Erstellt am: 18. 5. 2012 - 14:37 Uhr
The Space Zeppelin: A Space Opera (Episode II)
This bilingual radio-play premiered on FM4's Salon Helga Friday the 13th of April - see here. Episode II is Friday the 18th of May (today), between 20.15-21.30.
Christoph Sepin, 2012
If you're just walking in now, some of this may seem a bit confusing. I apologize for that. As a cynical gambit to ensure that my Space Zeppelin series took off, I intentionally ended last month's first episode at a moment where the fate of everyone of the characters was uncertain.
Perhaps our heroes were all dead, and the ashy remains of their bodies spread out across the endless vacuum of space. Perhaps all reason to hope had well and truly faded. Or perhaps this was simply a tacky example of a "Cliffhanger" plot device, done for the sole intention of blackmailing you into tuning in this week for Episode II.
Either way, it has been nearly a month since the first episode broadcast, so you could be forgiven for not necessarily remembering every detail of the plot until now. Therefore, I have decided to provide you with a detailed synopsis. You're welcome.
Christoph Sepin, 2012
Right now, in a parallel universe...
Johnny Bliss and the Space Zeppelin, Episode II
As you can imagine from the title, a Zeppelin which flies through Space features prominently in the series. The crew accompanying the Zeppelin on its virgin voyage is chiefly composed of three guys. These are Johnny aka Captain Bliss; Krolli aka the Chief Engineer and Open Sourcerer, who designed the whole technology; and Flukas, who, er, presses buttons.
Oh yeah. There is also HAL, who not only is the voice of the ship's Computer, but he also just so happens to be one of the finest examples of artificial intelligence (AI) in the known universe.
Meanwhile, the technology in question is an engine that runs entirely on free and renewable energy - namely the more esoteric spiritual elements of Love, Truth, and Free Expression. This "fuel" is collected by the Captain (yours truly) in the form of audio interviews, which are then loaded on board the ship and then extracted.
* - "P O" meaning "piss off"
So in theory, as long as the crew can find honest and free people to speak truth to them, they never have to purchase any sort of fuel again. As you can imagine, this sort of royally Ps capitalists in the fuel industry O*.
* - Evil Intergalactic Empire, this is everyone. Everyone, this is the Evil Intergalactic Empire. Pleased to meet you. Likewise.
Everybody, please meet the Evil Empire*. They will be rather villainous for the remainder of the programming. See, they saw the threat that this new quantum physics-based technology could pose to their profit margins.
They also saw the potential for profit, if they could take this technology and control it; industrialize Love, Truth, and Free Expression, and voila! They run the marketplace. And the entire Solarheizungssystem too.
So they set a bounty of several billion Solar (the intergalactic currency) on the heads of the entire crew of the Space Zeppelin, attracting all manner of bounty hunter from around the local universe. Whether the crew was dead or alive didn't matter so much; all that mattered to the Empire was that they control both the ship and the blueprints for the technology itself.
Unbeknownst to Johnny, Krolli, &co. the Empire set an ambush for the crew on the occupied moon of Telavenus. Out of nowhere, dozens of cockney-sounding Empire Stormtroopers came out with lasers blazing.
Right when things looked like they were getting drastic, a mysterious young samurai woman named Talina came down from the heavens and began to slaughter the Empire's goons like so many flies with a swatter.
* - Whether this was a testament to her amazing powers of coercion, or to Captain Bliss being a tosser who thinks with his cock instead of his brain, is anyone's guess...
After rescuing the crew, she boarded the ship and warned them about the bounty out on their heads. At some point, without it ever getting really talked about, she managed to become an accepted part of the crew.*
Christoph Sepin, 2012
Anyway, toward the end of the episode, the ship was firing through an asteroid belt, when they were suddenly accosted by a space pirate named Johnny Jackal der Blonde. It appeared Talina was right!
Er, wait, no. Johnny Jackal didn't know anything about the bounty on the Space Zeppelin and its crew. He was simply Talina's jealous ex-boyfriend. He wasn't over the relationship. That was why he showed up: he wanted Talina back, so that they could continue to "bounty hunt" together.
The problem with a notorious psychopath like Johnny Jackal der Blonde, is he doesn't really know how to take "no" for an answer. If he can't get what he wants, then he sort of has a fit. So began the massive space battle between the two ships, which concluded Episode I.
"Computer?" a terrified Captain Bliss demanded.
"What is the most powerful weapon that we have?"
"We have the Love Accelerator 3000. It's quite destructive,"
answered HAL calmly.
"Des is ka guade Idee," warned Krolli, preaching to deaf ears. "Lass uns bitte etwas anders probieren".
"Fire the Love Accelerator 3000!" Captain Bliss ordered.
"Johnny, nein!" shrieked Krolli, but far too late. There was a loud blast of energy firing as the weapon went off, followed by absolute silence. And then the episode ended.
Clemens Haipl, 2012
Episode II Credits
Cast of Characters (in order of appearance):
Johnny Bliss - himself
Johnny Jackal der Blonde - Hannes Duscher
HAL The Computer - Hal Rock
Krolli van Krolli - Roland Gratzer
Talina - Conny Lee
Flukas - Lukas Tagwerker
The Sepix (Interview; Eve Online)
A bunch of random people (Interview; Vaduz, Liechtenstein)
Karl Schwärzler (Interview; Rent-A-Village by Xnet, Liechtenstein)
Fleet Commander Seven - Joe Joe Bailey
Lasek - Eva Brunner
Ensign - DJ Beware
Ensign Beatbox-Stunt Double - Trishes Jackson
Crepuscular Computer Voice - Robin Lee
Commander Joe - Joe Remick
Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash
Script/Direction: Johnny Bliss
Production: Sebastian Schlachter, Johnny Bliss & Christoph Weiss
Post-Production (Editing): Johnny Bliss & Sebastian Schlachter
Original Soundtrack: Christoph 'Burst Up' Weiss (Schönheitsfehler)
Original Artwork: Christoph Sepin (Quiz3000) & Clemens Haipl (Projekt X)
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