For Misty, a thirty year-old sexpot housewife, one of the benefits of living on the Omega 76 Space Station is getting to spend time with Dr. Bot, a valium-prescribing therapist droid. This frustrates her technician husband, Ted, who desperately wishes they could go back to the time when she was in love with him, and fully engaged with the raising of their daughter, Sunshine. Although only seven years old, Sunshine’s been left to fend for herself on the ship, as Ted and Misty are constantly occupied with their mundane jobs and pursuits of self-fulfillment.

Life on the space station really isn’t much different than it was in suburban communities of the 70’s, except for maybe the added danger of having Captain Glenn Terry, a bitter, suicidal wreck of a man, at the helm of the ship. Drowning in resentment and struggling with his bisexuality, Glen hides the secret that he had a rocky affair with his ex-Assistant Captain, Daniel, who left the ship under mysterious circumstances. Replacing him is Jesssica Marlowe, an ambitious and mostly misunderstood feminist, whose arrival on the ship inadvertently ignites tensions among everyone. The Omega 76 is her chance to prove that a woman can succeed in a “man’s world,” and her way of proving to herself that a having a career can be just as meaningful as having a family. But she’s not fooling anyone. Her by-the-books mentality starts to unravel the Captain, and her fast friendship with Sunshine sparks a degree of jealousy in Misty. Accustomed to being the center of her daughter’s world, self-absorbed Misty doesn't respond well to having to compete for attention with this new woman in power.

Dissatisfied with the monotony of her domestic routine, however unable to take responsibility for her life, Misty turns to Dr. Bot for solace. She’s not the only one self-medicating – Glenn’s grief over losing Daniel drives him to drink way more than a Captain should. Especially while driving. Glenn suffers a botched reconnection with his former lover and several embarrassing suicide attempts. But his life isn't the only one in danger – a careless mistake on the bridge causes a near-miss with an asteroid the size of Texas. Jessica becomes furious with his incompetence, and the two constantly butt heads. The only people not at odds with each other are Jessica and Ted: two lonely souls whose friendship moves quickly past the friend zone. When it becomes obvious that her neglected husband also prefers Jessica over her, Misty takes aim.

Caught in the crosshairs is little Sunshine, set adrift like a rover in the Me Decade of space. As the adults search for meaning within their empty lives, barely contained lust, jealousy, and anger all bubble to the surface. The ship’s annual holiday party is their chance for reconciliation. Will they make amends and do what’s best for the future, or will their lives fall silently into chaos?

MOVIE REVIEW

There’s nothing like the future of the past. The Space Station 76 depicts a futuristic space station as if it were made in the 1970s. The oddly alluring drama-comedy is less concerned with the sci-fi aspects of its premise than the quirky characters:

• One woman spends her days socializing with a valium-prescribing psychiatrist robot.
• The captain, played by Patrick Wilson, is a mustache-wearing, cigarette-smoking curmudgeon who hates his life.
• Another man, with a hand that looks like Nintendo’s Power Glove (it may actually be a Power Glove), longs for a more exciting life, or at least for Liv Tyler.
• Jerry O’Connell.

Read our Space Station 76 movie review »