Strange Planet: Season 1

     

Based on: Strange Planet comics by Nathan W. Pyle

Created by: Dan Harmon and Nathan W. Pyle

Written by: 

Dan Harmon, Nathan W. Pyle, Zack Bornstein, Lauren Pomerantz, Amalia Levari, Steven Raia, Brydie Lee-Kennedy, Steve Levy, Beth Stelling, Demi Adejuyigbe, Summer Plair, Dani Michaeli, Open Mike Eagle, Taylor Alexy Pyle

Starring: Tunde Adebimpe, Demi Adejuyigbe, Lori Tan Chinn, Danny Pudi, Hannah Einbinder

Strange Planet season 1 trailer:

There are few better feelings than discovering that one of your favorite online content creators was given the opportunity to create their art on a major platform. 

I'm a newer fan of Nathan Pyle and Strange Planet, only having known about it since maybe 2022. But his short, 1- to 4-panel (or rarely longer) comic strips always brought joy to my life, especially in his optimistic depictions of humanity and daily situations. And I was delighted to find that this same idea applied in episodic form. 

A character accidentally dyes his friend's cat pink

It's hard to give summary to this first season of episodes. Wikipedia describes it as "beings" "trying to understand the complexities and nuances of human traits." This description, which lacks any semblance of story or plot, is largely true! The season is about the normal day-to-day and ridiculous shenanigans of the staff and regular patrons of a restaurant. (Named "Careful Now" a warning for patrons about the cliff it's built on and over, a name characteristic of the overly literal themes of Strange Planet.) 

I've seen criticisms of the comic's unique humor style relying static comic panels and thus not translating well to animation, but I don't fully agree with that. In one sense, I see what the critics mean; there's definitely something specific held in those images and in the human pause as our eyes shift between panels. There's even something in the way Pyle writes the comic dialogue, using letters and spacing to emphasize the moment, and obviously that no longer applies with voiceover. But on the other side, I don't think all is lost in animation: I think it adapts. It's hard for me to pin down in words exactly how animation compensates, but that could possibly be because I didn't feel like anything was lost in the first place. It's just different. It's different because this animated season has audible voices, takes place in a specific location, and follows the same characters over time-- all things the comic never did. 

A pancake-making machine goes out of control at "Careful Now"-- you know, just everyday situations

And the comic's one major theme carries through: it replaces our colloquialisms with literal descriptions. Socks are "foot tubes." Sun tanning is "star damage." Alcohol is "mild poison." And that's just in reference to objects; both the comic and animation take hilarious leaps to describe behaviors literally. 

A surprise party banner reads "We Deceived You"

I think the only real flaw with this series was its lack of a specific story, or even carry-through for ongoing jokes that may serve as a beginning or an end. As I mentioned above, there were consistent characters and a primary location, this is true. And in some sense, there was some semblance of a story: there was a romance sparked in the first episode that came to fruition and there was a management challenge in the restaurant that carried through. While these factors could certainly constitute a real season-long story, they didn't feel like it. Neither of those plots felt like they had true expectation or resolution. The romance kind of strung us along and gave us a conclusion between characters, but not one that made me feel excited for the characters or where their story might go. 

But this is a minor complaint, in my opinion. An area for the writers to improve upon, to be sure, but not something that held back my enjoying the show. Its episodic fashion, its very on-the-nose wit, and the way it pokes fun of our social norms all kept me coming back. Plus, both comic and animation share a very wholesome, encouraging tone. As Pyle himself has stated about his world, the characters are simply kinder and more hopeful toward each other than real people tend to be, and that's definitely a factor that keeps me. 

As for season 2, it's been a while since the first season aired, and Apple TV has neither confirmed nor denied a renewal. I suppose they want some hard viewership data before making real decisions, and in the meantime they're content to keep us wondering!