# Space Family Robinson



## starseeker2 (Jun 13, 2008)

I was just putting away some of the stuff that I've been scanning and posting and I started looking through some of the Fox blueprints. It has been more than 20 years since I've looked at some of them and they're starting to show their +40 year old age. But on this one, I was just struck by the beauty of the design, the sketches of the Robinsons, the lettering, the elegance of the artwork, it's all very nice to look at, and I thought I'd share a couple parts. The quality of the print and of the scan (and the fact that they're for the Gemini 12) also goes a long way to explain why I re-drew these all those years ago.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

Thanks! Those really show how much thought went into the design and production of sets back then.


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

Before Lost in Space, I fell in love with the comic book based on the Space Family Robinson title. I rather liked the spaceship concept they had. It was a long distance type of craft with green houses for veggies, an observatory and a shuttle bay. Here's a link to their site and you can scroll down to see the ship.

http://www.geocities.com/r_bryant42/meet-sfr.html


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

Great Images Sir!!:thumbsup:

Again,Thats why I like the Gemini 12 that much more. It was well thought out and believeable.

Sleeker profile, Larger Viewport...No pretense of a lower deck.A cool compact ship.


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

I think I might like Space Station One better than the Jupiter 2!  Bring on that model kit...


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

beatlepaul said:


> ...Again,Thats why I like the Gemini 12 that much more. It was well thought out and believeable.
> 
> Sleeker profile, Larger Viewport...No pretense of a lower deck.A cool compact ship.


I wonder what happened to the 4' G12 fusion core? How many 4' G12's were made?


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## JohnGuard (Jan 13, 2008)

beatlepaul said:


> Great Images Sir!!:thumbsup:
> 
> Again,Thats why I like the Gemini 12 that much more. It was well thought out and believeable.
> 
> Sleeker profile, Larger Viewport...No pretense of a lower deck.A cool compact ship.



are you saying the J2 with a lower deck doesnt make sense?


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## Argonaut (Feb 11, 2007)

jbond said:


> I think I might like Space Station One better than the Jupiter 2!  Bring on that model kit...


Great idea!! These ships would make great models, i.e., the Space Station
and that little shuttle space craft they had.


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

JohnGuard said:


> are you saying the J2 with a lower deck doesnt make sense?


 
No. I actually love the Idea Of the Jupiter Two having a lower level.

One that makes sense! The Ship wouldhave to be Much Larger to include everything it has(nothing new there).

However, I love the Jupiter Two with all of it's flaws, Just like the profile of the Gemini 12 better. Like prefering the 8 window Seaview to the Four Window Seaview.

BP


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## LGFugate (Sep 11, 2000)

Since the Robinsons were supposed to be in suspended animation until they arrived at Alpha Centauri, there was no need for a lower deck. The ship would have been their shelter only until they were able to fabricate permanent housing on the new planet. I would assume that they carried some sort of construction gear (axes?) and materials to get that process started, and the Robot would be able to handle some of the heavy work. 
Larry


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## X15-A2 (Jan 21, 2004)

It has been a long time since I've seen the original pilot episode but I don't believe that the mission was intended to "stay" on the planet they were going to, but rather to scout it and report back on its potential for later colonization. In that case, the G-12 would not need extensive supplies for building surface structures, etc. The mission would be a scientific survey of x-amount of time then report home what they had found. This all got muddled in the second pilot. In the first pilot the ship was a much more utilitarian vehicle, offering transportation but not much else, sort of like the space equivalent of a family "station wagon". Because of the lack of amenities on board, we are left to assume that the family was intended to "camp out" in the traditional sense while on the planet. They probably brought sleeping bags, tents, cots, folding tables, etc. Actually puts quite a different complexion on how the show would have looked if they had stayed with the original format.


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

Yea, I rember the first pilot. There was no Dr. Smith either. He basically ruined the show for me. 

There was a second level where the robot was stored and computer banks, probably for the engine.


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

X15-A2 said:


> ...I don't believe that the mission was intended to "stay" on the planet they were going to, but rather to scout it and report back on its potential for later colonization...


