126-564: Lost in Space is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen , which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS . Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 Johann David Wyss novel The Swiss Family Robinson . The series follows the adventures of the Robinsons, a pioneering family of space colonists who struggle to survive in
252-713: A computer -like screen , computer viruses , video chat , tanning beds , home treadmills , and more. In 1963, the time travel-themed Doctor Who premiered on BBC Television. The original series ran until 1989 and was revived in 2005. It has been extremely popular worldwide and has greatly influenced later TV science fiction. Other programs in the 1960s included The Outer Limits (1963–1965), Lost in Space (1965–1968), and The Prisoner (1967). Star Trek (the original series), created by Gene Roddenberry , premiered in 1966 on NBC Television and ran for three seasons. It combined elements of space opera and Space Western . Only mildly successful at first,
378-545: A roof rack for luggage and roof mounted "solar batteries" were accessible by exterior fixed ladders on either side of the vehicle. The vehicle had dual headlights and dual auxiliary area lights beneath the front and rear bumpers. The roof also had swivel-mounted, interior controllable spotlights located near each front corner, with a small parabolic antenna mounted between them. The Chariot had six bucket seats (three rows of two seats) for passengers. The interior featured retractable metallized fabric curtains for privacy,
504-418: A seismograph , a scanner with infrared capability, a radio transceiver , a public address system , and a rifle rack that held four laser rifles vertically near the inside of the left rear corner body panel. A jet pack , specifically a Bell Rocket Belt , was used occasionally by Professor Robinson or Major West. The "Space Pod" was a small spacecraft first shown in the third and final season, which
630-428: A space opera , went on to become a worldwide popular culture phenomenon , and the second-highest-grossing film series of all time. Since the 1980s, science fiction films , along with fantasy , horror , and superhero films, have dominated Hollywood's big-budget productions. Science fiction films often " cross-over " with other genres, including film noir ( Blade Runner - 1982), family film ( E.T.
756-800: A $ 14 million TV version of Alice in Wonderland (1985). His last credit was the TV movie Outrage! (1986). Allen planned to make a star-studded musical of Pinocchio , but his declining health forced his retirement in 1986. He died in Los Angeles from a heart attack on November 2, 1991. He is buried in the Garden of Heritage 5, upper-level wall crypt 39J in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. The "Irwin Allen rock-and-roll"
882-521: A 2002 Fox Television pilot for an updated version of The Time Tunnel , which did not sell, and remakes of films including Poseidon (2006) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea . The 2002 TV pilot was included as a bonus feature on Volume 2 of Fox's 2006 DVD release of the 30-episode Time Tunnel (1966–1967) TV series. Documentary films On January 3, 2008, BBC Four showed a night of Allen's work which included
1008-611: A Thread (1979). He also made Viva Knievel! (1977), The Amazing Captain Nemo (1978), and The Memory of Eva Ryker (1980). For theatrical release, he produced and directed the big-budgeted The Swarm (1978) and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), and produced When Time Ran Out (1980). These three films were back-to-back-to-back box office disappointments, with the final failure of When Time Ran Out... effectively ending his theatrical film career. Allen also purchased
1134-417: A carnival barker at age 16. In addition to The Big Circus , he worked circus-themed episodes into his TV programs Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and would try for years to get a widescreen, 3-D project called Circus, Circus, Circus into theaters. Allen then went to 20th Century Fox , where he co-wrote (with Bennett), produced, and directed three films: The Lost World (1960), from
1260-401: A carrot." The Jupiter 2 was now functional and traveled from planet to planet, but the episodes still tended to be whimsical and to emphasize humor, including fanciful space hippies, more pirates, offbeat intergalactic zoos, ice princesses and Lost in Space ' s beauty pageant. During the first two seasons, episodes concluded in a "live action freeze" anticipating the following week, with
1386-472: A cliff-hanger caption, "To be continued next week! Same time—same channel!" For the third season, each episode's conclusion was immediately followed by a vocal "teaser" from the Robot (Dick Tufeld), warning viewers to "Stay tuned for scenes from next week's exciting adventure!". Scenes from the next episode were then presented, followed by the closing credits. There was little continuity between each episode, except for
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#17328761589921512-449: A defensive smoke screen . The Robot could detect faint smells and could both understand speech and speak in its own right. The Robot claimed the ability to read human minds by translating emitted thought waves back into words. The Jupiter 2 had some unexplained advanced technology that simplified or did away with mundane tasks. The "auto-matic laundry" took seconds to clean, iron, fold, and package clothes in clear plastic bags. Similarly,
1638-496: A different set of opening credits and a new theme tune, which had been composed by John Williams as part of the show's new direction. During its three-season run, a number of actors made guest appearances: Jonathan Harris, although a permanent cast member, was listed in the opening credits as a "special guest star" in every episode of Lost in Space . Props and monsters were regularly recycled from other Irwin Allen shows. A sea monster outfit that had been featured on Voyage to
1764-444: A family show, a science-fiction version of The Swiss Family Robinson . It quickly developed into a children's show with episodes concentrating on the young Will Robinson, the robot, and especially, the comic villain, Dr. Smith. The show used several science-fiction elements that have since become common, such as the comic robot (e.g. Silent Running , Star Wars ) or android ( Logan's Run , Star Trek: The Next Generation ),
1890-417: A few weeks later with new paint. Writer Jon Abbott described Allen as paradoxical. "Here was a man who, when told the cost of a spaceship for a Lost in Space alien, snapped, 'Let him walk!' ... and then let the show be cancelled rather than take a cut in the budget". In 1969, Allen signed a three-picture deal with Avco Embassy to make The Poseidon Adventure , No Man's World , and Almost Midnight , but
2016-478: A few, alongside his signature lines: "Oh, the pain ... the pain!" and "Never fear, Smith is here!" One of Harris's last roles was providing the voice of the praying mantis Manny in Disney 's A Bug's Life , who also says the line "Oh, the pain ... the pain!" near the end of the film. The catchphrase "Danger, Will Robinson!" originates with the series, when the Robot warns young Will Robinson about impending threats. It
