Popular Reviews of Oblivity

Filled the Wooden Overcoats hole in my heart.

Sometimes a comedy is so good at layering jokes over each other that you just have to stop and replay an episode. This show is one of them.

Laugh out loud moments and characters you care about - this is really well written and after the first two episodes - I binge listened to the rest. Looking forward to a second series!!!!

Wonderful actors bring well written characters to life in this deep space, british comedy. Lowell is my spirit animal.

It's not a new frontier. English wit launched into space is as traditional now as the novel of manners, well mapped by the likes of 'Red Dwarf', 'Hitchhiker's Guide', and Tom Baker era 'Doctor Who', all of which notably have been adapted for radio. Likewise, the cast of characters are hardly unusual in aligning to familiar and compatible cliches of the workplace sitcom: the straight-man boss, the gullible ray of sunshine, the unfeeling insufferable genius, and the blissful idiot. The characters are practically premade to play out the usual wacky misunderstandings and emotional run-ins with each other, and in many cases they do perform formulaic sitcom standards.So consider it praise of the utmost order that 'Oblivity' can feature so many choices you'd expect and still whip around grin inducing surprises on an episodic basis.No one deserves singular credit because of the interwoven talents of the entire team visibly coming to bear in every episode. Episodes usually start with familiar sitcom set ups, but the author Rob Stringer has a particularly powerful talent for set-up and pay-off, scattering episodes with non-sequiturs or running gags that serve ultimately in unexpected ways to the plot's resolution. Great care is also given to utilize the audio drama format itself to its fullest, creating a fully realized imaginative space with the power of the assembled performances and the right amount of audio engineering to land some jokes that practically feel like sight gags through sound alone.And what an assemblage of performers. The main cast has a warm and thoroughly believable chemistry, fully formed after only a few episodes of the very short six episode season. Every character gets moments to shine, the scripts giving room for the performers to show dimension to what would otherwise be stock workplace comedy archtypes. Hannah Wilmshurst imbues her adorable ditz Christy with genuine humanity, lovable beyond just as written because of the sincerity she takes to the part with. Max Windich's Burney largely remains in the comedic wheelhouse of a practically mechanical know-it-all, but has powerful comedic timing and the challenging job of hanging a lot of his best moments on precision of delivery, particularly impressively demonstrated in the latter half of episodes. Ashley Hunt's performance as the impossibly dopey Lowell is practically visual in his big-grin characterization making it hard to imagine the character being played by any other performer. And last but not least my surprise fan favorite, Commander Falconer as played by Cate Nunn who from the very first episode is the character least bound strictly to the archtype they are modeled after. Originally worried that the character would be a one note military hardass perpetually exhausted and annoyed by the buffoonery of her frequently juvenile crew, almost immediately Falconer gets to take a different route. She can be affectionate, maternally naggy, insecure, undaunted, and other states too fun to be spoiled here, all made to feel part of a single unified character by the performance of Nunn. While Falconer doesn't star in every episode, many times she steals the best surprises of the show simply by being so flexibly and fully written and performed.The faintest criticism I have of the show thus far, considering there isn't a genuinely bad episode in the lot, is that the isolating premise of the show being the most remote research station in the solar system, lending to the closed box cabin fever you'd expect, is completely ignored by the constant presence of guest characters. Nearly every episode is built upon the disruption of the ensemble by a third party through some contrivance visiting this supposedly lonely research station. The quality of the events contained within make this a relatively minor problem, but it did occur to me as the season was wrapping up that we almost never got an episode which relied on the very strong ensemble relying on the interaction of just each other to result in drama, requiring third parties to segment A and B stories to allow parties of the ensemble to interact with each other. While episode 5 might be my least favorite in the season, it did at the very least force the whole cast into a scenario where they alone had to shoulder the weight of the comedy and drama together, and did so marvelously. While I wouldn't cut any of the wonderful guest characters from the show, it did seem to undermine the sense of isolation and made the appearance of outside characters conventional to the structure instead of an unexpected dramatic treat.Overall, I can't recommend it enough. It's clever, it's surprising, it's performed with genuine energy and humanity and makes a solid case for its right to participate in the storied history of English space comedies and I can't wait to see where they take this next.

This one of my favorite podcasts--elegant in its hilarity, with wonderful cast and characters, so well produced and perfectly written. I wouldn't ask them to babysit my gerbil, but otherwise, these are people I genuinely look forward to spending time with.

Just finished the first episode and I'll definitely be listening to more!It's no secret there are a lot of scripted sci-fi podcasts out there, but Oblivity manages to stand-out above the rest.The writing is strong and witty, with characters that feel distinct after the first episode. I really loved the world-building dialogue, particularly the fruit/vegetable hybrids.The voice acting is also great, particularly whoever is voicing the anxious character, and also the captain! And - actually - everyone, to be completely honest!The final five minutes hooked me, not just narratively, but through the way the characters came together. It really made them feel like a unit, and while this should happen at the end of most opening audio fic episodes, it's not always the case. So it's great to hear it done well.The only genuine critique I have is that it's a well-walked genre. But as it's better than the last handful of sci-fi fics I've listened to, it's hard to consider that a critique - As this is the cream that should rise to the top.

A workplace comedy set in space, each character is meticulously crafted and performed by the cast. The writing is clever and not cliched and it stacks up against other workplace sitcom classics such as Cabin Pressure. While hilarious, Oblivity also doesn't shy away from showing its human (/cyborg) side, whether it's Lowell's search for meaning or Christy's search for love. Can't recommend this show highly enough!

Could not get into it. Not my kind of humor.

awesome podcast v funny with great storylines

Really Ace

Fantastic, hilarious podcast with amazing actors. I've supported them in funding a second season - and can't wait! I hope the cybergerbil returns at some point.

I can't recommend this show highly enough - it's incredibly well written and the interplay between the characters is just... wonderful. Every episode will make you laugh - whilst wrenching the heart strings just a bit... it's wonderful. Truly wonderful.

Love it. I was in the dark hole after finishing another great audio drama and stumbled upon this treasure. Great cast, well-developed characters and funny, too. 🎧❤️

The ensemble in this show are just fab. The dynamics between the characters are a joy to listen to and the performances are so great. Absolutely love that there's a new season on the way too!

Find myself laughing out loud. Look forward to every episode.

Never enough good scifi comedies

Just finished Oblivity season 2 and it was so so good! But FLIP! That means we’re out of Oblivity season 2! The 2 part finale was a fabulously hilarious, tense, and emotional end to another great season. This show is all wit, heart, and adventure. Jammed packed with hilarious, flawed, silly, loveable characters, floating around space listening to their absurd comic runs is a true joy. Can’t wait for season 3 to do just that all again.