Space Force is one of the newest additions to Netflix’s always expanding collection of original television programming. The show was only released a little over a month ago and follows Steve Carell as General Mark Naird, the recently appointed head of the American military’s newest branch, the Space Force.
Basically, I think Space Force is fine. I don’t remember hearing about the show before it came out so I wasn’t waiting for it to come out but when Netflix recommended it with Steve Carell’s face on the poster it seemed like it could be pretty good especially since it boasted that actors like Lisa Kudrow and John Malkovich were also part of the show’s cast. Once I did finally get around to watching the first show’s episode I was underwhelmed and a little bit confused. If I’m honest, the only reason I watched the rest of the series is because it’s only ten thirty-minute-long episodes and I wanted to watch something that wouldn’t require a lot of commitment.
When I mentioned earlier that I was confused by the show’s first episode, it’s because the show is listed as a comedy, and in theory it should be. It’s a show about a very new and very poorly conceived branch of the military filled with characters who are poorly equipped to carry out the tasks they are assigned. But frankly, the show isn’t very funny. Carell’s General Naird is strait laced, irritable, and lacks the charm that one would expect from Carell who is best known for a somewhat similar role of portraying a dysfunctional boss in a workplace (please don’t make me mention the show again, once was already too much). The character is frustratingly middle of the road, despite being our protagonist he’s probably one of the least interesting characters and the show relies heavily on the supporting cast to provide the comedy, which they don’t do very often.
Naird’s family includes Lisa Kudrow as his wife Maggie who is in prison for unknown reasons for the entirety of the season, which I think is supposed to be funny but it just results in a handful of offensive jokes aimed at people who are incarcerated and their families. Diana Silvers plays Naird’s teenaged daughter Erin who is stereotypically bitter and resentful towards her father for moving her family from Washington DC to Colorado, where the Space Force base is located. Erin’s character is unlikable, annoying, and flat, which is disappointing because of Silvers past roles as interesting characters in films like Booksmart and Ma (which I’m definitely not calling a good film), Space Force seems to waste a lot of her potential as it does with the majority of its cast.
John Malkovich plays Space Force head scientist, Dr. Adrien Mallory, who mostly just complains a lot (no seriously, like a loooooot) and is another extremely talented actor in the show’s cast who isn’t given the opportunity to add more depth to his role.
I will say that a there were a few characters who I really enjoyed, such as Ben Schwartz as an overenthusiastic PR rep, and Don Lake as Naird’s personal assistant. Almost any time these two were on the screen I thought they were funny and interesting and especially when they’re together I had fun watching them work.
I think that Space Force’s biggest problem is that it’s a little bit confused, especially towards the beginning of the series it felt like the show was taking itself way too seriously, a little bit of drama, a little bit of heartwarming stuff, and a good amount of comedy that just didn’t land the way it should have (and in some cases managed to be really cringey). As the show progresses it begins to find firmer footing and there are some genuinely funny moments (an episode two debacle involving an astronaut chimpanzee made me laugh so hard I cried), but for me at least, the show wasn’t consistent enough for me to fully sit back and just enjoy it the way I wanted to.
You can find Space Force on Netflix, and if you’ve watched it, please let me know what you thought of it in the comments!
Also just a side thought: I feel like I have to address that for a lot of people, the inclusion of Steve Carell in a workplace comedy-esque show immediately gives expectations that the show will have the same comedy and atmosphere as the Office. It doesn’t and it isn’t fair to expect it to, they’re two totally different things. Personally, I watched Space Force looking for something different, and that’s what I got. I read a few reviews of the show that complained that people didn’t like Space Force because they expected it to be like the Office. Maybe some people did expect that, and they shouldn’t have, but that doesn’t make it fair to write off all criticism of Space Force. We should all remember to keep open minds to new shows, movies, feedback, and criticism, that’s what I try to do and I hope that’s what you all try to do too!
Image Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Force_(TV_series)
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