Space Force. I know. With that title I usually role my eyes and think about how stupid an actual Space Force is. Brilliant idea, Donald. However, the Space Force we will be discussing will not be the actual new branch of the U.S. Military. Netflix has a new series that premiered on May 29th titled Space Force.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
Here is the official logline from Netflix.
A decorated pilot with dreams of running the Air Force, four-star general Mark R. Naird (Steve Carell) is thrown for a loop when he finds himself tapped to lead the newly formed sixth branch of the US Armed Forces: Space Force. Skeptical but dedicated, Mark uproots his family and moves to a remote base in Colorado where he and a colorful team of scientists and “Spacemen” are tasked by the White House with getting American boots on the moon (again) in a hurry and achieving total space dominance.
The creators behind Space Force are Carell and Greg Daniels (The Office). Additional cast includes John Malkovich, Diana Silvers, Tawny Newsome, Ben Schwartz also star, alongside co-stars Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy O. Yang, Noah Emmerich, Alex Sparrow and Don Lake. Howard Klein/3Arts (The Office) serves as executive producer, with Daniels as showrunner.
TRAILER
Here is the official trailer for Space Force.
MY IMPRESSION
I was excited to watch this series. I like Steve Carell. I usually find his projects funny, and I really needed a good laugh. I thought that with the idea of the show, I mean it’s Space Force, and Steve Carell would give me that. Oh, how wrong I was.
I think I laughed a total of two times out of ten episodes. There were a few chuckle worthy moments, and there were moments that I enjoyed watching them make fun of the new branch in the military. There were obvious characters in the show that reflect real life. Take AOC for example, she was there in spirit. There was also Donald’s communication through tweets.
Overall, it just could have been done a lot better. I had higher expectations and I didn’t get it. I wanted to laugh. The idea was there and it fell flat like the Republican Senator in episode three that believed in a flat Earth.
Characters like Mallory and Brad were probably my favorite, and provided more of my entertainment than anyone else. The others weren’t much of a bright spot in my opinion. They just traded barbs and had story-lines that were supposed to be interesting.
Then there was the whole storyline with General Nairds wife. All of a sudden she turns up in prison after their move from D.C.. Wtf? That makes no sense. It felt like they just wanted her there, but didn’t provide context how it came about. It felt like lazy writing in my opinion. There were a lot of let downs, including the finale but we will get to that later.
BEST EPISODE
It’s hard to choose the best episode from ten that are rather lackluster. To me that is episode six, “Conjugal Visit”. That is all down to Mallory. I get him a lot in this episode and he entertains me. I enjoyed watching him freak out over choosing who to send into space. Like I said, there aren’t a lot of bright spots in these ten episodes. Take what you will.
WORST EPISODE
The worst episode is hands down the finale, “Proportionate Response.” They left the episode at the worst possible moment. Spoiler alert coming if you haven’t watched Space Force yet. The last scene is watching Naird fly back somewhere, after he is informed that the moon habitat was destroyed by China.
I understand the lure of a cliffhanger, but they needed one more episode to close out story-lines. We needed to address what was going to happen to the astronauts on the moon. We needed to know where Naird was going along with his escaped convict wife and her corrections officer girlfriend.
They would have had a much better cliffhanger if they had taken it one more episode. They could have left it with the team on the moon trying to get off it. It was horribly done, and that is a lackluster last impression to leave your Space Force viewers with.
WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?
If you haven’t already guessed, I would say it is a hard pass. I know you couldn’t see this recommendation coming a mile away. Don’t waste your time on Space Force if you are looking for a laugh. There are plenty of other shows to watch that are worth it. Space Force isn’t.
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Space Force is now streaming on Netflix.
Great review!