Review: Space Junk “Pilot”

Space junk is the phenomenon of our fair planet launching a bunch of metal junk into the atmosphere and simply just leaving it there. Eventually, someone is going to have to do something about it, and that’s what Space Junk is.

The new animated series from Toonstar sees the masters of the NFT-verse launch a series from Dominic Russo and featuring the likes of Jon Heder, Tony Cavalero, and an AI-voiced character named Wellbecca who acts as a sort of window to the NFT-holders of the series and the space world in which it habits. As the season moves on, Wellbecca will be powered by AI-prompts that will eventually turn into short stories set within the Space Junk-verse. Although anyone is able to tune into the series online, Toonstar’s web3 storytelling model also gives NFT holders the ability to participate in narrative development, meaning fans drive the story at the end of each episode.

In the first episode, Thackeray (Heder) is doing his best to run the family business, which is responsible for collecting garbage in space, when employees Hank (Cavalero) and Fergus (Byron Marc Newsome) can’t seem to get their priorities straight. Also, Thackery’s robot girlfriend finds out she’s pregnant. 

I think one of my favorite takeaways from the new franchise thus far is the silly character designs. I actually quite enjoy the South Park blended with a print magazine look that the characters and even the settings give off. The dialogue can be a tad hacky, a bit too crass, which both helps me further appreciate the uncensored series, but also heed caution to the producers to treat this freedom like you would salt and pepper on a steak, lightly-seasoned so as to not overpower the steak with a salty taste…this show comes very close to getting to that point.

Yes, there are a dozen animated space shows out there right now, but Space Junk’s premise is a bit more unique in that we’re not really stretching the boundaries of the multiverse or the space-time continuum. These guys have a job to do and someone’s got to do it, shining light on a very real problem that seems to be not a problem for anybody at NASA, but that doesn’t mean we can’t poke fun at it.

Space Junk is proof that the gates into Hollywood and creating content is slowly coming down, this is what the strikes are about…allowing technical freedoms from web3 that could make their jobs a bit more competitive. But, the content still has to be really good, and I think Space Junk has a lot of junk in its trunk. And NOT knowing what the future may hold for the series is the stuff that makes us excited about South Park, so why not try it served in a slightly different manner?