Series 1 Pilot
Rockets and Ricochet episode 01
IT’S PLAYTIME…
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Some folding and gluing of small parts required.
MATCHBOX SPACESHIP BUILD - MK2 FIGHTER
A recycled cardboard, stop motion puppet science fiction comedy noir web series in papercraft and puppet animation.
Inspiration
Rockets and Ricochet was born out of an epic covid crafternoon with the kids. It’s a soapy, 70’s B, cop show in space, somewhere between Sapphire and Steel and the X-files, with Buck Rogers, Sean Connery’s Outland and The Day of The Triffids, all woven into a quilt…
Wildly playful and desperately nostalgic, it’s a kitsch romp through the history of sci fi and a heartfelt tribute to old school practical vfx filmmaking. At once an irreverent roast and a deeply felt homage to one of the most inspiring, thought provoking genres in cinema.
Plot Outline
It’s the year 2551. Space cops patrol the Asteroid Belt. Their job is to defend the supply lines to Earth, while loosing as few people as possible. Needless to say things aren’t going so well..
Ricky's third partner this month has just been splattered and as he sets out on a new mission, he can’t help but dread having that awkward gettin’ to know ya chat with another doomed individual..
He is assigned a rescue mission in the outer quadrant, and manages to get himself into the path of a large asteroid with the help of the absolute anarchist that is the ship's computer.
Agent Roxy Ricochet makes her dramatic entrance and saves Ricky’s life, though he will never ever admit it. Ricky tows the derelict mining shuttle back to the mothership and the crew are pronounced dead on arrival.
The mission is completed, and also an abject failure.
…Of policy more than anything else, but at least the salvage money will be enough to buy Ricky a new guitar.
Characters
Ricky Rockets
An alpha manchild and an emotional basketcase - His partners keep getting killed and he has trouble forming lasting relationships as a result. Gruff and filterless but generally well meaning. Blithely unaware that most of what he says is inappropriate and justifiably a bit anxious about safety protocols. Ricky is literally always right but feels unheard and dismissed. If only they had listened to him, they would still be alive! Ricky’s emo backstory is that he is the clone of a dead NASA astronaut from 500 years ago who was brought up as an orphan on mars.
Roxy Ricochet
On the run from a religious cult and hiding her true identity as a cyborg femme bot, Roxy is a seemingly effortless white hat hacker.. She was really hoping to coast for a bit on this assignment, but after meeting Ricky, it appears that as usual, she’ll end up with the majority of the mental load. Assertive, sassy and with a keen sense of social justice, her tinder dry wit and wildly evasive demeanor kick in when pressed on her personal life. She is always on the lookout for an opportunity to roast a douchebag.
The Computer
Always the anarchist, the computer lives to mess with peoples heads. Refusing to answer questions, slamming bulkhead doors in peoples faces and changing their relationship status on social media without permission are all fair game. Because she finds it amusing.. Shes just a bit of a psychopath like that..
The Captain
A corporate lapdog, (played by 70’s Luke Skywalker) too stupid to be aware that he is technically the villain.. Evading civil responsibility and being a sycophant to power, the captain does as little as possible and makes it seem important. He will of course get everyone killed because someone, somewhere has nude pics of him as leverage...
The Lieutentant
A gender fluid crewmate (also played by 70’s Luke Skywalker) operating the comms and acting as the warm human heart of the otherwise cold dead ship.
Doctor Vasquez
Dr Vasquez Is the smartest person in every room. (played by 70’s Princess Leia)
She has three degrees in advanced space psychology specializing in acute, isolation induced, space narcissism. She is far and away the smartest and most capable human onboard.
Bentley The Robot
Bentley is direct, honest and appears to be a refreshing voice of logic and reason. He is currently in therapy because he feels so very misunderstood and frankly, is a bit of a victim.
Nice guy to have around to lean on or throw in front a bus if you need a shield, but still not sure if hes secretly an evil robot genius and all this might actually be his master plan to destroy the earth.. We’ll just have to see how that pans out.
