Lost In Space

Lost In Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen. The series was released by Fox Television and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965 and March 6, 1968. Lost in Space was the second of Allen's four science fiction TV series. The show's main theme was space travel adventure. The show's first season was in black and white, but the second and third seasons were in color.

Conceptually the series is a space-age adaptation of the classic adventure novel Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss. During the first two seasons, the series follows the adventures of an astronaut family that is shipwrecked on an alien world after getting lost trying to reach the Alpha Centauri star system. In the third season they travel to other worlds in their never-resolved attempts to reach their destination, which was either Earth or Alpha Centauri.

Following the successful format of Allen's first TV series, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, the emphasis was on creating exciting fantasy-oriented adventure stories. Each week, the show delivered a fast-paced visual assault of special effects, explosions, monstrous aliens, spaceships, and exotic sets and costumes drenched in bright, primary colors. On the other hand, unlike the other space TV show of the day, Star Trek, character development, serious issues, dramatic depth, or even maintaining a coherent story were ignored. ("Don't get logical with me!" was Allen's frequent retort to writers who objected to changes to their scripts. Source: Starlog #219)

Allen had hit upon a winning formula which he used to create a third fantasy-adventure show, The Time Tunnel (1966-1967), followed by his last and most ambitious series, Land Of The Giants (1968-1970), all of which have become cult, if not critical, favorites.