Set in the isolated desert of Winslow, Arizona at NASA's Moon Base Simulator, Moonbase 8 follows eager astronauts Skip (Armisen), Rook (Heidecker) and their leader Cap (Reilly) as they attempt to qualify for their first lunar mission. While working vigorously to complete their training, a series of unexpected circumstances forces the astronauts to question their own mental sanity, trust in each other and whether or not they're cut out for space travel.
The first trailer was released on September 12 and can be found here
. This was followed by a full trailer three days later. The pilot episode was made available for free on YouTube the day of the show's premiere, while the entire season was rolled out on-demand the same day, on the Showtime apps in the U.S. and Crave TV in Canada.
This series provides examples of:
- And Starring: The first episode has an "And Introducing" credit for Travis Kelce, who is appearing As Himself. He doesn't last very long.
- Bait-and-Switch: Skip starts pining for Alisha, the girl who'd been staying with them, and decides to ask her out. She rejects him.
- Body Horror: In the midst of a fever-induced hallucination, Skip attempts to cut out his tonsils.
- But Now I Must Go: Alisha departs for the moon at the end of the third episode.
- Face Death with Dignity: Fearing that they will die of thirst, Cap, Rook and Skip have some champagne (the only liquid left on the base, which they'd been saving for something special) and discuss what they want their legacy to be when they die.
- From Bad to Worse:
- The first episode concerns the base's water supply running out. Then Travis Kelce dies when he and Cap are trying to dig a well.
- "Quarantine" starts with Cap and Skip coming down with colds. Skip begins hallucinating while quarantined, and ends up attempting to cut his tonsils out. Meanwhile, Cap ends up getting a bite from a scorpion.
- I Choose to Stay: In "Rats", Skip decides to leave the mission in a bout of homesickness, feeling his family needs him, oblivious to the fact that if he leaves, the program will cease to exist. The morning he's supposed to go, however, he changes his mind.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Rook has 12 kids - whenever he Facetimes his family, the screen is just filled with kids.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: According to
Word of God, Adam Lambert's character in "Visitors" was inspired by Real Life astronaut Bobak Ferdowski. - Sick Episode: "Quarantine". Which, surprisingly enough, wasn't inspired by a certain virus - it was filmed two years prior.
- Stargazing Scene: Towards the end of the pilot the guys take a moment to have a "moon bath" and admire the full moon.
- Title In: "Winslow, Arizona", and about a minute later, "NASA Moonbase 8 Simulation".
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Travis Kelce, who is killed off midway through episode one.
