“Danger, Will Robinson!”
Once again, the iconic robotic cry for help will return to airwaves as the Neil Marshall helmed reboot readies for its Netflix premiere.
Starring Toby Stephens, Molly Parker, Mina Sundwall, Max Jenkins and Taylor Russell as the Robinson clan and Parker Posey as Dr. Smith, Lost in Space, the big-budget space frolic took, its first episode to a sci-fi loving audience at WonderCon 2018. At the panel, the cast and crew answered questions from fans and talked about the experience and how they stepped into these seminal characters.
“The thing I liked about playing John is that he has faults. He’s not a perfect parent, but he’s trying to be. He’s struggling to be better,” said Stephens. “I think one of the things that made me connect with him was the parenting stuff. Just wanting to be the ideal parent, or just trying to be the ideal parent.”
Parker also shared her take on the new and improved Maureen Robinson, now a mathematician and genius in her own right.
“I love the original Maureen, but that was a different time…and gender dynamic,” said Parker. “Now, she can do whatever the men can do.”
“Because the show takes place 30 years in the future, a lot of the reality is imagined be at a place we’d like to be. Hopefully we are in a place where we are good with class and race and gender.”
When quizzed about the original show, the youngest Robinson stated that he prepped for the part.
At the panel, the young actor was asked if he knew about show and the iconic line uttered by the Class B-9-M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot.
“I have heard it…on Family Guy,” laughed Jenkins.
“We all have really big shoes to fill, but we are taking our own spin on it,” he continued. “I got to meet Bill Mumy…we bonded over Pete Seeger and comic books.”
Sundwall also explored the character of Penny, a middle child book lover who is trying to find her place in a family of scientists.
“I think of Penny with two sides: On one side, she is a sarcastic middle child, never treated as the youngest one and never treated as the responsible one. She’s stuck right in the middle. But she is also this romantic soul literature buff in the middle of this science family. In the beginning, you can see she feels out of place,” said Sundwall. “I definitely think that throughout the season, she becomes for comfortable with her place and her self.”
As the eldest Robinson child, Russell was quick to point out how Judy inspired her to step up her game.
“Having somebody written the way Judy is written, you have to rise up for the occasion in a lot of ways. She’s much stronger than me. It’s an honor for me to be represented in the way she is. I have nothing but admiration and love for the character.” said Russell.
And as the Robinson fremeny, Parker was thrilled with the new updates to the good “doctor.”
“I love Doctor Smith so much and I was touched to be offered this role,” said Parker. “As a five or six year old girl, I would wake up at 6 am and watch the static on the TV turn to color and watch Lost in Space,” said Parker. “When I heard they were going to offer me the part of Doctor Smith, since I loved it so much as a kid, I was really touched.”
“I loved this. We all had a great time and it’s so nice to share it.”
Netflix’s Lost in Space premieres on April 13.
