Sunday, September 14, 2008

You ever hear of "StarShip Regulars"?


Couple of questions, any of you ever visit the Flash animation site Icebox? And, have any of you ever heard of animated short series "StarShip Regulars"? If your like me your batting 1000 for a double no answer. The IO9 blog writes about the series:
  • Starship Regulars, a cartoon that ran on Flash animation site Icebox from 1999-2000, was intended to parody self-righteous military space dramas like Star Trek: The Next Generation Babylon 5. But the interstellar comedy in many ways resembles the rebooted Battlestar Galactica with its focus on the orange jumpsuit-wearing non-officers, heavy use of a fictitious swear word, and frequently intoxicated crew. Showtime bought the rights to Starship Regulars in 2000 with an eye toward developing a live-action series, which, sadly, never came to fruition. The entire 10-episode run is still available on Icebox.
Also it seems the series was a Michael Dorn vehicle as well. He voiced the series captain's voice.
I got about half way through the episodes and though it was fun and funny, it was pretty much the same ole same ole. I really can't see Showtime buying this one up and thinking series out of the bunch and I have to say that I disagree with the article's author being sad about it not making the grade. But at a few minutes per episode, it's a good diversion.

<- link to episodes ->

2 comments:

Dave Tackett said...

I hadn't heard of it before. It sounds funny though. I trust your opinion and usually enjoy parodies.

I have a problem with the IO9 writer's phrase "self-righteous military space dramas like Star Trek: The Next Generation Babylon 5." Neither was even close to being "self-righteous" and it would be a huge stretch to call STTNG a "military space drama." But, I frequently have issues with IO9 opinions.

Anonymous said...

Wolfkahn
yeah, I have to agree. That turn of a phrase befuddled me. Looking back on TOST yeah, there was an agenda of superiority but I am still wondering if Roddenbury was playing to the execs with that. Yep, good call on heavy handed wording.

Paul