For the eighth show in the Zeitgeist pantheon, and incidentally the last one I will ever create, is in part a tribute to the series that has so greatly changed the way I look at storytelling and proved to me that nothing is impossible, Firefly. Drawing from that show as inspiration, I set about working up an eighth series about a small ship with a maximum crew capacity of 12, and a ship with no external weapons. Continuing in the standing traditions, the eighth show was to be helmed by a male character, new to the Zeitgeist universe. I wanted a new starship show, but something small this time. I contemplated giving the ship weapons, but I preferred the challenge of writing a story on a small cargo ship with no weapons, shields, or armor, and all it had to its advantage was a coating keeping it from being picked up on long range sensors and fast engines. This meant several things had to work differently. There was no backup for them, they were civilians. They had to earn their own living, and they had little more than what they could carry. Also, with such a small crew, stories had to be much more personal to the cast, rather than some of the large sweeping stories we had done before.

Q: So this is really the last show?

A: Yes, I feel that I’ve explored everywhere I can in this universe with the eighth concept, and I think it’s reached the apex of where it can go. Eight series is enough. If I thought I could get more done, I might, but I’m now interested in completing these eight, and working on new universes to play with. If the right story comes along, movies for any of the shows are possible, but doubtful.

Q: You’ve told us a little bit about the concept, what are you doing for the eighth show to make it different from the other seven?

A: The story for the eighth series actually changed quite a bit. There was an earlier version, and as I touch on each of the sections in this interview, I’ll tell you what changed. In the original version of the story, I failed to give some of the characters more than one dimension. I had also brought in the cast in a staggered format, starting with five, and adding one in episode 13, 17, and 19. I had actually plotted all of season one and most of season two before I realized there were certain parts of the story that weren’t working. I considered going back and surgically removing the below average episodes, but I decided this would make things too disjointed, and instead started from scratch. Like the original show, the first and last shows share the distinction of being the only two that actually had to be completely redone from the ground up. This show also shares the distinction of being limited to 22 episode seasons instead of the 26 episode seasons shared by series 2 through 8. The reason for this is that ideas were being discussed for a series in a new continuity being developed with a co-writer. Seeing as I already had enough work with the eighth series as it was, I felt it would be easier on me having 28 less episodes to plan and write. It also forced me to be more picky about the stories I do. I suppose it’s appropriate that series 1 and 8 have a number of parallels, being the official bookends of the franchise. Though that honor was initially bestowed on series 5 before I got the ideas for 6, 7, and 8.

Q: Tell us about the cast.

A: Davis McKane was one of the five characters cast in the original version of the pilot. He’s the captain, and was made a bit older for the second version of the show. He’s still naïve, but more worldly than he was. He’s a young male wolf, and he was made twenty-four instead of nineteen to make his role a bit deeper, and give him more room to grow as a character. In the first version he didn’t know anything about running a ship, and the biggest problem with his character was that after he resolved the issue of his father’s research, he had no further reason to be out in space. As a child rather than a captain, he had purchased the ship just to get him where he was going, rather than it being his job. It left his character lacking a purpose after season 2’s plan, and that can’t happen with a show runner character. Another thing that was changed was that his mother and father were both given more detail to their stories, and his father’s character was changed substantially from the original version. As the captain, he now had both a job and a personal relationship to the ship and crew, which I think helped the story greatly.

Lucy McKane was named after Lucy Black from Jay Naylor’s “Better Days” comic. Partially inspired by this character, she is Davis’s brother. They mark the only time I have ever had siblings as regular characters on a series. He was given a sister both because brother-brother and sister-sister relationships are often cliché and he was supposed to take care of her in the original version which worked better with her as a little sister of sixteen than a brother. She was too one-dimensional in the first version, serving as a damsel in distress a lot of the time, and not having an official job on the ship. She often got in the way more than she helped. When reworking her character, she was also made proportionally older as Davis was, and given the joint job of pilot and first mate. In Firefly terms, she became an amalgamation of Wash and Zoe’s role. She was given a long pistol to her character, and basically served as Davis’s smartass sister. She was made to be more aware of her surroundings than Davis, often pointing out fairly obvious things that he misses, or warning him of obvious dangers.

Riley Carver probably went through the fewest changes from the first version to the second. His character was always intended to be the muscle of the show, in some cases the comedy relief. He was definitely the character with the most checkered background of the original five. The white tiger originally had a wife named Susanna Carver, who was a lioness with black hair, and a blue streak in the front. She was added to the original cast in episode 17 of version one, but as she as a scientist had little to do on a cargo ship as a regular, she was taken out and made a recurring guest in the new version. Riley was also given a brother named Malcolm, and Riley carries a quantum rifle.

