Anthology V: Responsibility
A Review by Michael Sheridan

I was skipping through the Galactic Senate forum when I poked my head into the thread for this audio drama. Since I had a few minutes, I figured I’d give it a listen.

My first reaction to it was that some of the dialogue rambled on a bit. And Nathan Butler’s style of writing is pretty hard to miss – very descriptive and often filled with detailed political information. The funny thing is, no matter who’s speaking, it always sounds like Nathan.

I knew it was 9/11-related, but I wasn’t really certain where the story was going. The main character, Kal S’Darcis, was well played by Matthew Gordon. Although at times his voice sounded a bit too casual – as if he were simply reading and not really acting –overall he does handle the amoral character rather well. Amy Ferrell plays the mysterious yet tragic character, Kolita Jessit. As usual, her sultry voice works well here and has an underlining sadness to it that fits the character to a tee.

Brian Bisetti does a fine job as Salim Jessit, but I’m not sure his voice fit the character as well. Not that his performance was lacking, just that this role seemed to be for an older character, and Brian’s voice did not really conjure up that kind of image in my mind.

As we got to the story’s core message, I actually felt the story came together rather well. I didn’t expect it to be such a clear comparison to the 9/11 event, but it did make me think a little bit about that day and how it made me feel.

Strangely enough, I also remembered a fan fiction I’d written about a year ago. It featured Yoda and how he escaped Coruscant and found his way to Dagobah. I’d written it shortly after 9/11, and there was a scene in which Yoda watches the Jedi Temple fall. I remember as I wrote it, envisioning the scene, but I knew in the back of my mind as I was writing it that I was talking about the Twin Towers. This hadn’t been something I set out to do, it just happened.

The only problem I had with this story was that it relied too much on narration. I enjoyed it, so don’t get me wrong. I highly recommend it, as I thought it was the most effective of the Anthology stories. However, I felt as if I was being lectured more than being told a story. Kal’s inner monologues were often longer than necessary, and while they provided a good insight into the character, I think it would have been more entertaining to have some of these revelations come out through dialogue and not simply having the character tell us all about himself.

This story did have a strong message, and perhaps I liked it most because I could relate to it in a sense. Not so much that I’m amoral, although some would argue otherwise, but that I remember what I felt that sunny September day and wondered some of the same things. Why would anyone commit such a horrific act? What makes a person want to destroy another?

I think that’s the highest compliment I can give this tale. Although not subtle, it’s a little less in-your-face than some of the other Anthology series dramas, and you can’t help but stop and give a little thought about the story’s message upon its conclusion.