Space Force Tries So Hard and I Want to Like It

The Vanilla of Ice Creams

I can't say enough good things about Steve Carell and John Malkovich (even though I had to look up how to spell each of their last names). I really want to like Space Force. It is very well done. The acting is great. It's a top-notch production by all accounts. It's just really, truly, not funny. Slightly amusing, maybe? It's certainly not boring. It is the vanilla of ice creams. No one hates it, but if a good flavor is available, vanilla stays in the freezer.

The Chocolate of Ice Creams

The Grinder probably had 1/10th the production budget. Fred Savage and Rob Lowe are superb. Every episode just begs me to start the next episode. It feels effortlessly hysterical. It is impossible to comprehend how a 20-something minute episode seemingly runs by in moments. Someone figured out the magic formula for the perfect sitcom and was stedfast in excluding the extraneous.

Spoiled

A quick follow up on this. I had forgotten why I had lost interest in The Grinder years ago. About half way through the season they introduce this crazy therapist lady and the entire show immediately became cringe. From quirky, funny and vaguely relatable to completely unwatchable. I suppose that’s the fate of all shows.