Simon & Schuster have made an exciting foray back into the realm of Star Trek audio dramas with Star Trek: Picard — No Man’s Land, a new audio adventure from Picard co-creator Kirsten Beyer and longtime Trek comics writer Mike Johnston
Audio dramas are type of storytelling distinct from audio books, in that they are original audio creations which feature a full cast — rather than a single narrator for the audiobook versions of prose novels.
The medium is one Simon & Schuster have dabbled with in decades gone by; who remembers the incredible Spock vs. Q, for example?! But this is the first real full cast audio drama directly tied into an active Star Trek series, which holds the potential of more to come.
I really hope there are more on the way, because No Man’s Land is a tight character piece featuring some great performances from Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) as the two find themselves embroiled in Romulan shenanigans following the end of Picard’s first season — exploring their burgeoning attraction for each other along the way.
“Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2” strongly hinted at the possibility of a relationship between Seven and Raffi in its final moments; how much that gets picked up on in the upcoming Picard season is unknown — the trailers certainly imply it has not been forgotten — but in No Man’s Land, the question of whether Seven and Raffi should pursue their underlying attraction for each other is front and center.
Even though it’s certainly improved in recent years, the Star Trek franchise still has a lot of catch-up work to do so in telling stories about queer characters in authentic ways. Queer Star Trek fans have been burned before, by shows hinting that some of their favorite characters might be LGBTQIA+ without leaning into it, and it’s understandable why many fans hold the same fear when it comes to a potential relationship between Raffi and Seven.
But I am pleased to report that in addition to being a fun science fiction story filed with action, Romulans, a sinister warlord, an ancient device, and a mysterious archeologist, No Man’s Land is also about Seven and Raffi exploring their feelings for each other. It’s not a throwaway at the beginning of the story or the end of the story; it is the heart and soul of the character arc for both women in this drama.
That is not to say that a relationship between the two characters is either guaranteed or going to be easy (and no, I won’t spoil whether there is any smooching in this story). But in all the same ways that heterosexual relationships are frequently portrayed in popular media in all their forms — including the complicated ones — the Seven/Raffi relationship takes center stage here.
Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd both turn in really great performances here, and neither actor is phoning in their performance, even though it’s “just” for audio. These are the lively, realized characters of Seven and Raffi, played with the same authenticity that we’ve come to expect from the actors, and really brings the scripted material to life.
I won’t delve too deeply into the rest of the story so as not to spoil it, but Star Trek: Lower Decks fans will also appreciate the appearance of another familiar voice: Fred Tatasciore, who plays Shax on the animated series, turning in a suitably scenery-chewing performance as a Romulan here.
Overall, the audio drama is well-produced; it includes not just a musical score that has the appropriate Star Trek feel to it, but as all the right sound effects for transporters, phasers, and more as well. When you combine the voices of your favorite actors playing your favorite characters with a decent score and good sound effects, you almost have a new episode of Star Trek… though I’ll leave it to you to decide whether this story fits in your personal Star Trek canon or not!
As we count down the days to the return of Star Trek: Picard, make sure to give No Man’s Land 90 minutes of your time. It’s a great story featuring great performances, and even has a few hints about where Season 2 might pick up when it lands back on our screens!
Given all the possibilities Simon & Shuster could mine for stories — and legacy Star Trek actors who might be willing to lend their voice talents to reprise their roles — let’s hope “No Man’s Land” is successful enough to convince Simon & Schuster to make more of them!
Star Trek: Picard — No Man’s Land is available for download and on CD now.
An eBook edition is planned, TrekCore has learned, but at this time neither a release date nor any other details have been announced. We’ll bring you more information when available.