Editing Lost in Space (section)

===Series history===
The show was conceptualized in 1965 with the filming of an unaired pilot episode titled "[[No Place to Hide (Lost in Space)|No Place to Hide]]". The plot of the pilot episode followed the mission of a ship called the ''Gemini 12,'' which was to take a single family on a 98-year journey to an Earth-like planet orbiting the star [[Alpha Centauri]]. The ''Gemini 12'' was pushed off course due to an encounter with an asteroid, and the story centered on the adventures of the Robinson family, depicting them as a happy crew without internal conflicts.<ref name="VanHise">{{cite journal|last=Van Hise|first=James|date=April 1998|title=''Lost in Space'': A retrospective of the original sci-fi TV show|url=https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/Cinefantastique/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2029%20No%2012%20%28Apr%201998%29.pdf|url-status=live|journal=[[Cinefantastique]]|volume=29|issue=12|page=26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920070012/https://the-eye.eu/public/Books/Cinefantastique/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2029%20No%2012%20%28Apr%201998%29.pdf|archive-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref> While many storylines in the later series focused primarily on Dr. Zachary Smith, a stowaway and saboteur played by Jonathan Harris, he was absent from the unaired pilot. His character was added after the series was commissioned for production.<ref name="VanHise" /> The pilot episode was first aired on television during a 1997 retrospective.<ref name="VanHise" />

CBS bought the series, turning down ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' in favor of ''Lost in Space''. Before the first episode was filmed, the characters Smith and the Robot were added, and the spaceship, originally named ''Gemini 12'', was renamed the ''Jupiter 2'' and redesigned. For budget considerations, a good part of the footage included in the pilot episode was reused, being carefully worked into the early series episodes.<ref name="VanHise" />

The first season emphasized the daily adventures of the Robinsons. The first half of season 1 dealt with the Robinson party trekking around the rocky terrain and stormy inland oceans of Priplanus in the Chariot to avoid extreme temperatures. However, the format of the show later changed to a "Monster of the Week" style, where stories were loosely based on fantasy and fairy tales.

In January 1966, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] scheduled ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' in the same time slot as ''Lost in Space''. Season 2 imitated ''Batman''{{'}}s [[camp (style)|campy]] humor to compete against that show's enormous success.<ref name="pioneersoftv">"Science Fiction". ''Pioneers of Television'', January 18, 2011.</ref> Bright outfits, over-the-top action, and outrageous villains came to the fore in outlandish stories. Stories giving all characters focus were sacrificed in favor of a growing emphasis on Smith, Will, and the Robot. According to Bill Mumy, Mark Goddard and Guy Williams both disliked the shift away from serious science fiction.<ref>Eisner, Joel, and Magen, Barry, ''Lost in Space Forever'', Windsong Publishing, Inc., 1992.</ref>

The third season had more adventure, but also episodes like "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" with actor [[Stanley Adams (actor)|Stanley Adams]] as Tybo, the talking carrot. With the reputation of being "the most insipid and bizarre episode in television history", Kristen recalled that Goddard complained that "seven years of [[Constantin Stanislavski|Stanislavski]] [[method acting]] had led to his talking to a carrot.{{r|pioneersoftv}}" The ''Jupiter 2'' was now functional and traveled from planet to planet, but the episodes still tended to be whimsical and to emphasize humor, including fanciful space hippies, more pirates, offbeat intergalactic zoos, ice princesses, and a galactic beauty pageant.

During the first two seasons, episodes concluded in a "live action freeze" anticipating the following week, with a cliff-hanger caption, "To be continued next week! Same time, same channel!" For the third season, each episode's conclusion was immediately followed by a vocal "teaser" from the Robot (Dick Tufeld), advising viewers to "Stay tuned for scenes from next week's exciting adventure!". Scenes from the next episode were then presented, followed by the closing credits. There was little continuity between each episode, except for the aspiration of reaching a large goal, ''i.e.'', enough fuel to travel from planet to planet.

After cancellation, the show was successful in reruns and in syndication for many years, appearing on the [[USA Network]] (in the mid-to-late 1980s) and on [[FX (TV channel)|FX]], [[Syfy]], [[ALN (TV network)|ALN]], [[MeTV]] and [[Hulu]].