Why "Space Forces" from the authors of "Office" will not become cult

The Netflix series Space Forces was coined by The Office author Greg Daniels and actor Steve Carell. The history of the creation of this project is ironic: its development was announced literally right after US President Donald Trump ordered the organization of real space forces.

It's not hard to guess that the whole plot is based on a sharp satire on American politics and the military industry. Here are just the topical part of Daniels and Carell looks much weaker than light situational jokes and a story about living people.

Politics versus humor

General Mark Nord (Steve Carell), who for many years remained in the shadow of the despising US Air Force chief Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich), is promoted. Now he is the head of a completely new "Space Forces". By presidential decree, Nörd must organize the protection of satellite Internet from enemies, and by 2024 build a base on the moon.

The general has no idea how it all works. He is given a whole military base and a team of the best scientists, led by Adrian Mallory (John Malkovich). But bosses only hinder developers from moving towards progress.

The tone of the story is set from the very first scenes: the dumb generals humiliate each other and argue which of the combat arms is the most unnecessary. Most of these heroes will stay that way until the end. Karella is luckier, but at first his character is no different from his colleagues: he tries to solve any problem with a bomb explosion.

Scientists led by the hero Malkovich are the voice of reason in this story. The team is made up of Indians, Belgians, Chinese and representatives of many other nationalities, and therefore there will be a lot of gags about typical American ignorance here.

People are constantly joking about different nationalities here and often even funny. For example, the base has Russian military and probably the spy Yuri (he is played quite well by the singer and actor Alexei Vorobyov). When he first appears, balalaikas sound. Yuri says bluntly that he receives money personally from Putin, but must remain above suspicion. After all, "he is not Chinese." By the way, do not rush to be offended: this hero is smarter than many of the inhabitants of the base.

On the other hand, those who approve of the military budget can sincerely believe that the Earth is flat and square. Meetings like this strongly resemble Zuckerberg's famous interrogation, where he was forced to explain how the Internet works. The authors clearly hint that the congressmen do not understand at all what they are allocating money for.

They also joke about Twitter of the President of the United States, about his wife's desire to develop an absurd uniform for new troops, about sending space automatic rifles for advertising. In general, all the most relevant topics for America are available. And if someone is looking for the most evil satire on Trump's policy, then the Space Forces will work out the agenda one hundred percent.

The only thing that remains is that the authors have lost their trump card behind the desire to stab the authorities as painfully as possible. The humor and filming of The Office can seem very specific. But witty jokes were always hooked, because they were taken straight from life.

And when Daniels and Carell allow themselves to forget about the obligatory agenda, humor blooms. The scene with the monkey in space is very harsh, but incredibly funny. Each appearance of Nyrd's wife, played by Lisa Kudrow fromFriends”, In general, as if taking the series into the sitcom genre on the verge of absurdity.

And of course, it does not do without references to films about space. There will be a semblance of speech from "Armageddon", and potatoes from "The Martian". But, alas, the plot returns too quickly to political themes every time. They are funny, but not that funny.

Stereotypes against real people

In addition to the creators, the series attracts a stellar cast that some blockbusters will envy. The Karell-Malkovich pair, which has been reasonably emphasized, already stretches out almost any scene by itself. And they are supported by the already mentioned Lisa Kudrow, Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation Areas), comedian Toney Newsom (Bajillion Dollar Propertie $) and many others.

Although at first it may seem that the authors have invited great actors, they forgot to explain the roles to them. In the first episodes, all the characters look like expressionless cliches. Even Karell's character is a typical soldier, and there is nothing more to say about him. Malkovich is just a talented scientist who corrects military mistakes.

It is not known whether the writers conceived this from the very beginning or whether they corrected it in the course of the action, but the heroes turn into real people closer to the middle of the season. And here again one cannot but recall "The Office" with lively and very ambiguous characters.

The model series for the lunar base unexpectedly and touchingly reveals Nerd. A person spent most of his life in the army and is used to driving emotions deeper and deeper in a stressful situation. Of course, one day it must explode.

Gradually, the general's relationship with Mallory is changing. Silly skirmishes turn into live communication between people from different worlds - with jokes about clothing and behavior, but with good intentions and a desire to help. The problems of Nyrd's daughter (Diana Silvers) already seem to be the real trouble of a teenager, to whom parents do not pay attention. And Mallory gets the most emotional scene in the entire series, completely unexpected when the viewer is waiting for another obscene gag.

Short sketches versus a holistic plot

The timing of all 10 episodes balances between the typical sitcom 20 minutes and the dramatic 40. Moreover, in each series, the authors tell a separate story: an attempt to fix a satellite, the creation of a base, a search for a spy.

This approach would be more suitable for a broadcast project: if the viewer misses one of the episodes, it will be easy for him to understand the rest. But Space Forces is out on Netflix, and you can watch it anytime you want. That is why such an obvious fragmentation of episodes hinders the authors.

Some episodes seem like a waste of time. If you don't try to come up with a sharp twist in each episode, but let the characters just live their lives, it can turn out even more interesting. But here again the desire to add more satire comes in.

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Western critics smashed Space Forces even before the premiere. But in fact, the show is not as bad as the first reviews said. It just leaves a strange residue: it always seems that Daniels and Carell have limited themselves, taking a too one-sided topic. And the strongest ideas and the best jokes slip through as if in passing, getting lost behind the desire to voice their dissatisfaction louder.