.
Ohh the pain... Even though the show started getting silly in its
second season, LOST IN SPACE was always one of my childhood
favorites. Perhaps it was the fact that the villainous Dr. Zachary Smith
(brilliantly portrayed by Jonathan Harris) had been transformed into a
perfect comic delight, which made the show’s goofy excesses palatable.
Of course, I watched the show dutifully every day while growing up- after
all I couldn’t get enough of Dr. Smith’s antics, especially since he
found himself with a perfect comic foil in the character of the Robot
(voiced by Dick Tufeld and performed by Bob May), whom the good doctor
loved to insult, every time that so-called Bubble-Headed Booby
got the better of him.
For
those unfamiliar with LOST IN SPACE, the basic premise follows an
American family named Robinson that had been selected for a mission to
colonize a habitable planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. However, the Robinson’s
find themselves and their spacecraft, the Jupiter 2, hopelessly lost in
space, after a reluctant stowaway tries to sabotage their
mission. The cast of LOST IN SPACE also features Guy Williams as
Professor John Robinson, the mission leader and head of the clan, June
Lockhart is John’s wife Maureen and matriarch of the space family
Robinson, Mark Goddard is the Jupiter 2’s pilot Major Don West, Marta
Kristen is the eldest Robinson daughter Judy, Bill Mumy is Robinson’s
only son Will and Angela Cartwright is his sister Penny.
LOST
IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE ($40) comes to DVD in a four-disc set
that features the following sixteen episodes that were aired in the first
half of show’s sophomore year: Blast Off Into Space, Wild
Adventure, The Ghost Planet, Forbidden World,
Space Circus, The Prisoners Of Space, The
Android Machine, The Deadly Games Of Gamma 6, The
Thief From Outer Space, The Curse Of Cousin Smith, West
Of Mars, A Visit To Hades, The Wreck Of The
Robot, The Dream Monster, The Golden Man
and The Girl From The Green Dimension. There are more than a
few goofy episodes in this first batch from season two, but I’m kind of
partial to A Visit To Hades, The Wreck Of The Robot
and The Golden Man.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made all sixteen episodes that comprise
LOST IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE available on DVD in their
proper full screen aspect ratios. In general, the episodes produce a good
visual quality, although they never appear outstanding for a shot on film
television series from the 1960s. Of course, the season episodes two have
the benefit of being produced in color, whereas the preceding more
dramatic season was produced in black and white. Sharpness and detail seem
just fine, although some softness creeps in here and there. Colors seem
vibrant enough, although there is some fluctuation, with the hues seeming
just a little bland here and there. Blacks are accurate, whites are crisp
and contrast is usually just fine. The film elements from which the
episodes were mastered don’t show much wear and tear, as blemishes and
scratches seem pretty minimal. Even with four episodes per side of a DVD,
digital compression artifacts are never much of a concern.
. . The Dolby Digital monaural soundtracks for the episodes are just
fine for their age. Sure, there are the expected limitations in fidelity,
but the each episode’s music manages to sound quite respectable, even
with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is crisp and always understandable.
French and Spanish language tracks have also provided, as have English,
French and Spanish subtitles. The basic interactive menus allow one access
to the standard episode/scene selection and set up features. No
supplemental features have been included with the set.
. Although some of the episodes are rather silly, LOST IN SPACE:
SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE is a great deal of fun on DVD. The episodes
look and sound fine, so if you are a fan, this is another television
collection, you’ll want to add to your library.
.
For
those unfamiliar with LOST IN SPACE, the basic premise follows an
American family named Robinson that had been selected for a mission to
colonize a habitable planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. However, the Robinson’s
find themselves and their spacecraft, the Jupiter 2, hopelessly lost in
space, after a reluctant stowaway tries to sabotage their
mission. The cast of LOST IN SPACE also features Guy Williams as
Professor John Robinson, the mission leader and head of the clan, June
Lockhart is John’s wife Maureen and matriarch of the space family
Robinson, Mark Goddard is the Jupiter 2’s pilot Major Don West, Marta
Kristen is the eldest Robinson daughter Judy, Bill Mumy is Robinson’s
only son Will and Angela Cartwright is his sister Penny.
LOST
IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE ($40) comes to DVD in a four-disc set
that features the following sixteen episodes that were aired in the first
half of show’s sophomore year: Blast Off Into Space, Wild
Adventure, The Ghost Planet, Forbidden World,
Space Circus, The Prisoners Of Space, The
Android Machine, The Deadly Games Of Gamma 6, The
Thief From Outer Space, The Curse Of Cousin Smith, West
Of Mars, A Visit To Hades, The Wreck Of The
Robot, The Dream Monster, The Golden Man
and The Girl From The Green Dimension. There are more than a
few goofy episodes in this first batch from season two, but I’m kind of
partial to A Visit To Hades, The Wreck Of The Robot
and The Golden Man.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made all sixteen episodes that comprise
LOST IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME ONE available on DVD in their
proper full screen aspect ratios. In general, the episodes produce a good
visual quality, although they never appear outstanding for a shot on film
television series from the 1960s. Of course, the season episodes two have
the benefit of being produced in color, whereas the preceding more
dramatic season was produced in black and white. Sharpness and detail seem
just fine, although some softness creeps in here and there. Colors seem
vibrant enough, although there is some fluctuation, with the hues seeming
just a little bland here and there. Blacks are accurate, whites are crisp
and contrast is usually just fine. The film elements from which the
episodes were mastered don’t show much wear and tear, as blemishes and
scratches seem pretty minimal. Even with four episodes per side of a DVD,
digital compression artifacts are never much of a concern.
.
.