Edict Zero FIS Review: Police Procedural and Multiverse Theory

Overstaying an Unwanted Welcome: Last Time on Edict Zero FIS

The second season of Edict Zero FIS recaps its first by taking the majority of the first episode for a “previously on …” segment. While this is common in television, taking at least a quarter of an hour-long episode to get listeners up to speed is a bit much. Add in the fact this is a two-part season premiere and you’re reminded of the Hobbit Trilogy and it being over-bloated with unnecessary story beats.

However, once you get past the recap, it’s not all new material. Rather, creator Jack Kincaid takes almost half a season (3-4 episodes out of 7) to go through future police paperwork and other monotonous material that’s usually cut from police procedurals. In the age where everyone is a supposed expert on the law after watching days worth of Law and Order reruns, a show (even a podcast) has to make decisions on what to keep. In Edict Zero’s case, the fat could’ve been trimmed better.

The Golden Age of Podcast Fiction: Cameos, Deep Cuts and Star Power

2008-2010 was arguably the first golden age of podcast audio dramas with companies like Misfit’s Audio, Pendant Productions, and a slew of others that have been reviewed on this site. One of the more interesting aspects of this is the lack of differentiation of actors across shows or even production companies.

It’s been said before how actors and actresses are often used across shows. For Tanja Milojevic, playing an FIS agent with a Russian accent is simply part of the job. Those familiar with “The Line” from Pendant Audio will recognize her voice. It works here, but only because the listener barely gets a scene with her. If the writer added any more dialogue from her, the accent would’ve been too much. As it stands, it has just the right amount of Eastern European dialect in her performance as to not sound like a stereotype. Most of the time.

WTF Conspiracies and Hanging Unlit Lanterns

In terms of tropes, Edict Zero tackles just about everything from science fiction. Even the ones that contradict each other. Yet the trope inclusion works and doesn’t at the same time. It succeeds in including them, but the execution is muddled. To use the writing tip of “Hang a Lantern on it,” throughout this season the trajectory of the plot is illuminated by dimly lit lanterns. Some of which aren’t even on. Whenever someone mentions time travel or an alternate reality it’s hard to tell if there is truth to the statements in the world of the audio drama. Nothing is definitively explained. Instead, all the clues act as unlit lanterns whose job was to make clear the direction of the plot.

Despite the problem with a slow beginning and stalled progress, the second season manages to end strong. There’s a death and it took a toll on the other characters and myself. Perhaps its because I saw a lot of myself in him. The production quality and sound design is also something to be admired as it’s only getting better. Now in its fourth season, Edict Zero may have just laid the groundwork for future episode twists in this season, making it more of a first act of a much larger story. Whatever the case, Edict Zero FIS earns its title of one of the best produced science fiction audio dramas on the podosphere.