Blast-Off Into Space

I have been a die-hard fan of Lost In Space nearly my whole life. The show began airing when I was only five years old. It gripped my imagination and never let go. To me it has a magic to it that no other TV series does. There were many very remarkable TV shows airing at the same time. Irwin Allen produced three other series during this period (Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, The Time Tunnel and Land Of The Giants), which I also was an enthusiastic fan of. And, of course, there was the original Star Trek, another favorite. The Invaders, which is now largely forgotten, was another compelling series. And the Gerry Anderson Supermarionation efforts were a true joy. Beyond science fiction there were amazing adventures to be shared with the men from U.N.C.L.E., the agents on I Spy, John Steed and Mrs. Peel, and the Mission: Impossible team. And the high-camp pop art wonder of the Batman series was something else! I watched all of these series and loved them (still do). It was a fantastic era that pop culture will never produce again. It was the collision of innocent optimism and the switched-on era. After it was over we had landed on the moon and had only the burnt-out flash of the seventies and years of unsatisfying irony to look forward to. But through the 60s it was quite a ride. I feel blessed to have been alive at that moment and experience it all at that age. It was quite a gift.

So why was Lost In Space top of the heap for me? So many reasons, but one clue is that it was a perfect fit for me: it portrayed the adventures of a boy with two older sisters (just like me). And it portrayed space-faring adventures within reach as the space race unfolded before us. Why, kids my age knew they’d be grown-ups by the time the future predicted in Lost In Space came around. So there you have it: a tangible fantasy. The whole enterprise seems as if it is fashioned from the dreams of a child, yet mounted with skill and wit.

I mourned the cancellation of Lost In Space when it came to pass. I missed the show and was happy when it reappeared in syndication, running afternoons on local channel WAVY-TV10 beginning in 1972. During the reruns the Robot made an appearance at the station for a telethon, prompting me to pester my parents to drive to downtown Norfolk to get a glimpse of our cybernetic pal. Watching the reruns kept my enthusiasm alive.

As a fan in the 1970s I had to endure the intolerance of the Star Trek fans for Lost In Space. They seemed to enjoy trashing anything that wasn’t Star Trek. When Space: 1999 premiered in 1975 it was equally hated by the Trekkies. I was puzzled and dismayed by the reaction. I considered myself an original Trek fan, which made their behavior all the more mystifying to me. I now understand that it was a cultish phenomenon that has thankfully dissipated in the ensuing years. I rarely meet a Trek fan these days that has an unkind word to say about Lost In Space and other great shows. Maybe it’s a different crowd, maybe they just grew up a bit.

So… I began this blog as a catch-all for my personal relationship with this great show. I plan on including my memories of the series, the toys and artifacts that it inspired, the people I’ve met through my devotion to the series, and my opinions on all aspects of what it means to enjoy this classic fantasy concoction.