2142-535: A great and influential film. In 1954, Godzilla , directed by Ishirō Honda , began the kaiju subgenre of science fiction film, which feature large creatures of any form, usually attacking a major city or engaging other monsters in battle . 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey , directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the work of Arthur C. Clarke , rose above the mostly B-movie offerings up to that time both in scope and quality, and influenced later science fiction films. That same year, Planet of
2268-669: A journey to the Moon and how the Earth 's motion is seen from there. Kepler has been called the "father of science fiction". Following the 17th-century development of the novel as a literary form , Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) helped define the form of the science fiction novel. Brian Aldiss has argued that Frankenstein was the first work of science fiction. Edgar Allan Poe wrote several stories considered to be science fiction, including " The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall " (1835), which featured
2394-630: A new score which was considered more exciting and faster tempo. The opening music was accompanied by live action shots of the cast, featuring a pumped-up countdown from seven to one to launch each week's episode. Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to SF or sci-fi ) is a genre of speculative fiction , which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology , space exploration , time travel , parallel universes , and extraterrestrial life . It often explores human responses to changes in science and technology. Science fiction
2520-633: A nonfiction and documentary production unit. That same year, he met Jon Jashni, a Fox film executive who shared Burns' interest in Allen's works. In 1998, the two collaborated on a TV retrospective special, Lost in Space Forever . Hosted by John Laroquette , it chronicled the series' creation and run on TV in the 1960s and beyond, and featured appearances by Bill Mumy, Jonathan Harris , June Lockhart , Angela Cartwright , Mark Goddard , and Marta Kristen , as well as film footage of vintage interviews with Guy Williams . Also appearing were Bob May , who donned
2646-611: A reduced budget. During a negotiating conference regarding the series direction for the fourth season with CBS chief executive Bill Paley , Allen became furious when told the budget would be reduced up to 15% of the Season Three budget. The Lost in Space Forever DVD cites declining ratings and escalating costs as the reasons for cancellation. Irwin Allen admitted that the Season 3 ratings showed an increasing percentage of children among
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#17328761589922772-412: A single day's work with Allen relying on stock footage for the rest of the film. Allen co-wrote (with Bennett) and produced The Big Circus (1959) for Allied Artists Pictures with Mature, Red Buttons , Peter Lorre , and Price. Allen was interested in making "an exciting, colorful show – something the public can't see on television." Allen was fascinated by circuses as a child and briefly worked as
2898-418: A society (on Earth or another planet) that has developed in wholly different ways from our own." There is a tendency among science fiction enthusiasts as their own arbiter in deciding what exactly constitutes science fiction. David Seed says it may be more useful to talk about science fiction as the intersection of other more concrete subgenres. Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying "Science fiction
3024-408: A stowaway and saboteur played by Jonathan Harris, he was absent from the unaired pilot. His character was added after the series was commissioned for production. The pilot episode was first aired on television during a 1997 retrospective. CBS bought the series, turning down Star Trek in favor of Lost in Space . Before the first episode was filmed, the characters Smith and the Robot were added, and
3150-480: A success, making a profit over $ 2 million. Allen returned to producing with the three-dimensional film Dangerous Mission (1954), his final film for RKO. It starred Victor Mature , Bendix, Piper Laurie , and Vincent Price . Allen directed a semidocumentary about the evolution of life, The Animal World (1956). Again, making use of stock footage, but he also included a 9-minute stop-motion dinosaur sequence by Ray Harryhausen . Before release, he toned down
3276-495: A total estimated readership of at least 1 million), making it the world's most popular science fiction periodical . In 1984, William Gibson 's first novel, Neuromancer , helped popularize cyberpunk and the word " cyberspace ", a term he originally coined in his 1982 short story Burning Chrome . In 1986, Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold began her Vorkosigan Saga . 1992's Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson predicted immense social upheaval due to
3402-462: A treatment under the title Space Family 3000 . Intended as a follow-up to his first successful television venture, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea , Allen quickly sold his concept for a television series to CBS. Concerned about confusion with the Gold Key comic book, CBS requested that Allen come up with a new title. Nevertheless, Hilda Bohem filed a claim against Allen and CBS Television shortly before
3528-516: A trip to the Moon . Jules Verne was noted for his attention to detail and scientific accuracy, especially in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870). In 1887, the novel El anacronópete by Spanish author Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau introduced the first time machine . An early French/Belgian science fiction writer was J.-H. Rosny aîné (1856–1940). Rosny's masterpiece
3654-429: A variety of transportation methods in the series. The Jupiter 2 is a two- deck , nuclear powered flying saucer spacecraft. The version seen in the series was depicted with a lower level and landing legs. On the lower level were the atomic motors, which use a fictional substance called "deutronium" for fuel. The ship's living quarters feature Murphy beds , a galley , a laboratory, and the robot's "magnetic lock". On
3780-575: A very palatable form... New adventures pictured for us in the scientifiction of today are not at all impossible of realization tomorrow... Many great science stories destined to be of historical interest are still to be written... Posterity will point to them as having blazed a new trail, not only in literature and fiction, but progress as well. In 1928, E. E. "Doc" Smith 's first published work, The Skylark of Space , written in collaboration with Lee Hawkins Garby , appeared in Amazing Stories . It
3906-623: A world of harmony and conformity within a united totalitarian state . It influenced the emergence of dystopia as a literary genre . In 1926, Hugo Gernsback published the first American science fiction magazine , Amazing Stories . In its first issue he wrote: By 'scientifiction' I mean the Jules Verne, H. G. Wells and Edgar Allan Poe type of story—a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision... Not only do these amazing tales make tremendously interesting reading—they are always instructive. They supply knowledge... in
