Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart

Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart
Creator	Craig Black
Original work	Series of stories (2015)
Literature
Short stories	List of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart episodes
Comics	SPCM Comics
Films and television
Television series	Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart (animated series)

Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart is a Scottish-American series of stories created by Craig Black. It is the flagship series of the Tails from the Federation collection of space opera/science fantasy titles, produced by ColorWorld Productions.

It centers around a Japanese raccoon, the titular Captain MacTaggart, and her voyages on the Stellar Typhoon.

History

Early history and fan-fiction

Many elements of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart began their lives as part of a series of fan-fiction stories created by Craig Black, based on the British hospital radio series Space Gypsy. In all, Black wrote five stories in the series: Project Kumo; Curse Of The Chrome Paw; Wearing Flowers In Your Fur; Kyoko The Other Woman; and Return Of The Chrome Paw.

Many of the elements Black added to the Space Gypsy universe were later carried over into MacTaggart, and there are some drastic differences between the two versions. The most notable of these differences is in Jaws MacTaggart herself. Jaws was originally a much more villainous character, out to capture (and later destroy) the Space Gypsy herself, Gemma Mildury.

These stories gained a small, yet loyal, following, in the form of Jake Elmer, a fellow fan of Space Gypsy. Elmer became a major player in the creation of the stories, making creative suggestions and even producing artwork.

C&D and integration

Black's Space Gypsy stories soon came to the attention of some of the small crew behind the original series. Their reactions to this take on their work were generally neutral, but Black was asked to try and shed off the dark edge he'd given to the stories. This put paid to certain ideas Black had for future stories, which were luckily reinstated during the development of MacTaggart

Sadly, even Black's efforts to tone things down weren't enough, and things came to a head in July 2015, when Black was issued a cease-and-desist order from Derwent Valley Productions, the producers of Space Gypsy. This effectively put his fan-fiction to an abrupt end, halfway through publication of Return Of The Chrome Paw, which he was forced to remove (Kyoko The Other Woman was also removed, of Black's own accord). However, the other three stories can still be found on Black's deviantART page.

Around the same time, though, he had coming up with ideas for a spin-off from his fan-fiction, focusing entirely on Jaws MacTaggart. Due to the C&D, he decided to retool his idea into an entirely original project. He transplanted most of his original additions to the Space Gypsy universe over to this new series, which soon gained the title of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart.

He soon started a partnership with cartoonist and musician, Jacob "Jake" Elmer, who was also a Space Gypsy fan. Black would write the stories and Elmer would illustrate them. He still plays an important role to the series.

Jordann Edwards, best known for creating The Dynamite Twins and Friends, discovered what was being developed through Jake Elmer, who also had a hand in the project. Almost immediately, Edwards was on board, and he integrated it as part of the recently created Transmedia Universe, alongside his own stories, and those created by many of his friends/creative partners.

Only a few months after the C&D, the first "episode" of the new series was released on October 2nd, 2015. Titled The Jolly Roger Of The Stars, it revamped the story of Jaws MacTaggart in a much more positive-if a bit grisly-light.

During the time the first few "episodes" were released, Elizabeth Mogan, one of Edwards' closest friends, after being introduced to Black's stories, decided to create her own space opera title, Ghosts of Earth, which would eventually be the first instance of an expansion beyond MacTaggart.

Expansion to other media

As the story is being developed, Jordann Edwards has had plans to take things further - case in point, as he read the first "episodes", he'd imagine it as an animated series. He plans to work with the creator in working out deals in co-producing a series on YouTube, provided that a strong fanbase is in place.

Animated series

Main article: Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart (animated series)

An animated web series is in development for YouTube. It is still very early in stages.

Future

See also: Tails from the Federation

As MacTaggart becomes part of ColorWorld, Black and Edwards have both been discussing plans on where to take the series after writing the first "episodes". Black has already planned out enough stories for a further two series of thirteen episodes each, with a view to eventually bringing the series total up to the traditional standard of 65 episodes. Edwards has also been mooting the idea of a crossover episode somewhere within that.

