#eos 10

[bellefyre]

miss when we were all heavily into fiction podcasts and reading Matt Fraction's Hawkeye and endlessly quoting the McElroy's

[emilytopaz]

[podcake]

Doctor's Orbit: A Review of The Vesta Clinic

And we're back!

The sci-fi audio drama exploration continues well into late March, the welcoming warmth of spring slowly encroaching upon the world a better time than any to consider my own health, the physical and the mental, as I buckle down for my future fiction podcast endeavors.

When pollen is jamming up my nose, and the air is changing from hot to cold in an instant, I find myself stuck between wanting to slip my way indoors and wanting to embrace the world renewing itself.

I love the spring, even if spring doesn't like me, and as my seasonal depression wears off and my sundresses look upon me with rapt enthusiasm, it's no better time for me to...go back inside, put on my headphones, and listen to another podcast.

I've got a schedule to follow, and frankly, nature can wait.

For anyone in the know, I like to do themes for my bi-monthly reviews, to varying success, but this time around, I've definitely hit the nail on the head. This time around, it's two shows that encompass the niche subgenre of medical science fiction, and, much to my luck, there's a whole two of them ready and waiting for me by sheer circumstance. They both also debuted in the 2020's just to keep my catalog fresh and relevant.

I'm finally getting good at this. It only took a whole decade.

Today's topic is The Vesta Clinic, which comes to us from...well, The Vesta Clinic Podcast, premiering in 2022, which technically still makes it an audio drama newcomer by my standards.

This show follows Dr. Faye Underwood, a newbie to the medical world and doctor at the titular Vesta Clinic, with the show mostly consisting of Faye's retellings of her patients and their medical treatments, a sizeable portion of which are aliens with unique anatomy requiring precise procedures.

Almost every episode consists of Faye recounting the events that transpired during her time with a patient, making an audio log of it for future reference and for the listener's benefit.

And I'm just going to come out and say it, I really like the writing.

The Vesta Clinic is undeniably carried by its silky prose: it's the descriptions that give the narration so much life, and I seriously ate up all the complex and layered, though never excessive, monologues.

Each one is just glowing with this sense of discovery and an unbiased appreciation for the sheer variety of a bustling environment, celebrating the diversity of life, be it human or alien, though mostly alien, that steps through those hospital doors.

And while it does wonders for the worldbuilding and paints this deeply layered, exceptionally developed universe with each nook and cranny taken into account, saying The Vesta Clinic completely won me over wouldn't be entirely true.

Even with its highly flexible premise, it becomes a bit repetitive early into its first stretch of episodes, lacking a certain something that would give its otherwise elegant narrative style something more substantial.

Don't get me wrong, it's got some bright spots and the kind of writing chops that can really give a show a unique charm, but I feel my investment started to wander more than I would like, even for an experimental first season.

The way Faye waxes poetically about the plethora of species she gets to operate on gives the show is what gives its tender-hearted and empathetic energy.

While she's the slightest bit insecure about her lack of experience, she still manages to get the job done, no matter how difficult the patient or unique the circumstances, which, while it doesn't make her a lead I find particularly compelling on a narrative front, I can't deny she gave me the warm fuzzies every so often.

The energy she evokes undeniably sets the tone for the series, and while she's undeniably distinct from Dr. Ryan Dalias, I would still consider this an option for people suffering from EOS 10 withdrawals, which this show undeniably shares some DNA with.

But I would say that The Vesta Clinic's appeal is dramatically more niche.

It feels like, and hear me out about this, a medical show made with the specific audience of medical students, or at least people who are very deeply intrigued by ideas of otherworldly anatomy. It's an awfully precise demographic which, while I'm certainly not it, I can't completely disqualify The Vesta Clinic being up someone's alley.

There are hints, while incredibly subtle ones, of an overarching plot, and the show starts to feel a little less claustrophobic as more voiced characters get introduced, as few as there are, but there are hints there of a grander scope to be discovered over time, even if they feel exceptionally well hidden.

Like it's almost there, but too shy to come to the forefront, waiting to get over its stage fright in time for season two.

