His unwarranted self assurance was wonderfully contrasted with his deep insecurity , part of his central conflict . Harris ' portrayal of this dual nature gave the character an unforgettable texture which frankly overwhelms nearly all the other fine performances . When I think of how he swung between selfish , scheming traitor and raving , paranoid basket case I can ' t think how to explain that this is the same character . And yet , all humans have their dualities and extremes , if less pronounced . People remember how campy the show was , and it was so , but the early episodes were a very genuine attempt at the premise of a Space Family Robinson . Smith was a spysaboteur , and not the bungler we saw in later episodes . The new show can play up these aspects , or ignore them and create a new character of the same name . Either way it might be good or bad . Given Netflix ' s track record so far , I think we have reason to hope . Thanks for reading my nostalgic ramble