Even though the big-screen version of "Lost in Space" isn't as goofy as the television series that inspired it, the filmmakers have made sure there are plenty of references to the show, plus guest appearances by its cast-members, to please longtime fans.
"There are some in-jokes that only about eight people are going to get, and that includes me," said screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, an admitted "Lost in Space" series junkie.Goldman says he also told New Line Cinema Vice President Richard Saperstein that the movie had to include at least one "Oh, the pain!" and "Warning, Will Robinson! Danger!" or risk offending part of their audience.
"There are certain things that had to be in the movie, no matter what," he said during interviews held to publicize the new film.
Speaking of the latter catch-phrase, which has been passed down to subsequent generations who may not have even seen the series, the voice of the original Robinson Robot - Dick Tufeld - gets to say it throughout much of the movie.
"Who else could do it so well besides Dick?" asked director Stephen Hopkins, who also claims to be a "Lost in Space" devotee.
But Tufeld's not alone. Four other members of the TV cast - Angela Cartwright (Penny Robinson), June Lockhart (Maureen Robinson), Mark Goddard (Major Don West) and Marta Kristen (Judy Robinson) - also have cameo roles in the film.
But Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) refused to participate, for reasons the filmmakers wouldn't go into. Obligations for the TV science-fiction series "Babylon 5" kept Bill Mumy (Will Robinson) from being in the movie. And Guy Williams, the original John Robinson, died in 1989.
"Everybody from the original cast who's in our movie gets at least one little line," Goldsman said.
As for Mumy, the filmmakers wanted to give him a much larger part than the others, but he is still under contract to appear in "Babylon 5," which made an appearance nearly impossible. (That part wound up going to Jared Harris, son of screen actor Richard Harris.)
"We couldn't work the shoots around his schedule and ours," Hopkins said. "The role was just too big. When people see the movie they'll know what we mean."
One tip to the TV show that even devoted fans may not be expecting is the appearance of Blawp, a creature that's based on the series' "Bloop."
However, Blawp isn't just a chimpanzee in a pair of rabbit ears, which is how Bloop appeared on television. Instead, the monkeylike alien is a computer-generated special effect, which made actress Lacey Chabert's job that much harder.
In the movie, Chabert (Penny Robinson) "adopts" the tiny creature, which has chameleon-like abilities. That forced the 15-year-old actress to perform opposite a nonexistent character.
(Rather than use an animatronic "puppet," which may not have been convincing, the filmmakers chose to use CGI technology to create Blawp instead).
"Blawp wasn't even there most of the time, which is really challenging for an actor," said Chabert. "How do you react to something that doesn't exist outside of a computer?"