Space Force Season 1 (2020) Review

This show has hit Netflix today and sees Steve Carrell reunite with the creators of the much acclaimed US Office to make Space Force and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees a US military Genreal set the task of leading the US Space Force and everything that leads with that job. 

Main Character

As mentioned Steve Carrell plays the lead character on the show and he is fine in the role. He still has moments of humour and at times did make me laugh, he is also fine in the dramatic scenes that are here even though they are not seen as a priority here. But I think this show showed me that Carrell isn't at his prime anymore when it comes to comedy, it doesn't help this character is a complete idiot. Considering some of his really strong dramatic performances over the last few years maybe that should be where he looks to go for the next few years. 

Supporting Characters

Now we get to the star of the show which is John Malkovich, he acts rings around every character on this show. He is funny and dramatic making him the most interesting character, his relationship and chemistry with Carrell does work well with Malkovich being the standout. Lisa Kudrow has a smaller role on the show but she does a good job here providing some good moments with a pretty basic character. But the rest of the cast didn't really stand out for me, they weren't particularly funny and honestly I didn't care much for Carrell's daughter on the show, she came across as whiny and pretentious.

Story 

Now the only real highlight of the story of the show is the chemistry and relationship between Carrell & Malkovic which literally carries anything of interest but everything else is super weak. It isn't crazy enough and at times it comes across as pretty political which holds it back from actually making its only identity. There is plenty of plot points going on and the majority of them are underdeveloped and you won't care about them, plus this show has a pretty offensive cliffhanger which it doesn't earn and it feels like they just didn't come up with an ending for the season.

Script

This show as a comedy does it's job to a mediocre level, there are some funny lines and parts for the show there just aren't enough of them. The show isn't consistently funny enough over the 10 episode season and the drama they try and force doesn't work or make you care about the characters.

Style

The style of the show is the biggest disappointment, if you are expecting an Office type show you are going to be upset as this show sets itself up to be more dramatised. It doesn't quite go far enough in its craziness and it suffers from parodying a ridiculous real world idea that couldn't be as crazy on this show. Also 10 episodes is way too much for this show, it could have been done in 8 or even 6 and it might have been better.

Overall

Overall, this show was a real disappointment, with the cast and creative minds I expected a really funny show but just got a very mediocre attempt at comedy that really fails to stick it's landing.

Rating - 4/10