'Space Force' sees Diana Silvers as Erin Naird continue the tradition of annoying teenage daughters on TV
Drama TV hates teenage girls. This isn't speculation -- it's a fact. In 90 percent of dramas from oldies like 'The Sopranos' (Meadow Soprano) and 'The Americans' (Paige Jennings) to initial seasons of 'Homeland' (Dana Brody) or 'The Good Wife' (Grace Florrick) to current dramas like 'Ozark' (Charlotte Byrde), TV teenage daughters are the worst.
Besides the rare Sally Draper on 'Mad Men', they usually sulk, are terribly moody and prone to throwing tantrums. They do and say the stupidest things, their hair usually is a straggly, unkempt mess and they look like they smell. And most annoyingly, they are so very needy and whiny. Why teenage girls get typecast like this is because of a combination of factors -- from annoying stereotypes about female characters to the need to manufacture easy and quick drama in slow episodes by lazy writers.
However, most comedy series don't usually have this problem. Teenage girls are usually snarky, sarcastic, and delightful to watch in sitcoms since they are not being egged on by the show's structure to create drama whenever the main plot lines are flagging.
Catherine Meyer (Veep), and Maeby Fünke (Arrested Development) are two characters for instance who had their own bonafide plotlines that made them watchable if not likable. You did not want to throw your remote at the TV screens each time they appeared.
Diana Silvers as Erin Naird in 'Space Force' starts out this way. Yes, she is a bit sulky being stuck in Wild Horse, Colorado, after having to leave behind a much fuller social life in Washington DC. She tells Captain Angela Ali (Tawny Newsome) that she did try to make friends when she came. But when all the kids at school are only excited about dirt bike racing, making friends can be hard.
With a mother in jail and a father who is always dealing with "classified" army emergencies, it is a lonely existence. She is shown to be coping with this by running since she was a cross country athlete. All good signs that point toward a well-rounded character who isn't a stereotype.
However, 'Space Force' is an odd animal in the sense that it is half-way between a comedy and drama. To make Steve Carell's character, General Mark Naird, who is a brusque, racist army general, more likable, the show has to lean on its drama elements -- in this case his family life.
And to do so, Erin is essentially thrown under the bus to make Steve Carell's character bloom. General Mark Naird is shown to be a caring dad, who is single parenting and also dealing with loneliness since his wife (played by Lisa Kudrow) is in jail. He comes back to help Erin with her homework after tackling an international incident in space despite being dead on his feet. But Erin doesn't seem to realize the pressures he is under.
This is where Erin starts to morph into that familiar figure of a sloppy, bratty teen girl who talks back and bangs doors. She throws a tantrum when she is asked to clean the kitchen counter after making a mess of it, disregarding the fact that the kitchen will be overrun by ants if she doesn't. When Mark Naird returns home after spending days locked up in a "space habitat" that recreates the conditions of a base on the moon, he walks into a house overfilled with pizza boxes and ants. As he starts cleaning, Erin strolls in with ice cream and is forgiven on the spot.
Erin is also shown to be dating a much older Russian liaison, Bobby (Alex Sparrow) at the base, who tries to get close to Erin only to get classified information on General Naird. Everyone, including Mark Naird and Angela Ali, warn her about this and she keeps seeing him until it becomes obvious, even to her, what he is up to.
But it is in the final episode this season that she takes the cake. As international hostilities erupt between China and America after the Chinese mow down the American flag on the moon, Erin is at her irritating best.
Since the space incident gains traction over social media, Erin would hypothetically be aware of what her father is dealing with. And yet, she loses it when Mark Naird tells her he is seeing someone else because according to her, one conjugal visit in a year with his wife should be enough for him. She goes to talk to her mother to rat him out and realizes that her mother is the one who told him to date and is herself seeing a guard called "Louise" in prison.
This is when she makes the brilliant decision to rebel by going off with some strange boys in the middle of the desert terrain and ends up in a shady settlement where everyone seems to be smoking crack.
When she calls her father and then her mother for help, her father is under arrest by his nemesis, the Air Force General, and her mother is essentially helpless -- there is nothing she can do but worry. By the end of the episode, General Naird escapes with a chopper to help her and essentially becomes subject to a court-martial, while her mother escapes from prison because her baby girl is in trouble... with Louise.
So essentially Erin puts three people's lives and careers in the absolute gutter for her reckless rebellion. And she doesn't even look contrite over it -- she is just happy that her needy behavior has finally got her mother and father to come to her. Hopefully, Season 2 will see Erin become less annoying but the chances are slim.
'Space Force' premiered on May 29 and is available to stream on Netflix.