WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the reboot of Lost in Space, steaming now on Netflix.
The premise and character names are the same, but Netflix's new reimagining of Lost in Space differs significantly in tone -- and budget -- from Irwin Allen's 1960s sci-fi classic. Sure, the Robinsons are still marooned on an unknown planet while on a journey to colonize a new world, but the stakes seem higher, the conflicts more personal, and the family less forgiving of Dr. Smith's "antics," if that word can even begin to describe her manipulations and actions.
However, in its extensive reworking of the concept, this new reboot hasn't forgotten its roots. The Robinsons are definitely updated, yet remain recognizable, and Dr. Smith, although here a woman, is still scheming if more dangerous. Beyond that, though, Netflix's Lost in Space clearly has a fondness for the original series, and pays tribute to it in several ways, some obvious but others far less so.
The Classic Theme
Although Christopher Lennertz composed a new theme for Netflix's reboot, he incorporated elements from John Williams' original, written for the third and final season of the 1960s classic. Now renowned for his iconic film scores for such films as Jaws, Star Wars and Jurassic Park, Williams, then credited as "Johnny Williams," composed the more otherworldly theme used for Lost in Space's first two seasons, and then revised it for the third.
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“It was such an honor to be able to incorporate such a classic melody from the man who made me fall in love with film music from the very beginning," Lennertz told Entertainment Weekly. That familiar melody returns throughout the first season of the Netflix reimagining, used to punctuate scenes of triumph, and in the closing credits.
'No Place to Hide'
It's not a tribute in the strictest sense, but you'll notice the credits for the Netflix premiere, "Based on Lost in Space 'No Place to Hide,'" a reference to the unaired pilot for the original series. Using theme music from the film The Day the Earth Stood Still, the 1965 episode introduced the Robinsons and Don West, traveling in suspended animation aboard the Gemini 12, on a nearly century-long journey to Alpha Centauri. However, en route the ship encounters a meteor storm and crashes on a planet light years from their destination. The name of the vessel and the length of the Robinsons' journey would change by the time Lost in Space actually aired, but the most significant difference is that the pilot didn't feature Dr. Smith or Robot.
There are similarities between plot of "No Place to Hide" and that of the Netflix pilot, beyond the general premise: In both, the family has to contend with rapidly dropping temperatures in the region where they crashed, but in the latter there's no giant cyclops to evade.
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Bill Mumy
Bill Mumy, who originated the role of child prodigy Will Robinson in the 1960s television series, returns for a crucial cameo in Netflix's reimagining as ... Dr. Smith. That is, the actual physician whose identity Parker Posey's mysterious characters steals when she takes his jacket while aboard the damaged The Resolute, the massive ship ferrying colonists to Alpha Centuari.
Mumy appears only briefly in the chaotic closing moments of the premiere episode, and it's possible viewers may not initially recognize him. However, he crops up again twice in subsequent episodes, in photographs, allowing recognition to finally set in.
Tam Soderquist
The name of Don West's fellow mechanic aboard The Resolute is a deep cut. Played by AnnaMaria Demara, Tam Soderquist takes her name from two sources: The first is the Gold Key Comics series Space Family Robinson, which actually predates the original Lost in Space by a few years. In the long-running sci-fi comic, scientists Craig and June Robinson live with their teen children Tim and Tam aboard Space Station One, which is hurled far from Earth by a cosmic storm. Both works were loosely based on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, about a family shipwrecked in the East Indies.
The character's surname, Soderquist, is actually a tribute to original Judy Robinson actress Marta Kristen, who was born Birgit Annalisa Rusanen in Norway and then adopted as a child by the Soderquists, an American couple.
Debbie
The Jupiter 18 carrying Don West (Ignacio Serricchio), Tam Soderquist and Dr. Smith crashes on the planet's surface, only to reveal another passenger: a little red hen that, for all of Don's bluster, he refuses to leave behind. (Presumably there are other animals aboard some of the other Jupiters, but we don't see them.) Naming her Debbie, Don places the chicken securely within his backpack, and sets off with Dr. Smith in search of more surviving colonists.
The hen's name is a nod to Debbie the Bloop, the chimpanzee-like alien creature from the 1965 Lost in Space discovered by Don in the Season 1 episode "Island in the Sky," and given to Penny Robinson as a pet. Referred to as "the Bloop" because of the only sound she made, the original Debbie was played by Judy the chimpanzee of Daktari fame, wearing a headpiece.
'Dr. Smith's' Real Name
Willing to go to almost any lengths to ensure her own survival, Parker Posey's character is a liar and manipulator whose backstory slowly unfolds over the course of Lost in Space's first season. Although the audience is aware she's not actually Dr. Smith, but merely someone with a shady past who assumed his identity, the realization that this seemingly caring psychiatrist isn't what she appears comes more slowly to the marooned colonists.
As her past and motivations come into focus, we also learn "Dr. Smith's" real name: June Harris, an homage to two of the stars of the classic Lost in Space, June Lockhart, who played Dr. Maureen Robinson, and the late Jonathan Harris, who portrayed Dr. Zachary Smith.
Steaming now on Netflix, the 10-episode first season of Lost in Space stars Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, Maxwell Jenkins, Taylor Russell, Mina Sundwall, Ignacio Serricchio and Parker Posey.