As Solar Opposites returns to Hulu for an 11-episode fifth season, with news that the adult animated alien comedy has already been renewed for Season 6. Any involvement from Justin Roiland, dishonor co-creator of Opposites and Rick and Morty, It is something that is already in the past. Dan Stevens has been established as the new voice of Korvo, Solar’s head scientist and director. And the rest of the displaced residents of the planet Shlorp — Terry (Thomas Middleditch), Jesse (Mary Mack), Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone), and their tiny terraforming alien baby, Pupa (Sagan McMahan) — can be counted on to create more frenetic hijinks. But that won’t be on Earth. For now. Because Season 5 of Solar Opposites It begins where Season 4 left off, when the Shlorpians took on more human-like physical forms. Greetings and nice rotations! It’s time to find out what happened next…
SOLAR OPPOSITES – SEASON 5STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening shot: “Come on, Korvo! You can do it!” And, as befits Korvo’s sense of humor, Solar OppositesOur point of view rests on a cloud of Korvo’s flatulence as he struggles to get fresh oxygen.
The essence: Assuming oxygen is what the residents of Clervix 3 breathe, that is. The Solar Opposites have traversed the galaxy to land on top of a house much like the one they left behind on Earth, only this one exists on a planet devoid of anything “extra.” (Don’t even try to wonder if there’s anything around here that’s “bussin” or “cheugy.”) We’re talking simplicity, blandness, and general competence, baby. If Korvo, Terry, and their replicants/offspring Jesse and Yumyulack are going to survive on Clervix instead of Earth, which their spaceship AISHA’s (Tiffany Haddish) AI program calls a “garbage planet,” they’re going to need to adjust to how mediocre this place is. And to impress the government judge charged with granting citizenship, who makes house calls.
The plot of Solar Opposites It’s not linear at all, so don’t get too comfortable on Clervix. Terry suggests that the planet and its society are too perfect, anyway, like any good planet. Journey to the stars In this episode, there must be a seedy sci-fi underworld somewhere, and Terry sets out to find it while Korvo tries to keep Jesse and Yumyulack focused on the task. (Terry, on the other hand, approximates Sydney’s appearance from The bear (and cooks up a very extra Cheez-It Pop Rocks bomb while Yumyulack paints himself red and tries to sing.) “Greetings and nice rotations!” is the Clervix 3 way of saying hello, but with the arrival of “Zazlaz the Mind Monster” (imagine Jabba the Hutt crossed with sentient ooze and random alien tech), it doesn’t look like the Solars will be sticking around for long.
On Earth, in addition to the Solar Opposites’ usual mess of misadventures in our human society, they had also cultivated an entire miniature world within a pocket dimension known as The Wall. These Wallians developed their own living systems and have, in a way, been thriving. But as Solar Opposites Season 5 is expected to explore issues, with escapes from the Wallian existence, as well as the return of characters from that physically smaller but no less important side of the series, such as the Silvercops.
What shows will it remind you of? Hulu calls it “Animayhem,” the streaming service’s one-stop source for anime and adult animation titles, and it’s quite the catalog. (Futurama and The Simpsons, The fable and Mission: Yozakura Family.) Rick and Morty It is also said to be returning for its eighth season sometime in 2025.
Our opinion: References to pop culture, both direct and indirect, have always been commonplace in the world of Solar OppositesAnd that continues unabated in Season 5, where Jesse screams “Yes, Chef!” and Yumyulack looks to Reggie Watts for inspiration for his musical and performance art. And whether the replicants, along with Korvo and Terry, manage to return to Earth from Clervix 3 depends on a nuanced reading of the Jurassic Park The sequel to Tea Leaves. The references and stories move very quickly. Solar OppositesBut what is standard is how well all the members of the main cast manage to quickly pick up on their characters’ traits, so those quick jokes have some personality to lean on. Dan Stevens, who replaced Justin Roiland as the voice of Korvo in Season 4, is particularly adept at balancing the alien scientist’s temperament with a bit of evolving personal style, and there are even some softer moments between Korvo and Terry as a married couple that fit nicely with the flaming hair mania that permeates most corners of Opposites.
In season five, that mania will have new places to erupt. It always does. But we’re also interested in finding out what’s going on with the Wallians, those miniature culture builders trapped in the Solars’ pocket dimension. For a series with episodes that don’t last much longer than 20 minutes, Solar Opposites He’s adept at finding exciting ways to pack in all of his creative swearing and crazy storytelling, while consistently doing so in more than one dimension.
Sex and skin: There is nothing here in the first episode, although Korvo and Terry kiss passionately, and later in this season, Solar Opposites She will visit the island inhabited by all of Jesse’s ex-boyfriends.
Parting shot: If the Solars were to crash-land their spaceship on any typically suburban-looking house on any planet in the galaxy, they would immediately find a way to wreak havoc. But for now, it seems that mischievous robot JK Sevens has become their permanent stowaway from Clervix.
Sleeping Star: The funny lines fly at a fast but fairly even pace between Terry, Korvo, Jesse, and Yamyulack in Solar Oppositesso we’ll be using some of their Shlorpian tech like a constant sleeping star, like the instant pocket dimension Korvo conjures in Clervix 3, or the “extra beam”, which also has an opposite, boring configuration.
Pilot’s most typical phrase: “I don’t get it. We were human, and now we’re Shlorpian again? How did that happen? Seriously, what’s going on?” Terry’s questions to the group are worded in such a way as to suggest the potential confusion felt by the newcomers. Solar Opposites spectators.
Our calling: STREAM IT! Solar Opposites The series is chugging along comfortably and chaotically in its fifth season, with the madness and foul language of its Shlorpian family unit still in full force. But we’re also still curious about the show-within-a-show, the miniature world-building of the Wall and its inhabitants.
Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
