1965-66 Television Season 50th Anniversary Tribute: Lost In Space (Season 1)

Continuing our look back at the wonderful 1965-66 broadcast television season, we pay tribute to the amazing space-based series that aired that season, and now focus on a personal childhood favorite of ours: Lost In Space.

Lost In Space ('LIS' to fans of the series), debuted September 15, 1965, and that first season on CBS was filmed in black and white. This clip we are viewing today is from the excellent series retrospective from 1998 (timed to coincide with the new Lost In Space feature film that was out in theaters), and hosted by John Larroquette entitled 'Lost In Space Forever.' The special is available on DVD, as is the entire LIS series via impressive individual seasons (two per season) DVD sets.

In this video clip, we'll see clips from the first season of the series, and interviews with Angela Cartwright, June Lockhart, Marta Kristen and Mark Goddard. Similar interviews will Billy Mumy and Jonathan Harris will be included in the 'Season 2' clip we'll show here at Television Vanguard later this week on Wednesday. As special treat to commemorate the series, we'll be showing clips and interviews from the Lost In Space series and cast all week long.

Lost in Space was at the vanguard of television special effects, and the Jupiter 2 spaceship and chariot land rover were very impressive for their time. The series robot has become iconic and world renown, probably the second most familiar robot of all time, right behind Robby the Robot from the movie 'A Forbidden Planet' and alongside Rosie the Robot from the Jetsons... with honorable mention to Hal 9000. The series was to have taken place in the (future) year 1997, and it is fun to watch the show and see all the amazing high tech 'household' appliances that the Robinsons used daily including 'cook-oven' and 'washing machine.'

What made LIS so remarkable, was that each of the three seasons on the air, the series underwent major changes each season; and thus, looking back, each of the three seasons has its own distinct look, pace and storytelling. We'll explore those changes from seasons 1, 2 and 3 throughout this coming week.

Enjoy!

This video clip is presented here at YouTube for the entertainment and informational value of the viewer, and no copyright infringement is intended.