The Concept and Show Directive

If you were trapped in solitary confinement for 20 years with every media creation that ever existed for entertainment but only a humorless Alexa assistant as a companion, how would you do? That’s the central question fueling the first season of “Directive”, a six-part audio drama about a man tasked with caring for 100 sleeping passengers on a ship travelling to colonize a new planet.

Frank, the protagonist of “Directive,” isn’t doing well. Despite describing himself as having lacked ambition and avoided nearly all people back when he lived on Earth, seven years into his trip through space Frank is desperately craving any form of challenge, variety, or human connection. Instead, he’s stuck with Casper, a robotic-sounding AI unit who can only play endless games of Dominos with him, force-feeds him food replacement shakes and orders him to complete a daily pushup routine in order to increase his productivity so that he stays within the bounds of ‘the directive.’ A productivity that requires pushing and holding a button 300 times a day.

Hell might be other people, but it’s also inescapable loneliness and boredom.

Directive: Acting and Sound Design

There’s a lot to really like about “Directive”. The acting by the leads, especially David Magadan as Frank, is consistently excellent. Magadan exudes so much wit and charisma that it’s hard to dislike him, even when he’s describing having done things that were terribly selfish or thoughtless. Also, the metaphors that Frank uses to try to describe his predicament to the listener are very clever, and his one-sided banter with Casper is endearing.

“Directive” also uses music and sound cues well, complementing whatever action is happening without taking away focus from what’s really going on. Many current audio dramas don’t mix noises particularly well, employing sound cues that are way too loud and not using music effectively to set the mood (often by failing to use any music at all). Compare that to the first episode of “Directive” when Casper asks Frank if he wants to play the Tuesday playlist which starts with the song “Come And Get Your Love.” (Is it an accident that this is the same song which began the irreverent Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy? Maybe, but given the similarities between the snark of the two protagonists, it seems unlikely.) As the music plays in the background, we also hear the faint noises of Frank carrying out his morning routine. And what’s most notable about all of this simultaneous noise is how completely low-key it all is. Instead of any individual sound being primary, they all work together to create an audial atmosphere of a typical Tuesday, with Frank taking care of his duties and squabbling with Casper for what is clearly the umpteenth time.

Writing and Ideal Audience

The first few episodes of “Directive” don’t have much forward momentum. They’re just about a man trapped in a suicide-proofed room biding his time. That said, Frank is so charming that he’s mostly able to carry off the sort-of-one-man show. (Casper is always present too, but as an AI unit he intentionally lacks any personality.) These episodes also occasionally pop back into flashbacks to give us a sense of how Frank wound up on the ship in the first place. Having completed the entire season, these flashbacks work much better in hindsight or on a second listen. As for the latter episodes, there are a few disturbing twists (we won’t spoil anything here) that move the action forward quickly which are reminiscent of an episode of Black Mirror.

This is a pretty bleak story about human cruelty, so if you like your science fiction escapism with a dash of optimism about the world, this might not be a great choice. That said, the protagonist is easy to empathize with and you will probably feel moved by the end of episode six.

4.5/5 Stars

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