Audio Drama Reviews: Recent Episodes
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Here are my thoughts on the first four episodes of “Ad Lucem” an audio drama from QCODE about augmented reality and the dangers of technology. Episodes seem to drop on Mondays, so expect episode five to release tomorrow. My full review will come after the finale drops. QCODE did not request this review. I just...
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The 13 episode audio drama called “Spire” can best be boiled down by saying it’s Free Guy meets Freaky Friday. The video game inspired comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and the Disney film about a mother and daughter switching bodies sums up the theme and gimmick found in this science fiction series. Even with a simple...
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The final episode of “Supreme: The Battle for Roe” dropped its final episode this past Wednesday. Here are my thoughts on this historical drama with modern day socio-political rhetoric surrounding abortion. If this is your first time here, check out my first post on the show here to learn more about the audio drama inspired...
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While it may be unintentional, this episode of an ongoing horror audio drama from the “Running Scared” podcast captures the tone of Edgar Allan Poe and some of his most famous short stories. It takes a page from Poe’s classic gothic tales like “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” and...
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On August 20, the two part series finale of “Moonbase Theta, Out” will drop. The second will drop on September 3. An epilogue, releasing October 1, will also be available on the show’s podcast feed at that time. The story is written by DJ Sylvis (They/Them). Moonbase Theta: From Alpha to Zeta Produced by Monkeyman...
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“The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus” released its final episode earlier today. Totaling six episodes all less than 20 minutes long, the show went by a bit too fast—which for a show about the fastest man alive is both ironic and somehow appropriate. Flash of Two Worlds: A Midnight Circus on Infinite Crisis It’s hard...
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It might be the academic in me, but “SOS Humanity: Earth’s Last Distress Call” is the perfect satire for just how much capitalist ideology has affected our way of thinking. Set in a far future in outer space, “SOS Humanity” asks the question of what’s in it for me to save someone? Host, Chip Reynold’s,...
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“Supreme: The Battle for Roe” dropped two episodes on June 28, 2023 and a third on July 5. They’ll be released weekly on Wednesdays. Currently there are six episodes out as of today. It’s produced by iHeart Media and stars William H. Macy as former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. The story, as one might...
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Taking elements from noir in its various forms, “Shadow and Smoke” is a series that has threads of Ghost Rider or Spawn characters woven together with a magic system reminiscent of “Warbreaker’s” breath from Brandon Sanderson. Warbreaker and its Magic System Out of most of the books which have at least one magic system in...
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A four-part murder mystery from Jamie Marsh, “A Quaint English Murder” has all the tropes and trappings of a modern day BBC/Masterpiece Theater show combined with a bit of a discount Irish Sherlock Holmes. Detective Bramberly certainly doesn’t live up to the legacy Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective had on real life and literature. That...
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Aside from a Queen pun I could’ve opened this review with, this 8-episode audio drama from PasticheNYC tackles the 90s in a way that isn’t driven by nostalgia from non-marginalized groups. Like any historical period—women, people of color and the LGBTQ community didn’t have as many freedoms as their straight white male counterparts. Truth be...
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“Enter the House Between,” written by John Muir is what happens if you take a reality television series, put it in a multiverse and have a space traveling future dystopia as the lowercase p plot. These three things shouldn’t go together. Strangely enough, in this instance, they do. “Enter the House Between” is an expedited...
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By the tone of the first episode, this 14-part middle-grade-sounding audiobook as podcast gives the impression of Young Adult story with a strong political message. The message itself? Somewhat of a mystery. As are other elements in later episodes. This is an expedited review. A Middle Grade Narrator Reads a Teen Dystopia Novel “The Point...
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The second book in the Stormlight Archive series, “Words of Radiance” feels like a continuation and conclusion of several “The Way of Kings” plot threads. At the same time, introducing new problems for the main characters. Both through the revelations stemming from the answers and from twists that may not be paid off until later...
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There are so many compelling narratives available that it can be challenging to developsomething unique. These tips for making a high-production audio drama will ensureyour audience enjoys the story you want to tell and keeps them coming back for more. A good story is the perfect way to escape the monotony of everyday life. These...
