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Season 1 – Moonbase 8

Play trailer 1:58 Poster for Season 1 – Moonbase 8 Nov 2020 Comedy Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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58% Tomatometer 33 Reviews 67% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Mediocre astronauts living in a NASA test environment vie for a shot at going to the moon.

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Moonbase 8 — Season 1

Moonbase 8 — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Despite a talent central trio and a few great moments, Moonbase 8's portrait of monotonous mediocrity may be too low-key for some viewers to achieve comedic lift off - though that may be exactly the point.

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Critics Reviews

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Suzi Feay Financial Times 01/07/2021
3/5
No wonder the National Astronauts Whatever thinks it's high time to stage an intervention. Go to Full Review
Randall Colburn AV Club 12/07/2020
B
I'd love to see the series come back, if only to keep Reilly, Heidecker, and Armisen onscreen together. Their chemistry is one of Moonbase 8's greatest appeals Go to Full Review
Robert Daniels Polygon 11/10/2020
The mundane hurdles they experience makes the Portlandia co-creator's latest series into a slight but endearing workplace comedy. Go to Full Review
Ralph Jones NME (New Musical Express) 07/07/2021
2/5
Moonbase 8 is exactly the kind of inoffensive sitcom that most people might watch without complaint. But the waste of potential is maddening. Go to Full Review
Jonathan Roberts The New Paper (Singapore) 01/27/2021
2.5/5
It is not a difficult watch, but the gentleness does take it into visual wallpaper territory. Go to Full Review
Zehra Phelan 2 Minute Telly 01/07/2021
2/5
Unearthing nothing but frown inducing silliness in their isolated earthbound wilderness, you'll thank the heavens this series only lasts a mere 6 episodes Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Gareth v @geewah 06/24/2023 While this show has some big names involved it has the feel of a small scale production. It doesn't go for the big set-ups to tell a joke but relies on it's understated humour for chuckles. See more 11/05/2021 Much like its very likable crew, waiting for a shot at the Moon which may never come, the audience might find waiting for this show to take off tests their patience. It's a quiet little show about three mild-mannered guys living in a big tent. It's not a riotous comedy, but it has a few funny moments. I think by now we all should know enough to know these three actors are not trying to be slapstick comedians. The premise of a NASA-funded moonbase simulation - in a desert also inhabited by apparent meth heads, competing private moonbase simulations and cattle ranchers - is a lush playground for fun storylines. The astronauts have to put on their space suits to exit the habitat, drive an overly cute moon buggy (which is identical to the ones the Banana Splits drove, what 40 years ago?), and occasionally have to deal with Earthly problems not present on the Moon, such as a scorpion crawling into their helmets. Not to overlook the bad-smelling but tasty beef-style stew and the canned bagels the wannabe astronauts live on. Some of the writers' choices betray a very low budget. For example, there is a cattle drive in the last episode which is supposed to include 250,000 head of cattle. The crew spends the whole stampede inside the habitat, so we only get to see one cow. It is oddly a milk cow, not a steer, but, hey, this is a fictional and somewhat goofy show, not a documentary. What do city people know about cattle, anyway? Not a whole heck of a lot. In another episode there are numerous references to the luxe Space X habitat just over the hill from Moonbase 8. It could have been fun, after the much younger, definitely cooler Space X crew came over for a visit, to bring the Moonbase 8 crew over to Space X to see what they've been missing, but that would have meant the costs of another set. Alas. Though Alia Shawkat and Adam Lambert are always welcome sights. Episode 6 is the "season finale", such as it is, and the fact that it's only Episode 6 combined with the very un-final feel of it makes me think production of this show got cut off by the Covid hammer which dropped mid-March 2020, and the intention had been a more likely 10 or 12 episodes. I enjoyed all six, but maybe not enough people at Showtime network liked it enough to give it the nod for a second season. A shame, because to me watching this show is like tearing into a bucket of leftover Halloween candy. An unexpected treat which completely hits the spot. John, Tim and Fred, well done. See more 10/28/2021 3 of my favorite actors doing what they do best, being awkaward. If you don't get it then yeah it's terrible. Comedy is largely subjective, but they pulled it off. Hope to see more soon See more 07/16/2021 As of July 16, 2021, season 1 of "Moonbase 8" has only generated a 58% rating on this website.... this is absurd!!!! The people who have given this show a rating below at least 100% are obviously either (1) stupid children or adults without a single clue about who the legendary comedic actors in this show are, (2) very stupid without a sense of humor, or (3) all of the above. Suffice to say, I personally give Moonbase 8 a five-star rating not only because of its cast but because it's a very original. smart, endearing, and addictive comedy. I cannot wait for Season 2 and I hope people give this series a chance because it's very original and unlike anything else on TV at this time. See more 07/07/2021 Genius. 3 guys who have the talent to lean into awkward like no one else on earth or the moon. Wonderfully funny. See more 05/06/2021 It's relaxing, and different. It's so different from other comedy. The three guys expressions are enough to crack me up and when I'm not laughing I'm entertained for sure. And kinda start to care about the main characters they're very endearing. I really want to see them get to the moon! At least I'd like to see more... See more Read all reviews
Moonbase 8 — Season 1

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Episodes

Episode 1 Aired Nov 8, 2020 Dry Stationed at NASA's Moon Base Simulator in Winslow, Ariz., three dedicated astronauts -- and one football champion -- attempt to qualify for their first lunar mission; faced with a water shortage, the team comes up with an unorthodox solution. Details Episode 2 Aired Nov 15, 2020 Rats Rook's video correspondence with his family leads to a serious case of homesickness that has him contemplating leaving the team; Cap becomes obsessed with catching a prowler; Skip comes up with solutions to help the team suit up more efficiently. Details Episode 3 Aired Nov 22, 2020 Quarantine After Cap and Skip both get sick, it leads to vastly different quarantine experiences for each of them; left alone with a new female team member, Rook finds himself attracted to her and must decide whether to act on his feelings. Details Episode 4 Aired Nov 29, 2020 Visitors The team learns about the program's budget cuts and the impact they will have on their mission; when Elon Musk's SpaceX sets up camp next door, Cap, Skip and Rook invite them over for a welcoming tour and to make a mutually beneficial proposition. Details Episode 5 Aired Dec 6, 2020 Move the Base Cap becomes an unwitting participant in Skip's psychological test and it leads to friction between the two of them; Rook proposes game night as a team bonding exercise. Details Episode 6 Aired Dec 6, 2020 Beef The team must decide between abandoning the mission or standing their ground when an angry group of ranchers threatens them for invading their land. Details
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Season Info

Director
Jonathan Krisel
Creator
Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker, Jonathan Krisel, John C. Reilly
Executive Producer
Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker, Dave Kneebone, Jonathan Krisel, Ravi Nandan, John C. Reilly, Eric Wareheim, Inman Young
Screenwriter
Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker, Jonathan Krisel, John C. Reilly
Network
Paramount+ with Showtime
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Comedy, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date
Nov 8, 2020