Dining in the Void

Dining in the Void is the most MUSICAL non-musical sci-fi show I've ever known & I mean that in the best way possible; the writing is absolutely lyrical & the score is either enthralling or just plain danceable (sometimes both) !! Give this show a chance & you won't regret it; subscribe ASAP !!!

Listened through the eighth episode. The show really picks up by the third episode. The mic quality for some actors is uneven, but other aspects of sound design are used effectively (ex. a tense heartbeat sound before an impending death). The music is lovely and sets a great atmosphere for the show, as does the introduction to each episode. Characters have varied interesting backstories and the romance that builds between a couple of the characters is enjoyable. My favorite character was Mars. I didn't finish this due to a combination of the audio issues and the plot point in which one of the characters invites his husband and four year old daughter onto an inescapable deathtrap ship.

The romantic bits are really sweet, the music is pretty, and the poetry is neat. However … It’s really hard to tell which character is speaking. To the point that I can’t follow the puzzle or story and big reveals fizzle. Then in the second season that problem got even harder. Normally when a cast is full of similar voices I’ll listen through headphones, but the audio seems like it is uneven enough that close listening would be painful. Mostly, I really really don’t like all the torture … listening to that makes me feel like a bad person. At a certain point the beautiful music became very repetitive. I keep listening because I love SciFi and hope the plot will gel and the premise and character descriptions are so intriguing, but it’s so hard to follow and literally too much torture as a plot device — nothing happens unless a torture scene drives it. At least the torture isn’t sexist, but that’s a very very small comfort.

THE GOOD: Most of the acting's decent, and the pieces of music that pop up later in the season are really well integrated--the audio editing also improves considerably partway through the first twelve episodes (season 1). My personal favorite episode is "Count Down," #11. THE BAD: It's an amateur production, and some aspects of the final product (audio quality of some actors, sound effects, etc) prove this. The first episode's "introductions" drag considerably, and things don't really get interesting until episode 4. There's about three episodes of attempts at getting the listener's attention, as if to say "look how interesting this is!" but when the show stops doing that, it becomes interesting. OVERALL: I'd give it three and a half stars if that was possible, but I gave the show three for now. If you like mysteries/thrillers but with a few neat little twists, give this show a shot. If you want queer podcast characters that don't die, you've come to the right show.