In the short run, Black has been considering the possibilities of writing additional material based around the Captain MacTaggart universe, to flesh it out and provide a great deal more scope. However, with his own commitments to the actual series (as well as the expectation of showrunning the web series), the most likely course of action would be for Black to delegate much of this work to certain people, in a similar vein to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. For instance, in the case of Bloody Cutlass, he has entrusted those particular stories to the hands of Edwards and Mogan.

Tails from the Federation

Tails from the Federation is the name of an collection of space opera stories, anchored by MacTaggart. It is considered to be similar to an "expanded universe", launched by Black, Edwards, and Mogan.

Bloody Cutlass

Bloody Cutlass is a potential spin-off focusing on the character of Darkblade reuniting with a few old pirate rivals-turned-friends to do what they call "pirate things".

Zander Dodgers

Zander Dodgers is a developing film that focuses on a dog who gets sent to the future. Along the way, he runs into a young Keiko MacTaggart (before she became Jaws) on a quest for something powerful.

Ghosts of Earth

Taking place before the events of MacTaggart, the premise of Ghosts is a cat on a voyage back home on Earth, while searching for answers. Elements of Ghosts will be apparent in other series.

Style and themes

Due to the creative direction guided by Craig Black, this series is stylistically different from its counterparts in the Universe - for instance, the musical influences are more based on old-school rock tunes. It also largely shies away from pop culture slants, which is a staple of Edwards' The Dynamite Twins and Friends, and focuses more on the integrity of the characters.

There is a noted anime edge to the series, thanks in no small part to Black's inspirations (see below), and he admits that the direction he wanted to take the series was "What 'Star Wars' would have been like if it'd been directed by Hayao Miyazaki". This is apparent in the stories carrying many themes that are also apparent in Miyazaki's work, such as transitions through a stage in life (Alasdair's recruitment and subsequent integration into the crew of the Stellar Typhoon), the negativity of war (Leslie being a former veteran of the Sorados Civil War), environmentalism (Alasdair's hidden fondness for the beauty of the natural world) and strong female characters (many of the commanding characters in the series are female, such as Jaws herself; however, Black confesses that this particular theme was carried over from Space Gypsy, which followed a similar character pattern).

Characters

Main Protagonists

• Jaws MacTaggart: The main protagonist of the series, and the Captain of the pirate cruiser Stellar Typhoon. Born Keiko Kaizoku, Jaws is a raccoon, who sports an eyepatch and a robotic replacement for her right arm. Formerly of the Stellar Federation, she now fights against them after her dismissal for a past incident. She speaks with a Japanese accent, with a slight Scottish intonation.
• Leslie Kennedy: Jaws' first mate. Leslie was born on the planet Eileandu, in the Sorados Cluster. Thus she was caught up in the Sorados Civil War, and in fact is a veteran of that conflict. She has her own score to settle with the Stellar Federation, as her mother Argyll was a casualty in their attempt to end the War. Leslie is a red squirrel, and speaks with an Aberdonian-Scottish accent.
• Blackmask: Jaws' second mate and Weapons Expert. Rather laid back and perverse at times, Blackmask was born on Earth, where she grew up in an atmosphere of gang warfare. Named for the raccoon-like mask across her face, Blackmask is a yellow cat, who speaks with an American accent, with a slight urban dialect.
• Kyoko Mori: The Chief Engineer onboard the Stellar Typhoon. Kyoko also happens to be Jaws' niece. She's kept busy maintaining the cruiser's systems, and is sometimes called upon to invent gadgets for the crew to use against Jaws' enemies. Very shy and sweetly spoken, Kyoko develops feelings of love towards Alasdair over the course of the series. Like Jaws, Kyoko is a raccoon, and speaks with a Japanese accent.
• Alasdair Geddes: The newest recruit onboard the Stellar Typhoon, and the audience surrogate for the series. A gypsy who's had his wings clipped, Alasdair acts as an Assistant to Kyoko Mori, and their growing relationship forms a major component of the story. Alasdair is a raccoon, and speaks with a Scottish accent "so thick you could cut it with a knife".