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“Goodbye Blue Mondays” may not encapsulate the themes and story with its title. It’s take on the Hunger Games “Lottery” setting mechanic makes one slightly nervous. In these first three episodes of six total, the only time we hear those three words are during the credits. The creator, Gregory Bayne, dropped episodes 1-3 today with the final three releasing weekly until its conclusion.
A Hunger Games Comedy?The show’s premise of a lottery happening once a week for people to retire early sounds unrealistic for a modern society. Having the ability to fund such a thing weekly is a bit hard to swallow even in a far future science fiction. The setting of “Goodbye Blue Mondays” is similar to the world of Panem from the Hunger Game’s movies. Simply apply the same intensity found in over-the-top fashion choices to the tone and you’ve basically described the people in these first three episodes.
Instead of a dystopia where everything is bleak. Bayne and his co-director Logan Donovan replace it with satire about incels, misogynists and all around toxic masculinity. The subject matter may be bleak, but the tone is anything but.
A Secret Misogynist and Fall From Grace?The story starts out with the main character, Elliot (voiced by Donovan), as he learns his co-worker, Jerry Dingle (voiced by Travis Swartz) has the winning ticket for the upcoming Global Early Retirement Lottery (GERL.). Elliot doesn’t believe it but becomes obsessed about whether he might be telling the truth.
The truth—according to Dingle—is that the lottery is a feminist plot to cut off men’s genitals, scramble their brains and eliminate men all together from the world. GERL is shrouded in mystery as nobody knows what happens to them upon winning. Some people, like Dingle’s idol Blade Johnson believe in the outlandish thing written above. The more level-headed people simply believe the winners are simply retired and living a life of luxury. The fact Elliot even considers that Dingle actually has the winning ticket could be his anti-Hunger Games moment later in the story. Where instead of volunteering as tribute being seen as sacrificial, the ticket theft he contemplates is more negatively charged. It could be the slippery slope that turns Elliot into a Dingle character. Pure speculation.
Elliot’s Hunger for Games (i.e. the Love Interest AKA Monica Levy)This relatively short audio drama mini-series will make or break on the contents of its final three episodes. Will they make Elliot go complete Andrew Tate on Monica and say somethings he may or may not regret. It begs the question. Does giving voice to horrible ideas, even in acts of dissent against them, make the creators themselves a mouth piece for them? Given the summary of Goodbye Blue Mondays has the words: “A listless factory worker stops at nothing to ensure the reward goes to a more deserving citizen, namely himself, only to discover the prize is not exactly as advertised” makes me worry about the end.
7.5/10- Stars
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Metal Detective is mixed with Dolby Atmos and mastered in IAX. IAX stands for “Immersive Audio Experience.” These two forces combined form one of the most cinematic audio dramas, for better and for worse.
The sound mixing, engineering and mastering is done by Charles Hewitt and his team. The man is no stranger to Hollywood sound, having worked on several films like everyone’s favorite Christmas movie, “Die Hard” and the TV/streaming show “Manifest.” Cinematography and musical score can only do so much with a bad story. Not to say “Metal Detective” is on the level of the 10 percent or lower movies on Rotten Tomatoes, but it feels like a lot of stuff meant for the screen remained after the adaptation into audio.
A Cozy Mystery in Dolby Atmos? Too Much or Not EnoughThis movie is broken into four parts. Each one gets better and more interesting until the finale episode where if you had any idea what was going on, you have a better imagination than me. There were so many moving parts from different genres, including cyberpunk and a mystery in the style of an Agatha Christie mystery for the middle of the four-episode experience.
The deaths are reminiscent of “And Then There Were None” combined with a just as gruesome version of horror franchises like Friday the 13th, if not more. The world created by the screenwriter is very similar to Fallout 4’s main story plot involving synthetics or newmans in the case of Metal Detective.
Similarities to Fallout 4 and Plot AvalancheDistrict 9, I’d argue, is to Halo as Metal Detective is to Fallout 4. Both feel like, and sometimes started off as, stories in a universe with multiple entry points and angles with which to tell a story. I can’t confirm that Metal Detective started as a Fallout 4 screenplay, but District 9 definitely started off as a Halo movie, according to Peter Jackson in a Hollywood.com article. There are many similarities between the post-apocalyptic nuclear wasteland and this cyberpunk horror with a mystery plot.
