The Stellar Firma Corporation are very good at building custom worlds. So much so that lawsuits are down to a statistically manageable amount! Now’s a perfect time for a new clone and David 7, clone PA to a planet designer is born. Innocent. sweet, weirdly sticky, David 7 is paired with Trexel Geistman. Many, all of them called Trexel Geistman or sounding a lot like him would describe David’s new boss as a maverick genius, an artist before, during and after his time. This man. This Trexel. This Geistman.
Many, many others would disagree.
Stellar Firma is the flagship for Rusty Quill‘s expansion plans and they could not have asked for a better show. Which is ironic as everyone who asks for a better planet, by and large, doesn’t get one. The show’s premise is as simple as it is chaotically brilliant and occasionally made of lava; the actual planet design requests are sourced from patrons. The show is then improvised as Tim and Ben Meredith, who play David and Trexel respectively, bring it into land. Or turn it into a large trough. Or a creche of marmalade.
These are things that happen in this show.
If all Stellar Firma ever did was ‘Tim and Ben panic in increasingly hilarious ways about planetary structure’ that would be great. But as the show goes on, subtle changes begin to present themselves. David…sort of…starts to cheat a bit. A lot. For good reasons. He does this as Trexel, a whirling spitting Catherine Wheel of horrifying childhood, upper class accent, screaming and booze begins to accelerate even further. Trexel is a MONSTER. The sort of monster you occasionally want to hug and reassure everything will be okay. It won’t be, and he’d bite you, but still, the instinct is there.
So as the plot develops and both David 7 and Trexel begin to grow, other characters get caught in their horrifying web of accusation, deceit and tubing. I.M.O.G.E.N., played by Imogen Harris with extraordinary glee becomes ever more importantly as the show continues and Jenny Haufek as Hartro, Trexel’s line manager is an exuberant villain who takes joy in Trexel’s endless failures but also quite wants to help him. But not that much. Actually it’s just torture really.
All of this culminates in a closing run of episodes that are some of the most exuberantly frantic comedy I’ve ever hard and that ends the season on a note that’s far sweeter than you might expect. It also makes clear that the show is far from done and that great things are afoot for David 7. And possibly also Trexel. Start at the beginning if at all possible but do make sure you listen to Cardinals and Comfy Chairs, the platonic embodiment of the running gag.
Stellar Firma is available now through all good podcatchers. Board be praised!