Review - Stars on Mars (2023)

         Hey guys, Chuck here. Now, before we begin, let me just say this: I am not a fan of reality television. I find it idiotic, especially with some projects like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up with the Kardashians. However, when I saw the advertisements for one being aired on Fox called Stars on Mars, I had to make an exception. Why? Because it's sci-fi themed, and I'm a big fan of sci-fi. 

         So, just how can I describe Stars on Mars? Well, if you were to combine Celebrity Big Brother with Star Trek, you're pretty close to figuring out the concept of Stars on Mars. The series is set at "the Hab," which is a simulated habitat set up with living space, a room for growing crops, workout equipment, a kitchen, and of course an onboard A.I. Now, obviously, they didn't actually film on Mars, but in the desert outside of Coober Pedy in Australia. The terrain said desert was chosen to simulate the Martian terrain. 

       Anyway, the group of celebrities chosen to participate in the experiment are dubbed the "CelebriNauts," and the series started off with twelve of them. However, after a few weeks, that number went down to seven, with four newcomers joining to make the overall count go up to eleven, and finally ending with five making it to the finale. Now, each episode would have a mission that was needed for the survival of the crew of CelebriNauts, and the success of each mission would reward them with a Mission Patch. However, failure would result in no Mission Patch being earned. That only ever happened once in the series' second episode. And, ultimately, at the end of each episode, the CelebriNaut deemed the least Mission Critical would be extracted and sent home. The final CelebriNauts would all compete for the ultimate prize: the Brightest Star patch, naming them the Brightest Star in the galaxy. Up to the final two episodes, each episode would have the CelebriNauts choose a Base Commander, who would choose a Mission Specialist for the mission of the episode. 

       Now, let's meet the CelebriNauts, shall we? When the experiment began, the roster was as follows: Ronda Rousey, Ariel Winter, Lance Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch, Adam Rippon, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Tallulah Willis, Natasha Leggero, Tom Schwartz, Richard Sherman, Tinashe, and Porsha Williams Guobadia. After the extractions of Christopher, Tallulah, Richard, Tom, and Natasha, the four reinforcements were as follows: Cat Cora, Andy Richter, Paul Pierce, and Ashley Iaconetti. The final five ended up being Cat, Adam, Paul, Tinashe, and Porsha, with Adam being the ultimate winner at the end. However, there was one other celebrity that, while involved with the experiment, wasn't part of the crew until the very end: William Shatner. That's right, Captain James T. Kirk of the Enterprise was the host of the series, relaying mission-related messages to the crew, and ultimately taking over as Base Commander for the finale. 

         Aside from the missions, which varies from things like repairing a communication tower, fetching water from a water source, burning out a fungal source threatening the Hab, rescuing the four reinforcements to the crew, locating an intruder within the Hab, rebooting the A.I, which was infected with a computer virus, and so forth, Stars on Mars is also a social experiment. The CelebriNauts' interactions with each other is a major component in making this series worth watching. Some of my favorite interactions were between the likes of Ariel and Ronda, Porsha and Tinashe, Ariel and Tinashe, and Andy and Adam. Unfortunately, two of the CelebriNauts I was rooting for early on, Christopher and Natasha, didn't stick around long enough for me to really see how their game would play out in the long run. Conversely, I thought that Lance kind of overstayed his welcome a bit, and was probably my least favorite of the CelebriNauts. 

          As far as reality competition shows go, Stars on Mars isn't the best, but it's definitely a fun one. I enjoyed watching it every week, and I would more than happily watch a second season of one ever got announced by Fox. However, one change I would make would be switching the host from William Shatner, an actor famous for Star Trek, with Mark Hamill, an actor famous for Star Wars. Also, I would like to see some famous YouTubers like Lindsey Stirling or Andre Meadows become future CelebriNauts. But, for its inaugural season, I enjoyed Stars on Mars, and definitely recommend checking it out. All twelve episodes are currently on Hulu, so give it a watch if you're curious. 

       Anyway guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back on Saturday with my review of The Dark Tower.