Space Force: is it a mockumentary? Is it a sitcom? Is it just plain funny? To classify it, I'd call it a sitcom, bordering on farce.
Steve Carell is definitely funny. He knows comic timing and how to deliver a gag - physically and verbally. But this is not The Office. And one thing I will include at this point is that the language in Space Force is unnecessarily bad - the series is rated 15 for language and it shows. It's almost as if the producers realised their show isn't laugh-out-loud hilarious and threw the profanities in to compensate.
Anyway, back to the comparisons.
Michael Scott is accidentally competent, unaware of how his team's success is their own work, and often despite his management, rather than because of it. His career is largely successful (best branch in the company) and this success allows him a lot of leeway in using his own personality to manage.
General Naird is largely unsuccessful despite all his best efforts. He has almost no control over his life: he's been given a promotion to a four-star general rank, and despite expecting to take on leadership of the Air Force, he's been given the task of founding and running Space Force. He's totally out of his depth.
He has no control over his family life: for reasons not yet revealed, his wife is in prison. His daughter is pushing his boundaries and she's started dating a Russian astronaut stationed on the space base.
He has no authority over his space programme, despite being responsible for it. He wants to launch a rocket, but the resident head of science (an annoying character played by the typecast John Malkovich) says he can't due to bad weather.
He even has no control over his office: in the first episode, there is an unannounced and uninvited guest in his office every time he walks into it (except one occasion, where he escapes to his happy place). His personal assistant or receptionist or however you'd like to refer to him, is an incompetent waste of space.
The General feels the pressure of his space programme ("Boots On The Moon") at all times, and in contrast to Michael Scott where he's an appalling manager with a successful team, the General is a good manager (out of his depth) surrounded by critics, detractors and obstructions.
So, Space Force is nothing like The Office.
The first episode could be summarised as "General has to demonstrate some return on all the investment into Space Force, and in order to do so, prematurely launches a prototype weapon which explodes on the pad, but contrary to scientific advice, successfully launches a new unmanned rocket into orbit." with a twist, "Another spacecraft severs the new probe's solar panels leaving Space Force with a predicament to solve." It introduces the main character and his colleagues, who are some of the most irritating characters on Planet Sitcom. I've already mentioned John Malkovich's character, Dr Adrian Mallory (as annoying as he was in Transformers Dark of The Moon); joined by F. Tony Scarapiducci (played by Ben Schwartz, who played the utterly infuriating John Ralphio in Parks and Recreation), who is the entirely superfluous social media manager.
Is Space Force funny? In parts, yes, but not in the way that The Office is funny, or Parks and Recreation, or any other mockumentary or sitcom. If anything, I'd have to liken it to the more serious episodes of Brooklyn 99, but without the slapstick.
One thing it certainly has is accidental relevance. In a week where the Space X Dragon launch was postponed due to the weather, this was very timely. The handover of Space Force to General Naird is accompanied by the line that The President wants to protect the Internet and Twitter as information is bounced off satellites. In a week where Donald Trump has loudly attacked Twitter, this was certainly an unplanned piece of cultural commentary.
Do I like it? I think so, but I am not convinced. The tone of the General constantly under pressure to perform does not lend itself easily to comedy, and apart from wastefully spending taxpayers' money in failed launches, there's not much to laugh at in the first episode. I'm eating it 7 out of 10, and will persevere for another few episodes at least.
Steve Carell is definitely funny. He knows comic timing and how to deliver a gag - physically and verbally. But this is not The Office. And one thing I will include at this point is that the language in Space Force is unnecessarily bad - the series is rated 15 for language and it shows. It's almost as if the producers realised their show isn't laugh-out-loud hilarious and threw the profanities in to compensate.
Anyway, back to the comparisons.
Michael Scott is accidentally competent, unaware of how his team's success is their own work, and often despite his management, rather than because of it. His career is largely successful (best branch in the company) and this success allows him a lot of leeway in using his own personality to manage.
General Naird is largely unsuccessful despite all his best efforts. He has almost no control over his life: he's been given a promotion to a four-star general rank, and despite expecting to take on leadership of the Air Force, he's been given the task of founding and running Space Force. He's totally out of his depth.
He has no control over his family life: for reasons not yet revealed, his wife is in prison. His daughter is pushing his boundaries and she's started dating a Russian astronaut stationed on the space base.
He has no authority over his space programme, despite being responsible for it. He wants to launch a rocket, but the resident head of science (an annoying character played by the typecast John Malkovich) says he can't due to bad weather.
He even has no control over his office: in the first episode, there is an unannounced and uninvited guest in his office every time he walks into it (except one occasion, where he escapes to his happy place). His personal assistant or receptionist or however you'd like to refer to him, is an incompetent waste of space.
The General feels the pressure of his space programme ("Boots On The Moon") at all times, and in contrast to Michael Scott where he's an appalling manager with a successful team, the General is a good manager (out of his depth) surrounded by critics, detractors and obstructions.
So, Space Force is nothing like The Office.
The first episode could be summarised as "General has to demonstrate some return on all the investment into Space Force, and in order to do so, prematurely launches a prototype weapon which explodes on the pad, but contrary to scientific advice, successfully launches a new unmanned rocket into orbit." with a twist, "Another spacecraft severs the new probe's solar panels leaving Space Force with a predicament to solve." It introduces the main character and his colleagues, who are some of the most irritating characters on Planet Sitcom. I've already mentioned John Malkovich's character, Dr Adrian Mallory (as annoying as he was in Transformers Dark of The Moon); joined by F. Tony Scarapiducci (played by Ben Schwartz, who played the utterly infuriating John Ralphio in Parks and Recreation), who is the entirely superfluous social media manager.
Is Space Force funny? In parts, yes, but not in the way that The Office is funny, or Parks and Recreation, or any other mockumentary or sitcom. If anything, I'd have to liken it to the more serious episodes of Brooklyn 99, but without the slapstick.
One thing it certainly has is accidental relevance. In a week where the Space X Dragon launch was postponed due to the weather, this was very timely. The handover of Space Force to General Naird is accompanied by the line that The President wants to protect the Internet and Twitter as information is bounced off satellites. In a week where Donald Trump has loudly attacked Twitter, this was certainly an unplanned piece of cultural commentary.
Do I like it? I think so, but I am not convinced. The tone of the General constantly under pressure to perform does not lend itself easily to comedy, and apart from wastefully spending taxpayers' money in failed launches, there's not much to laugh at in the first episode. I'm eating it 7 out of 10, and will persevere for another few episodes at least.
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