Moonbase 8 is an upcoming comedy series about prospective astronauts, who you’d never expect as a source of comedy. Fortunately, Showtime thought this was a wonderful idea for a show, so we’ll get to see what blunders an astronaut can get into this autumn.

Our 3 wannabe astronauts posing like champions in Moonbase 8.
(L-R): John C. Reilly as Cap, Tim Heidecker as Rook, and Fred Armisen as Skip in MOONBASE 8 “Rats”. Photo Credit: Merie Wallace/SHOWTIME.

The Big Bang Theory But With Astronauts?

Moonbase 8 by A24 is one of the most weirdly interesting ideas for a comedy I’ve ever seen. 3 “subpar” astronauts, played by Fred Armisen, Tim Heidecker, and John C. Reilly; want to be the next astronauts to go to the Moon. The catch? They all have to live together in a NASA-built Moon Base Simulator for some amount of time. This sounds exciting, right? Well, not so much for the astronauts who actually have to live in it.

A realistic moon base. Some assembly required.
This is what you’d have to look forward to every time you get home from work.

Scientifically Accurate Moon Base Inbound

Consider what a realistic Moonbase 8 would actually look like for these 3 wannabe lunar explorers. First of all: getting things into space is really expensive. Unless someone gets around to building a space elevator, using chemical fuel rockets really takes its toll on your budget. That means whatever building we want to get to the Moon will be greatly limited by its mass. This means really small homes for our astronauts, preferably inflatable or DIY on-site.

A life-sized model of an inflatable moon house.
Imagine having to live in this glorified balloon. With 2 other people.

And remember, the Apollo 11 astronauts only had to spend about 21-and-a-half hours on the Moon. Our astronauts would be expected to stay for days, weeks, or maybe even months living in a tiny house on an airless world with a sixth of Earth’s gravity. Oh, and maybe a kind of crappy car for all 3 people. Yeah, what sounded like a great idea is starting to sound less and less good now, isn’t it? Only the most determined space geeks would want to live in something like this, and that presumably is what Moonbase 8 is all about.

Conclusion

Watching 3 astronauts played by skilled comedians finding out the hard way that living in a moon base is no paradise? As a determined space geek myself, I’d dig that. And apparently, A24 and Showtime thought so too. So now we too will get to see the hilarious antics of 3 highly stressed astronauts in Moonbase 8, premiering this autumn. Catch it then, because I definitely will.

Source: Deadline