40 years before Donald Trump ordered the Department of Defense to create a sixth military branch, called the ‘Space Force,’ Columbia Pictures had already launched one.
Space Force, as it turns out, is also the name of arguably one of the worst television shows of all time.
The show, described as the comic adventures of a crew of astronauts assigned to a remote military station, debuted on April 28, 1978. Among the cast was actor Fred Willard (who portrayed Captain Thomas Woods).
The show hit around the same time Star Wars mania was enveloping America. Every network was scrambling to get something science fiction on the air. Battlestar Galactica, Space 1999 and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century all managed to stand the test of time (or at least nostalgia).
Space Force, though? It was quickly forgotten.
How bad could it be? Consider these lyrics, taken from the show’s opening credits (and sung to a militaristic jingle).
We’re the Space Force… An ace force!
We will fight to keep the planet free
You can say goodbye to tyranny
We can help you out a lot
We’re the Space Force. We’re all you’ve got.
The Marines’ Hymn, it’s not.
Surely, though, the show couldn’t be worse than its theme song, right? Wrong. Check for yourself:
It’s unclear exactly how long Space Force was on the air. Judging from the above, though, it was too long.