'I Heart Huckabees' Crew Developing Sci-Fi Comedy Series

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd be typing ... The minds behind the "existential comedy" I Heart Huckabees are producing a new science fiction comedy series for Syfy.

Huckabees writer-director David O. Russell is joining his visual effects supervisor, Russell Barrett, to develop a show called Outer Space Astronauts, about a group of misfit space explorers on a star trek aboard the O.S.S. Oklahoma. The show combines live-action scenes with 2D and 3D animation. Barrett reportedly shot and cut the series out of his home studio, enlisting friends and neighbors as actors. The folks over at SyFy think that's pretty cool:

"Syfy fans have never seen animation quite like this before," said Syfy exec Mark Stern. "Out of the basement and mind of show creator, Russell Barrett, he's delivered a funny and fresh take on the future of underground and homegrown animation today."

Outer Space Astronauts debuts Dec. 8, right before the season finale of Scare Tactics. Head after the jump to read the show's wacky character descriptions from Syfy.

Meet the series characters:

Captain Bruce Ripley (Russell Barrett) is the worst captain in the fleet with the best reputation. He's uninterested, bored and sloppy, yet manages to always get the job done.

Commander Dick Amos (Adam Clinton) should be the leader of the ship since he holds the most credentials than anyone, but even with his top performance record, Dick is always stuck behind the eight ball.

Lieutenant Sunny Hunkle (Stephanie Clinton) With a name that equally matches her 'sunny' disposition, the sweetest girl in the galaxy gets along with everyone. She doesn't mind that her 'secret relationship' with Dick should remain a secret, she's cool, calm and easy going.

Intern Jimmy Peck (Peter Burns) has been Captain Ripley's right-hand man since their college days. A bit simple-minded, or just eternally naïve, Jimmy has a way of coming through just when you thought he was completely useless.

Pilot Johnny Boothe (Benjamin Nurick) shouldn't be flying or driving anything as he holds the most citations for reckless piloting out of anyone (a record he states proudly!). Boothe's disregard for safety and his addiction to speed however has saved many a day on board the O.S.S. Oklahoma.

Kyle 14 (voice: Jay Wendorff) is one of the first artificial humans to be given a post on an OSA ship. He's the most state-of-the-art android in existence and "waaaay better than the Kyle 13 model."

Chief Weapons Officer Andy Matheson (Laura Valdivia) has saved the life of every crewman on the ship more times than they can count. His enormous stature and history of big time whuppin' sometimes intimidates his fellow crewman except for Brimley.

Weapons Officer Chad Brimley (Tony Bravo) likes to find other's weak spots and poke at it with a stick. He has excellent skills, and is highly intelligent in weapons development and ammunition science, but his motivation for work isn't always top notch.

Operations Officer Donna Kennedy (Dana Kirk) and technology don't mix. She tries in vain to hide her 'fear of all things that plug in and beep' from the crew, but on a ship which functions solely from the latest technology, her technophobia gets the best of her.

Chief Mechanic Pinto (Steve Millunzi) is a human monkey wrench. If something is broken, Pinto can fix it – which is great, because things tend to break quite frequently!

Ka'ak (Jacey Margolis) is from another planet and skilled in all areas of space travel. Despite her super-model looks, her mangled use of English is a good tip-off to her alien roots; not to mention her blood-red skin!