(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1

(T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (2004) is a German sci-fi comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Writer-director Michael Herbig also plays Captain Kork, commanding the most dysfunctional spaceship crew the galaxy has ever produced.

It's the year 2304. The descendants of Earth's long-forgotten Mars colonists have had enough, and under Supreme Regulator Rogul and the ominously named Lord Jens Maul, they're heading to conquer the home planet. Earth's defense? The spaceship Surprise and its three-man crew — Kork, engineer Schrotty, and first officer Spuck. The rest of the fleet is gone. Rather than prepare for battle, the crew is rehearsing for a beauty pageant.

A shameless spoof of Star Wars and Star Trek built on theatrical costumes and cheerfully lowbrow humor, the film was a phenomenon in Germany — one of the country's biggest box-office hits ever. It works because Herbig commits completely to the nonsense. Stream it online on iFILM.