Netflix Lost In Space

It has, to a point, beyond that it's drama that rules the game. If we would write just Hard SF and not even put in speculative things then there would be no new ideas.

And not much fun.
 
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The plot of the new Netflix Lost in Space reboot isn't bad. The villain is well done. Acting is fine.

But shouldn't sci-fi have a responsibility to accurately portray the SCIENCE in the show???

Water freezing almost instantly? Every year all life on the planet dies from radiation which somehow doesn't affect seeds, and yet we have huge trees and animals. Are those huge beasts born from radiation-proof eggs every year? Using poo as rocket fuel? Seriously?

Also, in the name of equality, wouldn't it be nice if the male characters were a little stronger? All three women in the family seem to come off as very strong, smart and competent, but the father is a grunt who is mostly good at taking punches and the boy is really weak. Will we see them evolve? I hope so.


Water freezing almost instantly was not to bad of a stretch, just ask any ice fishing person how fast a fresh water ice fishing hole freezes over in -40f temps.
They dealt with the yearly radiation die off cycle by having the planet on a elliptical orbit.
Rocket fuel. That was explained, in that the ships could be programed to recycled and process fecal matter into fuel.
As with any Sci-Fi show, a suspension of disbelief is a requirement.
 
I'm from northern Canada. Water can freeze pretty fast, but in that situation, it was stretching it. They could have simply slipped in a reason to explain it.

My point about the die off is that things couldn't have grown back to that state in a year. Hell, complex life probably never would have even evolved in that system. It might have been better to use a random solar flare or asteroid impact.

I understand the conversion process, but I don't think they collected nearly enough poo to lift multiple ships into orbit. We fill massive rockets with fuel and they still barely make it out.

Suspension of disbelief is fine. Wormholes and light speed are practical conventions. But the more real science we put into it, the more believable it is and the more we teach people. There are probably some viewers who are going to start stuffing poo into gastanks to fuel their cars after this. lol
 
I'm from northern Canada.

There are probably some viewers who are going to start stuffing poo into gastanks to fuel their cars after this. lol

Hey! a fellow Canuk. I thought I recognized you.:)

I think we are already using a bit of processed poo in our gas tanks, its just that ma nature processed it over the last few million years.;)
 
The science in this show is weak, but it isn't meant to be hard SF; it isn't high drama either, but I've seen much worse, so I'll give it some passes. However, while the water could have some freaky Ice-9 kind of property, it didn't seem to be cold enough when the water froze, as they were all sitting nearby with exposed skin. If the water could freeze, wouldn't they have frozen too? If the trees grew that tall in a single year then you would be visibly seeing them grow, and probably hearing them grow too. I wouldn't think poo-collecting would make great TV, so I'm glad to be excused that, but why (I'm only up to ep.8 so maybe explained yet) didn't they do something with the methane geysers and the tar pits? I think it is valid to ask these kind of questions because when they are not answered, that important suspension of disbelief is broken, and people spend their time wondering rather than watching.
 
The consensus across the internet is that the freezing water is not possible (there is some scientific dissention).

This is the reason I try to avoid most Sci-Fi discussion forums. I just like to enjoy the show, and don't really give a hoot about the science.

:)
 
Change? For the past two decades, every woman vs man challenge in cinema, television and many books, the women win.

Neither is believable. Moving from one extreme to the other is rarely a good thing.
 
I very much hated stories and movies that showed women as weak, and in need a man to save them. Even wrote a review about a movie that presented a strong female character - only to have her need a man to rescue her in the end.

But wouldn't I be hypocritical to say the opposite is okay?
 
I watched the original again on HULU a few years ago, so I am fairly familiar with it. I did like how plot elements from various episodes were included in these 10 episodes; though, I cannot specify anything without a 2nd viewing.

o.k., a few elements from the original series:
  1. the robot on the destructive mission
  2. the planet with the orbit that takes it too close to destruction. As I recall, the original had an elliptical orbit that gave it both extremes of hot and cold. Funny thing, was that it only did once; they stayed on that planet for nearly the whole 1st season!
  3. the giant cyclops-- oops, there was none in this new series! I know there are more elements, though.
Differences from the original series:
  1. More than 1 family to go to Alpha Centuri. This seems far more likely than the original series, which, as I recall had just the Robinsons.
  2. No freezing tubes? I am certain the transit time was far lower than the many years the original series had. I recall that Don had already been there.
  3. O.k., I realize weight is a big issue, but the original Chariot was way cooler than the new ones. I believe they took the lower portion of a Snow Cat & built the upper portion for the show. When you are exploring an alien planet, you really do not want your wheels being stuck in ruts. Caterpillar tracks rule! I do realize that the new ones are more like the ones in that MARS program.
  4. Of course there are a few differences in the characters' relationships; others have already noted these.

About the J2, it seems larger on the inside, than on the outside, & in the same way as the '60s version. There was no lower deck in the pilot film, but they added it to the series. I wondered why Lunar Models' J2s lacked such a detail. There simply is not sufficient height for a lower deck, much less the engine room where Will went on one s3 episode. The Seaview also was larger on the inside; both being Irwin Allen creations, though don't know if that had any bearing on this similarity. I cannot recall any similar problems with the Spindrift; in fact, very little occurred inside it. Polar Lights J2 has both decks, but there is nowhere inside the saucer for the lower deck: Jupiter 2 by Polar Lights

The current J2 is much wider and longer, not quite saucer-shaped, but close enough. Though it still seems too flat for a garage deck. :LOL:

About Judy frozen in ice: I am no physicist, but I think the ice expanding might have cracked her helmet, if not squeezed her such that circulation was impeded, at the very least. :ROFLMAO:

I enjoyed this season, but hate waiting for the next one!
 
Oh no @Cathbad I wasn’t saying you were - I’d never assume that and also it would be incredibly rude of me to say it! What I meant (albeit slightly tongue in cheek) is that I think we - as men - should realise that men have lead the show/plot/hero fulfilment for a very long time and only recently is it being challenged. When you said you could think of many examples, I still think they’d pale in comparison (numerically speaking) to those in which men are the stronger in-charge role. That’s just a side effect of living in our patriarchal society.

Just wanted to clear up I wasn’t referring to that.

pH
 
It has, to a point, beyond that it's drama that rules the game. If we would write just Hard SF and not even put in speculative things then there would be no new ideas.

There would be, but it would very hard for Netflix's 100 million userbase to understand.
 
Did you really want to watch an elongated episode, just to see them gather enough poo??

Actually that was kind of the plot to the martian, and it did relatively well, but no I wouldn't. Lost in Space is an adventure TV show. If you are going in for exact science you are missing the point.
 
Oh no @Cathbad I wasn’t saying you were - I’d never assume that and also it would be incredibly rude of me to say it! What I meant (albeit slightly tongue in cheek) is that I think we - as men - should realise that men have lead the show/plot/hero fulfilment for a very long time and only recently is it being challenged. When you said you could think of many examples, I still think they’d pale in comparison (numerically speaking) to those in which men are the stronger in-charge role. That’s just a side effect of living in our patriarchal society.

Just wanted to clear up I wasn’t referring to that.

pH
I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but there is a reason why human cultures have been male-dominated up until very recently. It might have to do with our being mammals instead of reptiles. Not that I assume others do not know this, but it does seem that some are in denial. I could elaborate, but why dig my grave any deeper? :giggle:
 
Just watched the first episode on Netflix. Wow, pretty good! Go Will Robinson!!
 

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