Geekville Ahead

It’s the same story. It’s a different story. Hollywood loves to reboot older shows and put modern twists. How many Spiderman movies are there? And which one is the best? While answers may differ – and while many of my readers may not even care – I have started to watch the new Netflix reboot of ‘Lost in Space’. There are more Jupiter space ships. There are politicians included in the colonists (Why? Who knows!) The Robinsons are talking divorce. And yes, Dr. Smith, is now a woman. Kind of, she really is a fake Dr. Smith, pretending to be the real Dr. Smith who was wounded and left behind, and who is played by Billy Mummy – the original Will Robinson. Kind of hard to follow, and most lost me at the word reboot. But for me – yowza!!! I am in syfy, geek heaven.

But where am I going with this? Let me get there. There is one line in the original series that has impacted mainstream culture. Many may use it and not realize the origin. I have repeated it quite often. And the line wasn’t even spoken by a person. It was spoken by the Class B-9-M-3 General Utility Non-Theorizing Environmental Control Robot only known by the name Robot. That line – “Danger Will Robinson.” In the new series (so far, only 3 of 10 episodes in) the robot was an enemy robot, rescued by Will, and now follows Will around with the soul purpose to keep him safe. And over and over, the robot gives his one line, “Danger, Will Robinson”.

Robot’s loyalty is unwavering. His abilities are phenomenal. His personality is evolving. And his vocabulary is limited. But he can teach us something about life and friendship here on this rock we call earth. SO here are lessons from Robot.

ONE – Remain loyal. We need friends, and should be friends, that are loyal to each other, that watch each others back, and that look past harsh words and momentary lapses and remember the bond that ties us together. Are you that kind of friend? Who is that loyal friend for you? Tell them thank you right now (go ahead, text them, snapchat, email, Marco Polo, Skype, whatever. We can wait to read the rest when you return.)

You back – good. One of my loyal friends is Jack H. Jack went to talk to a church search team chairperson on his own. He talked me up, gave a great sales pitch, and if nothing else, made them take notice of a guy named Todd. I did not ask him to. I probably would have stopped him had I known – but Jack, well, he is loyal and I love that guy. Thanks Jack!

TWO – Robot just wants to be part of something bigger, part of a community. We all want that. People in the series are having to look past the history, past the preconceived ideas, and past a lot of baggage – but they are coming around. Have you given up on someone? Maybe you need to accept someone in to your circles today.

And THREE – Even the meanest people can be shown grace. We all need it.

So, life is hard, and we could probably say “Danger Will Robinson” about a lot of stuff. But it is easier to go through with life with a friend like Robot.

Be that friend.