Not exactly humorous, the heart Space Force shows is nice.
Space Force (Season One)
Likes: A matter-of-factly inclusive and positively oriented message about humanity and the benefits of working together is nice for this current messy time.
Dislikes: All of the premises are theoretically funny, but they don’t deliver on screen. Also, random, but the daughter looked way older than high school age to me.
Bottom Line: Something isn’t gelling together here. I can see what it’s trying to do, but it doesn’t feel right.
3 out of 5. ◆◆◆◇◇
by Jacob Schermerhorn
Thinking about Space Force, my mind keeps wandering to larger topics like, when did America lose its collective fascination with the stars? Why did the government cut funding to the final frontier after so much time and effort? Was Trump serious all that time ago when he tweeted about a space force and they made the insignia looks like Star Trek?
In general, the thoughts highlighted just how strange a concept it is to hang a workplace comedy on. Especially for how normal and mainstream the show ends up being.
Decent and upstanding if stubborn and idiotic General Mark Naird (Steve Carrell) gets assigned to develop space force into an actual military branch while navigating crazy co-workers, giant egos, spies, government oversight, the Chinese, and his own fatherhood failures.
Take sitcom scenarios from shows like Parks and Recreation but instead of Pawnee, set it on a space base. And boom, that’s basically Space Force.
Co-creator Greg Daniels was also a major part in Parks and Rec, itself a series inspired by Steve Carrell’s show The Office, so this is not a new frontier for these producers to tread.
In fact, wacky side characters almost have one-to-one comparisons. Obnoxious social media director F. Tony Scarapiducci (Ben Schwartz) is Tom Haverford slash John Ralphio, dopey punching bag General Brad Gregory (Don Lake) is Jerry Gergich, sullen daughter Erin Naird (Diana Silvers) is April Ludgate, spaced-out engineers Eddie Broser (Chris Gethard) and Pella Bhat (Aparna Nancherla) are animal control guys Harris and Brett, and even a fouler-mouthed Councilman Jam in General Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich) and a more contentious Ann Perkins in Chief Scientist Adrian Mallory (John Malkovich, my personal pick for MVP).
(And those are literally just a few. Other talented folks involved include Lisa Kudrow, Tawny Newsome, Jimmy O. Yang, Roy Wood Jr., Jane Lynch, Patrick Warburton, Jessica St. Clair, Kaitlin Olson, and freaking Fred Willard! RIP.)
So then, what’s missing? Because, at the end of the day, while the aim is apparent, the effect didn’t usually make me laugh. The cast is talented and gives believable and effortful performances. The scenarios are, on paper, comedic. But, all in all, it unfortunately doesn’t gel together.
Maybe it’s the presentation? While The Office and Parks and Rec were shot like documentaries with the appropriate handheld cameras and talking heads, Space Force uses more of a film language instead. While I would agree with the sentiment that the mockumentary format is overdone now, perhaps its better suited for the wacky space workforce genre? I don’t know.
One thing I really like beyond the comedy of Space Force was its heart. It’s casually inclusive of race and sexual orientations as more of an accepted fact than something to lampshade. It also has an undeniably pro-immigrant stance with the Space Force team pointedly being a collaborative effort with people from all sorts of different countries.
Above all, the message of Space Force is also a non-violent one with cooperation and peaceful means always being the correct ones. Even General Naird, who starts hawkish, becomes a character who ultimately choses potential treason over violent action.
In trying to deescalate a situation, Naird states the theme of Space Force in a surprisingly profound and (for me) moving speech.
“Forget history and you are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. Forget how bad polio was, people stop taking vaccines,” Naird says, “Forget how bad world wars are, people start puffing out their chests. The real enemy is arrogance.”
I wish the show could be funnier, but Space Force’s message is one I can definitely get behind.
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