Just checked that, and you're right. The clue is where they said Judy had put her plans for a career on hold for at least two centuries. (The pilot specified a 100 year trip to Alpha Centauri, which had aleady been established as being able to support human life.)


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Point of clarification; there was no robot aboard the single-decked Gemini XII. 
The show was originally meant to be an updated Swiss Family Robinson, complete with a shipwreck and the efforts to colonize a long way from home. However, Irwin Allen and his staff realized that audiences would very quickly bore with the concept, and having spent that much money on the production, didn't want to risk the show being a flop. Thus was born Dr. Smith, The Robot, and the classic Jupiter II, which included lower deck with staterooms, lab and galley, and the capability of repairs and renewed flights to explore other worlds.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Seaview said:


> Thus was born Dr. Smith, The Robot....


 ... and some delightfully absurdo silliness. I doubt the series would have lasted past Season 1 without those two.


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

Personally, I can dig the robot. It would have had it's purpose when the Robinsons landed in strange surroundings. It could perform as a scout as well as a protector / guard. 

But IMHO, what Dr. Smith did for the show feels a lot like what Wesley Crusher did for Star Trek. TNG. In this case, his character was just a bit too much to accept with his level of cowardice and constant screaming. Hardly the type of man that would serve as a spy or agent for the other side. After season 1, I kinda gave up on the show. It pretty much self destructed when they had episodes with a talking carrot and using inflatable beach balls for land mines.


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## Lou Dalmaso (Jul 13, 2004)

Nah,
Will was the proto-Wesley. A kid who was just too smart for his own good.

Devious Smith was definately my favorite, but would have gotten tired after the first 6 or so sabotages.

The problem was that the family was written as so flawless that they were boring and a colorful Smith character easily waltzed (or mintzed) in and stold all the attention.

If you think about it, it should have been West who was the standout character. He could be Will's buddy, cuz if he was written properly, he could have been all the things Will found lacking in Dad.

he could have been Judy's bad-boy friend, Penny's crush and John's rival for his kid's attention. 

If you can find the Comic book series that Bill Mumy wrote, you can get a look at how it really could have been done a lot better.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Lou Dalmaso said:


> Nah,
> The problem was that the family was written as so flawless that they were boring and a colorful Smith character easily waltzed (or mintzed) in and stold all the attention.


Agreed. Although I watched all the Irwin Allen shows as a kid, I have only recently rediscovered them through their Thursday airings on The American Life Channel. As an adult VTBOS really holds up as one of the best Sci-Fi series ever produced for television. And LIS is highly entertaining for its bizarro silliness. But I just can't get with The Time Tunnel, and Land of The Giants is downright painful. The concepts, writing, and most of the on-screen talent for those two series were of the "Saturday Morning TV" variety. They just had "Prime Time" budgets.


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

I agree, there should have been no Dr. Smith and Maj. West should have been the risk taker, colorful character. The show probably would have gotten a larger female following if a love interest between Judy and West were allowed to develop.

I think the show got off to a good start with the exploration of the unknown by seeing some of the ruins in the pilot and alien spaceships, but listening to Dr. Smith just got old, really old.

I think that after the first season, if Irwin Allen could have borrowed from a lot of scifi novels for his seasonal themes, the show would have gotten off to a better run. Heck, even the Space Family Robinson comic book had better story lines.


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

Zorro said:


> Agreed. Although I watched all the Irwin Allen shows as a kid, I have only recently rediscovered them through their Thursday airings on The American Life Channel. As an adult VTBOS really holds up as one of the best Sci-Fi series ever produced for television. And LIS is highly entertaining for its bizarro silliness. But I just can't get with The Time Tunnel, and Land of The Giants is downright painful. The concepts, writing, and most of the on-screen talent for those two series were of the "Saturday Morning TV" variety. They just had "Prime Time" budgets.


I agree on some points. The Time Tunnel was a pretty good show in my opinion except I could never get the notion of not chaning the timeline out of my head with each episode. They apparently were not worried about changing the timeline as they kept trying to change the past like preventing the sinking of the Titanic.

