You can look at the menu, but you just can't eat. You can dip your foot in the pool, but you can't have a swim. You can see the summit but you can't reach it. Aspirations in the clouds but your hopes go down the drain.

No one is to blame... well actually somebody is. That's why producers make the big bucks, because they should know what formula makes a great show. But a critical ingredient has been left out of Lost in Space.

You have a Ferrari, but you're forced to drive the speed limit on a plain, circular track.

There's a reason so many Philip K. Dick stories have been made into movies and TV shows. That guy could write. That guy was creative.

Has the media industry with its vast resources lost its ability (or willingness) to write creative, unique, compelling, well-paced stories? If judged by Lost in Space, one would have to answer "yes". Even the list of awards tells the same story.

All the other ingredients are there. The special effects are extremely well done. Production values are high. Costume and Set Design is acceptable. Cinematography is pretty good. Actors are doing just fine. Actually the actors deserve kudos for some of the writing they have to endure.

I'm not knocking writers in general. I believe there are still genuinely creative, well trained, properly educated, clever writers out there. The producers must not desire to attract them to the show. Maybe they blew their budget on all the other ingredients. Maybe too much of the budget goes to profit or paying execs.

If you're going to drive around in circles at or below the 30 MPH, why do you need an expensive sports car?

If you're going to plod along episode after episode with mediocre drama and science, why do you need such a glamorous production?

In the episode I most recently watched, the daughter whines about how nobody likes her and she has no talents (she'd go eat worms but the planet doesn't have any). This pity party and her mother's doting responses make up an appreciable percentage of the episode's dialog. Now that is realistic to a point. Teenagers whine, teenagers are often self-absorbed, it's part of that phase of life. But that's pedantic and obvious for a sci-fi show! Save it for the after school comedy/drama or daytime soap opera. It's wasted potential on an interesting and unexplored alien world to dwell on teenage angst! Come on, get epic!

I can appreciate that she's whining actually, because she has nothing else to do as it takes the entire remainder of the cast to overcome the monumental number of contrived roadblocks necessary to lower her and her mom a rope and get on with the plot.

They are always in a desperate situation. It's so constant that you become numb to it, and danger no longer has any meaning. Seriously there's always a countdown going on (We have 56 minutes until the storm gets here! Then we all die! What's taking them so long! Ahh!) Sometimes I just want them to finally just all die so I can stop worrying so much about them (why am I using my free time to worry and bite my nails about fictional people - is this fulfilling?). The problem with this is that in all the extreme desperation and suspense there's no joy of discovery, of exploration, of new ideas and concepts. The problem with Lost in Space is ultimately all the lost potential that good writing could realize.

Again, the production values are great. This team can put anything on the screen visually and aurally and make it believable. So give us something amazing to believe in! Take us on a real journey. Give the Robinson family a breather from being on death's doorstep - get creative! Introduce us to alien societies, multiple worlds, mind bending science, multilayered plots with deep characters and unexpected (yet plausible and character driven) twists and turns, and yes action and suspense too (in appropriate quantities).

Actually some of the stuff they have come up with is pretty interesting. Like in season two the ecosystem of the planet they are on is very intriguing. But it doesn't get developed, it doesn't go anywhere fast. They are whetting my appetite with a bite of something gourmet then giving me a meal of fast food drama.

Last but not least, I'm afraid the show has a challenge developing characters. Characters don't have much depth. For those that are the cream of society I'd expect more maturity and complexity of thought, more philosophy (if they were given a chance to philosophize between all their near death experiences).

Dr. Smith is a caricature, not an actual complex character. A random number generator is not complicated, and they have made Dr. Smith too random, too volatile. A complex character is one the audience _thinks_ they have figured out but then they learn something new about them (through organic plot flow)- something new and unexpected but that is still consistent with the character's past actions. With Dr. Smith, by the end of season 1, I had given up trying to understand her and wrote her off as crazy and possibly not even truly conscious or self-aware. She is a pair of dice in overalls.

Maybe they are scared that if they use up all their ideas they won't have any left so they milk them too long. Part of me wonders if the studio just can't afford it. They may have great production tools but don't have the money to create very many virtual constructs and sets so they have to use them for a whole episode or two. Again like having a Ferrari but can't afford the gas or to build a nice racetrack.

I was hoodwinked by the production values into expecting a top-rated movie quality experience. What I learned is that it's still TV, and that computers have gotten good enough to give TV a very nice wrapping job.

If you are short on time and only have an hour or two for entertainment a week, I say get out while you can, because at the pace they are going they will barely scratch the surface of this universe before this show has run its course and is over or cancelled. If the show is lucky, it will be given enough warning to cram a bunch of contrived answers that don't quite make sense down the viewers' throats before the last episode.

If you have a more leisurely life, this is certainly better than a good amount of shows out there, watch it for the production values alone. It's also a good show to play in the background while you do homework or housework. Pay attention for a few minutes out of every 15 minutes and you'll get to enjoy the great special effects, see their well rendered CGI landscapes and weather phenomena, catch all the plot details that matter, and find out where this all ends up without feeling like you've wasted too much time.

Circling back around, this show is pretty close. They have the Ferrari, they have the good production team. If they can get the writing down, they can give us a really fun ride! So far though, it's almost more painful to see all the potential and watch it go unrealized, than if the production values weren't as high. I'd gladly sacrifice some production value for better storytelling.

Sorry, I'll keep my Cuban in the drawer. No cigar.

Just one other thought regarding the anti-"hater" reviews. Disliking a _thing_ like a TV show doesn't make a person a hater. That term is overused and it desensitizes people to how extreme and deplorable true hate really is. Disliking a TV show, a music album, or a color doesn't make someone a bad person. Give people some leeway to have opinions. Come on, really.

Okay one more thing and I really will stop typing. The question below each and every review is "Was this review helpful?" It is NOT "Do you agree with this review?" But I guarantee, out of those that have seen the show, most of you that agree with me will say it was helpful, and most of you that don't will say it wasn't helpful. Now that's human nature. I'll be honest, I usually do the same thing.