Crush,
Kill, Destroy… Sure, the second season of LOST
IN SPACE is when the show turned silly and the storylines seemed to be
designed to appeal to a more juvenile audience, but the presence of
Jonathan Harris as the (formerly villainous and now) cowardly and lazy Dr.
Smith always made the show fun to watch. Harris had a gift for a certain
kind of comedy that played out brilliantly anytime Dr. Smith and the Robot
(voiced by Dick Tufeld and performed by Bob May) were sharing the screen.
Watching Smith trade barbs with his mechanical foil gave the show plenty
of appeal, even when the storylines where threatening to insult the
intelligence of your average ten year old.
For
those unfamiliar with TV classic LOST IN SPACE, the show’s 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 TWO ($40) comes to DVD in a four-disc set
that features the following fourteen episodes that were aired in the
second half of show’s sophomore year: The Questing Beast, The
Toymaker, Mutiny In Space, The Space Vikings,
Rocket To Earth, The Cave Of The Wizards, Treasures
Of The Lost Planet, Revolt Of The Androids, The
Colonists, Trip Through The Robot, The Phantom
Family, The Mechanical Men, The Astral
Traveler and The Galaxy Gift. Season two featured
more than its share of goofy episodes, but this reviewer remains
particularly fond of Revolt Of The Androids, Trip
Through The Robot, The Mechanical Men and The
Galaxy Gift.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made all fourteen episodes that
comprise LOST IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME TWO available on DVD in
their proper full screen aspect ratios. While the visual quality for the
episodes is generally good, these DVDs are not demonstrative of what could
have been achieved if the shows had been given new high definition
transfers. Sharpness and detail are perfectly adequate, with some
sequences looking crisper than others. Colors can be a bit inconsistent,
sometimes appearing vibrant, sometimes bland and sometimes in need of a
bit more color correction. Blacks are pretty accurate, and the whites
appear stable. For a television production, contrast is fine, but it could
be better. The film elements from which the episodes were mastered don’t
show excessive signs of age, as blemishes and scratches remain fairly
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 perfectly
acceptable for mid-sixties television show. Sonic fidelity has the
expected limitations in, but the musical component of each episode never
sounds harsh or brittle, even with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is
always clean and completely 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.
LOST
IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME TWO maintains the same quality level as
did the previous sets. Sure, many of the episodes are pretty goofy, but if
you grew up watching the show, you know it’s all good nostalgic fun that
you’ll want to add to your DVD collection.
Crush,
Kill, Destroy … Sure, the second season of LOST
IN SPACE is when the show turned silly and the storylines seemed to be
designed to appeal to a more juvenile audience, but the presence of
Jonathan Harris as the (formerly villainous and now) cowardly and lazy Dr.
Smith always made the show fun to watch. Harris had a gift for a certain
kind of comedy that played out brilliantly anytime Dr. Smith and the Robot
(voiced by Dick Tufeld and performed by Bob May) were sharing the screen.
Watching Smith trade barbs with his mechanical foil gave the show plenty
of appeal, even when the storylines where threatening to insult the
intelligence of your average ten year old.
For
those unfamiliar with TV classic LOST IN SPACE, the show’s 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 TWO ($40) comes to DVD in a four-disc set
that features the following fourteen episodes that were aired in the
second half of show’s sophomore year: The Questing Beast, The
Toymaker, Mutiny In Space, The Space Vikings,
Rocket To Earth, The Cave Of The Wizards, Treasures
Of The Lost Planet, Revolt Of The Androids, The
Colonists, Trip Through The Robot, The Phantom
Family, The Mechanical Men, The Astral
Traveler and The Galaxy Gift. Season two featured
more than its share of goofy episodes, but this reviewer remains
particularly fond of Revolt Of The Androids, Trip
Through The Robot, The Mechanical Men and The
Galaxy Gift.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made all fourteen episodes that
comprise LOST IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME TWO available on DVD in
their proper full screen aspect ratios. While the visual quality for the
episodes is generally good, these DVDs are not demonstrative of what could
have been achieved if the shows had been given new high definition
transfers. Sharpness and detail are perfectly adequate, with some
sequences looking crisper than others. Colors can be a bit inconsistent,
sometimes appearing vibrant, sometimes bland and sometimes in need of a
bit more color correction. Blacks are pretty accurate, and the whites
appear stable. For a television production, contrast is fine, but it could
be better. The film elements from which the episodes were mastered don’t
show excessive signs of age, as blemishes and scratches remain fairly
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 perfectly
acceptable for mid-sixties television show. Sonic fidelity has the
expected limitations in, but the musical component of each episode never
sounds harsh or brittle, even with a bit of amplification. Dialogue is
always clean and completely 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.
LOST
IN SPACE: SEASON TWO, VOLUME TWO maintains the same quality level as
did the previous sets. Sure, many of the episodes are pretty goofy, but if
you grew up watching the show, you know it’s all good nostalgic fun that
you’ll want to add to your DVD collection.