by Although the next Star Wars spinoff movie doesn’t come out until mid-2018, you don’t have to wait to get your next space opera fix. And unlike Disney’s cash cow franchise, this immediately-accessible option doesn’t rely on cinematic eye candy. In fact, Space Cadets takes a bold risk by relying completely on the listener’s imagination to carry the epic story, and as the explosive first episode proves, the risk pays off.
Space Cadets is a serialized radio space opera available through iTunes and most podcast apps. The first season tells “The Legend of the Goliathon,” and the seven-episode story is a unique blend of sci-fi and adventure featuring gnarly pirates, military heroics, and rich mythology.
Plot: Captain Walter Stanik has been chosen by the Interplanetary Space Federation (ISF) to lead the first crew of the Space Cadets. Their mission: explore the uncharted territories of outer space. But when they discover a stowaway on board, Stanik plunges his crew into a perilous race for revenge against an infamous band of pirates. Together, they unearth the mystery behind a fabled relic: the Goliathon.
Space Cadets has been in development since 2005. The creator, filmmaker Brent Winzek, originally told the story through a series of short films starring friends from his high school drama club, using their extremely limited resources as an opportunity for creative improvisation and experimentation with various camera tricks. Rather than abandon the series after graduation, Winzek and his friends continued to develop their characters and spoke frequently about expanding the Space Cadets universe. Throughout college and grad school, Winzek’s passion for the project grew as he tinkered with various ways of telling the story and collected feedback from friends and professors. After settling in New York City, he assembled a team of voice actors (including many of the original cast members) and used their collective enthusiasm to bring a new world to life.
The series is complemented by a listener’s guide, which provides further detail on the various creatures, characters, and settings throughout the show.
For more information on Space Cadets, visit www.spacecadetsradio.com.
