It’s fresh and new. It’s pure parody, but not of someone else’s content, but a parody of reality. No one took Space Force seriously when President Trump announced it. However, it’s clear that the creators of this show immediately went to work, because June 2018, Trump announced the branch of the government, and on January 19th, 2019 Netflix announced this show was coming before the branch was actually started.
As always we break down the critiques of the three categories: Story, Acting, and Overall. So let’s go upside down into this critique! If you haven’t seen this show, fair warning, Spoilers ahead!
STORY: 4/10
It’s not a great story, I understand why people are attacking it for that. The general concept is very one step forward, two steps back. That being said, a lot of people were afraid that the plot would revolve around insulting the military. Oddly enough though, the show does a great job actually making an argument for why the branch should exist.
The biggest gem to stand out of this show was the 3rd episode “Mark And Mallory Go To Washington”. Within this episode, the show has to defend its existence before a senate hearing, and all I can say is that the way they crafted a response really made me think we should have a Space Force, until time passed, and we realized that what they argued was exactly what NASA does.
ACTING: 9/10
This is a show more about relationships than about actual space flight. From the relationship between the Airforce and the scientists to the relationship between the secondary characters.
Steve Carell plays General Naird, an incredible and impassioned portrayal of a military man. While he comes off as comically uninformed, like most of Steve Carell’s characters he is a study of humanity that makes his understanding of people able to level the playing field. When his character design remembers that he has that ability. Say what you will about the character his loyalty and dedication make him a plus, and likable character.
John Malkovich plays Dr. Adrian Mallory, the chief scientist, does come off a bit quirky for the sake of quirky, but his behavior really does play well with Carell’s stiff presentation of General Naird.
The supporting cast of Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Tawny Newsome, and Lisa Kudrow really fills the show up and makes it a well-rounded show full of characters to enjoy from “A” stories to “B” stories.
OVERALL: 7/10
It’s an interesting show, and while the story isn’t amazing, the character-driven scenes are what makes this show shine. This isn’t a traditional procedural or a drama, but it is a straight comedy. There are drama beats, but they exist solely for the purpose of driving additional comedy into the scenes.
Conner’s Final Thought(s):
I will admit though that the meetings of Jane Lynch, Noah Emmerich, Diedrich Bader, Patrick Warburton, and Larry Joe Campbell are one of my favorite things from the show. I was super excited when the first episode started off with it, but then got very sad when I realized, one time jump later, that it wasn’t going to be a regular thing. When they do pop up few and far between though they shine.
Ben Schwartz was hilarious as F. Tony, but when I heard his last name was Scarapiducci, I lost it realizing that he was supposed to be a parody of Anthony Scaramucci. Additionally, seeing Fred Willard’s presentation was heart-wrenching and also made me happy, as he killed the comedy, even up to his last days.
If you are looking for a good laugh then you should check out this show. It’s not the new Office, or Parks and Recreation, but it is an interesting story with fun and interesting characters.
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