About the Show
Retired and terminally ill, I needed something to occupy what time I had left. I used to be an avid modeler, but health and other issues made that impractical. So I switched to animation, and began a series called Dicks Retirement Trailer Park. After Dicks ran its course, I stared at the blank computer screen and wondered, "What's next?"
An old adage of writers stuck in writer's block is "write about what you know," and having been a near-lifelong fan of science fiction, in particular the Trek variety, I decided to have some fun developing an animated parody of a genre with which I was intimate.
One might immediately assume I was mimicking Lower Decks, but not really; I'm not a fan of that show, and besides, it's a big-budget professional production that I'd have no hope of emulating. I drew more conceptual inspiration, indirectly as it happens, from Orville, which in my mind was, at least initially, ill-conceived and poorly executed. And thus the challenge was set: create a kind of mashup of a simplified, adult-swim Lower Decks and an improved Orville, with its own unique stylistic twists.
It's the classic Trek setup: exploring outer space in a fleet ship with a diverse crew, complete with the whole "Captain's Log" bit, but cut from more adult cloth, imbued as it is with sexual double-entendres and innuendos, plus some occasional mild swearing. More particularly, however, it's loaded with direct references to television sci-fi series clichés, and even to program production itself. Indeed, the show is so self-aware that one must pay close attention to the dialog, because the gags flip past quickly and frequently. I never "pause" an episode to tell the viewer, "Here comes a joke!"
As was the case for my prior projects, the program quickly evolved. As originally conceived, it was to be a seriously esoteric, mind-bending internal dialog of a group of people trapped on a spaceship, as told entirely through their personal video logs. I soon realized this was far too limiting and probably not very entertaining, so I went with the more conventional Trek-type program (although I did utilize the initial concept in the episode "Nothing to Report"). But then the show continued to change: the episodic comedy soon became a serial dramedy. Characters changed, sometimes radically, along the way. Some of these changes were aided by story arcs; others just happened. It's up to the viewer to decide what works and what doesn't. Still, even if something doesn't seem to work, the loose overall style of the show permits virtually anything, all very much by design.
Stylistically, the animation is very crude. This is partially deliberate, and partially due to the tools at hand (but not a function of capability, or lack thereof). With a budget of exactly zero, I had to make use of the software I had. I allowed these limitations to influence the visual style. It's not as if this is unique; anyone familiar with South Park and its ilk knows that crude style can totally work, and does not interfere with storytelling. Thus, characters (and ships and props) are only seen square on, front or back. There are no profile shots, and animation of their bodies (such as walking) is kept to a minimum.
Lightspeed is certainly not everyone's cup of tea. Some will regard it as stupid and juvenile; others as merely a waste of time. But such is true of any creative endeavor. I did not set out to try and please everyone; I set out to please myself. If you happen to like it, great! If not, please don't waste everyone's time with hate comments; just move on to the next video in your recommendations list. Thanks.
Finally, it was my intention to keep on making episodes for as long as I had ideas, and I had plenty. But I was forced to stop owing to my health Yes, of course I have regrets at being forced to end the series. But think of it this way: with 24 ten-minute episodes in the can, I've created the rough equivalent of two feature-length films. Not bad for one old dying man.
DEDICATION
Lightspeed Drifting is dedicated to my friends Scott and Caro, who patiently sat through all of my experiments in animation. Their enthusiastic support has been invaluable. I love you guys.