Question reality with this cerebral, multilayer sci-fi mystery “Beyond Awakening.” It has an all-ages, multi-species crew aboard a Galactic Confederation crew trying to discover where their mission really lies: outwardly, in the great space beyond, or somewhere closer to home. . . Season 1 has very good pacing, is easy to listen to, and by the end poses intriguing, philosophical questions to the action-oriented team. The episode 7 finale is where I really felt the show peel back to something deeper. I would characterize the show as intriguing but not harrowing or overly dark. It’s suitable for those still looking for pleasant dreams at midnight hours. It has fairly upbeat characters, some tension but not grinding. An overall balanced audio drama with nice sound design that I like the sometimes overlapping layered effects of.

I wanted to like this one, as it has so many happy fans. The idea is intriguing, but after two episodes, I can't get past the voice acting. I know the drama is supposed to be deliberately clunky, to mock early overly-earnest science fiction shows, but the writing and acting are so sub-par that I can't keep going.