Lost in Space - Misplaced Pages Continue
4032-470: Is Les Navigateurs de l'Infini ( The Navigators of Infinity ) (1925) in which the word astronaut, "astronautique", was used for the first time. Many critics consider H. G. Wells one of science fiction's most important authors, or even "the Shakespeare of science fiction". His works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of
4158-619: Is often called the first great space opera . The same year, Philip Francis Nowlan 's original Buck Rogers story, Armageddon 2419 , also appeared in Amazing Stories . This was followed by a Buck Rogers comic strip , the first serious science fiction comic . Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a " future history " science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon . A work of unprecedented scale in
4284-503: Is one of the most influential examples of social science fiction , feminist science fiction , and anthropological science fiction . In 1979, Science Fiction World began publication in the People's Republic of China . It dominates the Chinese science fiction magazine market , at one time claiming a circulation of 300,000 copies per issue and an estimated 3–5 readers per copy (giving it
4410-560: Is related to fantasy , horror , and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres . Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers. Subgenres include hard science fiction , which emphasizes scientific accuracy, and soft science fiction , focusing on social sciences. Other notable subgenres are cyberpunk , which explores the interface between technology and society, and climate fiction , addressing environmental issues. Precedents for science fiction are argued to exist as far back as antiquity, but
4536-483: Is to take a single family on a five-and-a-half-year journey to an Earth-like planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri . The Robinson family consists of Professor John Robinson ( Guy Williams ), his wife Maureen ( June Lockhart ), and their three children: Judy ( Marta Kristen ); Penny ( Angela Cartwright ); and Will ( Bill Mumy ). The family is accompanied by U.S. Space Corps Major Donald West ( Mark Goddard ). The Robinsons and Major West are to be cryogenically frozen for
4662-537: Is what we point to when we say it." Forrest J Ackerman has been credited with first using the term "sci-fi" (analogous to the then-trendy " hi-fi ") in about 1954. The first known use in print was a description of Donovan's Brain by movie critic Jesse Zunser in January 1954. As science fiction entered popular culture , writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech " B-movies " and with low-quality pulp science fiction . By
4788-550: Is when the camera is rocked as the on-screen cast rushes from side to side on the set, simulating a ship being tossed around. It is employed in many episodes of Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea . This camera technique was employed in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode " First Spaceship on Venus ". Here, the camera tilts to simulate the spacecraft being hit. During this scene, Joel shouts out, "Irwin Allen presents...". Allen's career in film and TV
4914-536: The Golden Age of Science Fiction . Science fiction has been called the "literature of ideas ", and continues to evolve, incorporating diverse voices and themes, influencing not just literature but film, TV, and culture at large. Besides providing entertainment it can also criticize present-day society and explore alternatives, and inspiration a " sense of wonder ". According to Isaac Asimov , "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with
5040-648: The Apollo program (1961–1972). While the crew normally grew a hydroponic garden on a planet as an intermediate step before cultivating the soil of a planet, they also had "protein pills", which was a complete nutritional substitute for normal foods, in cases of emergency. Some members within the science-fiction community have pointed to Lost in Space as an example of early television's perceived poor record at producing science-fiction. The series' deliberate fantasy elements were perhaps overlooked as it drew comparisons to its supposed rival, Star Trek . However, Lost in Space
5166-525: The Burroughs 205 commercial products. Spacecraft models were also routinely re-used. The forbidding derelict ship from season 1 was redressed to become the Vera Castle in season 3. The fuel barge from season 2 became a space lighthouse in season 3. The derelict ship was used again in season 3, with a simple color change. Likewise the alien pursuer's ship in "The Sky Pirate", was lifted from the 1958 film War of
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5292-509: The Jupiter 2 , following which Jonathan Harris appears in character as Smith and instructs the Robot once again to destroy the ship as per his original instructions "... and this time get it right, you bubble-headed booby". In 1998, to promote the film version of Lost in Space , Burns produced a television special about the series which was hosted by John Larroquette and the Robot (performed by actor Bob May and voice actor Dick Tufeld). The special
5418-477: The Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Yefremov presented a view of a future interstellar communist civilization and is considered one of the most important Soviet science fiction novels. In 1959, Robert A. Heinlein 's Starship Troopers marked a departure from his earlier juvenile stories and novels. It is one of the first and most influential examples of military science fiction , and introduced
5544-447: The information revolution . In 2007, Liu Cixin 's novel, The Three-Body Problem , was published in China. It was translated into English by Ken Liu and published by Tor Books in 2014, and won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel , making Liu the first Asian writer to win the award. Emerging themes in late 20th and early 21st century science fiction include environmental issues ,
5670-522: The "dishwasher" would clean, wash, and dry dishes in just seconds. Technology in the show reflected contemporary real-world developments. Silver reflective space blankets , a then new invention developed by NASA in 1964, were used in the episode titled "The Hungry Sea" and "Attack of the Monster Plants". The crew's spacesuits were made with aluminum-coated fabric , like NASA's Mercury spacesuits , and had Velcro fasteners, which NASA first used during
5796-400: The 1970s, critics within the field, such as Damon Knight and Terry Carr , were using "sci fi" to distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction. Peter Nicholls writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers." Robert Heinlein found even "science fiction" insufficient for certain types of works in this genre, and suggested
5922-622: The 1995 documentary The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen along with episodes of Lost in Space , Land of the Giants and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea . Episode 57 of the Disney TV series DuckTales , broadcast on December 8, 1987 and titled " The Uncrashable Hindentanic ", features a character called "Irwin Mallard" who films the destruction of Scrooge McDuck 's airship called the Hindentanic in
