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On April 5, 2016, YouTube creator, Olan Rogers, posted a cartoon pilot to his YouTube channel that would alter the course of his career. “Final Space” is a seven-minute animated short focusing on the character of Gary, a wisecracking astronaut who finds himself in the midst of catastrophe.
The Earth has been destroyed, Gary’s best friend Mooncake has been turned into a weapon of mass destruction and Gary himself is now at the mercy of the malicious Lord Commander. Finding himself at the end of his rope, Gary surmises that there is but one hope left for the universe. In a last-ditch effort to save the galaxy Gary takes a leap of faith into the open mouth of a Temporal Worm in hopes that it will be able to send him far enough back in time for him to be able to undo the destruction of The Lord Commander.
Not long after the airing of the pilot, “Final Space” would be seen by none other than Conaco’s own Conan O’Brien, who in turn would place Rogers, along with David Sacks, in charge of pitching the show to TBS. After that the rest is history.
“The outcome was never in our favor, Gary.” These are the words that will kick start the exodus into “Final Space”. Jam-packed with memorable characters, witty dialogue, top-notch humor, a stellar cast and filled to the brim with adventure “Final Space” promises to be a journey of epic proportions.
However, it is entirely possible to have everything necessary for a legendary show and still fall short. Rogers may be an inventive storyteller, but, after all, he is still a fresh face in the animation industry.
Overall “Final Space” is a well-oiled machine. It may rust at times, but what flaws it has are pushed through by the actors and staff.
“Final Space” is nothing new. The premise is overall unoriginal: bad guy wants something and is willing to do anything to get it; good guy protects and fights back against bad guy. So simple, yet so effective in this context, “Final Space” breathes life into a concept as old as entertainment itself through the shows voice. The story is not important; what is important is how the story is told.
Stellar performances are put forth by Olan Rogers (who voices Gary himself, as well as Mooncake and countless other characters), David Tennant (the Lord Commander), Tom Kenny (the AI HUE), Fred Armisen (the robot KVN) and Coty Galloway (Avocato the Ventrexian). And the reason it’s so important that their performances remain stellar is simple they are the lifeblood of the show; without these characters the show would be nothing.
Anyone who is a fan of “Star Trek”, “Star Wars” or sci-fi in general needs to add “Final Space” to their must watch list. It’s everything you want in a space comedy and so much more balancing darker themes alongside light hearted goodness without allowing one to over power the other. So light speed your cheeks over to the nearest La-Z-Boy, kick back with a box of chicken tenders and allow yourself to be absorbed by the animated goodness that is “Final Space.”
