In interviews Bill Mumy (the original Will Robinson, who has a cameo in the new version), said the original was intended to be more serious, but letters from parents saying it was scaring their little ones made them tone it down to a campy kiddy show.

This new version sets out to correct this change and largely succeeds. Producers have given the characters the original names, but made creative innovations. Don, the robot and especially Dr. Smith appear in surprisingly effective new incarnations and every fast-moving episode abounds in suspense and top-quality special effects.

The story has been expanded to include multiple planets and several crashed Jupiter ships, with different crews. It manages to be compelling and exciting while remaining family friendly all the way. Have no fear about watching this space fantasy even with very young children.

A few objections. Maybe some episodes feature TOO MANY crises, back to back, and conflicts between family members can take up too much screen time. The estrangement between the parents is particularly unnecessary -- mainly motivated, it seems, by the writers's desire to give Mom more reasons to criticize and berate Dad. Good thing it's resolved by Season 2.

As others have pointed out, Hollywood "wokism" mars the story a little but not as badly as many other recent releases (e.g. Amazon's shockingly awful CINDERELLA.) The powers that be in Hollywood have decided the way to rectify supposed misogyny in the past is misandry now and forever.

ALL the male characters are pretty much bumbling fools and ALL the women are smart-mouthed super geniuses. This modern cliché is more pervasive, limiting and unrealistic than the brave-guy-rescues-helpless-gal stories of the past.

So the Mom here is not only the mission commander, she singlehandedly designed the entire space ship. The barely-verbal Dad is only called upon when brute force is necessary and Don is corrupt and uncouth. Young Will is only exempted from the "men are unnecessary" concept because he's a child. Guys like the Dad and Penny's sort-of boyfriend Vijay are subjected to a constant stream of snarky abuse from the women, but are not allowed to answer back. Being snippy, insulting and rude is apparently a female privilege and men must silently grin and bear it.

The "girl power" theme is taken to almost ridiculous extremes. 14 year-old daughter Judy is an expert physician. Her sarcastic sister Penny is a sensitive, brilliant writer. Mom Maureen is a GOAT astrophysicist, engineer, and commander. But the Dad has little to offer but brawn and Vijay has no apparent ability beyond looking clueless and breaking promises.

But the virtues of the series outshine these defects. The emphasis on family loyalty is welcome and the Girls Rule/Boys Suck dynamic fades as the series progresses. As the new Dr. Smith, Parker Posey shows range as an actress you wouldn't have expected from her appearances in Christopher Guest comedies like the hilarious BEST IN SHOW. A ruthless, crafty, weak, and occasionally guilt-ridden sociopath, written smartly and played by Posey with gravitas, nuance, and a whisper of camp, she's the series's most fascinating character. The entire show is well-cast. The acting is good to begin with and improves as the story continues.

So don't let a few woke clichés scare you away from this series, which overall is really entertaining, suspenseful and fun for the whole family. Highly recommended.