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• I. Introduction:
Final Space is an adult animated science fiction series created by an independent actor and movie director named Olan Rogers. The story is about Gary Goodspeed, a space prisoner who during his sentence in a space prison, he befriends a mysterious alien who Gary named Mooncake. Gary discovers that an evil being named Lord Commander is looking for Mooncake to destroy the earth and to rule the universe, so Gary and Mooncake decide to go on an adventure to save the universe and discover the secrets behind the final space.
The show, that Olan considered his huge masterpiece, got canceled unexpectedly after three seasons, with an open ending. This tragedy made Olan and his best friend Coty Galloway, who is one of the main voice actors, almost lose their wings. Since then, things have been difficult for them and have been fighting for a solution to rebuild their dreams no matter how hard it gets.
In this article I want to talk about the tragic story of Final Space, his creator, and what made it different to other animated series for adults.
• II. What Made "Final Space" Special:
In the beginning, it might sound as the typic science fiction story about the astronaut who saves the universe, however there is so many things behind that makes it unique, the characters' development is unique, the visual effects are colorful, its music themes are dramatic and memorable, and has a lot of references from famous science fiction franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek, Matrix, Terminator, Back to The Future, The Marvel Comics, etc.
To give you an idea, it's like the animated version of Guardians of The Galaxy. People say that it's a rip off, but that's not the case. The concept has been written a long time ago, even before joining the industry.
In the series, there are other characters who are important for the story like Avocato (A cat- like bounty hunter who used to be the Lord Commander's right hand), Quinn (Gary's love interest and the captain of the Infinity Guard Organization), HUE (An Artificial Intelligence who helps Gary in his adventures), KVN (An annoying helper robot who annoys more than help), and many other characters who you could get attached to.
Something I like about this series is that even though it has some dark humor and violence, its creator manages a lot on not using inappropriate or offensive language; in other words, he rather uses more appropriate and inoffensive humor to not make the audience feel uncomfortable. Although Final Space is so focused on science fiction and comedy, it also focuses on drama; It has memorable and dramatic moments, where we can also discover the tragic pasts of the characters or the changes they experience in their attitudes.
Olan Rogers, the star who deserves to have his shine back
Olan has been a fan of space his whole life, due his father was an important worker of the NASA and he used to take his son to work where learn about astronomy. Although he wanted to be an astronaut at first or be a member of the NASA team, it has always been his dream to be on screen, stage, and make his own stories, and if it's be part of something that makes history.
He started to make short films and sketches on his YouTube channel his best friend, Coty Galloway, whose all life dream has been to be a Hollywood star.
Olan had seen Final Space concept as a big opportunity to become a star, but in the beginning he was rejected multiple times by many people. Until, the one and only Conan O'Brien saw that potential and decided to give him a hand. Thanks to him they were received with open arms by TBS, who gave them the best creative team and a voice cast full of famous TV stars like Tom Kenny, Steven Yeun, Tika Tumpster, David Tennant, John DiMaggio, among others.
A DREAM COME TRUE!
They also gave him the best marketing like annoucing it in the biggest billboards, interactive apps, mini games, the best merchandise team, and more. But my favorite one is the one where Conan convinced Rachel Vaughn, Olan's wife and main owner of a coffee shop to promote the series, resulting a success for both the show and the shop.
Final Space became one of the most viewed animated series of TBS, overcoming other famous shows like Rick and Morty and Robot Chicken, making other breakthrough artists to grow, becoming worldwide known, and was even added in at forms like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO max.
ALL OF THIS WITH JUST ONE SEASON!!!
Adult Swim, the real villain:
If Final Space had EVERYTHING!!!! Then, why did they cancel it with an open ending?
My friend! Believe it or not, this wasn't decision of Olan, Conan, nor TBS... but from Adult Swim itself, which fooled Olan with a "sweet voice".
After season 1, Adult Swim offered Olan a little help to make his show even bigger and give him more chances to collaborate with other productions from other creators. Obviously he accepted, since it's the biggest programming network for adult animated series and both Conan, the creative team, and voice actors had worked there before.
