Warning! The following contains spoilers for Stars On Mars "We Are Not Alone." Read at your own risk!
Stars On Mars is entering the final leg of the competition, and while this season has featured some thrilling moments, the drama has fallen flat at times when it mattered most. Season 1 has suffered heavily due to one main aspect, and it's something that wouldn't happen if the celebrities were actually on Mars. I'm talking about the contestants voluntarily exiting the show, with Lance Armstrong serving as the latest celeb to bow out, continuing the unwanted trend.
It appeared that Armstrong would be one of the celebrities primed to make it to the end of the game, but he spontaneously announced he would voluntarily exit after being placed in the Bottom Three. The former pro cyclist explained he felt as though he butted heads with others in the game and that it would be detrimental to the team's success for him to continue playing. His move likely saved NBA star and my favorite Paul Pierce from elimination, but was still a baffling choice to make this late in the game.
Celebrities Keep Leaving The Game, And It Makes Eliminations Boring
Lance Armstrong is the latest celebrity to voluntarily leave Stars On Mars, following Richard Sherman, Natasha Leggero, and Ronda Rousey. Including the new celebrities that entered, this means that a fourth of the original cast members who signed up for this show have left without being voted off in the final portion. I thought it was a problem before Armstrong left, but now it's one that I feel compelled to speak out about.
Part of the fun of this game is the tough decision that the Base Commander has to make in deciding who is mission-critical. Four times now, we've had one of the celebrities bail the Base Commander out and eliminate themselves, which kills the drama and a bit of the fun. I'll cut Natasha Leggero some slack because she was able to exit at the same time as Tom Schwartz's emotional exit, but it's happened so much now that it's making the whole elimination ceremony feel pointless to me.
Could Stars On Mars Fix Celebrities Leaving If Season 2 Happens?
I'm not sure if there's a penalty when Stars On Mars celebrities voluntarily leave, but I think there should be if the Fox series returns for Season 2. It has impacted the game in a negative way in Season 1, and while I don't know if it would completely halt voluntary exits, it may give some celebs pause if they know they're losing money not completing the program until it comes to a natural end.
If celebrities are incentivized not to leave, there could be more strategy and entertaining moments that result from that. For example, Lance Armstrong might've been extra combative in arguments and forced his crewmates to eliminate him rather than dropping out with a speech that sounded like he was doing them a favor. Otherwise, this series is fantastic, even if there's less William Shatner in it than I'd like. If this problem can be fixed, there's something special here.
Stars On Mars airs new episodes on Fox on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET. It's great television to watch for those feeling the strain of the lack of content on the 2023 TV schedule due to the WGA writers' and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and a series I'm hoping will continue to Season 2.