6048-433: The 25th Century . Though intended as a pilot for a new TV series project, his small-screen success from the 1960s largely eluded him in the 1970s. Lost in Space ' s Bill Mumy said of Allen that, while he was very good at writing television pilots that sold, his unwillingness to spend money hurt his shows' quality once on the air. A monster costume that appeared on one of his shows, for example, would appear on another
6174-550: The Apes (the original), directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle , was released to popular and critical acclaim, its vivid depiction of a post-apocalyptic world in which intelligent apes dominate humans . In 1977, George Lucas began the Star Wars film series with the film now identified as " Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope . " The series, often called
6300-667: The Bottom of the Sea might get a spray paint job for its Lost in Space appearance, while space monster costumes were reused on Voyage as sea monsters. The clear round plastic pen holder used as a control surface in the episode "The Derelict" turned up regularly throughout the show's entire run both as primary controls to activate alien machinery (or open doors or cages), and as background set dressing; some primary controls were seen used in episodes such as Season 1's "The Keeper (Parts 1 and 2)", "His Majesty Smith", and Season 3's "A Day At The Zoo", and "The Promised Planet". Computers and tape drives were often depicted in various episodes using
6426-624: The Bottom of the Sea ( ABC TV , 1964–1968) established Allen's reputation as a television producer. The financial viability of the series was assisted by the reuse of many of the sets from the film; the cost of the Seaview submarine sets alone exceeded the budget of a typical pilot show of the era. The series also benefited from Allen's by-now notorious use of stock film footage, particularly from Hell and High Water (1954), The Enemy Below (1957), and Allen's The Lost World . Allen had originally intended Lost in Space ( CBS TV , 1965–1968) to be
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#17328761589926552-582: The Bottom of the Sea was a scientifically dubious, Jules Verne -style adventure to save the world from a burning Van Allen belt . It was the basis for his later television series of the same name. The family film, Five Weeks in a Balloon , was a loose adaptation of the Verne novel . Lost World was a moderate hit and Voyage was very successful. Five Weeks was a box-office disappointment. With 20th Century Fox scaling back their film productions due to their huge expenditure on films such as Cleopatra (1963), in
6678-529: The Chariot to avoid extreme temperatures. However, the format of the show later changed to a "Monster of the Week" style, where stories were loosely based on fantasy and fairy tales. In January 1966, ABC scheduled Batman in the same time slot as Lost in Space . Season 2 imitated Batman' s campy humor to compete against that show's enormous success. Bright outfits, over-the-top action, and outrageous villains came to
6804-575: The Extra-Terrestrial - 1983), war ( Enemy Mine - 1985), comedy ( Spaceballs - 1987, Galaxy Quest - 1999), animation ( WALL-E – 2008, Big Hero 6 – 2014), Western ( Serenity – 2005), action ( Edge of Tomorrow – 2014, The Matrix – 1999), adventure ( Jupiter Ascending – 2015, Interstellar – 2014), mystery ( Minority Report – 2002), thriller ( Ex Machina – 2014), drama ( Melancholia – 2011, Predestination – 2014), and romance ( Eternal Sunshine of
6930-470: The Giants (ABC TV, 1968–1970) was the most expensive show of its day at roughly $ 250,000 per episode. As another castaway -themed show, Allen incorporated some of the successful elements from Lost in Space , although this time he did not allow the treacherous character to dominate the series. Allen also produced several television films, such as City Beneath the Sea , which recycled many props and models from Voyage , Lost in Space, and The Man from
7056-515: The Robot, were staple elements of each episode. Lost in Space is remembered for the Robot's oft-repeated lines such as "Warning! Warning!" and "It does not compute". Smith's frequent put-downs of the Robot were also popular. Harris was proud to talk about how he used to lie in bed at night dreaming them up for use on the show. "You Bubble-headed Booby!", " You Cowardly Clump!", "You Tin-Plated Traitor!", "You Cackling Cacophony", "You Blithering Blatherskyte", and "Traitorous Transistorized Toad" are but
7182-536: The Satellites , and was re-used in the episode "Deadliest of the Species". 1960s filming took place at 20th Century Fox Corp. studios and stages, Los Angeles. Despite being credited as a "special guest star" in every episode, Smith became the pivotal character of the series. The show's writers expected Smith to be a temporary villain who would only appear in early episodes. Harris, on the other hand, hoped to stay longer on
7308-679: The Sea , Lost in Space , The Time Tunnel , and Land of the Giants . Irwin Allen was born in New York City, the son of poor Jewish immigrants (Joseph Cohen and Eva Davis) from Russia. He majored in journalism and advertising at Columbia University after attending City College of New York for a year. He left college because of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression . Allen moved to Hollywood in 1938, where he edited Key magazine followed by an 11-year stint producing his own program at radio station KLAC . The success of
7434-457: The Spotless Mind – 2004, Her – 2013). Science fiction and television have consistently been in a close relationship. Television or television-like technologies frequently appeared in science fiction long before television itself became widely available in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The first known science fiction television program was a thirty-five-minute adapted excerpt of
7560-548: The States and Empires of the Moon (1657) and The States and Empires of the Sun (1662), Margaret Cavendish 's " The Blazing World " (1666), Jonathan Swift 's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Ludvig Holberg 's Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum (1741) and Voltaire 's Micromégas (1752). Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Somnium the first science fiction story; it depicts
7686-510: The Worlds (1898). His science fiction imagined alien invasion , biological engineering , invisibility , and time travel . In his non-fiction futurologist works he predicted the advent of airplanes , military tanks , nuclear weapons , satellite television , space travel , and something resembling the World Wide Web . Edgar Rice Burroughs 's A Princess of Mars , published in 1912,
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#17328761589927812-482: The aspiration of reaching a large goal, i.e., enough fuel to travel from planet to planet. After cancellation, the show was successful in reruns and in syndication for many years, appearing on the USA Network (in the mid-to-late 1980s) and on FX , Syfy , ALN , MeTV and Hulu . In early 1968, after the final third-season episode "Junkyard in Space" completed filming, the cast and crew were informally led to believe
