Ethan Sandberg

What to say about this show...at first, I thought it was really weird and not super funny, but mildly enjoyable. I wasn't one of those people who expected it to be like The Office simply because of Steve Carell, but I was on the sixth season of Community and these are certainly different shows. Watching Community with its quick-witted dialogue and densely-knitted jokes focused on silly gags, inside jokes, and fourth wall breaking rather than politics, and then watching Space Force will certainly give you a strange feeling. Because even though after finishing season 1, I found myself really liking the show's story and feeling connected to its characters, it doesn't have the same humor as Community. In fact, I'm not even sure if the main focus of this show IS humor. Like I said before, when I first started it, I thought it was kind of weird--there was something uncanny about it. The jokes weren't consistent, there was random portions of cursing that didn't seem to fit the overall vibe of the show, and sometimes the plot points were used as jokes, which just fell flat. It seemed equivocal to that of a silly drama. Now get past episode 3, and that's where things start to change. The show's sometimes-subtle-sometimes-not-subtle-at-all humor has already been established, the characters have been introduced, the plot is clear, and it starts to glide along wonderfully. It starts to really shine. I found myself laughing so hard at parts for reasons unbeknownst to me! I came to genuinely like and sympathize with the characters, now that I felt I knew them better. I think I know now why this show seems weird in the beginning--it starts with an outside view on its characters, giving the audience an unrelatable feel, so you can't instantly attach to them. But once you get past those first three episodes, you begin to enjoy the characters better because you start to see inside their lives, their struggles, their personalities, and their hearts, as most shows start off doing. However, this show did it differently, and although it was strange in the beginning, I finished the show with love and respect for it. I give it a 4/5 because the characters felt very well-rounded and acted, the story/plot was funny and intriguing, and there were sweet moments throughout it. The reason I don't give it a 5/5 is because over half of the jokes didn't land with me (although the ones that did made me laugh extremely hard), the cinematography wasn't the most amazing or innovative (although that's to be expected from a comedy show), and it was just a bit of a different show, but I personally hope there'll be a second season.

Just finished it today...beautiful. That’s really the only word to sum it all up. Beautiful cinematography, beautiful meaning, beautiful soundtrack, beautiful message, beautiful acting, beautiful emotions, beautiful editing—beautiful storytelling in an unexpected way. In the beginning you think it’ll just be a melodramatic fest of pessimism, but the colors are the first to tell you otherwise and the introduction to the characters makes you deeply attached and sympathetic of them. I really can’t get over how emotional it is and how emotional it gets you. It’s relatable but it’s seemingly in a universe right next to ours. I love the establishing first episode and how it lays all of its pieces out on the table in the beginning, because throughout the show, these pieces, if not come together, come out and their true meaning is revealed. Sometimes they are a driving force in the non-stop, intriguing plot. Other times they’re simply reminders that you’re looking inside each characters’ mind. There’s so much I could say about this series, about how many pathways it creates with its twisting story, but I don’t think the point is to completely cover it. Finishing the show, you feel like you absolutely didn’t see everything you could have, and that’s okay. You don’t get an explanation on too many things in this, but you don’t need to. It gives you exactly what you need to see and nothing more. That being said, I feel this show—from beginning to end—was a metaphor for what it’s like with people who feel screwed up, who feel wrong, who are diagnosed with conditions and disorders in regards to the mind, and who don’t have all the answers. I feel like this show gave us that experience, in a heartfelt, delicate, and caring way, but also in a creative, colorful, fun, exciting joyride. In the end, I thought there was a great parting message, and whether I’m right or wrong, I couldn’t say. But I know what I think. The series ended with a closing optimism for the future of people with mental health disorders and illnesses, showing that you CAN get through life. You CAN find a way. And even though it’s not perfect, it has to do. I think another major lesson taken from this show was that nothing can replace the council of human intervention—of therapists, of psychologists, of students of the mind; of family members, of friends who care and of those individuals who will put you ahead of themselves to understand you—all in the name of love. Overall one of my favorite limited series I have seen, and I am so sad it is not a show, but I’m also glad it received the closure it deserved. We’re not meant to think on these things forever. Just like real life, we’re here for a good time, not for a long time. I could have written this review a thousand different ways! But I just wrote it this way. And the hundreds of others who also viewed this show will fill in the gaps. By God, I hope they do, because there were so many thought-provoking questions and dialogue that just need to be expanding upon. Anyway, I hope I did this well; this was my first review I’ve written online, so cheers to the first and cheers to the many more to come. 5/5 stars on this insanely beautiful piece of art.