The final episode as hinted at above is a mess of climaxes some of which have foreshadowing attached to them. Others not so much. It could be that I missed some details early on, but I listened to episode four at least three times from front to back and each time I thought I knew less than what I began with. This is one those instances where the individual parts are greater than their sum total.
7/10 Stars
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Thin Places Radio comes recommended by its sound designer Kaitlin Bruder for its “unique format.”
An audio drama formatted as a radio show, complete with a phone number for listeners to call in. It’s unclear whether it’s fiction or non-fiction. The phone number seems legit and the calls the host receives sound like they could be real callers. Like Untold Virginia, it blends reality with fiction seamlessly.
A Fun Premise with a Down to Earth HostThe calls from each individual episode are specific to the episodes they play in, with some overlap in later episodes. The calls all have a theme of the supernatural and weird happenstances. The scripts are clearly tailored around the call for that episode. Some are creative. Others are more obvious and border on cliches. The host isn’t like most radio DJs who talk with the same cadence in real life as they would on air. For them there’re no difference between them. It’s a habit than anything else. That’s why this timid-sounding host is unique. It goes against what people think.
Constantly changing recording studios and the clever names given to them are a delight and add depth to an otherwise monotonous routine. The audio dramas format is relatively simple. After the host introduces the show with the opening monologue describing it in each episode. The words before the theme music: “It’s the middle of the night, but don’t worry, you’re not alone” sets up the tone along with the host’s cadence. There’s something peaceful about it, like listening to a yoga instructor or mindfulness couch getting you to relax with their voice and words.
Thriller Pacing in Thin Places RadioEpisodes 1-7 morph into one amorphous entity, with episodes that become indistinguishable from one another and no sense of progress for the listener. Episode 8 changes that, but again you’re not sure where the story is going. Or if this even has a narrative thread. Once the host’s existential crisis goes away, it’s back to the grind with more of the same. The moments of characterization are few and far between thus far. Out of the 19 episodes currently available at the time of this writing, two stand out as dealing with the host.
Despite or perhaps because of the short, bite-sized nature of each episode—the 19 episodes go by quick. It’s practically a thriller minus the anxiety that sometimes accompanies these types of stories. On one side, it made binging easy and enjoyable. Something not many audio dramas have done for me personally. On the other hand, the actual content of the majority of episodes I couldn’t tell you anything about. While being unique to the audio drama shows with similar frame narratives, it just barely reaches the “Ground Breaking” rating tier.
9/10 Stars
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The 2023 writer’s strike over residuals from streaming services has for all intents and purposes shut Hollywood down. I support the writers on strike. For one I am shocked that they weren’t already getting paid for TV shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu that they helped write. Secondly, the fact that this hasn’t been addressed until now is concerning.
The “joke” on the internet that I’m seeing most often is the “let them strike, then the quality of movies and TV won’t suck” mentality. First off, that’s wrong on a moral level. Second, do you think that the writers on strike are consciously thinking about their stories and writing future scripts that won’t be beneficial to them until after the strike ends? Spoilers they aren’t. According to WGA union rules regarding the strike “As soon as a strike is called, you must immediately stop providing writing services for any and all struck companies. You may not continue to write or complete writing started before the strike for a struck company, including making changes or revisions to literary material.” That’s the first rule for members. To work on a story in your spare time would be like getting time off only to come into work any way and not get paid.
There seems to be this idea that writers will be working on their TV show and movie scripts while on strike. Granted, screenwriting is different from novel writing as are the industries which house them. That said, writers need to write to keep their skills up. It’s much easier to fall off the horse than get back on it. If anything the writers not writing might make worse decisions for shows and movies if or when the strike ends.
There may be some in Hollywood who disagree with this sentiment. That’s fine. What I hate to see is people making light of the conversation with jokes that aren’t just untrue, but not helpful at all.