7938-477: The career of Irwin Allen, hosted by Bill Mumy and June Lockhart in a recreation of the Jupiter 2 exterior set. Mumy and Lockhart utilize the "Celestial Department Store Ordering Machine" as a temporal conduit to show information and clips on Allen's history. Clips from Allen's various productions as well as pilots for his unproduced series were presented along with new interviews with cast members of Allen's shows. Mumy and Lockhart complete their presentation and enter
8064-413: The concept of powered armor exoskeletons . The German space opera series Perry Rhodan , written by various authors, started in 1961 with an account of the first Moon landing and has since expanded in space to multiple universes , and in time by billions of years. It has become the most popular science fiction book series of all time. In the 1960s and 1970s, New Wave science fiction
8190-506: The creation of microrobots and micromachinery , nanotechnology , smartdust , virtual reality , and artificial intelligence (including swarm intelligence ), as well as developing the ideas of "necroevolution" and the creation of artificial worlds. In 1965, Dune by Frank Herbert featured a much more complex and detailed imagined future society than had previously in most science fiction. In 1967 Anne McCaffrey began her Dragonriders of Pern science fantasy series. Two of
8316-421: The deal did not lead to any films there. In the 1970s, Allen produced the most successful films of his career: The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974), directing the action scenes for both. Their showmanship was compared to that of P. T. Barnum and Cecil B. DeMille , and they prompted scholarly analysis of the subsequent popularity of the disaster genre . The Poseidon Adventure
8442-539: The depths of space. The show ran for 83 episodes over three seasons. The first season comprised 29 one-hour episodes, filmed in black and white. The 29th episode however had a few minutes of color at the end. Seasons 2 and 3 were shot entirely in color. On October 16, 1997, amidst overpopulation on Earth, the United States is gearing up to colonize space. The Jupiter 2 , a futuristic saucer-shaped spacecraft, stands on its launchpad undergoing final preparations. Its mission
8568-472: The devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and the lack of a "full satisfactory definition" is because "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction." Another definition comes from The Literature Book by DK and is, "scenarios that are at the time of writing technologically impossible, extrapolating from present-day science...[,]...or that deal with some form of speculative science-based conceit, such as
8694-579: The disaster genre had run its course. Allen was offered a deal at Warner Bros. by Jon Calley, who built an office building for Allen. Allen continued to work there for the remainder of his career. The rise of new filmmakers such as George Lucas reportedly caught him off guard. According to one book, the success of Star Wars (1977) bewildered him; he could not understand how a film with apparently no stars or love story could enrapture audiences so fervently. Allen produced three made-for-TV disaster movies: Flood! (1976), Fire! (1977), and Hanging by
8820-579: The disaster movie style of Irwin Allen. "The Irwin Allen Show" was a skit on SCTV . The Irwin Allen Show was a Johnny Carson –style talk show with Allen as the host. The guests were stars in Allen's movies, and they were each individually victims of an Irwin Allen–style disaster while a guest on the talk show (e.g. Red Buttons was attacked by a swarm of bees). In the film Ocean's Thirteen (2007) Linus Caldwell (played by Matt Damon ) announces aloud to
8946-399: The documentary, The Sea Around Us (1953). This was based on Rachel Carson 's best-selling book of the same name . It largely used stock footage and won the 1952 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Carson was so disappointed with Allen's final version of the script that she never again sold film rights to her work. The film includes gory images of whales being killed. It was
9072-469: The end, or encountering an adventure in space. They visit new worlds in several episodes, with both crash and controlled landings, as the family attempts to either return to Earth or else at least reach their original destination in the Alpha Centauri system. A newly introduced "Space Pod" provides a means of transportation between the ship and passing planets, allowing for various escapades. This season had
9198-439: The episodes, ran from 1959 to 1964. It featured fantasy , suspense , and horror as well as science fiction, with each episode being a complete story. Critics have ranked it as one of the best TV programs of any genre . The animated series The Jetsons , while intended as comedy and only running for one season (1962–1963), predicted many inventions now in common use: flat-screen televisions , newspapers on
9324-475: The expedition becomes hopelessly lost in the infinite depths of outer space. The first season begins as the Robinson family and their pilot are about to set out from Earth for a planet circling the star Alpha Centauri. Dr. Smith saves himself from the post-launch crisis of his own making by prematurely reviving the crew from suspended animation . The ship survives, but the damage caused by Smith's earlier sabotage of
9450-743: The first science fiction novel . Some of the stories from The Arabian Nights , along with the 10th-century The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Ibn al-Nafis 's 13th-century Theologus Autodidactus , are also argued to contain elements of science fiction. Written during the Scientific Revolution and later the Age of Enlightenment are considered true science-fantasy books. Francis Bacon 's New Atlantis (1627), Johannes Kepler 's Somnium (1634), Athanasius Kircher 's Itinerarium extaticum (1656), Cyrano de Bergerac 's Comical History of
9576-428: The first season to $ 164,788 during the third season, and the actors' salaries nearly doubled during that time. Further, the interior of the Jupiter 2 was the most expensive set for a television show at the time, at a cost of $ 350,000. 20th Century Fox had also recently incurred huge budget overruns for the film Cleopatra , which are believed to have caused budget cuts. Allen claimed the series could not continue with
9702-596: The fore in outlandish stories. Stories giving all characters focus were sacrificed in favor of a growing emphasis on Smith, Will, and the Robot. According to Bill Mumy, Mark Goddard and Guy Williams both disliked the shift away from serious science fiction. The third season had more adventure, but also episodes like "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" with actor Stanley Adams as Tybo, the talking carrot. Called "the most insipid and bizarre episode in television history", Kristen recalled that Goddard complained that "seven years of Stanislavski method acting had led to his talking to