But, now for the meat and potatoes of this review, how does it stack up against the previously reviewed Clinical Space? Well, that's a mixed bag.

This is usually the part where I prattle off a bunch of similarities and differences to the two shows I'm reviewing, do a bit of compare and contrast, but I'm finding myself at a bit of a loss here.

Not to say the shows don't have their distinctive traits, especially in tone and narrative, though they're undeniably brushing shoulders this month for a reason, perhaps a little more than I had anticipated.

But first, the key factors: Clinical Space is psychological as opposed to The Vesta Clinic, which is medical. Clinical Space has a far more straightforward and casual air, whereas The Vesta Clinic feels deeply professional and personal, almost bordering on sentimental, arguably leaning even more heavily on that "hopepunk" aesthetic.

And yet the two of them are still incredibly similar, especially when it comes to structure and formatting. I think there's a good reason that I've been getting the two of these shows mixed up so frequently during the writing process, sometimes mixing up one with the other despite my better judgment—it's the fact they both have the word "clinic" in their titles, yes, I'm well aware.

Both consist of a, usually, single-narrator styled log of sorts, complete with consistent beeping noises in the background in an otherwise silent location, only occasionally underscored by some atmospheric music.

Both are rooted in some sort of study or long-form analysis surrounding a facet of science, both of which are the specialties of two professional doctors. Both episodes focus on interactions with one or more clients and the protagonist's personal time with each one, and it's about here where the lines began to blur.

But while Clinical Space has the slightly more layered plot developing in the background, it's really The Vesta Clinic's writing that made it a much more substantial listening experience, its reliance on more complex and flowery language creating a slightly more solid identity that I felt Clinical Space was sorely lacking.

But even that requires a small disclaimer: there's writing in the sense that the words that come out of people's mouths sound interesting, and then there's writing in the sense of structure, pacing, and the intrigue it inspires.

And as for the two, I'd say Clinical Space leans harder on the latter to varying success, while The Vesta Clinic is heavy on the former, also to varying success.

Clinical Space has these nice little subtleties in its narrative that I kind of enjoyed, whereas The Vesta Clinic is much more reliant on traditional storytelling, making it arguably more straightforward in its intentions.

That is to say, I found myself enjoying some of the minor plot details of Clinical Space, but I found the general flow of The Vesta Clinic to be far more engaging to listen to all around.

But out of the two, I would definitely say it was The Vesta Clinic that held my attention longer, even if I can't say I'm particularly in love with it.

That sheer specification of its narrative, while written in a way that's so detailed and lush, doesn't directly appeal to me as someone who's much more story-focused, but I would never say I didn't enjoy myself from time to time.

I found the sheer creativity at play with the alien anatomy to be incredibly impressive, an idea never used twice as we explore the outer depths of a universe that genuinely feels big, busy, and believable.

Is its exceptional descriptive writing enough to carry an entire series? Did it shake some rust off my sci-fi podcast fatigue? I'm not entirely sure, though I can't deny that The Vesta Clinic's sheer sincerity might be the healing touch some listeners are looking for.

if you want to support my writing, podcake has a ko-fi and patreon in need of funds to keep this bakery open. thank you for reading and stay sweet.

[podcake]

accounts like @haveyoulistenedtothispodcast and @haveyouheardthispodcast really opens my eyes to how long i've been in the audio drama space

the shows mentioned on here were such major parts of my life back in the 2010's, and it's not like they're completely under wraps now, but it's insane to be someone who grew up listening to "our fair city" and "ars paradoxica" and "eos 10" and "greater boston" and it's like "dude! these are the ancient texts! we must retrace our history to understand our present!"

but that just goes to show how much our community has evolved. but please, give a show back during the 2010's a listen sometime, i wanna say around 2014-2016, it was an absolute goldmine.

[podcake]

Headspace: A Review of Clinical Space

I am making a conscious effort to break out of my science fiction podcast fatigue. While I definitely made progress with StarTripper!! and The Never Rad Miscellany had its highlights, that highlight being A Gentlemen About Space, I can't say I've gotten comfortable yet with embracing the genre to its fullest again.

