Editing Lost in Space (section)

==Production==
===Props===
Props and monsters were regularly recycled from other [[Irwin Allen]] shows. A sea monster outfit that had been featured on ''[[Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (TV series)|Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea]]'' might get a spray paint job for its ''Lost in Space'' appearance, while space monster costumes were reused on ''Voyage'' as sea monsters.<ref>{{cite book|title=Irwin Allen Television Productions, 1964-1970|first=Jon|last=Abbott|publisher=McFarland & Co.|year=2006|page=178}}</ref> The clear round plastic pen holder used as a control surface in the episode "The Derelict" turned up regularly throughout the show's entire run both as primary controls to activate alien machinery (or open doors or cages), and as background set dressing; some primary controls were seen used in episodes such as Season 1's "The Keeper (Parts 1 and 2)", "His Majesty Smith", and Season 3's "A Day At The Zoo", and "The Promised Planet".

Computers and tape drives were often depicted in various episodes using the [[Burroughs Corporation#References in popular culture|Burroughs 205]] commercial products. Spacecraft models were also routinely re-used. The forbidding derelict ship from season 1 was redressed to become the ''Vera Castle'' in season 3. The fuel barge from season 2 became a space lighthouse in season 3. The derelict ship was used again in season 3, with a simple color change. Likewise the alien pursuer's ship in "The Sky Pirate", was lifted from the 1958 film ''[[War of the Satellites]]'', and was re-used in the episode "Deadliest of the Species".{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

Filming took place at 20th Century Fox Corp. studios and stages, Los Angeles. For season 1 & 2  Stage 11 (Jupiter 2/Campsite) and Stage 6 (lower deck, planet set and cave) were used. Due to budget cuts in 3rd season the Jupiter 2, campsite and lower deck were shifted to Stage 17 (opened in 1966). Stage 11 was used for planet exterior, cave and various alien planet sets.<ref>AIchat</ref>

===Character development===
Despite being credited as a "special guest star" in every episode, Smith became the pivotal character of the series. The show's writers expected Smith to be a temporary villain who would only appear in early episodes. Harris, on the other hand, hoped to stay longer on the show, but found his character to be boring, and feared it would also quickly bore viewers. Harris "began rewriting his lines and redefining his character", by playing Smith in an attention-getting, flamboyant style, and ad-libbing his scenes with ripe, colorful dialogue. By the end of the first season, the character was established as a self-serving coward whose moral haughtiness and contrasting deceitfulness, along with his alliterative insults largely aimed at the Robot, were staple elements of each episode.{{r|pioneersoftv}}

===Catchphrases===
''Lost in Space'' is remembered for the Robot's oft-repeated lines such as "Warning! Warning!" and "It does not compute".<ref>{{cite book |author=David Romano |title=Make: FPGAs |chapter=5. It Does Not Compute |publisher=Maker Media |date=March 2016 |isbn=9781457187841 |url=https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/make-fpgas/9781457187841/ch05.html |quote=Some of us remember hearing the phrase 'It does not compute' used by the robot from the hit 1960s television series Lost in Space. When it comes to contemplating what a computer really is, I think many of us can honestly say 'It does not compute' or even 'Danger, Will Robinson!'}}</ref> Smith's frequent put-downs of the Robot were also popular. Harris was proud to talk about how he used to lie in bed at night dreaming them up for use on the show. "You Bubble-headed Booby!", " You Cowardly Clump!", "You Tin-Plated Traitor!", "You Cackling Cacophony", "You Blithering Blatherskyte", and "Traitorous Transistorized Toad" are but a few, alongside his signature lines: "Oh, the pain ... the pain!" and "Never fear, Smith is here!" One of Harris's last roles was providing the voice of the [[Mantis|praying mantis]] Manny in [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]]'s ''[[A Bug's Life]]'', who also says the line "Oh, the pain ... the pain!" near the end of the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/571727/a-bugs-life-revisited/|title=Revisiting 'A Bug's Life,' Pixar's Frequently Overlooked Second Film|first=Josh|last=Spiegel|work=Slashfilm|date=January 17, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2022}}</ref>

The catchphrase "Danger, Will Robinson!" originates with the series, when the Robot warns young Will Robinson about impending threats. It was also used as the slogan of the 1998 film, whose official website had the address "www.dangerwillrobinson.com".<ref>{{cite web |author=Aladino V. Debert |url=http://www.vfxhq.com/1998/lostinspace.html |title=Visual Effects Headquarters Archive: Lost in Space |year=1998|access-date=November 25, 2008}}</ref>

===Legal issues===
In 1962, Gold Key comics, a division of [[Western Publishing Company]], began publishing a series of comic books under the title ''[[Space Family Robinson]]''. The story was largely inspired by ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' but with a space-age twist. The film and television rights to the comic book were then purchased by noted television writer Hilda Bohem (''[[The Cisco Kid (TV series)|The Cisco Kid]]''), who created a treatment under the title ''Space Family 3000''.

Intended as a follow-up to his first successful television venture, ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', Allen quickly sold his concept for a television series to CBS. Concerned about confusion with the Gold Key comic book, CBS requested that Allen come up with a new title. Nevertheless, Hilda Bohem filed a claim against Allen and CBS Television shortly before the series premiered in 1965.<ref name="PM">{{cite web|last=Maçek III|first=J. C.|date=June 4, 2014|title=The Lost In Space Family Robinson|url=https://www.popmatters.com/172206-the-lost-in-space-family-robinson-2495751035.html|access-date=April 3, 2020|publisher=PopMatters}}</ref>

An agreement was reached with Gold Key which allowed them to subtitle their comic "Lost in Space".

Additional legal challenges appeared in 1995, when Prelude Pictures announced its intention to turn ''Lost in Space'' into a motion picture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/californiastatecases/b153239.pdf|title=IB Melchior v. New Line Productions|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050504051301/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/californiastatecases/b153239.pdf|archive-date=May 4, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/minutes/documents/SNOV1704.DOC|title=SUPREME COURT MINUTES - NOVEMBER 17, 2004|publisher=California Courts – Home|access-date=February 25, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617121006/http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/minutes/documents/SNOV1704.DOC|archive-date=June 17, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===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]].