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LOST IN SPACE PHOTO GALLERY #08 |
Updated: April 05, 2022
In 1962 Gold Key comics (formerly Dell Comics), a division of Western Publishing Company, began publishing a series
of comic books under the title, Space Family Robinson. The story was largely inspired by The Swiss Family Robinson
but with a space-age twist. The movie and television rights to the comic book were then purchased by noted television
writer Hilda Bohem (The Cisco Kid), who created a treatment under the title, Space Family 3000.
In July 1964, science fiction writer and filmmaker Ib Melchior began pitching a treatment for a feature film, also
under the title Space Family Robinson. There is debate as to whether or not Allen was aware of the Melchior treatment.
It is also unknown whether Allen was aware of the comic book or the Hilda Bohem treatment.
As copyright law only protects the actual expression of a work, and not titles, general ideas or concepts, in 1964
Allen moved forward with his own take on Space Family Robinson, with characters and situations notably different from
either the Bohem or the Melchior treatments (It is interesting to note that none of these versions contained the
characters of Smith or the Robot).
Intended as a follow up to his first successful television venture, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Allen quickly sold
his concept for a television series to CBS. Concerned about confusion with the Gold Key comic book, CBS requested that
Allen come up with a new title. Nevertheless, Hilda Bohem filed a claim against Allen and CBS Television shortly before
the series premiered in 1965.
A compromise was struck as part of a legal settlement. In addition to an undisclosed sum of money, Western Publishing
would be allowed to change the name of its comic book to Lost in Space.
There were no other legal challenges to the title until 1995, when New Line Cinema announced their intention to turn
Lost in Space into a big budget motion picture. New Line had purchased the screen rights from Prelude Pictures (which
had acquired the screen rights from the Irwin Allen Estate in 1993). At that time, Melchior contacted Prelude Pictures
and insisted that Lost in Space was directly based upon his 1964 treatment. Melchior was aided in his efforts by Ed Shifres,
a fan who had written a book entitled Space Family Robinson: The True Story. (Later reprinted with the title, Lost in Space:
The True Story). The book attempts to show how Allen allegedly plagiarized Melchior's concept, with two outlines presented
side by side.
To satisfy Melchior, Prelude Pictures hired the 78-year-old filmmaker as a consultant on their feature film adaptation. This accommodation was made without the knowledge or consent of the Irwin Allen Estate or Space Productions, the original copyright
holder of Lost in Space. Melchior's contract with Prelude also guaranteed him 2% of the producer's gross receipts, a provision
that was later the subject of a suit between Melchior and Mark Koch of Prelude Pictures. Although an Appellate Court ruled
partly in Melchior's favor, on November 17, 2004, the Supreme Court of California denied a petition by Melchior to further
review the case.
It is significant that no further claim was made and that Space Productions now contends that Allen was the sole creator of
the TV series Lost in Space.
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