La Ron S. Readus
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Netflix's Space Force is a Comfort Zone Killer (VIDEO SCRIPT)
🕑 Added 2020-06-01 20:00:05 +0000 UTC
It feels good to be black on the moon...
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Readers I decided to check out the first season of the new Netflix Original Series, Space Force
/It consists of ten 30+ minute episodes about a newly appointed 4-star general played by Steve Carell that’s been put in charge of the newly created branch of the military -- United States Space Force -- and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised; not at how funny it was, but how it chose to deliver its message/
And that says a lot, considering I haven’t really absorbed that many Steve Carell performances in my lifetime.
No, I’m not going to explain why. I’ll give you NUMBERS, but I’m not going to explain why.
I went into Space Force with only a small handful of Steve Carell movies under my belt, at least 5 episodes of The Office seen, and zero expectations.
Because of this, I felt like the show was perfect for me to watch-slash-critique without having to worry about any biases getting in the way of it.
Like, when I initially saw the advertisement for it and saw that they were banking on the whole “From The Guys Who Brought You The Office,” I legit turned into King Theodan of Rohan back when he was possessed by Sarumon.
(You have no power here)
Now I know that it doesn’t make me special that I only have a few works of Steve Carell under my belt not counting this show, but I found all ten of the episodes in the first season of Space Force to be pretty entertaining.
I actually appreciated that I haven’t watched that much of The Office when I finished the first season, because I couldn’t compare it to anything he’s done that was remotely similar.
Like could you imagine me saying this series was awful because it didn’t live up to how he played Evan in Bruce and Evan Almighty? Can you imagine someone using that as an actual argument?
One of the things I enjoyed most about Space Force is that, starting off, there really isn’t a strong theme present in the show, outside of newly appointed 4-star general Mark Naird being assigned to lead the newly appointed Space Force and has to work with John Malkovich’s Dr. Adrian Mallory, who is my favorite character on this show, by the way.
I’ll admit, that might throw some of you off that have watched me long enough to pick up on what attracts me to certain types of film and television.
I say “at the time,” because the show’s first few episodes really focus on the Odd Couple relationship between Naird and Mallory.
/Naird is the military jock that starts off having simple solutions that are stereotypical of how military leads are presented in modern day media, trying to impress the proper people to keep his position. Mallory is very pro-science, anti-war, but isn’t afraid to tell someone off if they rubbed him the wrong way. He’s pretty much me if I ever channeled my inner James Baldwin and decided to finish college./
The point I’m trying to make is that during the first half of the season, you think that the show is about them learning to be friends, gaining respect for each other and running Space Force successfully despite a good amount of antagonistic forces trying to take them down; intently or otherwise.
/And it’s not like it's a red herring, either; the moments in which you see the two have each other's back or become sincere with each other after one of them either screws up or goes too far is both heart-warming and provides a decent amount of character growth./
Then just when you think this is what the show is about, you’re hit with a surprisingly non-disappointing reminder that the focus is first and foremost about Naird.
/More importantly, it’s about Naird’s journey of learning to step out of his comfort zone./
Naird is an ACTUAL Baby Boomer in this regard, whereas he’s always used to certain things being a certain way to the point where they get in the way of him properly growing as not only a leader, but as an actual person.
And despite the focus on his relationship with Mallory early in the show, they actually hint that this was the overall theme and direction the season was going to go in as early as the first episode, numerous times.
/He originally wanted to be over the Air Force because it was initially what he knew. Whenever things he’s used to doing one way and one way only started going wrong or he felt threatened by the idea of going about new ways to do them, he would have to isolate himself. Even when his incarcerated wife told him that it was okay if he saw other people, he refused to even entertain the thought./
But, surprisingly enough, the more time he spent in Space Force having us think the real point of the show was his growing partnership/friendship with Mallory, the more we see him open up and realize things have to change within himself to be successful.
/We see that in the episode where he stubbornly thinks he can demand respect from a group of scientists he’s helping out on an isolated moon simulation experiment, only for him to open himself up to them and both see and treat them as equals later on. From that point onward, so many situations made themselves available to allow Naird to open up and see not just his ability of being a better leader, but his very life in a different way. He’s such an individual that lives by the book in so many aspects of his life, that his time over the course of season one has taught him that there’s more than just one way to live./
I’m not gonna lie and say that Space Force is for everybody.
When I watched it, sometimes I felt that it was meant for a more older audience of 50+ year olds that could better relate with Naird and Mallory. Other times I felt that there was enough relevance for Millennials like me that appreciate somewhat mature humor with a bit of current pop culture wrapped in for good measure.
/But I’d be lying if I said that the show didn’t make me laugh, didn’t make me smile, and didn’t make me appreciate the well-hidden message the first season had within it, of being open, being willing, and being all that you can be./
No that wasn’t me endorsing the army. I just thought it was a cute way to end the video.
But I digress, Readers. Your homework assignment for the day: Write in the comment section if YOU plan on watching the first season of Space Force
Or if you have, what was something the show did or focused on that you either appreciated or took you by surprise.
Whichever one you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.
