Fired on Mars

Based on other reviews here I believe this show has fallen victim to poor advertising, or a misunderstanding of what "adult animation" means.

This show is not really a comedy, by most measures anyways, it does contain jokes certainly, but that is not the main focus of the show. The show is more of a sci-fi mystery drama, with light humour scattered throughout, and on viewing it solely by that metric I think it's been quite good so far.

This review is being written after watching the first 4 episodes, which I found to be interesting enough to make me want to keep going and understand more of what's going on.

I will concede it's hard for me to say right now if the show is "good". We are only 4 episodes in as I write this, and shows of this sort often live or die by their endings, but the show is "interesting" for certain, that's really the best word for it.

The show has an eerie lonely tone, aided by the music and backgrounds which fill the show with an uncomfortable vibe... as do the series of errors made by our protagonist.

So, I want to talk about our protagonist Jeff for a bit here. Jeff is a fairly average guy by most measures, but he's very self-absorbed without even realizing it. He enjoys meeting people but only talks about himself, he seems very bad taking an interest in others. He has a surprisingly large ego, but it leads him to be totally crushed by even small setbacks, that leads him to make error after error as he tries desperately to find a place he can click into. It's interesting that despite his self absorption he doesn't seem to desire anything more than a fairly standard life, he wants a family and a nice house, and a job that he'll receive admiration for, but that noticeably doesn't put him at the top of the food chain, he's not a cut-throat gunning for an executive role, he just wants a consistent normal life... something I'm guessing he's never really had before, which has lead to his desperation to achieve this goal.

This is a lot to say about a character who I think many people will cast off as "annoying" or even "one note" if they're not trying to analyze him much. But Jeff seems to be an extremely consistently written character who has a consistent and understandable drive, even if it feels like we're missing some critical details about him. Jeff is, to be fair, an annoying person at times, this is on purpose by the scriptwriters, made clear by much of the cast of the show finding him actively annoying, but I think it works well for the show overall. Still, I can understand how this could be a turnoff to viewers... Jeff simply put it not a great guy, and not everyone wants to watch shows about kind of annoying guys.

Overall, if you went into this show expecting something in the vein of something like Family Guy or most "adult animated comedy" for that matter I do think you will be disappointed, this is a frankly dreary and anxiety inducing show, it is not a lighthearted romp you'd watch with your friends.... But it's a very interesting show, that feels like it has something unique and interesting to say, and I plan on finishing the show to see what that is exactly. I'll likely add an update to this review when I do finish the show.

For now I'm giving this show an 8/10, the show does have a few weird moments and things I didn't enjoy, but overall I think it does very little wrong if you're taking it at face value as a sci-fi mystery drama, it's a solid start.

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To be maybe a bit petty for a moment I want to add a note, and point to one other review on here, called "It's SUCH an original and fun idea! Right?" that was written when (like my review) only the first 4 episodes were available. This review is horribly misleading as whoever wrote it seems to have fully misunderstood a reveal in a particular episode. The review seems to imply the show has an "it was all a dream" type of moment, or that it becomes stuck in a dreaming format, but this is not true, at least of the time of writing this. I feel like this person got to a particular moment, assumed what was happening incorrectly, and then stopped watching and wrote their review. It is quite baffling because what they are complaining about simply does not happen as they describe it at all. Is it impossible something like that could happen? It's not impossible, but as of now it's not the case and I won't judge the show for an ending they "could do" before it even ends.

First off, if you have only watched one or two episodes then don't review it.

This is an excellent show, it is not a comedy and doesn't pretend to be. There's a lot of uncomfortable situations, with super cringe from deeply flawed characters. The setting is a crucible for an unholy cocktail of these characters, limited resources, and a hostile environment outside and inside. Within their confines, it's almost like Office Space, outside it's any Mars film. We follow the main character as he confronts his flaws, always optimistic, searching for a higher purpose and meaning to it all.

Do yourself a favor and watch without judgement. This one has a unique vibe that is highly engaging with tons of subtle payoffs along the way.

The first few episodes are pretty sad and depressing. This show isn't a mindless comedy but is actually pretty deep and intelligent after watching it through.

I started to realize this was a good show around episode 6 or so. I'm glad I didn't give up on it and kept with it.

The comedy it does have is subtle and often dark. It's not written like a traditional comedy but you can find humor in situations and characters.

You start to like Jeff more as the show goes on and his character develops from a pathetic depressed man to somewhat endearing and good guy. We can all feel helpless and worthless at our lowest times and as each episode goes by it shows how we can overcome that and build confidence.

Lastly, in the first couple episodes a lot of the corporate guys just seem like obnoxious assholes but as you get to know their characters even they become likable by the end. I feel like out of everything this show did the best with character building because they are all unique and memorable. Look forward to more episodes and hopefully a sequel.

Nowadays the animated streaming series for adults are closed in the segment of being silly, explicit or low profile jokes, which are fair and valid likes, but it doesn't mean every adult animated project has to be like that. This is where it goes out of the trend.

Fired on Mars breaks out of this segment to explore the anxiety of peoples mind, so the public can be connected and identified with all the problems and fears Jeff (Main Character) goes all around the story.

It's acceptable the fact that the first episode feels cringy at certain moment, but that feeling turns to a menace towards Jeff that will be kept after that bases built on the episode. It's a more serious animated program than the actual trends, meaning that treats topics for reflections towards people's life and goals at the future.

I would also be afraid to say this, but if you like Bojack Horseman by topics like traumas, affections and feelings, you will like Fired on Mars as an interesting approach.

First off, I have seen every episode that's been released, unlike almost all the other reviews which only saw the first episode. The show has an interesting premise: main character is one of the first human colonists on Mars but gets fired because his job is no longer needed. Now he must struggle to find a new job or else he essentially becomes a burden on the colony: a mouth to feed that doesn't contribute.

That out of the way, the show isn't a comedy. There are some jokes/funny moments, but it's not meant to make you laugh constantly like every other Adult Animation out there. It's more of satire/statement on corporations, the work we do for them, and ultimately finding purpose in our lives. Even tho the show is set on Mars, a lot of people can easily relate to main character. Most of us aren't CEOs or Doctors or have big important jobs, we are just cogs in the machine forced to do whatever job we get just to be able to feed ourselves.

Now this show isn't a pro-socialism or anti-capitalism or political, it's just pointing out the reality and absurdity of life while using Mars as the perfect backdrop for exploring the shows many themes. And the main character, Jeff, perfectly explores these themes. He's very human. He experiences grief and loneliness, and a lot of self doubt and confusion. He makes A LOT of mistakes, to the point he is unconsciously self sabotaging. But he is also optimistic and determined, doing whatever job he can to stay be a valued member of the colony.

Give this show a watch if you want something different that you may fine you relate to rather well. Just don't go in expecting a full on endless laugh fest, because that's not what this show is.