Space Force

Greetings, ‘Space Force’ is a Netflix original sitcom that ran for two seasons from 2020 to 2022. With a total of 17 episodes before its cancellation, the series is an easy and, in my opinion, an enjoyable watch. It was created by Steve Carrell and Greg Daniels and is based upon the most recent military arm of America, the United States Space Force, which was brought into creation by President Donald Trump in December 2019. The show has a sizeable cast of established actors and actresses such as Steve Carrell, John Malkovich, Lisa Kudrow and rising personalities including Tawny Newson, Jimmy O. Yang, Diana Silvers and Ben Schwartz. The music was conducted by Carter Burwell who is known for his numerous collaborations with the Coen brothers.

The plot begins with Mark Naird, an Air Force Lieutenant General, who is recently granted the rank of full four star general. With his new position, Mark believes and hopes that he will be promoted to the role of Chief of Staff of the Air Force. This turns out to be untrue. In a shocking moment for Mark, he is taken aback when he is declared the first Chief of Operations of the United States Space Force. As the most recent military wing with no accomplishments behind it to garner a reputation, the Space Force and, by extension, Mark are not taken seriously by the other arms and they are often belittled by them. Naird and his family who were contented with their lives are forced to relocate to Wild Horse in Colorado due to the new job as that is where the Space Force headquarters is based. One year after the hiring and there isn’t much going well for anyone in the Naird family. Erin, Mark’s teenage daughter, misses her old friends and hasn’t been able to adjust to her new life at all while Maggie, Mark’s wife, has been locked up in prison for a crime that is never explained.

Mark continues to press on ahead with his role despite his struggles which include trying to be a good single parent since Maggie has been sentenced to a few decades behind bars and his lack of respect from his colleagues in other divisions. To show politicians and the general public that Space Force is not a waste of tax payer’s money, Mark decides to launch a satellite named the Epsilon 6 into space. There are numerous setbacks with the satellite and a few politicians have been invited to watch the launch in person. With a deadline fast approaching, Mark is pushed into a corner and goes against the trusted advice of his scientists, including his main confidant Dr Adrian Mallory, when he commits to launching the satellite. Despite some concerns of making an embarrassment out of Space Force in front of the gathered politicians, the Epsilon 6 successfully makes its journey in to orbit. Mark and Adrian celebrate that night but come to realise a situation of dire political ramifications is on the horizon when a Chinese space craft is caught intentionally dismantling the Epsilon 6 and there are calls within the US government to retaliate.

Even though the series had an initially mixed reception before a much better rated second season came to the streaming site, I enjoyed this show from start to finish. This could easily have went on for a few more series in my opinion and it is unfortunate that it concluded on a cliff-hanger as I would have liked to have seen how it was going to be handled. Saying this though, the first season also ended on another cliff-hanger and the plot points were resolved off screen and addressed in the opening of the second series so it may have been anti-climactic. The characters are well fleshed out and easy to root for, this was the case for even some of the characters who were specifically designed to be somewhat annoying, as ‘Space Force’ balanced light humour and heart superbly. I would encourage you to watch this if you are looking for an easy going comedy.

Plot=7/10

Characters=8/10

Special Effects=6/10

Overall=8/10

Quote of the Day

We've got a computer. It's going to do lots of magical things, like make Harry Crane seem important.

Roger Sterling

Mad Men