Question: Why is Star Trek‘s 50th Anniversary receiving so much coverage while the 50th Anniversary of Lost in Space was hardly mentioned in the press? — Jerry
Matt Roush: We just published a terrific special issue dedicated to Star Trek‘s 50th, available on newsstands or online at tvguidemagazine.com/startrek. Needless to say, we didn’t publish such an epic remembrance for Lost in Space, which says less about our affection for the Space Family Robinson than it does about their respective legacies. While there is a remake of Lost in Space in development at Netflix, announced for 2018, the less said the better about the 1998 movie version.
And even if the original Trek hadn’t been ahead of its time in Gene Roddenberry’s progressive view of a united Earth, where persons of all races (including a Russian in the Cold War ’60s) including aliens could share the bridge, Trek has successfully spawned many spinoffs and big-screen hit movies (some better than others in both mediums), all adhering to Roddenberry’s vision, more or less. Very few TV shows, especially one that only lasted three seasons in its first incarnation, have had this kind of cultural impact and staying power. Lost in Space is more of a guilty pleasure, and I’ll be curious to see what Netflix does with it. But there’s truly no comparison.
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