On April 13th, Netflix released Lost In Space, a new take on the classic 1966 TV show of the same name. For those who don’t know (which I bet are many of you, considering the show is over 50 years old and I had to ask my mom about it), Lost In Space is about the Robinsons, a family that went to space to colonize a star named Alpha-Centauri. After their spaceship is thrown off course it cruises around the universe in an attempt to survive the situations they get into.
They are also accompanied by a robot, whose most famous line is “Danger, Will Robinson”, referring to the Robinson’s youngest kid; a kooky, sort of xenophobic psychologist named Dr. Smith, who is responsible for the spaceship’s malfunction; and Major Don West, a does-it-all kind of guy, who is pretty obviously attracted to the Robinson’s oldest daughter, Judy.
In the Netflix’s version the plot has suffered a few changes, for instance, the first season takes place on a single planet, the robot is an alien and Dr. Smith is a woman. But that doesn’t affect the show’s integrity and it can still be considered pretty good, having scored 7.3 out of 10 in IMDB and a 69% in Rotten Tomatoes.
This isn’t the first show Netflix brings back to life after several years.
In fact, in the past few years we’ve received many revivals, such as Fuller House (based in the 90’s classic family sitcom Full House) or Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life (which revisits the universe of Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow) or Dynasty (coming from the soap opera of same name). Other streaming services and TV networks have also caught onto the trend. Think about it for a second, how many of the things we are seeing today are actually just either remaking or continuing the same things we loved ten, twenty, thirty, or, like Lost In Space, fifty years ago?
But, in this day and age, why are we bringing back things from our past?
Obviously, there is a monetary safety that many new shows don’t bring. While new shows aren’t a sure bet and could easily flop, revivals and remakes are of massive appeal to those who used to love the original versions and producing companies are not only aware of that, but also ready to nose dive into this market.
However, revivals are about more than just monetary success.
They are a clear of sign of the overwhelming nostalgia feeling our society is going through. In a time of violence, xenophobia and unpleasant politics, it’s not unusual for people to want to go back to simpler times. To watch the things that used to make them happy several years ago, when they were children or teenagers. We are ashamed of our present and so we rely on revivals to make us forget about reality, even if it’s just for a short twenty minutes.
For how long are we going to continue ignoring the things that happen around us? How many revivals are we going to sit through before we decide to get up and change the world?
Cover Image Courtesy of Netflix.