In LOTG,I found the props and challenges the little people to overcome a large scale world interesting, but once the inspector became aware of them, I could never fathom why such a large 4 or 5 foot spaceship in the woods was so hard for the inspector to find. Due to the size of the little people and the distance to town, the ship couldn't have been that far in the woods.


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## john_trek (Apr 13, 2000)

Yeah, just how did the Spindrift stay hidden while only a hundred feet or so from the nearest road, and less than a 1/4 mile from the center of town? At least, that's how close it must have been in Giant terms. 

And during the first season the damn engine intakes and overhead dome kept glowing and flashing twenty four hours a day. Which, come to think of it, probably explains why they never could generate enough power to take off... it had all been used up on the flashing lights.


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## Captain Han Solo (Apr 5, 2002)

I think if they stayed With Smith's Character as he was in the Pretty much the first half of the first season it would have been better.

There was a Nice Balance between being totally evil and the Coward.

Jonathan Harris gave an excellent performance as Smith in those early shows.

Depending where you get your info, there were several reasons for the change..Which I will not go into here.


BP


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

According to Harris, Irwin Allen's reaction to the early stages of his more comedic and mincing take on Smith was, "More!!"


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

I remember watching Bill Mumy's special about the show. After the first couple of seasons, Irwin Allen was getting desperate for ideas of the show. Also, other shows of the time like Batman, Get Smart, etc. were taking the "campy" route. Irwin took this route as Penny says was stupid and silly. She said she was almost embarrased to be in the show. Talking carrots, beach balls for mines, a monster every week (incidently many of the monsters were costumes used in the underwater monsters for VTTBOTS). It's too bad Irwin didn't borrow from some of the great scifi novels of the time.

I bought the first season and I may buy the second season since it was in color. But that's about it for me.


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## toyroy (Jul 17, 2005)

Scifi shows get re-made. The recent Battlestar Galactica is more grown-up than the original series. Perhaps, we might see a Lost in Space more like the unaired pilot.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

Old_McDonald said:


> I remember watching Bill Mumy's special about the show. After the first couple of seasons, Irwin Allen was getting desperate for ideas of the show. Also, other shows of the time like Batman, Get Smart, etc. were taking the "campy" route. Irwin took this route as Penny says was stupid and silly. She said she was almost embarrased to be in the show. Talking carrots, beach balls for mines, a monster every week (incidently many of the monsters were costumes used in the underwater monsters for VTTBOTS). It's too bad Irwin didn't borrow from some of the great scifi novels of the time.
> 
> I bought the first season and I may buy the second season since it was in color. But that's about it for me.


Even the first season was pretty darned silly. Warren Oates as a corn-cob pipe smoking space cowboy. An "Amazing Colossal " Dr. Smith. Albert Salmi as a Space Pirate with a parrot on his shoulder. The "cute dog" episode. Yeah, the series got even sillier in subsequent seasons - but it didn't have all that far to go.


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## jbond (Aug 29, 2002)

Yeah, that is one of the recurring myths about LIS to me, that the first season was all serious science fiction and it got silly later. The space cowboy was the FIRST regular episode after they burned up the pilot footage over the first handful of debut episodes--then we had a family of space hillbillies and plenty of other goofy stuff. If the first season had been filmed in color I don't think there would be this debate--there are later episodes even in the third season that play like first season episodes, just in color.

I also wouldn't rate Voyage very highly as science fiction--stacked up against Star Trek, Twilight Zone, The Invaders, Dr. Who--Voyage's sci fi concepts (and Allen's in general) were weak and juvenile. But it was imaginative and extremely exciting for kids or teenagers and of course I love the look of the show and the vehicle designs.


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## Zorro (Jun 22, 1999)

jbond said:


> I also wouldn't rate Voyage very highly as science fiction--stacked up against Star Trek, Twilight Zone, The Invaders, Dr. Who--Voyage's sci fi concepts (and Allen's in general) were weak and juvenile. But it was imaginative and extremely exciting for kids or teenagers and of course I love the look of the show and the vehicle designs.


