Showtime's new 'Moonbase 8' joins galaxy of TV space comedies
Fans of space comedies will want to check out the latest entry to the genre - an upcoming Showtime series that features an A-list comedic cast and creative team.
In "Moonbase 8," premiering Sunday, Nov. 8, Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker and John C. Reilly are creators and stars of this series that follows the adventures of three inept would-be astronauts at an Arizona lunar simulator who begin to question their sanity and fitness when training for a moon mission doesn't go as expected.
Of course, high jinks in space are nothing new to the medium and here are a few series of that ilk from years and decades past:
"Lost in Space" (1965-68, CBS)
Guy Williams, June Lockhart and Jonathan Harris headed the cast of this series about the Robinson family, whose mission aboard the saucerlike Jupiter 2 to colonize a distant Earthlike planet is thrown hopelessly off course by the presence of stowaway/saboteur, Dr. Zachary Smith (Harris). Probably the breakaway star here was Robot, whose "Danger, Will Robinson!" is a catchphrase still used today.
"Futurama" (1999-2003, Fox; 2008-2013, Comedy Central)
Matt Groening ("The Simpsons") was one of the creative forces behind this well-received animated offering about a pizza delivery boy who is accidentally frozen in 1999 and thawed out 1,000 years later to work at an interplanetary delivery company alongside a robot and a one-eyed woman. The voice cast included Katey Sagal, Billy West and John DiMaggio.
"Firefly" (2002, Fox)
Though it had a short life, Joss Whedon's offbeat sci-fi comedy drama about the renegade crew of a small spacecraft trying to survive as they travel to unknown parts of the galaxy drew jeers from critics who didn't care for its imaginative mix of genres but was embraced by a small following for the same reason. Fox aired 11 of its 14 episodes (some out of order) before canceling it. Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres and Alan Tudyk headed the cast.
"Rick and Morty" (2013-present, Cartoon Network)
Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon's clever animated comedy about the Smith family and grandfather Rick, a mad scientist who takes his grandson Morty on adventures in his flying car across myriad realities and to other planets and dimensions, drew love from both critics and fans, among them the late Anthony Bourdain. Roiland voices the title characters with Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer and Sarah Chalke providing their vocal talents for the rest of the clan.
"Space Force" (2020-present, Netflix)
"The Office" collaborators Steve Carell and Greg Daniels reteamed for this comedy about the people tasked with creating the sixth branch of the U.S. military - the Space Force - which ironically coincided with the creation of the real-life agency of the same name. Carell, John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz and Lisa Kudrow head the talented cast.