the adults. By the time we get to season 3 and we see them coming into their own, their characters grow on you, and I think that’s the point. So, my critique is only minor, but it can ruin the pacing of the first two seasons. Season 3 was cut down to 8 episodes as to not drag out the climax of the story and it worked brilliantly. I felt like season 3 flew by and wrapped up all of the loose ends to give us a very clear ending to the story of Lost in Space. Obviously, there’s more story to tell with the Robinsons, but those stories aren’t really about being lost in space. Sometimes TV shows have a tendency to drag things out without giving the audience the proper closure. Sometimes a shortened last season is a good thing. As I said before, things really do come full circle in the last season. Now it may seem that they’re trying to cram a lot in the last eight episodes. That may be true to an extent, but it made the story better.

Overall, the reboot of Lost in Space is spectacular. While different from the original TV show, the new version of the robot was brilliant for this series, and changing the character of Dr. Smith definitely worked for the new one. Parker Posey will probably not get enough credit and obviously she can’t replace the charisma of Jonathan Harris from the original series, but she should be commended for her own take on the character. Even Ignacio Serricchio’s portrayal of Major Don West, I think is an improvement over the original character. They made the character more of a Han Solo type which made this character a lot of fun. The character was often overshadowed in the original series and Matt LeBlanc, tried his best in the movie, but he never really captured the potential of what this character could be. This new version of Lost in Space definitely did that. I mean having Don West be a brilliant engineer, pilot, smuggler, and accidental hero just made the character more interesting. And if you have a Han Solo type character in your Sci-Fi series, that makes the series a lot better. In only three seasons, Lost in Space has a very fitting and perfectly constructed conclusion to the overall story. Maybe you only need 28 good episodes to tell a great sci-fi story. At least that’s true when it comes to this show. It’s not perfect, but I do think it’s close without ruining the charm of the original series. Lost in Space is one of the best series that Netflix has ever been produced and it may never get the credit it deserves considering there are more popular series on Netflix. But if you are a fan of the original series then you should definitely check it out and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Also, if you’re like me, you’ll geek out a little bit the first time you hear “danger Will Robinson!”