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Space Force (Netflix 2020)

 
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2020 10:50 am    Post subject: Space Force (Netflix 2020) Reply with quote



Steve Carell & ‘The Office’ Showrunner Take On The Newest Military Branch

https://theplaylist.net/space-force-trailer-steve-carell-20200505/

When President Trump announced the creation of the Space Force military branch, people were shocked and a little confused. But shortly after, all that turned into a bit of laughter at the idea of a military branch focused on space is a bit silly. Well, Greg Daniels and Steve Carell thought it was silly too, as the two men have used that idea as the basis for their aptly titled Netflix comedy series, Space Force.

As seen in the new teaser trailer, Space Force is about a four-star general Mark Naird (Carell), who is given the mission of shaping the future of Space Force with the sole purpose of putting “boots on the Moon.” He’s joined by a group of soldiers and scientists that do their best, with rather limited resources, to make that happen.

Joining Carell in the cast are John Malkovich, Diana Silvers, Tawny Newsome, Ben Schwartz, Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy O. Yang, Noah Emmerich, Alex Sparrow, and Don Lake. As mentioned, the series is co-created by Carell and Greg Daniels, who is one of the creative minds behind the American version of The Office.
Space Force is expected to arrive on Netflix on May 29.

Here’s the synopsis:

A decorated pilot with dreams of running the Air Force, four-star general Mark R. Naird (Steve Carell) is thrown for a loop when he finds himself tapped to lead the newly formed sixth branch of the US Armed Forces: Space Force. Skeptical but dedicated, Mark uproots his family and moves to a remote base in Colorado where he and a colorful team of scientists and “Spacemen” are tasked by the White House with getting American boots on the moon (again) in a hurry and achieving total space dominance. From co-creators Carell and Greg Daniels (The Office), Space Force is a new kind of workplace comedy, where the stakes are sky high and the ambitions even higher.

Teaser trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdpYpulGCKc&feature=emb_logo

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Eadie
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PostPosted: Fri May 29, 2020 1:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Designer Drew Inspiration From Nasa and Space X to Create a Slightly Skewed Reality

https://variety.com/2020/artisans/production/netflix-space-force-production-nasa-space-x-1234617404/

Susie Mancini received one basic instruction from Space Force co-creator Greg Daniels when she was hired to design the sets for the Netflix comedy, which debuts May 29: “Re-create reality with a hint of enhancement.”

The series, based on the new branch of the U.S. military established at the request of President Trump, revolves around Gen. Mark R. Naird (played by series co-creator Steve Carell), who uproots his family and moves to a secret military base in Colorado where he must lead the service arm that protects America by “waging space warfare.”

For the “reality” part of her mandate, Mancini borrowed designs from NASA and SpaceX; for the “enhancement” part, she channeled brutalist architecture with a touch of Stanley Kubrick.

“The challenge was that it’s a world that doesn’t exist today, but it’s a real branch of the military,” says Mancini (Ingrid Goes West Dollface). Her guide was that the key to designing for comedy is “not to overstay the joke and not to overwhelm the viewer.” And her concept was simple: “Let’s pretend the U.S. and the president actually opened the branch, except they couldn’t afford to build it from scratch. They find something abandoned in the desert.”

Mancini’s research led her to brutalist architecture, a 1950s style that features massive block-like buildings made of poured concrete, a material that would keep interiors cooler. Inside, the lighting style relies on ceiling fixtures. “What I loved about it was the way it created shadows that hit the actors’ faces,” she says.

Another influence, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Stanley Kubrick’s satire on an out-of-control military, seemed unavoidable (in a life-imitates-art moment, Trump, while unveiling the actual Space Force flag recently, boasted that the Pentagon is working on a “super-duper missile”). Around the Space Force base are echoes of production designer Ken Adam’s concrete bunkers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. And the war room pays homage to his famous roundtable design.

To build the environment of mission control, Mancini consulted with contacts at both NASA and the Army, and took a trip to the Hawthorne, Calif., headquarters of Elon Musk’s SpaceX. “We were interested in going there to see what their launchpads looked like,” Mancini says. “They had glass walls so everyone could see the launches.”