Mallory also wasn’t really changed from one version to the next. She’s notable for having her back-story developed after her front story, which made some things not quite sync up. I had a number of arcs set up involving her and another character added to the show later that were to pay off at some point, but some episodes were plotted before the second character showed up, affecting how they should’ve reacted to each other and played off each other. Her back-story was developed during season 6 of Broken, where Mallory was established as a member of the Board of Directors for Iridescence Inc., an evil corporation on that show. She was notable for carrying the first obsidian energy blade. She was somewhat of a nemesis for Sayenne during season six, but about halfway through with her future role in mind, she separated from the Board of Directors and disappeared. Though Sayenne goes looking for her in season 7, she is nowhere to be seen until the eighth show starts, when you get to find out what happened to her. This time around, she is still serving as the ship’s mechanic, and I was able to instill her relationship with Sayenne and Auron in the pilot rather than after the show had already finished its first season. Some things I set up for her character which have become much more important to who she is were both her hesitance to pick up a Varish energy blade again, as well as her lacking the usual Esper powers save for telekinesis due to her exiting story on series 6. I also felt two psychics would be too hard to handle. She also hasn’t gotten an official full name yet, which is very uncommon for a regular character.

Auron Chambers not one of the original five. He was at first brought in during episode 13 which was about the middle of the season in the first version. Though the character showed he was a solid character, he was also back engineered a little. I decided during the run of the series to hook him up with Sayenne, and seeing how well that relationship worked I inserted a back-story episode during season 7 of Zeitgeist: Broken to establish his character more. He was intended to be the precursor to Kieran Reynold’s character on Zeitgeist: Independence, who was a member of the Homesteaders. Auron’s job was to show how they got started, and serve as their medic. When the series was reworked, he was brought on as already being a member of the crew in the pilot, and I kept his past relationship with Sayenne in mind this time. Auron is a red robin.

Sayenne Kristo has somehow managed to insert herself in not just one but two zeitgeist series as a regular for nearly their entire runs, something so far unheard of. She began as just a guest star for one episode of Zeitgeist: Broken, and by season two she was a recurring guest. By season 2.13, she was a regular character, quickly becoming almost the second show runner. Seasons 6 and 7 of Broken set up the background which would lead Sayenne to this show in time. The original version had Sayenne being preceded on the ship by a man named Kanin, looking for Varish Masters. By the end of the season, they had found an old Varish school that they planned to use for a future offensive. Sayenne was added in episodes 19 and 20, named “Twilight Dirge”, which eventually became the title and inspiration for the new pilot. In the new version, she is also brought on in the pilot, and the tension between her and Sayenne, as well as her relationship with Auron is played from the beginning, rather than inserted later. Sayenne continues the Esper arc on this series.

Honorable Mention Alyssa Lemarre was initially one of the original five regulars. She was a werehorse who was originally Davis and Lucy’s caretaker, and was to be the ship’s cook. In the original version, she often had little to do when she wasn’t cooking, as she had no real expertise or specialties outside of that. Davis and Lucy also had no need for a caretaker after season 1, and seeing no options for what to do with her character, her contract wasn’t renewed and she was written out of the second season. When the show was revamped, she was taken out of the opening line up, and Sayenne and Auron were inserted in her place. She remains on the show as a recurring guest star, but with a role more suited to her talents as the resident chef.

Q: What is the crew going to encounter out there?

A: You can expect to see the shadows, first hinted at in Zeitgeist: Broken. They were intended to resolve the arc on this show, rather than reach it’s completion on the other series. In season one you’ll see some of the life forms they employ to do their work. Season two is another matter.

You’ll also see several different factions of the Alliance, with most of them taking on the role of the antagonist in this show. Notable are Commander Bennett Paulson, who is looking for the Homesteaders, and Special Ops Officer Warren Avery, who is pursuing Riley to make him pay for his crimes.

You’ll also see a couple of competing ships, with various motivations, as well as a couple of troublemaking characters and a brand new villainous force making its first appearance

Q: Tell us about the ship itself.

A: The ship so far hasn’t been given a class name, but it’s three decks tall, and a small cargo ship. The first deck has the bridge, some storage lockers, and the shuttle. The bridge has only four consoles, not a lot of standing room in the front. There is an L-shaped stairwell leading down to deck 2, which has the six crew quarters and the medical bay and the galley. By the medical bay there are stairs down to the third deck, and stairs across the hall. On deck three, most of it is taken up by the cargo bay and the engine room, with two additional quarters consumed with bunks. Externally, the ship somewhat looks like a more streamlined version of Serenity from Firefly, with integrated engines on each side and glowing grilles to show the engines are powered up.

Q: What’s on the pipeline?

A: Well, so far season one is finished, season 2 looks to be adding about two new characters to the cast, and season two’s job is expansion, so it’ll be doing a lot of that. There are tentative plans for one of season one’s recurring guests to be added in season 4, and there is a possibility of a character from Zeitgeist: Allixis or Zeitgeist: Broken to guest star, but the right story would have to come along. It’s also highly unlikely it would be a full crossover, or more than a couple of episodes, but we’ll see, anything is possible. As for the next series, it’ll be a new universe, but many of the actors from Zeitgeist will be making appearances then.