"The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie" Lost in Space (1973)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Charles A. Nichols

Writer:

Fred Freiberger (story)

TV Series:

"The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie" (1972)

Original Air Date:

8 September 1973

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Surrealism | Acronym In Title

Cast

Sherry Alberoni	...	Deanna Carmichael (voice)
Michael Bell	...	Craig Robinson / Tyrano Guard (voice)
Jonathan Harris	...	Dr. Zachary Smith (voice)
Ralph James	...	Tyrano Twin Two (voice)
Don Messick	...	The Robot / Brack / Narrator (voice)
Sidney Miller	...	Lar / Tyrano Twin One (voice)
Vincent Van Patten	...	Linc Robinson (voice)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Movie Connections:

Follows "Lost in Space" (1965)

Danger! Danger! Lost In Space Was A Cartoon...For One Week

A spacecraft of the future becomes lost in space, and then it lands on a planet of frog-looking aliens.

About the only interesting thing is that it was made in the first place. Those Lost In Space (1965-68) re-runs were obviously doing well in 1973 so they made a cartoon. We get the expected "based on the TV series created by Irwin Allen" credit but they need not of bothered. Irwin Allen's Swiss Family Robinson (1975-76) series actually had more in common with Lost In Space than this. But I am not here to totally trash this cartoon.

I guess you could say that the opening nine minutes of animated LIS is okay...at least some effort is made in putting some dramatic music over the action scenes in space (the same music would later be used in Barbera's Challenge Of The Superfriends). This cartoon actually works better with the volume on your TV off. Listening to The Robot without Dick Tufeld doing the voice is painful. Listening to Jonathan Harris still being the year two-fool is painful. Yes, turn the volume off.

However, even a lack of volume can't save this hour once we get into the 10th minute. The minute the "Jupiter 2" lands on Planet X the aliens appear in a second. No suspense. No mystery. You begin to wonder if Barbera ever even watched the original LIS! It becomes unwatchable and painful. Barbera's Challenge Of The Superfriends (1978) stands the test of time in this century but animated LIS was always a bomb. However, if you liked the silly year two version of 1960s Dr Smith, well, you might get more from this than I did?

After this, several more attempts to re-make Lost In Space were made. The above mentioned Swiss Family Robinson for example and the low budget Saturday morning kids show - The Lost Saucer (1975-76). The saucer seemed to resemble the Jupiter 2 right down to the "disco" lights at the bottom of the craft. Perhaps the lost saucer should of appeared in animated LIS instead of the rocket version of the Jupiter 2 seen in the cartoon?

Fantastic Journey (1977) also had shades of LIS. Fantastic Journey may not of been perfect but at least it had some of the best theme music ever heard in a sci-fic TV series...even better than the year one/year two LIS theme tune in fact.

As many would know, by the 1990s the LIS fan base was now big enough to get a LIS motion picture. But it also ran into problems with many (but not all) fans. Jonathan Harris died in 2002.