Audio Fiction Sunday 5th December 2021

Personal Highlights

This Planet Needs a Name: 1.06 – Until We’ve Discovered Joy. (Note: I play Nessa in This Planet Needs a Name.) This Planet Needs a Name is always so delightful, even though episodes still deal with difficult subjects; there are so many wonderful moments between the characters, and the lives they are building with each other, as well as the planet and structures they’re creating for others. As always, there’s a big emphasis on relationships, and the different kinds of relationships and friendships that have formed or are forming in this group of terraformers on their new planet – one of which, as we see in this episode, is more unconventional! The story has gradually shown us that this planet hides many secrets, and this episode contains a big one in particular, and a shocking cliffhanger to end the season! 

Diary of a Space Archivist: S03 E03 – Deviation. I always enjoy when there’s a focus on CAL, Sam’s old AI, as there’s a lot about his past that we don’t know about. There’s a reminder in this episode that a lot of his old memories, from way back before he met Sam, have been redacted, and the mystery that’s still around this. There is, however, some context as to why these memories might’ve been redacted, during a surprising conversation.

Lost Terminal: 6.9 – We are nearly home. In true Seth style, he doesn’t talk about the Big Thing that happened in the previous episode until almost halfway through this week’s episode. He presents LUNA’s predicament calmly and rationally, and it’s interesting that he feels confident enough to present an ‘oral history’ of Earth to her. The theme of having a purpose is a constantly recurring one in the show, it’s something we’ve seen Seth act on time and time again in different ways, always trying to help others – sometimes to his own detriment – and I’m glad that there are plans to give Antarctica a purpose on the ship’s return to Svalbard. Seth has more thoughts about his relationship with the human crew of the ship at the end of the episode, and even though he’s still a little unsure, it’s good to see the distrust that was seeded in him has waned.

SHIFTS: S2 E03 – I’ve Come to Talk With You Again. Right from the start of this season, the unknown and newness from the first season have been replaced with familiarity and knowledge – though Dahlia still isn’t completely sure how to escape the game she’s in. She now understands enough about her surroundings to be able to change certain things, and to realise that others are actually a threat.

InCo: S3 Episode 19 – Think. Nova’s in full-on sleep with one eye open mode, and rightly so. The determination is very much still there, but gone is the self-assuredness we’ve seen in the most recent episodes; but I’m glad she has one person she can trust and confide in, at least. It’s not surprising that she’s acting rashly, and this shows a fragility to her, as well as a dependence on otters, that she’s always been so keen to hide in the past. It’s definitely an unexpected spanner in the works, considering what she’s been plotting.

Apollyon: S1 Episode 3 – Quarantine. It’s such a heartbreaking episode, and an unfortunately too-similar situation for many in the present day. It’s such a sad realisation that, even with Theo’s role in working to cure the virus the world is still trying to recover from, right now she’s just as powerless as everyone else in stopping its effects on those close to her. It looks like there’s more going on that what we and Theo were initially made to believe, and I’m curious to find out what really happened.

Trailers and Prologues

The Oracle of Dusk released a trailer for its upcoming fifth season. It’s a powerful preview of a new story and a new client, and the weight it imposes on Delphi. The season is due to launch on December 14th.

Bonus Episodes

Seen and Not Heard released a bonus Chanukah episode. Much like the rest of the series, there’s some impressive sound design – in particular at the beginning and the end of the episode, as there’s a focus on David’s OCD. It’s wonderful catching up with Bet again, and to see her surrounded by people who care for her, but I just really want to give David a hug!

Returns

I was delighted to see the return of Midnight Burger, and the ‘what the hell is going on’ season one recap at the top of the show is a ride in itself. The introduction of a guest character allows more questions to be asked about the nature of the diner, as well as a certain amount of consolidation and reminders about its extra-dimensional travelling. There’s also a very strange aspect to Drucilla’s existence, which the employees of the diner set about trying to understand.

Excuse me, what? This second season of Where the Stars Fell kicks off with some revelations (no, I do not apologise for the pun), that completely throws the entire story on its head. It answers one big question in particular about Ed, but the answer was not even remotely close to what I was expecting. And oh boy, does this episode raise a whole bunch of other questions. I’m very much looking forward to the rest of the season!

Mermaid anthology series Come On In, The Water’s Fine returned for its third season, with a story titled Mermaid in the Moon. It’s a very sweet series of letters between a young child on Earth, and a mermaid who travels among the stars, who find friendship and kindness in each other.

The Way We Haunt Now returned for its second season, and hey ghosts? Please let Eulalie get her fancy soup, she deserves it. It’s only been a few weeks since the events of the end of season one, and Eulalie has been having a time of it, constantly haunted by random ghosts everywhere she goes. The episode opens with her at her wits’ end, understandably, after having come across yet another ghost – this time, in her closet. Of course, with this story, there are two sides, and the ghosts of season one have a dilemma of their own.