• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Best audio drama?

Captain_Koloth

Commander
Red Shirt
Have some long drives coming up so thought I'd give these a try but never delved into this world. Which ones are considered among the better ones?
 
I have only listened to a few. I very much like Star Trek: Outpost. However, I wouldn't listen to more than 3 or 4 episodes in a row.

Here is my list of Audio Dramas, including links to where you can listen to them or download. They are not all available for download:

http://startrekreviewed.blogspot.com/2009/06/247.html

Star Trek Unity (US) is good, but there are only 2 episodes.

If you want a to download Star Trek: Defiant, contact me by PM or e-mail and include a promise to not post the link in any public place. The person who uploaded them did so only when promised that I would NOT publish the link, but only pass it along privately.
 
I am partial to Star Trek: Excelsior (Full disclosure: I am listed as co-producer). We have several season's worth of episodes to consider. The first three seasons concentrated on a single very large story arc, while the current season is more devoted to stand-alone stories and is probably a good place to start. Enjoy!
 
I haven't listened to it, but Excelsior does have downloads, which is a good thing for traveling (or doing exercises).
 
Most people would be shocked at how much Fan Trek I list which I have never watched or listened to. I do keep the list first and foremost to serve MYSELF because I do like to watch and listen to these creations. I don't know which audio drama I will listen to next, but I'm working my way through Star Trek: Defiant, and I was indeed thinking about downloading your series to have it in reserve.

The fact is that the stuff I'm most likely to watch or listen to is the stuff that is so badly organized I can't list it without viewing it myself. Strangely, bad organization is not always an indication of a bad film. For the most part, the audio dramas are better organized than the film series. I have no idea why.
 
Most people would be shocked at how much Fan Trek I list which I have never watched or listened to. I do keep the list first and foremost to serve MYSELF because I do like to watch and listen to these creations. I don't know which audio drama I will listen to next, but I'm working my way through Star Trek: Defiant, and I was indeed thinking about downloading your series to have it in reserve.

The fact is that the stuff I'm most likely to watch or listen to is the stuff that is so badly organized I can't list it without viewing it myself. Strangely, bad organization is not always an indication of a bad film. For the most part, the audio dramas are better organized than the film series. I have no idea why.

Interesting insight. It may just be the nature of the beast. I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about how difficult it would be to put together a video production. (In fact, at one time we thought we had a partner that would produce a limited motion animation of one of our episodes, but we just couldn't make it work.)

My hat is certainly off to everyone who can release a complete episode and I admire anyone who's willing to try, even if the results aren't great or fail altogether. It takes a lot of courage to try.

Audio productions are much less centralized in terms of production, but are often (if not always) the result of one person's (or a very small group of people's) vision. That may be part of the reason for what you're describing.
 
I have recently listened to the entire series of Star Trek: Outpost by Giant Gnome Productions, and I would heartily recommend it. Currently at 67 episodes and counting, the series takes Star Trek in a more mundane (in a good way!) direction in the expansiveness of the audio drama medium, and you as listener get to know the characters driving the plots - between the events of high drama, of course. This provides a very rewarding experience.

The production values are professional and slick - except for the odd bit part or the odd musical interlude that doesn't mesh exactly with the dramatic tension of the moment - but for the most part, what they have achieved with this series is pretty amazing. It far exceeds expectations of fan production with writing and voice acting on par with canonical Star Trek.



The characters are original and compelling, the drama complex, serial (not episodic) and satisfying. All the little loose ends get their callbacks in future episodes, so the series does reward your loyalty. It's not what I would call an action adventure with an episodic story arc or clean resolution as we have come to expect from the televised series. It's more of a "life in Starfleet" experience - and a wholly compelling one.


It starts on a space station from the perspective of the newly appointed (naive protagonist) XO who is quickly introduced to a chaotic self-contained environment with its own history, culture and rules, its own spatial anomalies and starship conflicts, all populated by a creative cast of likeable and compelling characters.




Outpost is ultimately well-written, articulate, emotional, and offers a copious sense of wonder that makes compelling science fiction. Warning: It is addictive.

Episodes are typically about an hour long, contain numerous characters and seamless sound effects, good music, good dramatic range, and diverse plots.

Star Trek: Outpost offers a realistic take on a quasi-military organization, the back room politics and offstage working stiffs just muddling through under harsh conditions, out on the fringes of the squeaky clean Federation. Reminds me of M*A*S*H* without the slapstick. Babylon 5, too.



Been looking for a suitable venue to heap praise on this series. Thanks for the chance!
 
Last edited:
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top