Which is a shame because I seriously want to buckle down and get serious this year and churn out some quality content for you all, and shrugging off the existence of sci-fi audio drama altogether leaves me awfully limited as far as options go. I may as well be hacking off a limb while I'm at it.

I really do think it's that New Year's buzz still in my system, as if my stomach hasn't stopped digesting that cheap champagne. I gotta stick to those resolutions or I won't get any of those sweet blessings guaranteed during the year of our lord and savior, Umamusume.

We're only three months in, and I still have yet to recover from that reeling sensation of existential dread. I'm starting to doubt my career choices, everyone, and it's not pretty.

I'm willing to say I've made my mistakes in my time as a podcast journalist, some opinions I'd take back, articles I'd rewrite, messages I wouldn't have sent; it comes with the territory of starting this venture of mine at such a young age.

Even now, at the ripe age of twenty-eight, I'm starting to second-guess myself: maybe I've had too many knee-jerk reactions in the past. Maybe all those solitary spaceship shows I dismissed had some merit, and I was too quick to judge them.

Maybe I need to stop comparing shows to goliaths like Wolf 359 and SAYER and EOS 10 and just be able to say, with full honesty, that I am the problem. It's not you, sci-fi audio drama, it's me, and I'm more than willing to work through this.

Horror, you'll get your chance someday. I'll listen to Unwell, sooner than later, I promise.

But back to the topic at hand: I did another one of my podcast roulettes with some blind, though undeniably themed, audio drama selections for these month’s reviews.

My daring venture to rectify this genre stupor has been taking a look at two shows in relatively niche science-fiction genres: "medical field, but what if it was in space?", a surprisingly unexplored idea that was established by 2014's EOS 10, but never had the privilege of a string of copycats.

Following my bimonthly schedule, I'll be tackling one now and the second one later, the first of which, and the considerably shorter of the two, is 2024's Clinical Space from Cozy AF, self-described as "a cerebral sci-fi audio fiction podcast".

In it, we follow the logs and life updates of the counseling officer aboard the Starship Erebus, Dr. Aja Graves. The main building blocks are Graves coming to connect and understand their colleagues, and, while being a psychiatrist, wrestling with their own psychological hang-ups and finding the means to manage their’s, and everyone else's, mental well-being.

The angle meant to be delivered by Clinical Space is that of the utmost emotional awareness, sitting in the niche of "hopepunk" sci-fi of, usually, low-stakes and some sweet, sweet spaceship ambiance.

While still being a linear story, it seems to be aiming to be something of a mental audio aid for the antsy and anxious, even featuring a mini episode dedicated entirely to the soothing background noise of Aja's lab. I do assume that this studio is dubbed CozyFM for a reason.

As someone who has been regularly requested by an already overwhelmed psychiatrist to consider getting into therapy again, I think Clinical Space does a pretty decent job of portraying the intricacies and layers of mental health.

It's really getting to know Aja and their own mental pitfalls that carried any real narrative weight for me, nicely underscoring the building tension threatening the navy fleet. Maybe not enough to carry everything else, but more on that later.

It never outright says what Aja's problems are, leaving their own issues and trauma a mystery that are only brought up every so often through their own therapy sessions that feel like detached intermissions.

And, as much as those mildly intrigued me, they are few and far between, and it's really Aja's retellings of talking to their spaceship colleagues, who come with their own slew of issues, that provide a sizeable bulk of the show as a whole.

And thus we get to know these people during their most vulnerable moments—their insecurities, their wants and desires, and regrets all laid out on the table. And how does that pan out?

Fine, more or less.

I'll just cut to the chase: Clinical Space is a decently put together pastime, competently produced with passable audio and acting quality, but an interesting concept that hasn't quite broken through the surface yet.

Clinical Space may be laying down a few roots, but its garden is sparse, and what few daisies that have sprung from its cosmic soil are already coming out a bit withered and undernourished.

Though the angle it goes for with its calm and collected demeanor may be as low as low cortisol levels can get, it comes at the risk of the final product lacking a certain edge that even the most soothing of audio drama experiences utilize to still demand your attention.