9828-480: The genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years. In 1937, John W. Campbell became editor of Astounding Science Fiction , an event that is sometimes considered the beginning of the Golden Age of Science Fiction , which was characterized by stories celebrating scientific achievement and progress . The "Golden Age" is often said to have ended in 1946, but sometimes
9954-520: The gore from both the live action and the animation. The film was released by Warner Bros. So was Allen's next film, The Story of Mankind (1957), a very loose adaptation of the Hendrik Willem van Loon book of the same name . It featured cameos from the Marx Brothers , Ronald Colman , Hedy Lamarr , Vincent Price, and Dennis Hopper . The actors were each paid $ 2,500 (equal to $ 27,121 today) for
10080-433: The ground. The Chariot was actually an operational cannibalized version of a Thiokol Snowcat Spryte, with a Ford 170-cubic-inch (3 L) inline-6, 101 horsepower engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission including reverse. Test footage filmed of the Chariot for the first season of the series can be seen on YouTube. Most of the Chariot's body panels were clear – including the roof and its dome -shaped "gun hatch". Both
10206-570: The heroic child ( Meeno Peluce in Voyagers! , Wesley Crusher ), and the wacky, lovable alien (Albert in Alien Nation , Vir in Babylon 5 ). The Time Tunnel (ABC TV, 1966–1967), with each episode set in a different historical time period, was an ideal vehicle for Allen's talent for smoothly mixing live action with stock footage from films set in the same period. A change in network management led to
10332-472: The implications of the Internet and the expanding information universe, questions about biotechnology , nanotechnology , and post-scarcity societies . Recent trends and subgenres include steampunk , biopunk , and mundane science fiction . The first, or at least one of the first, recorded science fiction film is 1902's A Trip to the Moon , directed by French filmmaker Georges Méliès . It
10458-415: The late 1940s and the 1950s are included. In 1942, Isaac Asimov started his Foundation series , which chronicles the rise and fall of galactic empires and introduced psychohistory . The series was later awarded a one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series". Theodore Sturgeon 's More Than Human (1953) explored possible future human evolution . In 1957, Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by
10584-427: The lower deck, and, according to one season 2 episode, a back door. The spacecraft was also intended to serve as home to the Robinsons once it had landed on the destination planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. "The Chariot" was an all-terrain, amphibious tracked vehicle that the crew used for ground transport when they were on a planet. The Chariot existed in a dis-assembled state during flight, to be re-assembled once on
10710-417: The mid-1960s, Allen concentrated on television, producing several overlapping science-fiction series for 20th Century Fox Television . They featured special effects by L. B. Abbott , who won three Emmys for his work. Allen used many of the same craftsmen on his TV shows as he did on his films, including composer John Williams and costume designer and general assistant Paul Zastupnevich . Voyage to
10836-490: The mission of a ship called the Gemini 12, which was to take a single family on a 98-year journey to an Earth-like planet orbiting the star Alpha Centauri . The Gemini 12 was pushed off course due to an encounter with an asteroid, and the story centered on the adventures of the Robinson family, depicting them as a happy crew without internal conflicts. While many storylines in the later series focused primarily on Dr. Zachary Smith,
10962-456: The modern genre primarily arose in the 19th and early 20th centuries when popular writers began looking to technological progress and speculation. Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein , written in 1818, is often credited as the first true science fiction novel . Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are pivotal figures in the genre's development. In the 20th century, expanded with the introduction of space operas , dystopian literature, pulp magazines , and
11088-416: The novel by Arthur Conan Doyle , Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), and Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962). Willis O'Brien , who had also worked on the pioneering special effects of the original Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933) films, was disappointed when Allen opted to save time by using live alligators and lizards instead of stop-motion animation for the film's dinosaurs. Voyage to
11214-472: The novellas included in the first novel, Dragonflight , made McCaffrey the first woman to win a Hugo or Nebula Award . In 1968, Philip K. Dick 's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was published. It is the literary source of the Blade Runner movie franchise . In 1969, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin was set on a planet in which the inhabitants have no fixed gender . It
11340-603: The play RUR , written by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek , broadcast live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios on 11 February 1938. The first popular science fiction program on American television was the children's adventure serial Captain Video and His Video Rangers , which ran from June 1949 to April 1955. The Twilight Zone (the original series), produced and narrated by Rod Serling , who also wrote or co-wrote most of
11466-411: The radio show led to him being offered his own gossip column , "Hollywood Merry-Go-Round", which was syndicated to 73 newspapers. He produced his first TV program, a celebrity panel show also called Hollywood Merry-Go-Round with announcer, and later Tonight Show host, Steve Allen (no relation), before moving into film production. Allen became involved in film production at a time when power
11592-468: The reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology ." Robert A. Heinlein wrote that "A handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method ." American science fiction author and editor Lester del Rey wrote, "Even
11718-402: The repaired Jupiter 2 launches into space once more, to escape the destruction of Priplanus following a series of cataclysmic earthquakes. The Robinsons crash-land on a strange new world, to become planet-bound again for another season. In the third season, a format change was introduced. In this season, the Jupiter 2 travels freely in space in seven episodes, visiting a planet but leaving at
11844-585: The rights to several Marvel Comics characters including Daredevil, Black Widow and others for television adaptation in the 1980s; he commissioned a script for a Daredevil pilot from writer Stirling Silliphant , but the project never went before cameras. "No, I'm not going to run out of disasters", he said in a 1977 interview. "Pick up the daily newspaper, which is my best source for crisis stories, and you'll find 10 or 15 every day ... People chase fire engines, flock to car crashes. People thrive on tragedy. It's unfortunate, but in my case, it's fortunate. The bigger
