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The Lost in Space Dilemma
I have never watched the original TV show, though I recognize the robot. I saw the movie from 1998 with William Hurt, and am currently on season two of the Netflix series. In both the movie and the recent series, there is a character: Doctor Smith. Smith is a bad guy (or gal, in the series). In both, Smith hitched a ride with the Robinson’s, and alternatively helps or hinders the merry band, depending on his (or her) needs. Both characters are clearly one episode short of a full season, if you know what I mean. Well, I mean they both seem pretty nutso.
So here is the dilemma: what do you do with Smith?
Clearly, he only cares about his own needs and is capable of great harm. At the same time, Smith has been at times quite helpful. But when there is no immediate need for Smith, he begins again working his way in to the heads of the family.
What would you do? Lock smith up, and bring him out when necessary? Leave him behind somewhere? Kill him? I think they should have just offed Smith from the beginning (in both story lines). But…morals…
Published in General
Well, it’s fiction, so killing Smith seems in order. It would hurt the plot, though, as the show probably needs a bad guy. Since it’s a space story, spacing him though an airlock would be the standard method.
If it were real life, it would depend on precisely what Smith did. I don’t recall the original series well, and I found myself unable to exercise WSOD past the first 3 minutes of episode 2 of the Netflix version. (WSOD is the willing suspension of disbelief, as I was taught by Mr. Wykoff, a fine English teacher, back in high school.)
If I were in a hypothetical situation of a catastrophe in which my family’s life was genuinely in danger, and some guy risked everyone’s life through sabotage or other malicious action, I’d probably kill him on the second offense. We would have to be talking about very extreme circumstances that are extraordinarily unlikely in real life, like surviving a plane crash or shipwreck.
Situational, in real life it would depend on weighing what Smith brings to harm s/he does. Spacing is an option. Given there is family involved then an “accident” might need to be arranged.
I’ve never seen the movie or the Netflix series, so I can’t comment on those.
(Checking the trailer on YouTube, oh it looks dreadful.)
But the original TV series was awesome.
Neither Dr. Smith nor the robot were in the pilot for the original series, they were added as the original series started up. And they were completely responsible its success.
Check this out:
The first season wasn’t dreadful, but it wasn’t good. The second season, I was told, is better. So I’m a couple of episodes in. It’s entertaining, is all I can really say.
That’s where I’m at.
In the Netflix series, John Robinson, the dad, is an ex-Navy seal fresh of deployment. It is hard for me to imagine him not at the very least leaving Smith on a deserted planet or something, especially when it is his kids at stake. But as you suggest, the plot needs a villain.
During the first dozen or so episodes of “Lost In Space”, Harris played up the creepy/scheming factor in the Dr. Smith character. But Harris also came to the series off “The Bill Dana Show”, and was able to successfully lobby Irwin Allen to make his character less menacing and more over-the-top funny by the time Season 1 was over (whether or not he was less creepy depends on how you view Smith’s relationship with young Will Robinson — in the more cynical, snarky times that followed, June Lockhart’s character probably would have killed him, let alone Guy Williams’ one, for the wanna-be child molester inferences).
Harris talked about how he got Allen to allow him to rework the role of Smith in connection with creating a foil for him with Dick Tufeld’s robot as the seasons went on. But they also meant the show was far more geared towards kids and the plots became far more farcical as time went on (“Carrot Man“, anyone?). But in the end, it wasn’t just John Williams and his music that migrated over on the 20th Centry Fox lot from “Lost In Space” to “Star Wars” after the show ended — George Lucas’ personality for C3PO borrowed heavily from Harris’ comedic stylings as a flamboyant coward on the TV show.
I’m a huge fan of the rule of law, justice, mercy, compassion, and due process. I think everyone is fallible, people make mistakes, redemption is possible, and folks deserve the benefit of the doubt.
On the other hand…
If I were a dad lost in space with his family and living on the precarious edge, the good doctor would wake up dead day one. No question.
I think Smith should be encouraged to run for President as a Democrat.
There’s a sort of spectrum of over-the-top comic villany, with Eddie Haskell as the most comic side, with a touch of smarmy out-for-himself obnoxiousness, and Count Baltar (from the 1978-79 version of “Battlestar Galactica”) at the other end, the greatest traitor in the history of mankind but with a streak of hammy, clueless haughtiness that became funny. Dr. Zachary Smith falls midway on the spectrum. He’s too much of a sniveling coward to attempt anything really evil after the first episodes. It’s always a surprise for people seeing those first episodes: they had no idea there was ever a time when Dr. Smith wasn’t played for laughs.
I liked Mad Magazine’s version of him in “Loused Up in Space”: “An abandoned planet! We could build an entire city…and then steal everything in it!”
