‘Lloyd in Space’ Explores Some New Territory

At first glance, Disney’s new Saturday morning ABC series “Lloyd in Space,” premiering today, resembles any number of other animated shows about the offbeat lives of weird, unearthly-looking cartoon kids, albeit with overtones of “The Jetsons” redux.

It’s soon clear, however, that “Lloyd,” a three-fingered, bald green kid, living with his type-A personality, space station commander mom and his telekinetic little sister on a busy space station, covers less tried-and-true cartoon territory: the onset of puberty, and its attendant confusion, embarrassments, euphoria and careening roller-coaster dips into despair.

It’s not deep, but there’s some resonance beneath the jokes and sight gags: Lloyd’s struggles are silly, weird--and recognizable.

In the kickoff episode, Lloyd turns 13 and adopts an obnoxious swagger, fed by his faulty notions of what it means to be a man, and gets himself in hot water at school (his teacher’s a cranky robot; classmates range from a myopic talking brain to a one-eyed behemoth).

Then he’s advised by his holographic grandpa--real men go fishing--and a robot maintenance crew (a vacuum, toaster, phone, etc.)--real men play poker.

Lloyd’s mentor, Station, a robotic extension of the space station with the personality of a proper English valet--unhelpfully agrees that “games of chance and ribald camaraderie are the foundation of a manly life.” A friendly police officer (partnered by a talking amoeba) weighs in too: Real men drive cars.

This not-so-sage counsel predictably leads to trouble: a vaporized power plant, a wrecked squad car and Lloyd’s mother’s wrath. A family emergency, though, offers a better lesson: Being a man means “doing the right thing,” Lloyd realizes, “taking care of people you love, and putting someone else’s needs before your own.”

If the combination of offbeat characters, off-the-wall wackiness and kids’ real-life ups and downs rings a bell, it may be because “Lloyd in Space” was created by “Rugrats” co-creator Paul Germain and Joe Ansolabehere (a former “Rugrats” head story editor). The show is another team effort for the pair, who also created Disney’s Saturday morning “Recess.” In upcoming episodes, Lloyd and his single antenna inadvertently transmit his inner adolescent fantasies; he has a two-headed date; and a worm nerd hatches into a social butterfly, leaving Lloyd out in the cold.

Immediately after each episode, viewers can see related online material--additional “outtakes,” a continuation of a scene from that day’s show, or other content--at https://www.disney1.com/.

(Speaking of “Rugrats” and multimedia programming: Nickelodeon is launching its interactive TV-online game “BubbleCast” on Monday. Kids watching “Rugrats” during its 4 p.m. weekday slot can go to https://www.Nick.com/, listen for a “bubbling sound” prompt on their computer and answer questions in real time about what’s happening on the show. At the end of the game, the top 20 game players will be announced on the air.)

* “Lloyd in Space” can be seen Saturdays at 9 a.m. on ABC. The network has rated it TV-Y (suitable for young children).