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Post by OdanUrr on Apr 14, 2018 10:08:37 GMT -6
 Pretty good so far. EDIT: Finished it. Had a really good time too. It may be overly sentimental at times for some people, as the show explores a lot of the Robinson family drama, and it is sometimes slightly undercut by the scenes that follow said drama, but it did the trick for me. The Robinsons' don't start their trip to Alpha Centauri in the best of places, their parents being estranged due to the father's long absences fighting in some war. This sets up John's, and to some extent Maureen's, arc about reconnecting with his family. It doesn't particularly help that his son, Will, quickly looks to his new robot friend as his guardian. If I had to pick my favourite from the children, it would've to be Penny. You can always count on her to lighten the mood and defuse tense situations through her commentary and quips, not to mention she is one resourceful teen! Then again, all of the Robinson kids are pretty smart and resourceful (even before they were selected for Earth's new colony), even though they can make some really poor decisions at times (some of these are forgivable, others...). It took me a while for Maureen to grow on me given how much of a hard time she gives John at the beginning and, while this may be justified to some extent, I don't think the show did a good enough job showing us how John's long absences affected his wife and kids. I won't spoil it here but there's one particular conversation between John and Maureen that takes place during a flashback and, man, was it hard for me to sympathize with Maureen there. Speaking of her, she also makes an argument during a flashback about how they (not sure who 'they' are) are choosing only the best of humanity for the Alpha Centauri colony and suggests this will be a world that will know no war, suffering, greed, etc. (I'm paraphrasing here) I was a bit dumb-founded that someone so smart could make such a naive argument. Don (originally a pilot, now turned mechanic/smuggler) says it best, whatever you think you're leaving behind, you can't escape it, you're taking it with you. Frankly, I was surprised the manipulative "Dr. Smith" didn't plead such a case. Since we're here, let's talk about "Dr. Smith." I'm not spoiling anything by saying she's (yes, she's played by Parker Posey) the villain, a sociopath who only looks out for herself and will manipulate everyone to ensure her survival and, indeed, does so throughout these 10 episodes. Surprisingly, her devious manipulation and far-fetched schemes seem to work, if only because the script so demands, twisting events to go in a certain direction (just like the Joker's plan in The Dark Knight). She's a disturbing character, yes, but she's also a very disposable one. You could take her completely out of the show and you'd still have plenty of tension and drama from the survival story and the family conflict alone (sadly, she distracts too much from these better plots). I mean, this show is like watching a more family-friendly version of The Martian, spread out over 10 hours, only there are lots of scientists stuck alongside the Robinsons. It's a bit of a shame then that we don't see much by way of real, tangible, collaboration between them, with the Robinsons (understandably) taking most of the spotlight. Oh, well, at least we get to see Shang Tsung again. I think Dr. Smith would've worked better if they had modelled her after Stargate Universe's Dr. Nicholas Rush, played by Robert Carlyle, butting heads against Maureen due to their conflicting points of view on scientific matters and potential solutions to their predicaments (I suppose Victor Dhar's character is the closest to this). A few questions are answered by show's end, one in particular that I hadn't even cared to ask. Of course, we're also left with plenty of questions for a second season. One could even go so far as to argue that the real Lost in Space will start in Season 2. If so, I'd suggest they either ditch or re-write Dr. Smith as a character. I'd also suggest they balance their act between the Robinson family and the colonists, as I feel there's a lot of potential to the latter's story, especially given how this season ends, and I really would like to see some of them make a comeback (the Watanabe family for one). In the end, Lost in Space was a really good time and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it. |
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