11970-423: The robot leaves the crew lost in space. The Jupiter 2 crash-lands on an alien world, later identified by Will as Priplanus, where they spend the rest of the season and survive a host of adventures. Smith remains with the crew and acts as a source of comedic cowardice and villainy, exploiting the eternally forgiving nature of Professor Robinson. At the start of the second season (from this point on filmed in color),
12096-626: The robot suit, and Dick Tufeld , who supplied the character's voice. The flight deck set of the Jupiter 2 spacecraft from the series was recreated as the backdrop for parts of the special. It also was used as a vehicle to promote the 1998 Lost in Space film version of the original television series, starring William Hurt , Matt LeBlanc , Gary Oldman , Lacey Chabert , Mimi Rogers , and Heather Graham . Burns and Jashni later formed Synthesis Entertainment, and began developing and producing remakes of, and sequels to, several Allen properties, including
12222-704: The series gained popularity through syndication and extraordinary fan interest . It became a very popular and influential franchise with many films , television shows , novels , and other works and products. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) led to six additional live action Star Trek shows: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), Voyager (1995–2001) , Enterprise (2001–2005), Discovery (2017–2024), Picard (2020–2023), and Strange New Worlds (2022–present), with more in some form of development. Irwin Allen Irwin Allen (born Irwin O. Cohen ; June 12, 1916 – November 2, 1991)
12348-463: The series had been renewed for a fourth season. Allen had ordered new scripts for the coming season. A few weeks later, however, CBS announced the complete list of returning television series for the 1968–69 season, and Lost in Space was not included. CBS executives failed to offer any reasons why Lost in Space was cancelled. The most likely reason the show was canceled was its increasingly high cost. The cost per episode had grown from $ 130,980 during
12474-422: The series premiered in 1965. An agreement was reached with Gold Key which allowed them to subtitle their comic "Lost in Space". Additional legal challenges appeared in 1995, when Prelude Pictures announced its intention to turn Lost in Space into a motion picture. The show was conceptualized in 1965 with the filming of an unaired pilot episode titled " No Place to Hide ". The plot of the pilot episode followed
12600-436: The ship. In "The Raft", Will improvised several miniature rockoons in an attempt to send an interstellar " message in a bottle " distress signal . In season 2 a set of relay stations was built to further extend communications while planet-bound. Their environmental control Robot B-9 ran air and soil tests, and was able to discharge strong electrostatic charges from his claws, detect threats with his scanner and could produce
12726-422: The show being cancelled after just one season. Allen cited The Time Tunnel as his favorite of all of his television productions and he would attempt to revamp and relaunch the concept numerous times including a filmed pilot in 1976 called The Time Travelers and unfilmed concepts that included one called Time Travel Agency and another called The Time Project that went through several incarnations. Land of
12852-470: The show, but found his character to be boring, and feared it would also quickly bore viewers. Harris "began rewriting his lines and redefining his character", by playing Smith in an attention-getting, flamboyant style, and ad-libbing his scenes with ripe, colorful dialogue. By the end of the first season, the character was established as a self-serving coward whose moral haughtiness and contrasting deceitfulness, along with his alliterative insults largely aimed at
12978-446: The spacecraft, Smith reprograms the Jupiter 2 ' s B-9 environmental control robot ( Bob May , voiced by Dick Tufeld ) to destroy critical systems on the spaceship eight hours after launch. To his horror, Smith becomes trapped aboard, however, and after launch his extra weight throws the Jupiter 2 off course, causing it to encounter asteroids. This, plus the robot's rampage, causes the ship to prematurely engage its hyperdrive, and
13104-440: The spaceship, originally named Gemini 12 , was renamed the Jupiter 2 and redesigned. For budget considerations, a good part of the footage included in the pilot episode was reused, being carefully worked into the early series episodes. The first season emphasized the daily adventures of the Robinsons. The first half of season 1 dealt with the Robinson party trekking around the rocky terrain and stormy inland oceans of Priplanus in
13230-464: The success of The Poseidon Adventure with a film based on the novel The Tower , but the film rights had already been taken by Warner Bros. He looked for an alternative and found a similar story in The Glass Inferno . Rather than produce competing movies, 20th Century-Fox and Warner Bros. agreed to coproduce The Towering Inferno with a script based on both novels and a $ 14 million budget. It
13356-515: The term speculative fiction to be used instead for those that are more "serious" or "thoughtful". Some scholars assert that science fiction had its beginnings in ancient times , when the line between myth and fact was blurred. Written in the 2nd century CE by the satirist Lucian , A True Story contains many themes and tropes characteristic of modern science fiction, including travel to other worlds, extraterrestrial lifeforms , interplanetary warfare, and artificial life . Some consider it
13482-553: The top five favorite new shows for the 1965–1966 season in a viewer TVQ poll. The other top contenders were The Big Valley , Get Smart , I Dream of Jeannie and F Troop . Lost in Space was the favorite show of John F. Kennedy, Jr. while he was growing up in the 1960s. Lost in Space received a 1966 Emmy Award nomination for Cinematography-Special Photographic Effects but did not win, and again in 1968 for Achievement in Visual Arts & Makeup but did not win. In 2005, it
13608-515: The total viewers, meaning a drop in the "quality audience" that advertisers preferred. Guy Williams had grown embittered with his role on the show as it became increasingly "campy" in Seasons 2 and 3 while centering squarely on the antics of Harris' Dr. Smith character. Williams retired from acting and relocated to Argentina after the end of the series. In 1995, Kevin Burns produced a documentary showcasing
13734-472: The tragedy, the bigger the audience." Allen later went to Columbia to make a short-lived TV series, Code Red (1981–1982). His last films for Warner Bros. were The Night the Bridge Fell Down (1983) and Cave-In! (1979, though not released until 1983). Shortly before Cave-In! made its TV debut, Allen was awarded a Worst Career Achievement Golden Raspberry Award . While at Columbia, Allen made
13860-401: The upper level were the guidance control system and suspended animation "freezing tubes" necessary for non-relativistic interstellar travel . The two levels were connected by both an electronic glide tube elevator and a fixed ladder . The Jupiter 2 explicitly had artificial gravity . Entrances and exits to the ship were via the main airlock on the upper level, or via the landing struts from
