In many ways, the full cast audio drama was the perfect medium for Star Trek stories during the show’s “Wilderness” years. The cost of makeup, costume, sets and effects is gone. Regardless of age, the rich distinctive voices of the main cast would give the stories gravitas. Although there have been some daliances –George Takei reprised the role of Hikaru Sulu for at least one Capgtain Sulu adventure, and the Alien Voices line released two audio plays that were a pair of double headers between Leonard Nimoy’s Spock and John De Lancie’s Q. These weren’t full audio plays the first one feeling like an audio book read by Takei and the second example being a two header live show in front of a studio audience, Trek never capitalised on the audio medium in the same way that Doctor Who has.
“No Man’s Land” changes that a little, as we see series regulars Michelle Hurd and Jeri Ryan reprise their roles as Raffi and Seven, supported by a full cast of caracters played by some established voice acting names, including Fred “Shaxs” Tatasciore.
The story begins where the finale of Picard Season 1 left off. Seven and Raffi are getting to know each other on Earth when some of the Fenris rangers come knocking on the door, calling Seven into action, and Raffi goes along for the ride. The mission is to save artifacts and people from the advances of a dangerous claimant to the Romulan throne. Among the potential victims is a kindly old man from Seven’s past desperately searching for a lost love. His desperation is similar to the 2nf season Voyager episode “Resistance.”
The play gets the balance of melodrama covering Seven’s and Raffi’s relationship, comedy, the (rangers that Raffi spars with and eventually befriends) and excitement, feels just about right. The guest cast are excellent, and it certainly feels consistent with what we see on screen before this, thanks to show co-creator and executive producer Kirsten Beyer, who co-wrote the play with Mike Johnson.
As of this review, I watched episode 1 of Picard yesterday, and I feel that it certainly drops some hints for the season that have played out so far, although its not essential to listen to this to enjoy the show.
Overall, I think this is a great listen a promising bridge between the two seasons of Picard with the hint of more excitement to come
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