TV Review: HollywoodChicago.com On-AIr with Netflix’s 'Space Force'

CHICAGO – Seemingly ripped from the headlines, by way of “Dr. Strangelove,” the new Netflix TV series “Space Force” debuted on May 29th, 2020. Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com reviewed the series during the Eddie Volkman Show (Star 96.7 FM in Joliet, Illinois) on June 5th, 2020.

Television Rating: 3.5/5.0

“Space Force” is a set-in-the-near future “what-if” about the actual U.S. Space Force, recently formed by the Trump administration (alluded to but never really named in the stories). Combining a starchy general named Naird who heads the agency (Steve Carell) with absurdist humor about personalities and bureaucracy, “Space Force” has the type of laughs familiar to fans of “The Office” … and was co-created by that series’ producer Greg Daniels and Carell.

The supporting cast is stellar as well, featuring John Malkovich as Carell’s irritating scientist co-worker, Lisa Kudrow as the general’s wife, Ben Schwartz (“Parks and Recreation”) as the agency’s social media director and Jimmy O. Yang as a hilariously cynical supporting science facilitator. All ten episodes of Season One are available for download from the Netflix streaming platform.

Eddie Volkman is an iconic Chicagoland radio voice, influencing the area for over 30 years. He is the son of TV weatherman Harry Volkman, who himself influenced the art of meteorology on early Chicago television. After on-air stints in Austin and San Francisco in the 1980s, Eddie came back to Chicago on B96 FM, where he was paired with Joe “JoBo” Bohannon. Eddie and JoBo ruled the airwaves for 22 years, and kept the partnership alive afterward through TV commercials and other appearances.

Eddie’s love of radio has kept him on the air as a solo performer, and he currently works the afternoon shift (2pm-7pm) on Star 96.7. Patrick McDonald first appeared on Eddie’s podcast four years ago, and has contributed film reviews to the show ever since, and currently appears every Friday at 4:35pm.

Pat and Eddie talk about “Space Force” in this clip dated June 5th, 2020 …

[23]	By PATRICK McDONALD [24] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [23]