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Other Space

Into The Great Beyond…Beyond

Other SpaceIn the year 2105, the Universal Mapping Project cruiser – already considered something of an expensive failure – is assigned to a new commander, freshly promoted Captain Stewart Lipinski. Considered a promising candidate for his unusual solution to the UMP’s “no-win scenario” simulation, Stewart is joined by his older sister Karen, who is somewhat awkwardly assigned to be his second-in-command. Stewart’s former babysitter, Michael, is third-in-command, while veteran UMP engineer Zalian Fletcher keeps his existing post aboard the cruiser (along with his homemade robot, A.R.T.). Kent Woolworth, son of the President of the UMP, is the ship’s science officer, while Stewart has his academy crush, Tina Shukshin, assigned as navigator. The ship’s onboard AI, Natasha, oversees automatic systems for the cruiser’s small crew.

Almost immediately, Stewart’s first command goes awry; Zalian neglected to requisition replacements for the ship’s 35-year-old food packs, and while he offers to share his personal supply of fudge with the others, Stewart decides to turn the cruiser around. A chance collision with a tear in space and time deposits the UMP cruiser in another universe, with no clear way to return to the universe in which it started. Fortunately, things aren’t as they seem. And then Stewart realizes that even the things that aren’t as they seem…aren’t as they seem.

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Paul Feig
directed by Luke Matheny
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Jessica Chaffin (General Hayson), Bjorn Gustaffson (Ted), Roni Akurati (young Stewart), Edgar Blackmon (Crew Member #3), Brian Carpenter (Dom), Mo Collins (Helen Woolworth), Kate Comer (Crew Member #1), Evan Gustao (Crew Member #2), Jerry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2), Ryan Petersen (young Michael)

Other SpaceNotes: Series creator Paul Feig is renowned in cult TV circles as the creator of the short-lived series Freaks & Geeks, and went on to direct a big-screen, gender-flipped reboot of Ghostbusters on the big screen. Joel Hodgson and Trace Beaulieu are veterans – and founding cast members – of legendary movie-riffing comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000. As with his MST3K character, Beaulieu provides both the voice and some puppetry expertise for A.R.T. All eight episodes of Other Space’s first season were released simultaneously by Yahoo Screen, a video-on-demand service later cancelled by Yahoo.com.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

Getting To Know You

Other SpaceBeing cut off from home, or even the laws of physics as they once knew them, isn’t sitting well with the crew of the UMP Cruiser. Also not working out too well: the fact that Stewart Lipinski’s crewmates barely know one another, and show no inclination to strengthen their bonds in this time of crisis, despite Stewart’s attempts at team-building exercises. Karen and Michael discover evidence that an alien has not only boarded the Cruiser, but has accessed the computer. Tension and murderous suspicion run high. Only one member of the crew can put everyone at ease: Chad, from auxiliary deck. Wait…who?

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Owen Ellickson
directed by Lucia Aniello
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Dave Franco (Chad), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2), Jane Varney (Host)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

The Death Of A.R.T.

Other SpaceThe UMP Cruiser is wading its way through a cloud of particulate matter, making the crew a little bit stir crazy. Stewart decides to occupy everyone’s time with the creation of a message announcing the ship’s – and humanity’s – presence in this universe, to be broadcast when the Cruiser emerges from the cloud. Karen and Michael are assigned to get the ship’s ansible ready to transmit, which involves sending A.R.T. outside to perform the maintenance without risk of human life, though Zalian is concerned about his robotic friend’s welfare (with good reason, as it turns out). Stewart, Kent and Tina work on the content of the message itself, unable to agree on whether they should present themselves as powerful aggressors or passive, harmless beings. Of course, if A.R.T. meets a terrible fate outside the ship, the message will never be sent.

