I think the number of people reacting so violently to Parker Posey's Dr. Smith is a tribute to the writers and to her as an actor. She is the bad guy, after all! Jonathan Harris created an iconic character, expanding his role from a six-episode guest villain to series star. How could any actor attempt to play that same character without being hopelessly mired in Harris impersonations? Posey's Dr. Smith is even more calculating and manipulative, but while Harris' Smith was mitigated by his soft heart and cowardice, Posey's is mitigated by the feeling that she is wounded, and at times vulnerable. Time will tell... (I hope!)
The writers have had their work cut out for them –Doing an homage to the original series, honoring the original characters, and updating the show for modern audience expectations. The family in the original series was a bit too perfect. The family in the later film was so dysfunctional that you wondered how they could possibly do anything at all together -Let alone establish a colony on another planet! In this new series the characters are allowed to be more three-dimensional, to have passions and faults. It makes for better drama and more engaging storylines.
Some unrelated opinions:
I like how the show is more female-centered. In the original Maureen Robinson was also a scientist, but she and her daughters were almost always used as hapless, helpless victims who needed rescuing. It passed the test for 60s audiences, but it sure wouldn't work today. Now all of the characters are more interesting and more realistic. It's a positive development that in the future women will be seen as equal leaders. When someone disagrees with them, they put down their ideas, not their gender.
Early in the series I started to miss the humor that Dr. Smith provided, but by the end os Season 2 it's clear that those duties have been passed off to Don West who, like the original Smith, starts off as a dishonorable character. But Don's bravery redeems him, and now that he has proven himself we can enjoy his roguishness. The biggest mistake the writers have made with the character is keeping his shirt on. The chicken seemed silly at first, but it's given us a chance to start seeing the real Don West, who is much more interesting than he first appeared.
The robot's storyline is interesting. Afraid I saw through the whole meteor-strike-alien-technology thing early in Season 1, so I've not been surprised by developments, My biggest criticism of the show is that it takes so long to develop some of the plot lines that it hurts some of the characters. The robot, in particular. I agree that he should be much more verbal, but it's clear that if he were it would give away what the writers seem to think are going to be surprise developments in future episodes... Hopefully Season 3 will bring rapid development of the character.
I haven't seen any acknowledgement of this anywhere, but I think the writers owe as much to Bill Mumy's comic book series (released by Innovation) as to the original television show. The entire alien technology thread is borrowed from that, as are some of the character dynamics. And the whole Season 2 opener lifts the major plot of Mumy's planned-but-never-filmed reunion movie (audio recording of a read-through included on the Lost In Space BluRay set). Mumy is a smart man, so I'm sure he has noticed what they have "borrowed" from him. I have seen him credited in any way beyond his guest-star status in a few episodes. I'd like to think they have either spoken with him about it, or even better -paid him something. (Who inherited the Irwin Allen estate? Wife Sheila died in 2013, and the couple had no children.)
The big question is, will there be a Season 3?? And how long will we have to wait for it?
