Tor Labs / Gideon Media, available now with new episodes weekly

Welcome to the headquarters of private security company Quill Marine, where one of the greatest secrets on Earth is housed – an alien, known as Moss. And meet Dakota Prentiss, Chief of Security. There’s nothing… absolutely nothing… that can deflect her from her duty. Until, that is, she meets new recruit Matt Salem…

Mac Rogers’ new 14-part podcast serial for Tor Labs is a little bit of a slow burn in its first couple of episodes, but you realise there’s not a word wasted as he sets up a very different world to the one we know.

We enter Quill in two ways – via the voiceover provided by Dakota Prentiss, and through experiencing Matt Salem’s arrival at the base, and learning its secrets as he does.

And what secrets they are. Rogers has come up with a new twist on the “alien autopsy” / Roswell trope, focusing primarily on those involved with guarding and monitoring the alien… and showing the devastating effects of what happens when one of its artefacts “powers up”. There’s pressure on everyone involved, particularly when the boss comes on a visit (an horrifically accurate portrayal of the sort of boss I was so glad to get away from by going freelance in the mid-1990s!), and when mistakes get made, they have lethal consequences… even if the person involved is “just a kid”.

It’s not the sort of place to fall in love either – fraternization is not just frowned upon, it’s contractually barred, and the penalties are severe. So for Prentiss to act as she does at the end of the first episode by giving in to her attraction to “new fish” Salem does seem a little out of character, but that’s the story Rogers has elected to tell against this backdrop, and by the end of episode five, irrevocable decisions have apparently been taken.

Director Jordana Williams keeps everything grounded, and particularly given the way the story seems to be heading, it needs to be – one false step in this sort of storytelling and the whole edifice can fall apart. The relationships between the characters are central, and she allows scenes to breathe but then ramping up the pace drastically when required. There’s the odd moment in the earlier episodes where you’re not quite sure whether Dakota is talking in voiceover or to other characters, but this seems to have been ironed out by episode 4. The series has been cast well – there’s not a weak link evident so far, even in the smaller roles – and the sound design has been consistently strong.

Verdict: Don’t go into this expecting wall-to-wall action – it’s not that sort of tale – but if you enjoy well-drawn characters and intriguing plot development, then download this now. 8/10

Paul Simpson

(P.S. If you go to one of the “free” sites, you’ll also get a chance to hear some fun “sponsor announcements” at varying points in each episode… That’s E.P.I.S.O.D.E.)