There's just nothing about Clinical Space that isn't being done slightly better in other, similar shows. While it's definitely filling a gap for people who want more psychology-driven sci-fi like The Bright Sessions, and while its hopepunk angle is certainly refreshing, Clinical Space's stripped-down presentation, rather standard worldbuilding, and general lack of a defined personality beyond that left me feeling relatively uninterested.

Some bits are cute like the "Pinocchio" two-parter and that whole trickster god thing certainly got my ears perking up, but so far it's still the makings of a bog standard sci-fi show that I've complained about before: it's still a found family plot, it's still a dramedy, not particularly heavy on the drama or the comedy, and it's still an otherwise unimaginative interpretation of space that hasn't quite gotten comfortable in its own skin yet.

Clinical Space is just lacking this pop of color, this defined shape that it has yet to fill, providing a first season that doesn't engage as much as it trudges along with some sparse, even if mildly interesting details, sprinkled throughout.

I genuinely think it left on a pretty interesting note, but despite the show's character-driven angle, I can't say I was particularly endeared to the cast enough to be fully invested in their plight, which is something you don't want for a show whose crux is these characters emotional stability.

And that's not for lack of trying!

I know early impressions are a tricky balancing act, but I've listened to plenty of first seasons that do a better job of making us grow attached to our leads even without knowing each and every one of their innermost insecurities. And I didn't grow to like them because I was told to, it was because I wanted to.

And it's not like I can't imagine people not finding some depth and intrigue in these characters, let alone Aja, but they all seem to be cut from the same parchment paper colored an inoffensive shade of gray.

I don't feel unsympathetic as much as I feel disengaged.

A part of me worries that Clinical Space jumps into the assumption that a sensitive, empathetic outlook and sincere tone with just enough trauma is all it takes to be won over, when in reality, it's much more complicated than that.

Though I think it's more or less got the language down and all the specific, nagging issues of the human brain sorted out for maximum realism, Aja and pals don't quite make for a particularly memorable space crew who, while I don't hate or particularly love, don't inspire much emotion out of me at all. And I honestly think that might be worse.

It's the same kind of surface-level detachment I felt when listening to SINKHOLE, being given a lead that boiled down to their traumas and not much else, making them come off as flat and stagnant, not compelling and human.

But while in SINKHOLE that felt almost deliberate, even if still to its detriment, this show accomplishes more or less the same effect.

Once again, I must bring up The Bright Sessions, Clinical Space being the closest thing we've had to a follow-up, but even that comparison is rather flimsy, as the similarities begin and end with the psychology angle.

The Bright Sessions wasn't just good for its emotional complexity; it was unpredictable, layered, providing all these fascinating angles about what real life with superpowers would probably look like, and Clinical Space, while it's gotten as far as the therapy stuff, doesn't seem all that interested in crafting a cast that memorable or a world that complex, but I could easily be wrong.

The show is still relatively early into its development with only so many episodes to base its merits on, and I feel it's only fair for me to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe Clinical Space will get that defining edge that it's lacking and become more established in its identity, maybe it won't. Maybe that trickster god thing will come to fruition and provide some meaty conflict, maybe it won't. Maybe I'll grow to like Aja and their crew, and I'll find their problems interesting rather than shallow, maybe I won't.

Maybe I'll warm up to sci-fi audio drama this year, maybe I won't.

if you want to support my writing, podcake has a ko-fi and patreon in need of funds to keep this bakery open. thank you for reading and stay sweet.

[lucifer-kane]

Looks around. Akmazian design in 2026? I miss him

[lucifer-kane]

"His name was Ben... but I knew him by another name."

[podcake]

out of this random grab bag of favorite characters, which one should i put in a box and shake around a little bit (affectionately)?

dr. joan bright | the bright sessions

the obituary writer | death by dying

ryan dalias | eos 10

madge stallion | fawx & stallion

ariadne culver | the kingmaker histories

kayne | malevolent

peter nureyev | the penumbra podcast

bryony halbech | red valley

sister carpenter | the silt verses

carlos robles | welcome to night vale

isabel lovelace | wolf 359

antigone funn | wooden overcoats

Voting ended onMar 5

reblog after voting for bigger sample size ♡