Syndication
Despite the fact that it never reached the magic number of 100 episodes desired for daily stripping in syndication, Lost in Space was nonetheless picked up for such syndication in most major U.S. markets. By 1969, the show was declared to be the #1 syndicated program (or close to it) in markets such as Houston, Milwaukee, Miami and even New York City, where it was said that the only competition to Lost in Space was I Love Lucy. But the program didn't have the staying power throughout the 1970s of its supposed rival, Star Trek. Part of the blame was placed on the first season of Lost in Space being in black-and-white, while a majority of American households now had at least one color TV set. By 1975, many markets began removing Lost in Space from daily schedules or moving it to less desirable time slots. But the series experienced a revival when Ted Turner acquired it for his growing TBS "superstation" in 1979. Viewer response was highly positive, and it became a TBS mainstay for the next five years.
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