I’m really interested in the Darkstar character. She’s the lead, she’s a villain (but she’s not really evil), and then suddenly she has to deal with, essentially, being a working mother…
JEFF: Yes, I loved coming up with Darkstar and writing her. I love writing kick-ass female characters. But what I really love about Darkstar is that while she’s tough and independent on the outside, there’s also a vulnerable side to her that she tries not to let anyone see. A side that actually needs a family in her life. It’s that multi-layered stuff I love writing and seeing Jourdan bring out in her performance.
JOURDAN: Darkstar is an incredible character to play. She has so many different layers and emotions, especially in this season. She had a hard childhood, where she had to grow up too fast. And, she made choices, many for self preservation and survival purposes. At this point in the story, and in her life, she’s dealing with people and situations that are FAR out of her comfort zone. New emotions and feelings that she’s never felt are coming up, and all of her discomfort and frustration with it plays out on screen. She’s learning a lot about herself, and it is so much fun to portray.
Is it hard to find the balance between making Darkstar a believable villain, but still making her likeable and relatable for the audience?
JEFF: That’s one thing I felt was very important from the very beginning. I wanted her to be a super-villain, but I also knew as the protagonist I needed the audience to empathize with her and root for her. It’s been fun finding that balance actually. And I think the key is making Darkstar real. People relating to why she does what she does and seeing the inner conflict within her. Yeah she’s a villain and she steals stuff and kicks ass. But she also has a softer side you’ll see on the few occasions she lets her guard down for a moment.
JOURDAN: It’s a VERY cool and exciting challenge for me as an actor to play a lovable villain. I think her inner good is what makes her bitchy, irritable personality easier to swallow. So far, from the audience feedback, it seems that they can tell Darkstar is struggling with her evil affiliations, and this struggle makes her relatable. Everybody struggles with their inner demons, and everybody has people in their lives that frustrate the hell out of them! What makes it even better is the fact that Captain Amazing’s care-free, happy personality is so polar opposite of Darkstar, and together they balance out the tone of each scene.
Let’s talk about Captain Amazing. Was he inspired by Captain Hammer from ‘Dr. Horrible’?
JEFF: One of the coolest compliments we get is when people compare the series to Dr. Horrible, which is one of my favorites. I love Joss Whedon. That being said, no I wasn’t thinking about Dr. Horrible at all when I wrote it, but I love the comparisons to it, because it’s so freakin’ good.
In the series, Captain Amazing is the perfect foil for Jessica. He’s kind of everything she’s not and he drives her crazy with his flirting and how he’s always joking around and is kinda full of himself. But there’s a lot of honesty and heart within him too. And she sees that, even though she won’t admit it.
What will his role in the show be going forwards?
MARK: We will get to see more aspects of Captain Amazing during this season. There is much we don’t know about him yet, and we’ll get to know him more as the season progresses.
JEFF: When the baby arrives, a big thing is going to be the two of them trying to take care of the baby together. Or more likely Captain Amazing going off to save the world all the time and leaving Jessica stuck with the kid. Which makes her very difficult for her to plan all her villainous crimes when she’s trying to take care of the baby!
What else can you tease about season 2? Will we learn more about Darkstar’s mysterious parentage?
JEFF: You won’t find out about Darkstar’s parents in season 2, but that is a very important part of the storyline in future seasons.
I also want to know more about the graphic novel! How do you even go about making one of those?
JEFF: I had a blast doing it. I’ve loved reading comics since I was a kid, so to actually get to make one myself was like the coolest thing ever. It was a totally new experience for me but an awesome one.
I had to find a penciler/inker, colorist, and letterer. I learned about this site called DigitalWebbing where writers can post that they’re looking for artists, etc. So I found my artist, colorist, and letterer through there. My artist Donny Gandakusuma is from Indonesia, as is my colorist Kefas Armando. My letterer MaGnUs is from Uruguay. So it was interesting to send the script to them, get pages back, send notes back and forth, until each page was what I was envisioning. It also let me tell more of the Super Knocked Up story.
The comic book has a bunch of stuff in it that happens before the events of season 1 of the web series.
What do you think the web series format allows storytellers to do that the network formula doesn’t?
MARK: I think it allows independent filmmakers to release their work on their own schedule. I think that’s important. It also allows for filmmakers to retain total control of their creations. For now, at least, until Hollywood invades the webseries world.
JOURDAN: There’s so many benefits to using the web as medium for displaying your writing/work, as opposed to a network or television. It takes years, and often times, really good contacts, to get work in front of a network for consideration. So, having the ability to post your work when you want is priceless. The most obvious downside to web, in comparison to TV, is it’s harder to get the eyeballs on your show! But, the way online entertainment is skyrocketing… more and more people will be looking for quality online, original content. Hopefully our show, and others like it will stand out.
JEFF: The web series format lets creators tell their story the way they feel is the best. They’re not confined by time or commercial breaks or having to do a set number of episodes. I can make every season however many episodes I feel is best to tell the story and each episode however long I need to. And that’s something you really only get with the web series format right now.
What other projects are you working on at the moment?
JEFF: We have two spinoff projects from Super Knocked Up. One is Super Mashed Up, a series of crossover episodes with other web series, where Darkstar and other characters from our show meet up with characters from other web series in comedic ways. They’re a ton of fun to do and great cross-promotional tools.
The other is Super Geeked Up, a live Google Hangout show Jourdan, Mark, and I do every Wednesday night at 11 p.m. EST. We talk about geeky stuff, answer fan questions, and have a web series guest on every week. It’s an amazing way for us to connect and inteact with the fans and again cross-promote with other web series. I’m all about coming up with fun and cool ways to cross-promote with other series.
The web series community is the most amazing and supportive community I’ve ever been a part of and we all need to help each other.
Thanks to Jeff Burns, Jourdan Gibson and Mark Pezzula for talking to Hypable about Super Knocked Up! Check out the most recent episode of season 2 below:
Make sure you follow the @SuperKnockedUp Twitter for all the latest updates about the series, and subscribe to their YouTube Channel.
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