Voyage to the Stars
{{Short description|Sci-fi comedy podcast and comic book}}
{{Infobox podcast
| title = Voyage to the Stars
| image = Voyage to the Stars.png
| starring = {{plainlist|1=
}}
| genre = Science fiction podcast
| format = Audio drama
| creator = Ryan Copple
| writer = Ryan Copple
| voices = {{plainlist|1=
- Colton Dunn
- Felicia Day
- Janet Varney
- Steve Berg
}}
| language = English
| updates = Weekly
| length = 30–45 minutes
| production = Steven Ray Morris
| num_seasons = 3
| num_episodes = 60
| began = February 12, 2019
| provider = {{plainlist|1=
}}
| website = {{URL|https://www.voyagetothestars.net/}}
}}
Voyage to the Stars is a science fiction and improvised comedy podcast written and produced by Ryan Copple. The show starred Felicia Day and Kirsten Vangsness and was a production of Madison Wells Media in partnership with Earwolf. The show was later adapted into a four-part comic book mini-series of the same name published by IDW Publishing, illustrated by Connie Daidone, and written by James Asmus.
Background
The podcast's first episode premiered on February 12, 2019.{{Cite web |last=Ahr |first=Michael |last2=Vitagliano |first2=Dave |date=February 11, 2019 |title=Sci Fi Fidelity Podcast: Felicia Day Previews Voyage to the Stars |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/sci-fi-fidelity-felicia-day-interview-voyage-to-the-stars/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000809/https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/sci-fi-fidelity-felicia-day-interview-voyage-to-the-stars/ |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=Den of Geek |publisher=DoG Tech |language=en-US}} The show was written and produced by Ryan Copple with audio production by Steven Ray Morris.{{Cite web |date=September 19, 2019 |title=Sci-Fi Audio Comedy Improv Podcast "Voyage to the Stars" Returns for Second Season |url=https://scifigeneration.com/science/sci-fi-audio-comedy-improv-podcast-voyage-to-the |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307032116/https://scifigeneration.com/science/sci-fi-audio-comedy-improv-podcast-voyage-to-the |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=Sci Fi Generation |language=en-US}} The show is a Madison Wells Media production in partnership with Earwolf.{{Cite web |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |date=May 12, 2020 |title='Voyage to the Stars' Comic Book in the Works (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/voyage-stars-comic-book-works-1294019/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000919/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/voyage-stars-comic-book-works-1294019/ |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} According to Jeff Spry of Syfy Wire, the show was regularly among the top 100 comedy shows, received 2.5 million downloads, and had over 100,000 viewers on Twitch within the first year of production.{{Cite web |last=Spry |first=Jeff |date=August 14, 2020 |title=Voyage to the Stars: The hit podcast's interstellar hijinks come alive in IDW's wacky miniseries |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/idw-voyage-to-the-stars-miniseries-comic-preview |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000955/https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/idw-voyage-to-the-stars-miniseries-comic-preview |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=SYFY Official Site |language=en-US}} The show is an improvised science fiction comedy that satirizes the tropes typically used in the genre.{{Cite web |last=Hershon |first=Marc |date=May 23, 2019 |title=This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Let's Start Adulting |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/this-week-in-comedy-podcasts-lets-start-adulting.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000750/https://www.vulture.com/2019/05/this-week-in-comedy-podcasts-lets-start-adulting.html |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=Vulture |publisher=Vox Media |language=en-US}} Felicia Day and Kristen Vangsness starred in the show.{{Cite web |last=Sanchez |first=Omar |date=June 18, 2019 |title=Paul F Tompkins, 'Criminal Minds' Actress Kirsten Vangsness Join 'Voyage to the Stars' Podcast (Exclusive) |url=https://www.thewrap.com/paul-f-tompkins-criminal-minds-actress-kirsten-vansgness-join-voyage-to-the-stars-podcast-exclusive/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000818/https://www.thewrap.com/paul-f-tompkins-criminal-minds-actress-kirsten-vansgness-join-voyage-to-the-stars-podcast-exclusive/ |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=TheWrap |publisher=The Wrap News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Gokhman |first=Roman |date=February 12, 2019 |title=Q&A: Felicia Day boldly going with sci-fi improv podcast 'Voyage to the Stars' |url=https://riffmagazine.com/qa/felicia-day-voyage-to-the-stars/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000842/https://riffmagazine.com/qa/felicia-day-voyage-to-the-stars/ |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=Riff Magazine |language=en-US}} Season two was a 26 part series that was launched in September 2019.
Plot
The story follows a space-captain named Tucker Lentz, a mechanic named Stew Merkel, an artificial intelligence named Sorry, and a science officer named Elsa Rankfort.{{Cite web |last=Beresford |first=Trilby |date=February 11, 2019 |title='Voyage to the Stars' Podcast Writer on Creating a "Sci-Fi Disaster Space Opera" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/voyage-stars-podcast-writer-his-sci-fi-disaster-space-opera-1184471/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000813/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/voyage-stars-podcast-writer-his-sci-fi-disaster-space-opera-1184471/ |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |publisher=MRC |language=en-US}} The characters travel to various planets throughout the first season causing problems wherever they go. In one of the episodes, the artificial intelligence responsible for flying the spaceship decides that it needs to exterminate the crew who spend the episode attempting to talk the artificial intelligence out of killing them.
= Characters =
- Colton Dunn as Tucker Lentz
- Felicia Day as Elsa Rankfort
- Steve Berg as Stew Merkel
- Janet Varney as Sorry the A.I.
Adaption
The show was adapted into a four-part comic book mini-series published by IDW Publishing, illustrated by Connie Daidone, and written by James Asmus. The first issue was released on August 19, 2020 and two of the covers for the first issue were illustrated by Freddie Williams II. Ed Fortune of Starburst Magazine critiqued the comic book for leaning too heavily on dialogue saying that the "art-style does a lot of the heavy lifting ... it’s just a pity it’s buried under so many word balloons."{{Cite web |last=Fortune |first=Ed |date=April 8, 2021 |title=Voyage to the Stars |url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/voyage-to-the-stars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318000747/https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/voyage-to-the-stars |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |website=Starburst Magazine |language=en-GB}} The plot of the comic book follows a group of characters who leave a dying earth and attempt to defeat the "Nothing."
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Official website|https://www.voyagetothestars.net/}}