However, that wasn't the case. Olan's scripts were either denied, robbed, or re-written with the excuse of "We fixed it". His participation was ignored and they took him away his role as leader in most episodes.
Although, new characters were introduced in the series and more of Gary's backstory was revealed, the series started to gave more uncomfortable scenes, unnecessary episodes and moments.
The characterized humor of Olan was mostly absent and became the vulgar humor of Adult Swim (Obviously lower of rating reasons). Fortunately they follow the storyline Olan wrote and helped both him and Coty to get better in voice acting
But that doesn't mean that the show started to be badly programmed or their transmission hours were replaced with Rick and Morty and Robot Chicken. Most of the original creative team replaced with workers from the same shows, who were the ones that mistreated Olan and his original team.
But the straw that broke the camel's back, was the Emmy's campaign. Adult Swim gave Olan the chance to do a campaign to be nominated to the Emmy's. It became a success and gave them nominations, including best voice acting for Olan as Gary. BUT... hours after annoucing the nominations it has been reported that their nominations were replaced with... Guess what shows???
THAT'S RIGHT!!!! Rick and Morty and Robot Chicken!!!!!
I witnessed all this controversy, and I couldn't believe believed.
And to not the story larger than it's now, I will say season 3 was the recover season. Where the orignal creative team came back and Olan had more chance of leading, although they were in lock down that didn't mean they shouldn't stop working. Final Space was the few productions that was active during lock down, and the only one from Adult Swim that streamed a new season during the pandemic. This made fans think that the show is healing...
• IV. The Cancellation Blow:
Not even the active production and the marketing recovery saved the show because it didn't stopped Adult Swim to cancel it.
Nor only that, but also firing the FS creative team and Olan himself. He didn't understand what happened but not even O'Brien was capable to save the show for as long as he tried.
Olan's first reaction to the news was like a stabbed in the heart, his best creation has been mistreated and canceled unfairly. When he gave the terrible news in his YouTube channel, he was trying to hold his tears and remembering the beautiful moments he lived. It was the first time we saw him cry infront of the camera. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only tragedy he had faced.
The second were the portfolio rejections to restore his career, along Coty's. The third was involved also with his wife's business, where a hurricane wrecked their coffee shop that meant a lot for them. The final hit of his career had come when Netflix, and HBO MAX reported him that the show is going to be removed from the platforms, which meant it was going to be difficult to be seen.
Conclusion:
The abrupt ending of Final Space feels like a deeply felt loss, a harsh illustration of the entertainment industry's often unforgiving nature. Considering this outcome, one inevitably questions what could have been altered. Could Olan Rogers have more skillfully navigated the complexities of working with Adult Swim, anticipating their decisions and safeguarding his artistic vision? Possibly. However, the power was undeniably unbalanced.
Final Space's fate serves as a stark lesson for independent creators collaborating with large corporations, emphasizing the crucial need to protect their creative control and intellectual property.
Despite these challenges, Olan Rogers's resilience and unwavering commitment to his art are deeply inspiring. His continued pursuit of his dreams is encouraging.
He had launched a highly successful Kickstarter campaign to finance "Godspeed," an animated short film set in the Final Space universe, although the original characters are absent due to Adult Swim owning their rights.
Rogers will also share his knowledge through a YouTube series, detailing the entire process of creating an independent animated series.
"Godspeed" signified a fresh start for Olan, allowing him to reclaim his creative voice and connect with his loyal audience. While Final Space may be finished, the innovative and storytelling spirit that defined it endures in "Godspeed" and Olan's persistent dedication to creation.
This is not the end of the story, but a transformation. I, along with many others, eagerly anticipate the future endeavors of this talented and tenacious artist.
Olan and Coty are the owners of this verse:
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me" as the smile ran away from his face. Well, I'm sure that I could be movie star If I could get out of this place.
Piano Man - Billy Joel
LATEST ARTICLE SPANISH:
COHETE CLAVADO EN LA LUNA - LA ESCENA QUE CAMBIO TODO:
OSCAR ISAAC: EL VERDADERO MOONKNIGHT:
https://www.peliplat.com/en/article/10056787/oscar-isaac-el-verdadero-moon-knight
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