Lost in Space - Reboot

We watched the first 3 episodes of the Lost in Space reboot this weekend.  And....  If lost me before episode 3 finished.

My expectation was that they would take the original idea, turn it around a bit to some up with a different story, but still keep the "Swiss Family Robinson in Space" theme.  I was disappointed.

The balance between sci-fi and drama was not there.  It was a drama set in space.  If you had replaced the space ships with wooden ships and planets with islands, you could have the same story.

First off, what was good:
1. The visuals.  Great special effects.  Great scenic shots.
2. I can't fault the acting.  I thought that they played their parts very well.

If you don't want any spoilers, you probably want to stop reading now.

What pissed me off:

1. The family unit was too dysfunctional.  They needed to have some to create some drama and action, but it just too much.
2. Too much angst from Will, who thought he wasn't up to the mission.
3. Too much "I'm immortal" teen attitude from Penny.
4. Too much brooding from Judy.
5. John Robinson is not a strong male role model.  He's supposed to be a soldier, but is too uncertain.  Maureen seems to be the "leader" of the expedition.  I had expected more of a partnership between them.
6. The Dr. Smith character was as evil as the original series intended - which was a good thing.  But without a strong family to counter her, it just didn't work.
7. The robot is an alien artifact.  As such, it's always suspect and not part of the family unit.
8. Too much "and the gods (i.e. alien robot) came down and fixed everything".  Boring.
9. Too many "suspend reality" moments.

The story that they came up with had sooooo much going for it.  Multiple Jupiter ships landing was a cool idea - and they messed it up.

From an article I read, the space travel technology that they were using was stolen from aliens - who wanted it back.  Hence the robot being there.  In a later episode, all the surviving Jupiter ships regroup and head back, but, of course, Dr. Smith messes everything up and warps only the Jupiter 2 to someplace else.

The planet with its storms, glaciers, forests, etc. would have been a great place to spend the first season just trying to survive, explore, etc.  And maybe save the Dr. Smith Warps The J2 thing at the end to move them to another planet to survive on for Season 2.

Penguicon 2018 - R.I.P.

Looking at the categories this year, if we assume equal distribution of panels there are 14 categories. I’m only interested in 6. That’s actually pretty good. But that assumes equal distribution.

Track	Really interested in	Sort Of Interested in	Notes
DIY	0	3	Most panels are craft, not really DYI.
Food	0	2	Many Vegan panels
Life	0	1	Lots of alt-left lifestyle panels
Penguicon	0	2	Really, only the opening and closing ceremonies, but that's nothing different for me.
Science	0	0	Not really science for many panels. Sorry, but anything with "J.R.R. Tolkien" in the title is not "science". Bob Trembly pretty much carries this track.
Tech	1	1	Programming panels were beginner level, which shows the level of the attendees.  Not much "tech" in the Tech track.

Wow. 48 hours of programming with only 1 panel that's really interesting and 9 that are sort of interesting. I remember when the norm was that I had to choose between 3 different panels that I really wanted to see, but were scheduled at the same time - and find time to eat lunch since there was no open slot for that.

Once again, there is little Linux, real science or tech.  Mostly alt-left stuff.  Penguicon is dead as a "geek" convention.  It's really just an alt-left festival now.

I guess it is true: The left really does ruin everything it touches.