 As an adult viewer who is pretty critical but not a hardcore Sci-fi fan, VTBOS (at least the first two seasons I've been watching) holds up well primarily for its execution - the episodes were very well directed and well paced, the cast was solid, and I appreciate the series' approach of switching back and forth between the more "fantastical" storylines and the more grounded and realistic ones. I agree that its not in the same pantheon as the series mentioned above (though I literally haven't seen The Invaders in 40 years so can't comment there) but it is consistently engaging and entertaining to this now Fifty-something viewer. I most definitely _cannot_ say that about The Time Tunnel or Land of The Giants.


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## Krel (Jun 7, 2000)

One thing to remember is that the Irwin Allen shows were not sf shows, they were action shows. He called them "running and jumping shows". He also did not have full control over his shows as he sold parts of them off to get them produced. "Lost In Space" wasn't even his show, he was hired to produce it. That is why it took so long to do a LIS movie, and is the holdup on doing a VTTBOTS movie.

In the 70s there was a paper called "The Monster Times" which had an interview with IA. They asked him why did they stop leaving the Seaview, and turn to monster suits. IA said that it was a matter of budget, they kept cutting it, and he had to use what sets he had. He wanted to do show off of the Seaview. The network wanted him to do shows off the Seaview. But when he told them that he needed a bigger budget to do so, they said, no. Monster suits were a fairly inexpensive way to do a exciting show. 

Del Monroe said in an interview that the scripts were not that bad. They used to go to the spfx department and read them, as they got them before the cast. The scripts they got were completely different after the budgeting department got through with them. Many of the writers IA used where dictated by the studio.

"The Time Tunnel" was canceled, not for bad ratings, but because they ran out of stock footage they could use! VTTBOTS, and LIS were both renewed, but then were canceled by IA because of budget cuts, he just couldn't do it anymore. The strange thing is, that after cutting the budgets for his other shows, they green-lighted the most expensive show on tv at the time, "Land of the Giants".

David.


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## Molemento Pete (Mar 27, 2002)

beatlepaul said:


> No. I actually love the Idea Of the Jupiter Two having a lower level.
> 
> One that makes sense! The Ship wouldhave to be Much Larger to include everything it has(nothing new there).
> 
> ...


Maybe the J2 was the American version of the TARDIS - bigger on the inside.


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## Seaview (Feb 18, 2004)

Krel said:


> " The strange thing is, that after cutting the budgets for his other shows, they green-lighted the most expensive show on tv at the time, "Land of the Giants".
> 
> David.


Hence the larger budget to do Land Of The Giants; without Voyage, Time Tunnel and Lost In Space to drain the budget, 20th Century Fox, Irwin Allen, etc. could focus their full resources and attention on LOTG.


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## Jaruemalak (Jun 12, 2008)

toyroy said:


> Scifi shows get re-made. The recent Battlestar Galactica is more grown-up than the original series. Perhaps, we might see a Lost in Space more like the unaired pilot.


I'd love to get my hands on the LIS pilot that was made a few years ago. It didn't sell, but some of the sets were used for the Pegasus on Battlestar Galactica. I know it has to be out there somewhere... even the early 2000's Time Tunnel unsold pilot was finished and put on the DVD set.


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## Old_McDonald (Jul 5, 2002)

Jaruemalak said:


> I'd love to get my hands on the LIS pilot that was made a few years ago. It didn't sell, but some of the sets were used for the Pegasus on Battlestar Galactica. I know it has to be out there somewhere... even the early 2000's Time Tunnel unsold pilot was finished and put on the DVD set.


The first season boxed set has the unaired pilot on the last disc with episode 29. You might be able to get this at a good price now.


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## Jaruemalak (Jun 12, 2008)

Old_McDonald said:


> The first season boxed set has the unaired pilot on the last disc with episode 29. You might be able to get this at a good price now.


No, I'm talking about the WB pilot from 2003, called "The Robinsons: Lost In Space"

Oddly enough, I DID just pick up all five boxed sets of the original LIS series for about 100 bucks... about half what they wanted in the store!


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