*This is a user-submitted post by Eli Sanza*

An animated sci-fi comedy called Final Space premiered on cable recently. It was originally a web series created by indie filmmaker Olan Rogers in 2010 and caught the attention of Conan O’Brien and 3rd Rock from the Sun producer David Sacks, who pitched it to TBS where it first aired last February. This show has considerable talent behind it, so I thought I would see if it was worth checking out.

The series follows an astronaut named Gary and his alien sidekick Mooncake (both voiced by Rogers) who explore the universe to unlock its mysteries, such as whether the universe has an
edge to it.

The series also features common sci-fi staples like robots, talking ships, bounty hunters, galactic federations, and overlords such as Lord Commander, voiced by David Tennant (Doctor Who, Jessica Jones, Ducktales). The premise and the art style are appealing, but my praise ends there.

Although there is nothing wrong with the story, it is hampered by forced humor and super annoying voice work from Olan Rogers, who tries to be funny even when he’s not saying anything funny.

If you can get through the onslaught of mediocrity, there are some funny jokes throughout, but most bad comedies have one or two good jokes. Such is the way of the throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks writing mentality that’s apparent in this show. It also tries to double as a drama of sorts, and it features some serious moments and side plots, but the show tries so hard to be funny that it blows these dramatic scenes by making them feel out of place, which gets in the way of establishing an emotional investment, which is essential to any drama.

Don’t misunderstand me. There is nothing wrong with a joke marathon, but only if the humor lands, which is rarely the case here. And when the show is funny, it is somewhat undermined by unappealing characters delivering the lines. That has to do partly with the acting. The zany voice work comes off as someone making funny voices to make a baby laugh, which was extremely off-putting, especially since this is a show aimed at adults. They should rely more on funny writing than funny voices.

I was disappointed in Final Space. It had a lot of potential, and I feel like it could have been brilliant if they had tweaked it a bit more. But for now, I don’t think this series is worth watching. After Rick and Morty set the bar so high for sci-fi comedies, Final Space barely meets the mark.