I prefer TV Dr. Smith. He started evil but by the time he sent the robot to save the Smith's when they traveled in the chariot to beat freeze/heat, he had a reformation of heart and became likable. The one in the movie is pure evil.
shareIn the early episodes of season 1 Dr. Smith was a chermatic villain that was evil but interesting. He progressively got goofier and goofier to the point that he was a different character all together but all the same was funny, entertaining and likeable.
The movie version was just a one note convention boring evil character which had more to do with the s hit writing then it did with Garry oldman who did the best he could with the material and lack of direction.
Say 'No' to rubber generic Robots as seen in RoboCop 2014
The film version of Smith was just a villain with little charm.
Its that man again!!
He was the one thing about the original series I didn't like. They should have gone through with the original idea and killed Smith off early. He was the reason they were off course and lost, once he'd served his purpose he should've done away with. His presence and his silly antics prevented LIS from being the believable sci fi series it was intended to be.
A heart can be broken, but it still keeps a-beatin' just the same.
I hated that line "Trust me, EVIL KNOWS EVIL". A villain in a movie should NEVER admit to being evil. Evil people have their own ideologies as warped as they may look to the rest of us, they do NOT think of themselves as evil. Evil people in the real world rationalize their actions and behaviors. Do you think Saddam Hussein thought of himself as evil? or Stalin for that matter? its just stupid when someone ADMITS to being evil. It is even a small complaint I had with Star Wars because "dark side" meant evil basically so the villains in that were admitting being evil. The Star Trek villains NEVER admitted they were evil.
As I said before evil people have their ideologies too.
Also, in the original Dr Smith loved will Robinson. No he was not a pedophile but loved as in cared about like a mentor. His affection for Will Robinson helped him to become a better person and there were even some episodes where he heroically risks his own safety to rescue Will when he is in danger.
When I saw the preview for this and he was yelling 'WILL WAIT!' I assumed he would show he was not pure evil by trying to save Will but no the coward writers just made him a generic evil villain.
When I was a child in the 1960s Smith just seemed nasty and selfish. Trying to rewatch the TV series as an adult was difficult because Smith comes across as a pedophile stereotype, even if that wasn't the intention. It's clear he's "grooming" Will, even if sexual stuff isn't the goal.
The Smith in the film seems to have different motivations. He manipulates Will because he can, and - as the film pointed out - his real father was just not there for him. So the Smith in the film is a substitute father, at least for older Will.
Laura Ess
For better or worse, Smith became one of the most popular characters on the show, giving Jonathan Harris more and more power to adapt his character into more of a lovable (but annoying) rogue.
Of course, the series itself got sillier and sillier as it went along.
👷👳
Bob the Builder and Hadji walk into a bar...