Thirty years later, in 1998, Prelude Pictures released the movie version of Lost in Space in an attempt to cash in on the nostalgic value of the series for aging baby boomers and the interest of an entirely new set of children.

Neither the television series nor the recent movie is a serious effort at science fiction or social commentary. High ratings or high box office receipts were the sole goals of the Lost in Space efforts. Since commercial success was the goal of the producers, Lost in Space ironically provides a window on American culture. It is at least a window on the television and film industries’ assessment of American culture.

The television series was set in the late twentieth century, while the new movie is set in the middle of the twenty-first. Perhaps the largest disappointment in looking back at the television series is the realization that the end of the twentieth century is not the beginning on interstellar exploration, but a time when are earliest astronauts, like Alan Shepard, are aging and dying.

In 1965, we envisioned the future Robinson family as a happy one, cheerfully looking forward to their new lives colonizing a far away planet.

In 1998, we view the twenty-first century Robinson family as dysfunctional. The intellectually precocious son (Will Robinson) feels unloved by his absent work-coholic father. While the frivolous daughter (Penny Robinson) would rather be hanging out and shopping at the mall than exploring space.

In 1965, the villain, Dr. Zachary Smith, was a bungling self-centered buffoon who constantly managed to put the Robinson family into precarious situations.

In 1998, Dr. Smith is an edgy evil villain bent on killing off the Robinson family.

In 1965, the Robinson family dressed in silvery suits that resembled aluminum foil.

The 1998 Robinson family wear form-fitting, rubberized, anatomically correct suits that attempt to make sexual objects of even the pre-teen children.

In 1965, the Robinson family was embarking on a noble, peaceful, hopeful, and forward-looking adventure to explore space and extend the reach of humankind.

The Earth of the twenty-first century Robinsons is an environmentally dying world, killed by greedy humans and menaced by terrorists. Space colonization is a desperate effort to make up for a recycling program that did not work.

It is unfair to draw conclusions that are too broad on the thin reed of an old television series and current B-movie. Nonetheless, the show and the movie demonstrate that we think differently about ourselves now than we did in the 1960s. As a society, our self-evaluation is not nearly as flattering as it once was. Unfortunately, such appraisals can be self-fulfilling. Perhaps, we can console ourselves that at least the movie special effects are better now than they were in 1965. Aren't appearances what really matter anyway?