Main Antagonists

Stellar Federation

• Commander Barratt: The man most frequently sent by the Federation to deal with Jaws, having been her former superior in the Stellar Federation Military Police. Needless to say, he constantly fails at this task, but is always able to persuade the Federation to give him another chance. He acknowledges the crew of the Stellar Typhoon as worthy opponents, and a good match. Commander Barratt is a grey wolf, and speaks with a notable Canadian accent.
• Captain Mandarin: The latest in a long string of Commander Barratt's assistants; the person who does all the dirty work. Despite being a high ranking Federation officer, Mandarin doesn't have much say in what goes on; Barratt always dishes out his own orders. However, Mandarin is happy to accept the blame when things do inevitably go wrong. Mandarin is a red fox, and speaks with a thick Geordie accent.
• Lieutenant McMurdo: Another of Commander Barratt's subordinates. Though she's ostensibly a main character, McMurdo does very little of importance in the series. Her main duties are limited to carrying out her superiors' orders, and reporting on their latest failures. Lieutenant McMurdo is a red fox, but with a genetic mutation which makes her fur a sandy yellow colour. She speaks with a light Scottish accent.

Midori Empire

• Princess Midori: The leader and heiress to the throne of the Midori Empire. Known as the Green Fox by her enemies, Midori is said to have been responsible for the dismissal of Jaws MacTaggart, who has sought revenge against her ever since. It should be noted that despite her moniker, Princess Midori is actually a red fox.
• Numbers: An army of elite soldiers working under Princess Midori. They have been conditioned to show complete devotion to the Princess, and the mere thought of rebellion is enough to make any of them spit. Their background isn't known, but given that both currently known Numbers-86 and 88-speak with Cockney accents, they can be assumed to be working class civilians indoctrinated into Midori's service.

Other

• Captain Darkblade: Another space pirate. Darkblade has his heart set on Jaws, not caring that she's married, or that she wouldn't like him even if she wasn't. However, Darkblade misinterprets her brushing off as simply playing hard to get. He is an Alsatian, and speaks with a vicious Orcadian accent. When he's not out in his cruiser, the Bloody Cutlass, Darkblade resides somewhere in the pirate controlled Herfang Nebula.

Episodes

Main article: List of Space Pirate Captain MacTaggart episodes

Influences

There have been numerous influences for the development of the series. How it was influenced was contributed by the creative team.

• Craig Black was influenced by the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the works of Gerry Anderson, and the British radio series The Space Gypsy Adventures. He also added a lot of Japanese influence, citing the works of Hayao Miyazaki and Leiji Matsumoto, in addition to Go Nagai's X-Bomber (released in Britain as Star Fleet).
• Jordann Edwards, as the series was in development, brought some of the influence for his own series (namely his love for Japanese culture, and his affinity for urban music) as well as his brand of comedy, which is prominent in his comic series The Dynamite Twins and Friends. Once he discovered the series, he pointed out that it had the scope of Star Wars, mixed with Guardians of the Galaxy, Futurama, and Tripping the Rift, in terms of humour.
• Jake Elmer contributed to the look of the characters through his own artwork, which was partially influenced by that of Mark Smith, the artist for Space Gypsy and cartoonist for the "Transmission" webcomic. This in turn had influences of both The Raccoons and the works of Cosgrove Hall. Jake also plans on writing a theme song, for the series. He states the song will be influenced by his love of Punk Rock music.
• Elizabeth Mogan shares her mutual love of Doctor Who, Japanese anime (including Miyazaki) and the furry fandom, as she also applies that to her Ghosts of Earth concept.

External Links

• Facebook page
• Twitter page
• Tumblr page
• TV Tropes page
• WikiFur entry

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