El SID gets lost in space

Macromedia Flash is fast becoming the DVD standard of the Web.

Any science fiction or fantasy chappie (or chapess) who wants to launch some cartoon or streaming-multimedia extravaganza on an unsuspecting public seems to be getting jiggy with this browser plug-in.

Case in point is creator Jim Matison's new web-only cartoon series called Space is Dum (or SID, for short). This animated SF features a character called Dude, the hapless operator of a one-man space station.

It's all rather Ren and Stimpy-like in its MTV trendy pretensions, and you can just hear its creator's mind whirring in the background ('think South Park, think South Park, please pick me for the next happening TV series - I want money, I want a porche, I want girls').

Anyway, Dude is joined by a space eel called Larry, and in the voice of the series' narrator "together these two loners bust their balls to get what they want. They construct complicated plans that sometimes backfire and sometimes (unbelievably) work."

The last episode we saw was number three, where the not-so dynamic due are scheming to get a holiday from the orbital mundanity of running a space station in the 23rd century (hey, the DS9 team managed it. Why can't they?)

The URL of this interesting new 'toon is over at the WildBrain site.

If you haven't done so already, make sure your browser can support Flash/Shockwave, by downloading a free player from over here.