SLINGERS from Mike Atherton on Vimeo.

I first met Mike Atherton (aka Sizemore) at a Tuttle event a few years back. I’d been following him online for a while and was interested to hear what he had to say about the future of voice. He let slip that he was trying to develop a Sci Fi series – I’m ashamed to say I ignored him; everyone is working on a sci fi show.

Turns out, he has been working on a sci fi show.  It’s called “Slingers” and he has been steadily teasing the Internet with the odd screenshot, a behind the scenes video and some concept artwork. For the last few months, he and Sleepydog have been working on a sizzle. A two and a half minute promo intended to pitch the show to TV executives.

Using my ninja-like skill and cunning, I managed to steal Mike’s iPhone long enough to watch the promo in its entirety.

What Is It Like?

It’s unfair to review anything from only seeing a 180 second preview. But life’s unfair, so let’s get on with it…

Jean-Luc Godard said all he needed to make a move was “a girl and a gun.” Slingers adds a stolen spaceship and a deadly robot called Junior. Oh, and the gun has a holographic interface. The girl, as far as I could tell, remains the same.

Set a few hundred years hence, our heroes travel through space pulling of heists in a post space-war 2263.

Instant comparisons spring to mind of Firefly and Ocean’s Eleven.  But to say this is merely a British take on an American idea is a bit like saying Budvar is anything like Budweiser. Both are beers – but one, as the philosophers say – is like making love in a canoe.  Slingers is the real deal.

It’s less ponderous than the much missed Defying Gravity without drawing on the sometimes-crass humour of Red Dwarf.

Indeed, some of the concepts in the demo seem to have dripped off of Douglas Adams’ pen; such as a gun which won’t fire if it thinks your stress levels are too high.

The gravelled tones of Sean Pertwee add a frisson of menace and are sure to draw in the female audience as much as a scantily clad Haruka Abe will attract the men.

This demo should play at every Sci-Fi convention going – there is more spice in Slingers’ sizzle than I’ve seen in any preview reel.

Of course, if it does get picked up, Fox will cancel it after 5 episodes. But I guarantee they’ll be the best five episodes you’ll see all year.

Tell your friends, buy the action figures and write to the TV executives – the campaign to Save Slingers starts here!