Avenue 5
Created by Armando Iannucci
Starring Hugh Laurie, Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Rebecca Front, Suzy Nakamura, Lenora Crichlow, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ethan Phillips
HBO’s SF-themed comedy is Iannucci’s foray into humor, and a dark and hilarious effort it is. “Avenue 5” is a vast cruise ship on its maiden voyage, an eight-week sojourn around Saturn and back. It carries 5,000 passengers, including the owner of the firm that built the ship, his bitter business rival, and an utterly cosmetic bridge crew, including a dashing but utterly ersatz Captain (Laurie). Think of it as being the space-age version of the SS Corona Virus, now docked 20 knots off every major port in the world while disease works its way through the underpaid and unappreciated crew members. And nobody cares how many parsecs it made the Alderban run in.
Disaster strikes because it would be a boring show if it didn’t, and the ship is knocked off course, and instead of eight weeks, it’s going to take three and a half years to get home. After that, it’s a sitcom version of Lord of the Flies. In short order, the ship, which has its own gravitational field, has four corpses and several million human turds. The owner, who my lawyers assure me does not remind me of Elon Musk, makes the best of the situation by adding tons of reflective confetti and laser and strobe lights to the orbiting debris, making it flat-out festive. A new religion springs up when passengers see the face of the late Pope John Paul the First, a person my lawyers also assure me was not made of turds and confetti.
The absolute star of the show is the captain, Hugh Laurie, who most Americans know as the strung-out but brilliant forensic physician on House. Many may not even know that he’s British, let alone that for 30 odd years he’s been one of England’s greatest comedians. So this side of Laurie may come as a bit of a shock to many.
Laurie himself revels in it, breaking the fourth wall with great glee, losing his American accent, then his wig, and finally his dignity as the show goes on. Over nine episodes, he transitions from House to Fry and Laurie, enjoying every step of the way.
It’s a very dark humored series, including the penultimate episode where many passengers become convinced that the whole “marooned in space” thing is a hoax, and a number “die of stupidity” in Laurie’s words. You can’t help but think of the “ReOpen America” movement while watching it.
It’s not profound, and it doesn’t provide a epee of satire. But it is rude, crude, hilarious, and a great deal of fun. And Laurie is great.
Now on HBO.