Review: Final Space – Season 1

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Over the decades many Starfleet captains have declared that their voyages will take them to places ‘where no one has gone has gone before.’ From strange new worlds to unknown regions of space and alternate universes, the crews of starships named Enterprise, get a little more than they bargained for.
Likewise the crew of the Galaxy One in Final Space travel to bizarre planets, and beyond the edges of the known universe, on a mission to unlock its secrets.
On the last few days of a five year sentence, rogue and inept astronaut, Gary Goodspeed (Olan Rogers) meets Mooncake (also, Olan Rogers); an adorable planet-destroying alien. Wanted by a powerful despot called the Lord Commander (David Tennant); Gary, the robotic crew of the Galaxy One, mercenary Avocato (Coty Galloway), and high-flying Infinity Guard Captain Quinn Airgon (Tika Sumpter) join forces to protect Mooncake and discover the meaning of Final Space.
Together, the not always willing, makeshift crew of the Galaxy One make their way to the universe’s most surreal locales and meet its strangest residents.The Twelve are weird, knowledgeable shape-changing aliens surrounded by floating eyes, with a connection to the Lord Commander. But their eccentricity is less bizarre than a planet of insects, complete with moths capable of shrinking uninvited trespassers. Which pales in comparison to Inner Space; full of lily pads, bubbles, gummy bears, and whatever the imagination can conjure.
As strange as its universe is Final Space’s humour, which works best when it highlights the absurdity of the characters existence. Gary’s obsession with gaining possession of a cookie, so that he feels he has achieved something during his prison sentence; or the astronaut going as far as naming the Galaxy One’s fridge Beth to combat the loneliness of being the only human on the prison ship. There’s a sadness at the heart of Final Space and its dramatis personae that is exacerbated and intensified through humour.
Quinn never receiving Gary’s videos and barely knowing his name, even though Gary’s convinced they’re dating; HUE’s (Tom Kenny) sarcastic bluntness; the Lord Commander’s shows of power when his authority is questioned due to his height; Avocato’s willingness to do anything to find his son; Quinn’s blind loyalty to the Infinity Guard.
The heroes and villains of Final Space are flawed, and in the midst of unraveling the mysteries of their own identities, as well as one of the universe’s greatest enigmas. As they find themselves catching up with events that were set in motion long before their adventures began, the series sense of humour lightens and darkens appropriately to highlight their existential crises.
Final Space is wierd, insightful, ridiculous,bizarre, and deep; always imaginative and focused on character relationships. It’s absurdity balances and reflects the series’ unexpected emotional depth. Final Space marries the two to go, like the Enterprise, ‘where no one has gone before.’
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