Super Frat

Created by Paul Feig, producer of Freaks & Geeks and The Office, Other Space is a little like Star Trek mixed with Community and The Office.  Posted on Yahoo as original content (along with new episodes of Community), the show is about a crew of space farers that end up trapped in an alternate universe by mistake.

The captain is Stewart Lipinski, played by the incredibly funny Karan Soni.  Stewart is one of these touchy-feely leader types.  The kind of guy that is constantly demanding group hugs from his co-workers.  He gets the job over his older sister, Karen (Bess Rous), who is known for just the opposite.  Karen is tactless, scary and ruthless.  Stewart ends up hiring Tina (Milana Vayntrub) as a navigator, but only because he’s in love with her and wants to woo her away from her boyfriend, Ted.  Also on the crew is Stewart’s best friend, Michael, who is constantly being ignored and forgotten by the other crew members.  There’s also awesome Chad, who has an amazing episode all his own.  Kent, played by Neil Casey, is the sorta-human, kind of comic relief and the ship’s Mr. Spock.  Natasha (Conor Leslie) is the ship’s computer, who constantly changes her image’s clothing.

But the big news here is for Mystery Science Theater Fans.  The engineer character is played by Joel Hodgson.  He’s kind of a burned out, hippie-esque guy named Zalian.  His sidekick is a robot named A.R.T., voiced by Crow T. Robot’s voice, Trace Beaulieu.  It’s almost like the MST 3000 guys along for the ride.

The eight episode first season centers mostly around the crew getting lost and trying to get home.  Most of the comedy relies on the characters and their various personality quirks and past histories.  Stewart’s pathetic attempts to win Tina, Michael’s attempts to win acceptance and Karen trying to take over.  It’s smartly written and the crew, despite their flaws, often overcomes their problems in the smartest way possible.  I was hooked the moment I watched the first episode and had to see the rest.  It feels very much like a BBC show with the level of detail.  One of my favorite episodes involves two of the characters getting trapped on a planet where time is slowed down.  The rest of the crew think that they are only there for six hours, but it turns out for them it’s almost a year.

I hope Yahoo picks this up for many more seasons.  This is a must watch for sci-fi fans, bros.  I give Other Space 10 out of 10 keggers.  It’s very awesome.