'Space Force' (season 1) unfortunately lacks some of the snappy, clever writing and pacing I think most people were hoping for after watching the initial trailers for the show. But the show's saving grace is that it does feature a great comedic cast, a funny premise, and a decent production budget. The sci-fi elements really aren't taken seriously (which I suppose was upsetting to some people), but in return we get a test-monkey 'apestronaut' who has go on a space walk to fix a broken satellite... I think they made the right choice.
All-in-all it's an entertaining show that made me chuckle quite a bit. Although admittedly there weren't that many laugh-out-loud moments, for me.
I love watching Steve Carell doing his thing, though. The man's comedic timing and delivery are still brilliant. His 'gruff army General voice' is really funny, I'm sure it was the driving force (no pun intended) behind getting this show off the ground. Malkovich is also hilarious as the 'stuck-up scientist' character, he plays is just subtle enough so that it doesn't become ridiculous. Him and Carell have good chemistry and their banter often stands out as being the highlight of the show. A lot of other familiar faces from shows like 'Silicon Valley' and 'Parks & Recreation' round out the cast pretty well and it's fun seeing them all here.
The only thing I did find a little jarring is the story-line of Carell's character's wife (played by Lisa Kudrow) serving a life-sentence in prison.
First it's played just for laughs, which works, but it becomes a bit dour later on in the season and it kinda starts making Carell's character's daughter come off like a spoiled, inconsiderate brat. I didn't really like the actress playing his daughter to begin with; she over-does the snarky teenager thing and I found myself getting a bit annoyed whenever she was on screen.
The 'black lady astronaut' character was also a bit of a swing-and-miss, for me, but that wasn't really the actress' fault. Her character is just pretty boring.
Overall it's 'good enough' for me, though. If you like Carell's whimsical humor then you're probably gonna like this. I hope the writing and story-lines get a little more interesting if/when the show gets picked up for another season. Maybe adding a bit more edgy humor would spice things up a bit. I'd love to see it go a little more towards 'Silicon Valley', and further away from 'The Big Bang Theory'.
Definitely recommend the show and hope to see more of it.
