Space Force brings the dream
team of Carell and Greg Daniels, who gave us the supremely brilliant
The Office seven years ago. But the Space Force is no Office, even
though almost every second thing in the show reminds us of it.
 |
| Space force review |
Space Force creators: Greg Daniels and Steve Carell
Space Force rating: Two stars
“I don’t know, but I have been told, outer space is very cold” is the
catchy tune that members of the Space Force chant as they go about
their morning run on the premises of the Space base in Wild Horse,
Colorado. And as all the oil reserves on earth have been conquered, so
of course, now America is attempting to ‘put boots on the moon’ in
Netflix’s latest big-ticket item, Space Force. The ten-part series, is
replete with references to Star Wars, Star Trek and many other
pop-cultural phenomena. General Mark Naird (Carell), a four-star
general, has been tasked to head Space Force, a new branch of the US
armed forces, and the mission is to put ‘boots on the moon, actually, it
was boobs on the moon’ explains the Defence secretary to Naird, who’s
clearly feeling out of his depth in the new surroundings of a space base
in small-town Colorado. We follow Naird around his mission aided by
chief scientist Adrian Mallory (Malkovich) as they bumble around one
mission after the other.
If only Space Force was a show just about sending people to the moon.
Or it was a comical take on what really goes into sending stuff into
outer space. It could have been The Office, with just a bigger acreage.
Space Force brings the dream team of Carell and Greg Daniels, who gave
us the supremely brilliant The Office seven years ago. But the Space
Force is no Office, even though almost every second thing in the show
reminds us of it. At the core of the show lies the dynamics between
Mallory and Naird, and while one doesn’t ‘understand science’ and
other’s ‘loyalty to reason’ is deemed a problem, they always have each
other’s back. After a tough day, they kick back a few drinks and even go
tie shopping together. Very reminiscent of the dynamics between Michael
Scott and Dwight Schrute in The Office, of course here, they are both
equals and the stakes are much higher than just reams of paper.
Space Force functions and bumble its way on three levels, one is the
main narrative of the mission to the moon, the other is the inner,
personal struggles of Naird and the third superimposed one is the satire
on the current US government. There are many jokes on POTUS — he is
never named, but everything points to Donald Trump and his love for
Twitter; there is a whole mini-arc on how the First Lady wishes to
design uniforms for the Space Force, enter Melania right on cue. Naird’s
media advisor is called F Tony Scarapiducci, a nod to former White
House Communications director Anthony Scaramucci and we also meet ‘an
angry young congresswoman’, complete with the trademark red lipstick and
snazzy blazers of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
While The Office had a golden run with its highly quirky, but
relatable characters, Space Force seems to be retrofitting things to the
narrative of the characters, which we feel we have all seen, heard or
read about somewhere. Lisa Kudrow — the only character from Friends who
looks her age — plays the wife of Naird who, we find in the second
episode, is serving a jail sentence for 40 years. Apart from the whole
‘orange is the new black’ thing that she has going for her, we never
find out what heinous crime she really committed. There is also Erin,
Naird’s daughter, who is having a tough time in small-town Colorado and
puts the whole ‘single father’ arc for Naird in place. Ben Schwartz as F
Tony is repeating his overzealous, fast-talking, avatar of Jean Ralphio
from Parks and Recreation. And even though the body language of Naird
is distinctly different from Michael Scott, the way the four-star
general shuts himself in his giant office is too much of a throwback to
the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin. Except while Scott cried in his
office, this one sings songs from rock bands like Creedence Clearwater
Revival.
Things just happen ‘too conveniently’ in Space Force. And at times,
the result is too caricaturesque. Remember the basketball match that
took place between the staff of Dunder Mifflin and the warehouse
workers? And where Michael Scott meandered his way to a last-minute win
by fluffing up the rules, even though the warehouse team was clearly
winning by a huge margin? We see something similar happening here in the
final turf war between Air Force and Space Force, and Space Force is
saved by the skin of their teeth by the last-minute scientific
brilliance of Dr Mallory. There are also heartfelt speeches, which
appeal to higher spirit and cause, and would not feel out of place in a
The West Wing episode.
Maybe keeping in with tradition, the meandering first season could
very well be a precursor to a hit series. Daniels suffered the same with
Parks and Recreation and even with The Office. In the meanwhile, the
soundtrack is something of a must-have. You might just end up humming
Kokomo from The Beach Boys
0 Comments