Portrait of a Happy (Space) Family

Last Tuesday in Tokyo, the Robinsons greeted the media guys with sunshiny smiles: Toby Stephens and Molly Parker as the parents and (from left) Taylor Russell, Maxwell Jenkins and Mina Sundwall as the kids.

TOKYO — Fast-forward 30 years: Colonization in space is a reality. The Robinson family is selected by the colonizers to make a new life for themselves in a better world — that is, as I see it, a world so unlike Planet Earth which is groaning from over-population and global warming, packed full with misbehaving citizens and powers-that-be threatening to wipe out humanity in a nuclear war. Like the Robinsons, you would certainly jump at the chance to start life anew in an idyllic place far, far away, in an Eden-like Paradise, wouldn’t you?

But wait, something unexpected happens to the Robinsons on their way to their paradise. They are torn off course and faced with the challenge of surviving together in a dangerous alien environment, light years from their original destination. Yes, they are lost in space!

So what happens next?

Wait until Friday, April 13, when Netflix starts airing Lost in Space, a modern reimagining of the 1960’s science-fiction series starring Toby Stephens and Molly Parker as the parents, with Taylor Russell, Maxwell Jenkins and Mina Sundwall as the children. I won’t do a “spoiler alert,” but I can tell you everything that happened during the junket not in space but at a function room of The Peninsula.

The Space Family welcomed the media guys from around Asia with sunshiny smiles, charging the room with an infectious positive energy. The Robinsons proved to be such a happy family that you would think they were for real. They were such a delight. After the session, they bade us farewell with best wishes and warm handshakes. I half-expected them to jump into their spacesuits and take off to space. Instead, they retreated to their respective suites and rested for the next day’s meet-and-greet with the fans, highlighted by the appearance of a Robot that plays an important role in the series.

How were you able to create a virtual happy “space family” considering that you come from different families in real life?

Molly (as Maureen Robinson, the mother; best known for her starring role as Alma Garrett in the HBO series Deadwood and as Jackie Sharp in House of Cards opposite Kevin Spacey and Hilary Swank): That’s pretty much what we do as actors. But this group is quite special. They are just really good people so we are very lucky to be working together in that sense. It’s a big-adventure type show. The scope is really large and it’s quite difficult to shoot in huge sets (in Canada). But early on, we bonded very beautifully.

Toby (as John Robinson, the father; stage, TV and screen actor who appeared in, among other projects, A Streetcar Named Desire as Stanley Kowalski; Perfect Strangers; and Hunter Killer with Gerard Butler): We were all friends together on this thing. We were just lucky that the chemistry among us was just really good. So we ended up really fun as a family. Watching the monitor after shooting every scene was quite anxious and this anxiety was quite infectious and that helped in the bonding process.

Taylor (as Judy Robinson; recently recurred on the Emmy-nominated and Critics Choice TV award-winning series Falling Skies and will be seen in the film thriller Down a Dark Hall with Uma Thurman): The bonding came so easily. We were like a real family, a happy one, and the members were so absorbed in each other.

Mina (as Penny Robinson; landed first role at eight months old as a kidnapped baby; “guest” starring role in Law & Order: SUV; and in Maggie’s Plan with Julianne Moore and Ethan Hawke): The first thing that we shot was the crash sequence, it was very long. From then on, we did so many on-location shoots together in different locations starting at 6 a.m. until 4 a.m. the next day, so we really bonded very nicely.

Maxwell (as Will Robinson; made his performing debut as an acrobat at age three, performing handstands on his father’s hands in the family’s theatrical circus company Midnight Circus; and began acting at age eight as a series regular on ABC’s Betrayal): We worked together for seven months and we really felt like a real family.

Didn’t you experience separation anxiety after the seven-month shoot?

Molly: There’s a structure to working on film and television. Every day, you go to work and you develop some kind of intimacy. If you’ve been doing it a lot longer like we did on Lost in Space, the feeling of closeness is even more intense so it takes a bit longer for you to detach from it. But you get to manage it as you get older. I have a feeling that the series is so special and people will like it so I think that we will be together again.

Toby: You go from job to job and you get less affected by the transition and you get used to that feeling. But what I miss is the camaraderie. I love the job and I give the best that I can but one thing that I also love most about filming is pacing about, when you just mock around between takes. Being in a space suit working on this series is uncomfortable but it becomes such fun if you are in a fun company.

Taylor: We were together all the time for 16 hours every day so, yes, we missed everybody a lot after the shoot. But it’s nice because you get an opportunity like this…promoting the show together in Tokyo!...and you still feel as close as you were on the set and nothing has changed. You greet each other, asking, “Hey, I love you! How is everything? Are you still doing this and that?” You are back to having “Wow!” time.

Mina: Definitely, you experience an anxiety separation in general. When I’m not working, I’m in regular high school. At the end of the shoot, I would say, “I’m done, I’m good!” It’s back home, back to normal life with my friends and my dog. But you do miss a family where when one of us complains, the rest of us gets to complain. When you’re outside the family, you complain and it just isn’t okay.

Maxwell (on the brink of tears): I had a most intense separation anxiety not only from my Space family but also from the crew. I became friends with the camera guys who let me set up the camera sometimes and with whom I was having lunch. I miss Vancouver where I made friends with restaurant owners and waiters, skateboard shop owners and the neighbors. I felt part of the community. So being away from them was really hard. In school, I would often burst into tears!

Planet Earth is burdened with so many problems. Would you like to live in space for a change?

Molly: I wouldn’t. I am claustrophobic so I want to live somewhere I can breathe. The earth is so beautiful so I don’t want to go out there. I like to look at space, all right, but to live there? No!

Toby: I think it’s one of the messages. This series shows a lot of positive things and a lot of warnings. One of them is, you know, we need to take care of this place because the idea of going off to some planets thousands of light years away can be very attractive. But when you get there, what is it like? Is there life out there? It’s such an enormous risk. So we should know to appreciate how precious Planet Earth is.

Taylor: I wouldn’t want to be in a place that we are in in the series. But in a dream way, yes, just like everybody else I would like to try living out there….with my family! So, why not?

Mina: I think you will see in the series that there’s so much that we could be doing better, such as addressing global warming and human rights — issues that young people today are so passionate about. It’s the voices of the youth that can help save our planet so that it would be an ideal place to be 30 years from now and there would be no need for us to dream of living in space.

Maxwell: I read some statistics (although I’m not sure if they are accurate) that due to global warming, by 2021 seven million people would die. If, 30 years from now, Planet Earth becomes a dangerous place to live in, it might be a good idea to find out how it is to live in space.

In three words, how would you describe your experience doing the series?

Molly: Lost in space.

Toby: Love conquers all.

Taylor: Unpredictable, gigantic, awesome!

Mina: We stick together.

Maxwell: Family, robots, action.

The Tokyo junket was capped by the Q&A with the Lost in Space stars onstage with Japanese interpreters and influencers, highlighted by the appearance of the Robot which plays an important role in the series.

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