She returned determined to produce a “massive” open design. “Everyone who walked onto that set commented on how big it was,” she says, “and I’m glad we made it that big because they did a lot of shooting in there.”

Daniels wanted the sets to feel authentic to the character, so Mancini worked with set decorator Rachael Ferrara (Booksmart, Barry) to re-create that vibe. For Naird’s office, they aimed to serve up the image of a simple man with a lifetime in the military. Around the conference table, Mancini says, “were these very cheap old-school chairs to which we added the Air Force logo.” They also fashioned a display that suggested Naird’s life. “His whole history in the Air Force is on those walls, from lower to higher ranking — medals for different achievements and missions.”

It wasn’t uncommon for Daniels to ask about the reasons for the pieces. Ferrara, Mancini says with a laugh, “always had to have the perfect answer, so nothing on our sets was random or meaningless.”

At another juncture, Naird is tasked with getting American boots on the moon, which required Mancini to design not only the ship that’s supposed to get them there but also their potential landing spot. Again consulting with NASA, she and her team took three weeks to re-create a portion of the lunar surface. “I lost so much sleep over that,” she laughs.

For the ostensible moon lander, SpaceX and the work of Kubrick helped guide her efforts. She borrowed the white, black and orange color palette of the shuttle cockpit in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The lander was divided into a living area and a cockpit, with stairs in the former leading up to the latter. For the cockpit seats, she used the look of what she had seen inside the rockets at SpaceX and added the Space Force logo. But the designer also added her own touches: While older movies and TV shows aimed to dazzle viewers with an array of lights and buttons and dashboard screens, she determined that in Space Force, technology has advanced enough for the cockpit display to be minimal. “We condensed it all down to one monitor,” she says.

The lander also included an economy of design worthy of space travel. While Mancini created two sets for the lander, everything took place on the same set. “We shot the living area scenes,” she says. “Then we took the walls away, lowered the ceilings and dressed it as the cockpit control.”

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2020 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote



Holy Moon Rocks, this series is hysterical! Laughing

I've watch two of the ten episodes so far and I was laughing my asteroid off! I was delighted to see that it was created by, written by, and starred Steve Carell, the guy who made Get Smart one of my all-time favorite comedies.

The writing for this series is brilliant, the direction is superb, the sets and special effects are top notch, and the music is absolutely marvelous.

I'm not budging from the couch today until I finish the series . . . unless I hurt myself by laughing too hard and need some pain medication.

Fortunately I recently refilled my prescription.


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Ladies and gentlemen, I must humbly withdraw all my previous objects to the concept of Donald Trump's Space Force. Embarassed

This comical Netflix series has shown me the true merits of the concept — despite the outrageous and imaginative humor which the series displays.

Beneath all the comedic elements of Space Force are the true and valid reasons for the existence of this new branch of service. This is actually a sly promotional program for an idea I previously thought was ridiculous, and it has shown me that America desperately needs an aggressive military program which combines both science and the military!

As stated in a very moving scene with Steve Carell testifies before a government appropriations committee, there are nations who now possess spaceflight who do not believe in making scientific progress "for the good of all".

In short, other nations want to disrupt — and even destroy — America's satellite network, and this would cripple our internet. along with everything else we've achieved with low orbit programs.

I can only hope that if Joe Biden replaces Trump in the coming election, he will also appreciate the need for an American Space Force!

~ I'm Bud Brewster, and approve this message. Cool

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Krel
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I watched the series. I don't think it is as bad as some say, But I didn't find it as funny as Bud did. There are a few laughs here and there, but for me most of the jokes explode on the launch pad. I found the show to be funnier when it wasn't being political. But then I don't find political humor on either side to be that funny.

For me the funniest joke (which wasn't a joke) was when the helicopter was landing, you heard that helicopter 'tweeting' sound. The helicopter has a turbine engine, and the only helicopters that make that tweeting sound are the Bell 47 family of helicopters. They make that sound because they have a leather drive belt.

The show does have excellent production values.

