The Original Series Robots Which Led up to the Robot in Netflix’s Lost in Space
The new sleek and smooth alien-designed robot pictured in Netflix’s 2018 Lost in Space reboot is stunning. Its motions are clean, and its temperament always on the edge. It could turn at any minute. The robot’s body shape and even its personality have drawn heavily from the various robots seen in the original series.
Obviously, the root of the alien AI’s character is the classical Robot B-9 from the original Lost in Space. B-9 was the one responsible for damaging several vital systems, forcing the Robinsons’ ship the Jupiter 2 to make an emergency landing. It was B-9 who was manipulated and bossed around my the mischievous (sometimes cynical) Dr. Zachary Smith. And, most importantly, B-9 became Will Robinson‘s fast companion and friend. All these traits can be seen in the alien AI from the Netflix reboot.
The Netflix robot is more humanoid in appearance and in its movements than practically any bot featured in the old TV series. The almost expressionless face of the Netflix robot may have taken a few notes from the golden androids in the original series episode “The Dream Monster.” Of course, the androids being depicted in the old show had even simpler faces. They carried the blankest expressions possible. At least the Netflix robot is able to fill the void in its head with a light or vague extraterrestrial image which changes its color to express its various emotions.
The origin of the new show’s Robinson robot is alien, a trait which it shares with perhaps the most notorious android which appeared in Irwin Allen‘s original creation: Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956) who had a guest starring role in the episode “War of the Robots.” Despite being recognized from his countless appearances in film and TV history, Robby’s character in Lost in Space was a unique one.
Some time ago, the alien AI had been rendered unfunctional. It could no longer communicate or move. Will Robinson, being the bright boy he is, is overwhelmed with a great curiosity for the machine. He wants to see if he can get the alien droid up and running again. Will does this alien droid a favor, though the droid eventually reveals its hostile intentions and B-9 ends up saving the day.
This bears a number of similarities to the Robinsons’ robot in the reboot. Will is charitable toward the robot and is able to relate to its situation. It’s of an alien design and is answerable to a higher authority, and it has its outbreaks of anger or defensiveness.
The reboot’s bot also displays at least one characteristic seen in another android from the original series. The feminine android Verda, who first appeared in the episode “The Android Machine,” is shown to be able to change the temperature of water with the wave of her hand and the twiddling of her fingers from hot to cold and back again. The robot Will brings along back to camp in the rebooted version is able to save his sister Judy’s life by using the same technique. This robot possesses the same capability as Verda.
Later in the original series, Verda is being hunted down by a super-android classified as IDAK: an Instant Destroyer And Killer. This android has a striking outward resemblance to Superman, but the instinct he has been programmed with causes him to tend to be narrow-minded and ruthless for a long time.
However, Will tries to teach IDAK how to play baseball which results in the ball getting plunged into the side of a cliff due to the great force IDAK applied to it. Similarly, we see Will and the new robot tossing a ball back and forth. And Will tells the robot to toss the ball “gently” because he has seen how strong the robot can be. It remains one of the most iconic clips from the first season of the reboot.
The viewer of the modern series who has previously enjoyed watching the original show can find quite a few subtle similarities between the two. In the case of the robot, we can see that the alien AI in the reboot has pulled a lot of its characteristics, capabilities, and engagements with other characters from practically every robot which had a part in the first Lost in Space. A second season of the Netflix series is currently being prepared.
Note: This article originally appeared on OIAI’s main page here.