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Jacob Young
directed by Lucia Aniello
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Dave Franco (Chad), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

Note: The term “ansible” – a transceiver capable of faster-than-light communications – was first used by SF author Ursula K. LeGuin in 1966, though the (still fictional) concept of FTL communications has been around nearly as long as knowledge of the speed of light.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

Ted Talks

Other SpaceHaving dumped precious fuel to avoid having the Cruiser turn into the core of a new planet, Stewart Lipinski and his crew are stranded…but there’s a bright side: Tina happens to be an expert on an extraction technique that could recover the fuel from the rapidly accreting planet. But there’s a problem: a time-delayed message reaches Tina from her beloved fiance…and it’s a break-up letter. As any helpful ship’s computer would, Natasha convinces Karen to hold a girls’ night out to help Tina overcome this trauma…but it all has to happen within eight hours, or the traces of fuel won’t be recoverable anymore.

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Karen Kilgariff
directed by Robert Cohen
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Bjorn Gustafsson (Ted), Matteo Borghese (Abram), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

Trouble’s Brewing

Other SpaceSince UMP regulations forbid the two most senior officers from making the first landing on a new world, Michael and Tina are sent to the newly-formed planet to gather the fuel ore deposits. But the six hours allotted for the task stretch out into months thanks to a time dilation effect on the planet’s surface. And even aboard the Cruiser, those six hours stretch out even further when the Lipinskis face an uprising among all of their non-human crew-members (and Zalian, whose epic consumption of fudge may mean he barely qualifies as human at this point), who demand privileges equal to those of human crew members. Which members of the crew will run out of time first?

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Ben Smith
directed by Adam Nix & Evan Nix
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sarah Baker (Alien), John Milhiser (voice of Coffee Bot), Ian O’Connor (Coffee Bot Puppeteer), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

Powerless

Other SpaceThe ship is struck by a lightning-like discharge within a nebula, which triggers emergency protocols: the bridge is sealed off, power consumption is reduced to a minimum, and Natasha is rebooted to an infantile mindset. Trapped on the bridge, Zalian introduces Stewart to an arcane means of controlling the ship – via actual tactile controls instead of a computer panel. Karen takes command below decks, only to find that her most important order – not to increase power consumption – is one that the rest of the crew seems simply unwilling to follow, regardless of the fact that powering up too many devices might blow up the ship with no warning.

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Shelby Fero
directed by Matt Sohn
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

First Contact

Other SpaceThe universe into which the UMP Cruiser has been plunged will collide with its native universe, giving the ship and crew an opportunity to return home. Stewart is disappointed that he has nothing more than alien soil samples to bring home, until he experiences something that he’s convinced is first contact from an alien species. There’s just one problem – not one member of Stewart’s crew believes him, and even fewer of them are prepared to watch his dreams play out on a monitor to see if he’s right.

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky
directed by Matt Sohn
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sarah Baker (Alien), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

Notes: Zalian’s mental state is finally explained (he’s kept his position aboard the ship by being the Cruiser’s unofficial drug dealer for years), and Natasha reveals that it’s been only twelve days since the ship became marooned in the other universe.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Other Space

Finale

Other SpaceThe alien with which the crew has just made contact isn’t bringing alien technology to usher in a new era of cooperation. The tear in the fabric of space and time that looms ahead won’t bring the Cruiser and its crew home to Earth. Natasha can’t have a physical body, so she can’t interact with Kent. Stewart can’t stand to let an opportunity to learn about an alien species go by, and resigns as the Cruiser’s captain, learning Karen in command. And that giant alien spaceship coming through the rift, hundreds of times bigger than the alien spaceship the crew has already seen? That just can’t be good.

Watch this at the official sitewritten by Owen Ellickson
directed by Matt Sohn
music by Orr Rebhun & Erica Weis

Other SpaceCast: Trace Beaulieu (A.R.T.), Neil Casey (Kent Woolworth), Eugene Cordero (Michael Newman), Joel Hodgson (Zalian Fletcher), Conor Leslie (Natasha), Bess Rous (Karen Lipinski), Karan Soni (Stewart Lipinski), Milana Vayntrub (Tina Shukshin), Sarah Baker (Alien), Sherry O’Connor (A.R.T. Puppeteer #2)

Notes: Intended to be a cliffhanger leading into a second season, Finale instead marked the end of Other Space’s run on the short-lived Yahoo! Screen service, a video-on-demand platform with original programming intended to compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. Paul Feig has hinted that there are still possibilities for a second season, though no outlets – either broadcast or streaming – have shown any open interest in picking up Other Space.

LogBook entry by Earl Green