Will is the youngest, he is an intelligent boy, he comes back with the robot after he saved it and in return the robot saved Will and his stepsister Judy (Taylor Russel). Had to get used to her during the first season, but her character and Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) will they, won’t they routine, makes for fun TV because Don West for sure gets the best, humorous, lines. He really makes you laugh on a regular basis. Penny (Mina Sundwall) is also one of my favorite characters, she too, like West, is very funny, and she is also a bit rebellious. Dr. Smith is played by Parker Posey, this one I really had to get used to, she is so annoying, especially in season one. But it means in fact that she played her part very well. She is isn’t of course who she says she is, she is no doctor, she in fact took the place of her sister, whom she drugged and tight up she could infiltrate the Resolute as her sister, which did not go smoothly.

The Robinson’s are on their way to a new planet but their ship crashes on a unknown planet. Will gets lost after he and his father split and Will encounters an aggressive robot but is split in half. Will decides to help him and in return the robot helps Will, Will’s stepdaughter and the whole family from freezing to death on that icy planet. Meanwhile we see a woman disguising herself as a certain Dr. Smith to be able to escape, leaving the real Dr. Smith (Bill Mumy) behind, left for dead. Another crash brings more survivors to the planet. The Robinson’s get help from the mysterious robot to salvage their ship. On that crashed ship Dr. Smith and Don West are present, he saves Dr. Smith just before the ship breaks in half. Because of a heavy storm which is coming, Penny picks up her mum and dad, and on the way back they see a flare, which is from Dr. Smith, who has betrayed Don West who is left with a wounded survivor. John is very suspicious of the mysterious robot, on the one hand, understandable, but on the other hand, he did save two of his children.

With flashbacks we see how Dr. Smith drugs her sister so that she can take her place on the resolute. When she is found out, she kills a guy, spacing him. The Robinson’s take her in, she is watching the family, biding her time, thinking only of herself. The Robinsons must find a solution to a new threat as the ship's fuel supply starts dropping – fast. Judy overcomes her fear when she comes in a tough spot as the ship falls further through the ice. She has a unique solution to escape the ice: release the remaining fuel. The 3rd episode “Infestation” was the best of the first 3 episodes, dealing with these eels, some comedic moments with John and him trying kill such a thing. The Robinson’s make contact with another family whom have also crashed on the planet. Judy learns from Angela that it was actually a robot-like creature who attacked her on the resolute. As a response to her reaction, Will wants to hide the robot. On their way they see more survivors. Dr. Smith however is following Will, the robot and his sisters to the hiding place. She needs the robot for her own purposes.

I am a bit puzzled about Judy’s reaction about the robot, without the robot’s help, she would have died and their whole family probably would have died also if the robot didn’t provide the heat they desperately needed. As the team builds a tower of light to signal the Resolute, Maureen investigates a planetary anomaly and learns that there is something really wrong with the sun. Will is postponing telling his father about the robot but Dr. Smith tells John, because it suits her. Dr. Smith. also denigrates West when she is confronted by Judy about her actions when she was with him. Robot returns to save everyone and Will prevents it from killing everyone after killing two creatures.

Maureen debates whether to share what she saw in the sky. Don leads a mission to find fuel and he also finds out that Dr. Smith is actually a fraud. The robot’s presence stokes tensions within the group. When the robot hurts Will’s father, after Angela threatened it with a gun, Will decides that the robot no longer can be near his family. Dr. Smith, set up all what just happened, in motion. “Eulogy” was a good episode, great action scenes with finding the fuel, dramatic when Maureen finds out that this world is dying, emotionally charged when we learn what Angela experienced on the resolute and yes, also when Will orders the Robot to walk off the cliff. That conniving Dr. Smith really annoys the hell out of me but not as much as with my first watch when I almost stopped watching because of her.

Judy and Don race home across the desert with the valuable fuel, when there is an accident. They’ll have to choose between the fuel and a human life. Don supports Judy, consequently losing more than half the fuel. Stuck in tar, John and Maureen have some good talks and come closer together. Penny tries to comfort Will who is sad because he misses the robot. Dr. Smith finds the robot in pieces and wants to bring it back alive so it can protect her. “Pressurized” definitely is one of the best episodes, I really liked the scene between John and Maureen in the vehicle when they are stuck in tar. Maureen finds a solution to the fuel issue, but putting her plan into action proves trickier than expected. Her husband is the only one qualified to go up and meet the resolute, with West as his partner. Dr. Smith realizes her cover is blown. Maureen captures her but Dr. Smith, manipulates a frightened son Will, who doesn’t want his father to get killed. In the final moments we see Dr. Smith knock-out Maureen which results in the explosion of John’s and Don’s ship. “Trajectory” is one of the best episodes this season. Some great family drama, strong performances of Molly Parker, what a woman! West is definitely the funny one, definitely comic relief and he is one of my favorite characters. Dr. Smith is the opposite of that, man what do I dislike that woman. Find her not so annoying as with my first watch, but still very much dislike her.

John Robinson is presumed dead, Will is convinced he is still alive. Will does a major discovery which means they can go off this rock. But this means they have to go back to the caves where predators live. Judy goes to find her mother, Maureen has been kidnapped by Dr. Smith. Smith thinks they can operate that alien ship again, she brought the robot back to life with the intention that Dr. Smith no longer needs to run. In the season finale Dr. Smith and the robot join the Robinsons to the Resolute but before that, Maureen goes to save John. The robot has a ‘change of heart’, saves Will from another robot. Dad, who is saved by Dr. Smith, rescues his son as Will is floating away from the Jupiter 2. The Resolute returns for the Robinsons, but alien robot tech, the other robot came on the Jupiter for, is taking control of the Jupiter 2 and instead being rescued, the Robinson’s fly off to another star system, a system Will knows. An exciting season finale although it started out a bit sluggish.

Final Word:

I really enjoyed the first season, more than with previous watches. In part, I think, because I now am a bit more used to Dr. Smith. Don West with his chicken pet is my favorite character for sure, Maureen a close second. I can only recommend to watch this, yes, it is a bit shaky perhaps the first few episodes, but it grows into an interesting first season. A nice nod to the original series was Bill Mumy, who was the real Dr. Smith. In the original series he was Will Robinson! Unfortunately only the 1st season of Lost In Space has been released on Blu-ray.

Blog written with help from IMdB, screencaps also taken from IMdB.