13986-406: The voyage, and they are set to be unfrozen when the spacecraft approaches its destination. Dr. Zachary Smith ( Jonathan Harris ), a physician working for Alpha Control , which is conducting the launch, is revealed to be a saboteur working on behalf of an unnamed nation or organization, with which he communicated under the code name Aeolis-14-Umbra . After disposing of a guard who catches him aboard
14112-408: Was a film prop modified from a toy semi-automatic pistol made by Remco . The crew also employed a force field around the Jupiter 2 for protection while on alien planets. The force shield generator was able to protect the campsite and in one season 3 episode was able to shield the entire planet. For communication, the crew used small transceivers to communicate with each other, the Chariot, and
14238-472: Was a mild ratings success, unlike Star Trek , which received relatively poor ratings during its original network television run. The more cerebral Star Trek never averaged higher than 52nd in the ratings during its three seasons, while Lost in Space finished season one 35th in the Nielsen ratings, season two in 44th place, and the third and final season in 53rd place. Lost in Space also ranked third as one of
14364-501: Was also used as the slogan of the 1998 film, whose official website had the address "www.dangerwillrobinson.com". In 1962, Gold Key comics, a division of Western Publishing Company , began publishing a series of comic books under the title Space Family Robinson . The story was largely inspired by The Swiss Family Robinson but with a space-age twist. The film and television rights to the comic book were then purchased by noted television writer Hilda Bohem ( The Cisco Kid ), who created
14490-399: Was an American film and television producer and director, known for his work in science fiction , then later as the "Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. His most successful productions were The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974). He also created and produced the popular 1960s science-fiction television series Voyage to the Bottom of
14616-487: Was based on the Paul Gallico novel of the same name and directed by Ronald Neame . Unable to find a studio to fully back the venture, Allen raised half the $ 5 million budget, with 20th Century-Fox putting up the rest; the film eventually grossed over $ 100 million. L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers won a Special Achievement Academy Award for the film's optical and physical effects. Allen hoped to follow up on
14742-652: Was beginning to shift from studios to talent agencies . He put together packages consisting of directors, actors, and a script, and sold them to film studios. Allen's first film as producer was Where Danger Lives (1950) with Robert Mitchum , directed by John Farrow and written by Charles Bennett . Allen produced it with Irving Cummings, Jr . The two men made two more films for RKO: Double Dynamite (1951) with Jane Russell , Groucho Marx , and Frank Sinatra , and A Girl in Every Port (1952), again with Marx and William Bendix . Allen made his directorial debut with
14868-467: Was hosted within a recreation of the Jupiter 2 upper deck set. The program ends with Laroquette mockingly pressing a button on the Amulet from "The Galaxy Gift" episode, disappearing and being replaced by Mumy and Harris who play an older Will Robinson and an older Zachary Smith. They attempt to return to Earth one more time but they find out that they are "Lost in Space ... Forever!" Lost in Space showcased
14994-404: Was influential on later filmmakers , bringing a different kind of creativity and fantasy . Méliès's innovative editing and special effects techniques were widely imitated and became important elements of the cinematic medium . 1927's Metropolis , directed by Fritz Lang , is the first feature-length science fiction film. Though not well received in its time, it is now considered
15120-480: Was known for its embrace of a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously " literary " or " artistic " sensibility . In 1961, Solaris by Stanisław Lem was published in Poland . The novel dealt with the theme of human limitations as its characters attempted to study a seemingly intelligent ocean on a newly discovered planet . Lem's work anticipated
15246-535: Was made for Fox television at a budget of $ 1 million with a view to possibly going to series. They screened on different networks: Adventures of the Queen (1975), The Swiss Family Robinson (1975), and Time Travelers (1976). Only Swiss Family was picked up for a series, running for 20 episodes. Allen left 20th Century Fox when a change in management in 1976 cancelled the remaining three planned disaster films, with incoming studio chief Alan Ladd, Jr. feeling that
15372-492: Was modeled on the Apollo Lunar Module . The Pod was used to travel from its bay in the Jupiter 2 to destinations either on a nearby planet or in space, and the pod apparently had artificial gravity and an auto-return mechanism. For self-defense, the crew of the Jupiter 2 had an arsenal of laser guns at their disposal, including sling -carried rifles and holstered pistols. The first season's personal issue laser gun
15498-508: Was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best DVD Retro Television Release, but did not win. In 2008, TVLand nominated and awarded the series for Awesomest Robot. The open and closing theme music was written by John Williams, listed in the credits as "Johnny Williams". The original pilot and much of Season One reused Bernard Herrmann 's eerie score from the classic sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Season three featured
15624-408: Was the first of his three- decade -long planetary romance series of Barsoom novels , which were set on Mars and featured John Carter as the hero . These novels were predecessors to YA novels , and drew inspiration from European science fiction and American Western novels . In 1924, We by Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin , one of the first dystopian novels, was published. It describes
15750-427: Was the first time two major studios made a film together, splitting the costs. Despite its nearly three-hour run time, the film, directed by John Guillermin , was a hit and won three Academy Awards. The success of the films led to Allen receiving an offer to make three television films. "I missed television", said Allen. "There's a hysteria and an excitement in television that exists nowhere else in business." Each
15876-486: Was the subject of a 1995 documentary, The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen , produced and directed by Kevin Burns , co-founder of Foxstar Productions , originally set up as the production unit responsible for creating a series of Alien Nation movies for television. Numerous cast members and associates from various Irwin Allen projects appeared in the film, lending recollections of their time working with him. In 1994, while senior VP of Foxstar, Burns founded Van Ness Films,
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