Off topic. The neutron bomb was originally designed as an anti-satellite weapon that could be launched from a fighter jet. The fighter would launch the rocket, which would climb into orbit. The neutron warhead would explode at a distance and fry the satellite.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Well, I will confess that the show started off being VERY funny and then became a biting satire of our current dysfunctional government . . . which is only funny if you think that watching America spiral down the toilet is something to laugh at. Rolling Eyes

What replaced the flawless humor of Steve Carell's brilliant Get Smart are well-deserved jabs at political squabbles and juvenile power struggles which defeat the noble efforts of intelligent people to advance mankind's technology!

Mr. Carell's character struggles bravely to keep the dream of America's space program alive . . . while being surround by blithering idiots in the government who are just as stupid as their real life counterparts! Sad

When it comes to science, Trump doesn't know shit from Saturn's rings, but at least he realizes that if he doesn't dangle the bright orange carrot of "military supremacy in space" in front of those bug-wits in Congress, they won't appropriate enough money for NASA to get a good shoe shine! Shocked

So, please don't watch this series as just a comedy.

Watch it as a wake-up call for intelligent and patriotic Americans who want the United States to take back it's destiny and elect leaders like John F. Kennedy — people who can see past the ends of their own arrogant noses and glimpse a future that our children can live in with pride, hope, and happiness! Cool

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Eadie
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Netflix Reportedly Has Upper Hand In Copyright Battle Against The U.S. Government

https://theplaylist.net/netflix-space-force-copyright-us-government-20200609/

Space Force isn’t a great series. Far from it. But it is a show that Netflix is hoping will turn into a big deal, hopefully filling the void left by comedies such as Friends and The Office. However, even if it isn’t the next big thing, Space Force might actually become a major headache for the US government in regards to copyright claims.

According to THR, Netflix has entered into a bit of a battle with the US government in regards to the copyright to the term Space Force. The series is clearly based on the announcement from 2018 from Donald Trump about the newest military branch. But unfortunately for the US government, the copyright for Space Force was only filed in the US and was only seen as a placeholder for the intent to use, as there has yet to be major movement on the idea. And in terms of Netflix, the company has already launched copyright claims in international territories and could actually fight the government for the US, as well.

Normally, that wouldn’t be a huge deal, right? No one is going to confuse the Space Force TV show and the real-life branch of the military. As THR reports, the issue could arise in merchandising. If there is a Netflix-released Space Force T-shirt, would it be the copyright product of the US government or the streaming service? Can Netflix land the copyright and prevent the White House from releasing its own merchandise promoting the initiative? And finally, how will Trump react to all this, as he is a shrewd businessman that doesn’t like to lose and is clearly willing to abuse his powers to get what he wants, especially if he feels slighted?

That’s still up in the air. However, it does appear that, for now, Netflix has the upper hand, as the streaming company does already have intellectual property released with the Space Force brand. The copyright battle could actually be the best way for Space Force to give the middle finger to 'The Trump'. Lord knows, the show doesn’t do a great job of that.

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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 2:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The TV show uses a version of the Drax "Moonraker" emblem. Plus the Space Force was already in existence, so showing a few episodes does not override that.

It's a cute joke, but that's all it is. And much like the TV show not a very good one at that.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

David, I realized that the saving grace of Space Force wasn't it's comedy when I saw the great scene in which Steve Carrel explains to a largely clueless Congressional committee exactly why our space program is morally justified in spending $10,000 to send fresh oranges up to the ISS.

That was a brilliantly written scene, and it's the heart and soul of this deceptively comedic series, which obviously has a deeper message for a nation which seems to be ruled by fools.

If you saw that scene and weren't moved by it, I guess we shouldn't bore the other members by debating it.

No offense, my friend. Sad

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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud, if I gave you the impression that it wasn't a great scene, than I am sorry. For the record it is a great scene, moving, and quite accurate.

People keep talking about Carrel, but I found John Malkovich to be funniest person in the show.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 6:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Sir, I stand corrected. I'm guilty of "assuming", and we all know why that's a bad idea! Embarassed

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