Professor Phineas T. Boggs: Lost in Space
Summary
The second installment of the Academy of Art’s Professor Phineas T. Boggs’ adventures, Lost in Space is a delightful audio drama for kids of all ages. In this story, Professor Boggs — along with characters from the previous drama, including Chester, Tina, Jake, Tess, Olivia, Michael, and Bonnie — travel through time to uncovering Biblical truths and learn important life lessons. Joined by Laura Sharp and Levi, the gaggle of scientists and now-seasoned space-time adventurers are thrown into the future with Professor Boggs’ new time machine. There, they then travel into the past to learn valuable life lessons from great figures in the Bible’s history.
Assessment
Compared to the previous Professor Phineas T. Boggs, the writing, characters, and theology of Lost in Space has improved in leaps and bounds — not the say the other one was bad, but this one is much better. The story meanders through the first half, much like the first one, taking a long time to set the stage and get to the action, but it’s time well-spent getting to know the characters and understand where they are coming from.
The characters — including the two main new ones, Levi and Laura — are a bit more developed in this story and their conversations carry a wry sort of humor that is charming and hilarious. Laura fills the role of “antagonist” in a very real sort of way; she’s brought to life brilliantly by her voice actor, Nicole Chavers Stratton. Levi provides an excellent young character for the target audience to identify with as he navigates big emotions such as anger and loneliness.
Theologically, this story dove deeper than the previous one, particularly in Laura’s character arc. The Bible stories the time travelers visited were used with an interesting perspective that added an excellent layer to the story.
Lost in Space is weak in only two major areas: editing for the historical characters to smooth out the use of “thee”s and “thy”s and the science of how anything worked. For the intended audience, however, these things are likely to go over their heads. Regardless of these weaknesses, too, the story is still incredibly enjoyable and refreshing.
Light-o-Meter
Writing: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Plot: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Characters: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Acting: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
As with the first one, I greatly enjoyed this audio drama and would highly recommend it for anyone with children! It is fun, adventurous, with a modern sense of humor that is sure to appeal to the younger generations without being too edgy or encouraging a kind of teasing that could be hurtful.
As a scifi nerd, I was kind of frustrated with the haphazardness of all the technobabble and how the time vortex side of the plot works. It’s cute and sort of sounds impressive, but it’s really just a word salad with no point of reference. Not that all scifi needs to be grounded in real-world science — it’d get boring really quickly if it only relied on technology we have now — but worldbuilding in science fiction benefits greatly from a narrower set of “tech words”. This lets the audience imagine there’s actually a rhyme and reason to it. All of this said, I do, however, recognize that I am a bit of an outlier in the audiodrama’s intended audience!
I believe my favorite part was Laura’s character arc. First, I appreciated it for the fact that helped keep the story from simply being “the kids are the only ones that need Jesus and the adults have already learned all of their lessons.” She was very much a flawed adult who needed just as much guidance as the kids. There was also a bit of an internal struggle for her, as she was presented with the truth of God and took time to fully accept it, which is how it often goes. Everyone’s story of salvation is different, some have a sudden, dramatic revelation — like Apostle Paul — and some have a slower process; however, no matter how fast or slow the process the end result is still the same: a heart renewed in Jesus.
Wrap-up
All in all, Professor Phineas T. Boggs: Lost in Space is a fantastic and delightful adventure for children of all ages. The theology is fantastic, the production quality is excellent, and the voice acting is marvelous.
Where to Enjoy
The Academy of the Arts: Lost in Space Audio Drama - The Academy of Arts Ministries
Audio Theatre Central: Second Professor Phineas T. Boggs Production
Disclaimer: This review is for this specific product and this product alone. In no way, shape, or form is this review meant to be an endorsement of the private lives, individual choices, lifestyles, or behaviors of those company(ies), publisher(s), creator(s), producer(s), author(s), artist(s), etc. associated with this product. It is God's sole providence alone to judge, and we make no claim to this right. With our reviews, we're simply looking at the value and merits of this specific product alone through the content and perspective of a Christian worldview. We pray you find it helpful and useful.
