Last Days of the Space Age

Last Days Of The Space Age starts slow, and the pieces don’t always fit together, but its mix of tender family drama, politically charged history, and nostalgic beach vibes are more than enough to keep us coming back for more.

The series is full — very full — of characters, each with their delineated problems or aspirations, but in the four busy episodes (out of eight) available for review, only a hint of narrative drive.

This is a middle-of-the-road vision of the past, with some moments of dramatic intrigue here and there. But as a historical or quasi-historical portrait, it feels like a shiny billboard advertising a past that never happened.

There are parts of Last Days Of The Space Age that we liked, but the storytelling is too much of a shambling mess to keep our interest.

“The Last Days of the Space Age” is not great TV. It’s not even good. Now, I’ve only seen the four (of eight episodes) made available to critics. So it’s possible the back half is completely transformative. Based on the first half, though, I unhappily report that there’s nothing here to root for.