TV, COMEDY

Is ’Space Force’ Really That Terrible?

It’s hard to recognize Michael Scott among these jokes.

Who would’ve thought that the latest collaboration between the creator, Greg Daniels, of the legendary show, The Office, and his long-time peer, Steve Carell, will be a huge misfire?

When the news broke, it created huge anticipation among us, fans. The idea itself, coming from Trump, was such dumb nonsense to begin with, that we couldn’t help but look forward to the release date.

The Office and Parks and Recreation used absurd but hilarious slapstick humor back then, which eventually led them straight into the pantheon of the most popular and greatest sitcoms of all time. I still giggle whenever I think of Michael Scott’s “That’s what she said” jokes, or how passionately Ron Swanson hates people.

I say “eventually” because let’s not forget that both shows started off with a not entirely great first season. That’s something we can hope for to happen to Space Force, but I don’t think that’s the case this time.

“[Space Force] is a show about Trump’s military-industrial complex without a single trace of complexity.” — Charles Bramesco, The Guardian

When the first reviews were published about a week ago, they pretty much knocked back our excitement and landed us on our ass. Of course, you don’t always believe the critics, no matter how hard they try to prove their point. I mean, we are talking about Steve Carell and Greg Daniels here, it can’t be that bad, right?

It isn’t.

But it’s not good either.

One of the major elements that made Greg Daniels’ previous shows so great was that the characters were put in a workplace environment that screamed boredom louder than a math seminar. The ordinary set up immediately allowed the peculiar characters to come alive and shine brighter than a disco ball. The employees of a paper company and a government department quickly became relatable for the audience.

The lack of relatability is Space Force’s first strike. A fictional sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces is not exactly the environment that the average person is familiar with. It could be an advantage, though, but it makes it harder to develop a connection with the audience.

The previously used successful formula of workplace comedies just doesn’t thrive here. Everyone in Space Force is too excessive. The required professionalism in such a department is just way too high to simply drop slapstick humor all over it. It could work as a satire, but clearly, that wasn’t the intention of the creators. Instead, they tried to make a dramedy out of it, and that’s just not believable at all. If not even Carell and Daniels are brave enough to criticize Trump’s presidency and make fun of through a comedy series, I don’t think anyone else is.

Strike two is the characters. Their personalities are weak, they don’t come alive on the screen, and they stay two-dimensional all the way. They are just not funny enough. We don’t like or hate them, they are just there. I mean, how could we forget someone like Dwight Schrute or Andy Dwyer? I just finished watching Space Force a day ago, and I can’t even tell you the name of John Malkovich’s character.

Strike three is the nonexistent plot. There are no exciting stories here, the stakes are just too banal to root for the characters to overcome them. We miss the moments that should create a connection.

However, the reason why Space Force is not utterly terrible as the critics say it’s because General Mark Naird is basically Michael Scott disguised in an Air Force uniform. He is older and more mature now, however, Scott is still underneath that deceptive look being ignorant, clumsy, racist, and adorably big-hearted. When Carell lets him take over, I can’t help but unleash the Office-fan from my heart to greet this old friend. It’s just so good to see him again.

However, Michael Scott only works well with his peers. So it doesn’t matter how great John Malkovich or Ben Schwartz could be if they don’t have the grand material to work with. Space Force is lacking a good script probably more than anything else. Most of the jokes are expired and rusty, not giving any real chance for this superb cast to shine and make us laugh our ass off.

Overall, it’s not unbearable, but it’s far from entertaining television and doesn’t come near to its predecessors. It’s too bad, I miss Michael.

Space Force is streaming on Netflix.

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