TV Review: Other Space Season 1

Other Space

Creator: Paul Feig

Starring: Trace Beaulieu, Neil Casey, Eugene Cordero, Joel Hodgson, Conor Leslie, Bess Rous, Karan Soni, Milana Vayntrub

Runtime: 8 episodes

Throughout the ongoing streaming age of television, many series once thought to be over and or forgotten have received renewed attention and new audiences after being brought onto different platforms.  One of the latest series to experience this is Other Space, a sci-fi comedy originally aired on the now-defunct Yahoo! Screen back in 2015, the rights to which have been picked up by streaming app DUST, which will begin streaming the show’s first season in August.

Created by Bridesmaids director and Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig, Other Space is a comedic riff on Star Trek in the vein of The Orville.  Set in 2105 the show follows the crew of the creatively named spaceship the Cruiser, part of the Universal Mapping Project (UMP, for short), a space exploration program created by a large Earth-based conglomerate.  The nerdy but enthusiastic Stewart Lipinski (Deadpool‘s Karan Soni) is named captain of the vessel, much to the chagrin of his abrasive, yet arguably more efficient sister Karen (Bess Rous) and childhood babysitter turned default best friend Michael (Eugene Cordero), who are named first and second officer, respectively.  Stewart hires his crush, Tina Shukshin (Milana Vayntrub, known for her appearances in AT&T commercials), as navigator despite her lack of qualifications (and ongoing, frequently publicly displayed, relationship with another man).  The role of science officer is filled by Kent Woolworth (Neil Casey), who has been left extremely socially awkward and with a bizarre biology due to his dark family history.  Rounding out the crew are Zalian Fletcher (Joel Hodgson) and robot stowaway A.R.T. (Trace Beaulieu), who handle engineering, and Natasha (Titans‘ Conor Leslie), the ship’s personable AI, originally designed as a pleasure bot for the first Hooters space casino.

Just hours after gathering together the crew finds themselves hurled into an alternate universe and the series chronicles their buffoonish attempts at survival and returning home while also charting the growth of their interpersonal relationships.  Stewart and Karen are given the most natural and thoroughly developed story arcs, with the former having to balance his dreams of discovery and anxieties against his responsibilities as captain while the latter learns to loosen up and appreciate the other people in her life.  The eight-episode season is an ideal length to make the “escape the alternate universe” plot feel well-developed without wearing out its welcome.

Overall, the show is decently funny but never evolves beyond amusing.  The writing embraces a crass tone of comedy centered around sex jokes and focusing on the dysfunctional, often comically abusive interactions between the crew members, but it doesn’t embrace the out-there possibilities of its premise often enough.  Storylines like Tina and Michael getting stranded on an alien planet and going from uncomfortable co-workers to amorous lovers, to maddened rivals trying to eat each other are funnier than common sitcom plots like girls’ night, but the show doesn’t really realize this and delivers both kinds of stories with the same frequency.

This mix in quality extends to the acting and writing of the characters.  Soni is often a solid supporting player in his more high-profile projects so it’s nice to see him step into the spotlight and the show relies heavily on his laid-back charm.  Among the rest of the cast, Leslie and Shukshin shine brightest.  Natasha’s software is often on the fritz and Leslie embraces the opportunity to ham it up when these situations cause drastic changes to her personality.  The characterization of Tina is one of the show’s most notable subversions of expectations.  Rather than the vaguely kind and humorous personality given to most love interests, she’s a wild, unpredictable woman.  She’s unafraid to let her, often derogatory, thoughts on her crewmates be known, make very forward innuendos, or engage in casual, kinky sex.  But she also has her more tender moments and is arguably the most consistently funny character on the show and Shukshin does a good job bringing her various dimensions to life.  The rest of the characters and performances are not nearly this enjoyable, however.  Personally, I found Zalian to be the worst, though whether others agree with me likely comes down to personal preference.  But Hodgson’s apathetic performance seems to reflect the amount of effort put into writing the character: he’s the designated “weird” guy that a lot of sitcoms have and that’s pretty much the only coherent thing about him.  Some will likely find Michael equally off-putting but personally I was warming up to him by the end and Cordero was starting to show a little more range.  And viewers’ appreciation, or lack thereof, of Kent will be determined by their tolerance for the common “coldly logical” character archetype popularized by Spock (with the former not having nearly as much depth as the latter).

Other Space is not an achievement in either sci-fi or comedy.  But it’s a breezy watch where the jokes land often enough to be enjoyable and some of the actors succeed at elevating some of the material.  There are worse things to stream during a pandemic.