How would you do it? Like how would you actually kill Smith? By what method?
What if your wife said “No, we can’t be that. We just can’t.” How would you convince her otherwise? Or would you?
How would you explain the decision to your kids?
I think I would space him and tell the kids he went to live on a farm.
I remember the show from my pre-teen days. It was only later that I realized Dr. Smith made Paul Lynde look more macho than Chuck Norris in comparison.
I was always interested in the possible link between Forbidden Planet‘s Robby the Robot and robot on the original Lost in Space. Robby may have been the inspiration for the TV show. Here they are:
Of course, I was also interested in Forbidden Planet‘s Anne Francis.
Several of our distinguished colleagues have suggested a strongly worded invitation to visit the airlock, followed by a tap of the Hava Tasta Space button. Hard to see how to improve on that; neat, clean, leaves no trace. In the (old) TV show, Commander Robinson was also a military officer. As a military wife, his lovely bride would be more-than-accustomed to the idea that hubby might have to kill someone. The conversation would be short: “I believe Smith is trying to kill us and the children”.
The kids are a slightly tougher case. The teenage girl would go along with anything her handsome boyfriend said, and he was Smith’s biggest enemy on board. The little kids would have to be told that Dr. Smith was really evil, and he had to be dealt with.
The score was by John Williams too.
There’s a certain point where the possibility of one bad act – or “mistake” – being the last for EVERYONE, has to take precedence.
I’m reminded that early in “Patriot Games” wife played by Anne Archer didn’t want husband played by Harrison Ford to be involved in that “icky” security stuff.
Then she and their daughter were injured, almost killed.
Suddenly is was okay for hubby to be mean. After it was almost too late. After her previous appeasement almost got them killed.
Wives/etc should get smarter, earlier.
From the first episode of (Gene Roddenberry’s) “Andromeda:”
Gary, I hesitate to correct you, but Dr. John Robinson was a scientist. Major West, the pilot, was the military officer. Service unspecified. Maureen Robinson, aka Timmy’s mom, was also a Doctor of something. Biology?
Steve, I stand corrected! One thing I was always curious about: The comic book released in advance of the show was called “Space Family Robinson”, which is a logical enough, if not obvious title of the show, and I’d bet the reason they’re named Robinson. But for reasons unknown, they changed it to “Lost in Space”.
Well, Penny Robinson already had dealt with Uncle Toonose for seven years. She would have understood….
When said I remembered the robot from the original who, I lied. It’s Robby the Robot I remember. Both shows were before my time.
There are wiki articles and stuff about that. Different ownership/licensings, etc.
I kinda preferred the Space Family Robinson stuff, their ship was far more interesting, and more ‘realistic’ too: the Jupiter 2 in the series wasn’t nearly big enough to hold the Chariot and all the other stuff they used. But the Space Family Robinson ship would have been pretty difficult to present on TV, especially at that time.
I just finished watching season 2 of the new series. Dr. Smith is apparently killed trying to protect the mother ship Resolute from alien robot attack, but if there is a season 3, I think she will be back.
I expect they’ll find a way. If they need help, they can bring in the “creative team”/”writers” that have made Discovery such awful crap.
Gollum.
I remember early reviews of the Netflix show that suggested the mother was a hectoring “Moms Demand Action” harpy. Did the anti-gun wokeness go away?
The idea was that they were building a new Utopia from scratch. Maureen didn’t see guns as part of that world. John didn’t agree. But Woke did not win over Reality in this argument.
Smith: In the first season the terror of Smith was that the only way you would obviously know that she was The Villain is if you know that you’re living in a TV show. We know things the characters don’t. Nobody has all the pieces to the puzzle. Smith is a master manipulator. We’ve actually known people like this and they are the worst. Once it becomes apparent to all who she is she is treated accordingly. Short of getting summarily offed. They’re not that kind of family and it’s not that kind of show. This isn’t The Expanse.
Second season it becomes a little more complicated. There’s really only one moment where she’s able to maneuver her way out of that just shouldn’t have worked.
I love this show to death. I just have to stick a sock in my mouth sometimes to keep from shouting “ORBITS DON’T WORK LIKE THAT!” It’s also stupendously pretty.
My little boyhood best friend was obsessed with Dr. Smith. Lost in Space was his favorite show and Dr. Smith was his hero. He was also fascinated with politics, and (in young adulthood) made several attempts to make it in Gay San Francisco politics. He tried religious swindles. He tried “sex work” but aged out of it. He eventually found a modicum of success as San Francisco’s only gay pest controller, but was put out of business for poor poison record keeping. What kind of person has Dr. Smith for a boyhood hero? I have thought about that ever since the show was in production.
I know the year has just begun, but I’d like to nominate the above as “Best Ricochet Sentence of 2020.”