-Michael L. Bergonzi
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This is an expedited review. For more information on how to get one, visit the request guidelines page on the site.
Residents of Proserpina Park isn’t just a hard to pronounce. Its knowledge of real-world mythologies is proof that the hardest things are often reap the greatest reward. The park houses a myriad of creatures in a safari-like environment. Hidden in plain sight from the outside world, the residents of the park offer both the characters and listeners a learning experience that is tonally similar to “Timestorm’s” premise of time travel and marginalized history.
Proserpina Park has rigid format with a frame at the beginning and end. The frame acts both a recap and “next time on …” that 90s anime used a bit too much. Functionally the same, but perhaps not that over the top like in Dragonball Z for example. The structure of each episode is episodic and serialized. It captures the pros inherent in the styles while ignoring the pitfalls.
Proserpina Park has both a season-long story and a mythical creature of the week. The show manages to hook you with the lessons while keeping you engaged with the season-long storyline about Alina and Sam. Once Alina introduces her friend Drew, you know it’s about to get hard for the characters. You aren’t sure when, but the darkest moment in season one comes in just the right place in the chronology. It’s not too early that it feels like a “shrug and move on” moment and not late enough that all the tension is gone. Savitar from season three of the “The Flash” TV show is the first example when done poorly.
Logic and Emotion in Proserpina ParkAlina and Sam are the emotional core of the story. However, that intellectual curiosity some people prefer in their stories won’t be disappointed either. Residents of Proserpina Park balances the thought-provoking with the gut-wrenching. You’ll come for the creatures, but stay for the drama between characters.
Overall, the first 10 episodes of Proserpina Park are a great introduction to this world. While having mythical creatures in it, it doesn’t detract from the human element that stories need to have in order to resonate. Those looking for an example of how to plot without twists and still keep it engaging, this and “Untold Virginia” are perhaps the two best podcasts at this.
9/10 Stars
Residents of Proserpina Park will release the first episode of their third season on May 15.
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A romance set in the gaming world of Fallout 76 sounds like the spark for a basic, decent story idea. How it grows from the writer’s mind onto the page and ultimately into the ears of listeners is a different issue. That being execution. With the world already setup by Bethesda and the original developers behind the first two Fallout games, the writer of this romance, Brad Williams can focus on telling a story and not worry about continuity.
The Romance Genre: Tropes and ThemesThe story uses the tropes found in not just romance, but the post-apocalypse genre and maybe a hint of “Romeo and Juliet’s” opening premise that’s blended together with the overall taste of this hearty piece of an aged queen mirelurk steak from the game itself. Being set in the world of Fallout, a setting all about factions and what happens post-nuclear war, romance is a story element that isn’t tied to the genre of fiction about a post-apocalyptic world. You can have a romance in pretty much any story. The question is what the setting adds to the tropes that romance genre fans will enjoy.
Romance as a genre is intrinsically formulaic. You know you’re getting a happily ever after by the end. The journey is the second most important thing on a macro level. It’s the will-they-won’t-they dynamic and the textual embodiment of Fabio on the the cover that’s both a cliche and not. Third, I’d argue, are the characters. All three aren’t mutually exclusive or all inclusive of every romance genre trope.
A Fallout 76 Love Triangle? I’ll Raise You a Romantic RectangleLove triangles are more like < than shaped like an actual triangle. A triangle has three sides, but often in romances it’s just one character who can’t decide between one person or the other. Those two romantic interests often don’t have feelings for the other one. The focal point is the main character and it branches off into them falling in love with both of them but having to choose one over the other.
This Fallout 76 romance isn’t just an actual triangle. It’s more a rectangle. There are four characters who have been involved somehow romantically. Amanda, Beth, Cindy and Odessa. At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist—Amanda, Beth and Cindy have a love triangle all on their own. Amanda and Beth have history together and so do Amanda and Cindy. Beth and Cindy are also a pairing. The odd grouping out are Amanda, Cindy and Casey. Someone who was with Beth in Vault 76. If those three have a past or even a spark, it’s mentioned briefly and ultimately doesn’t affect the story.
Some relationship pairings are deeper than others. Perhaps the most obvious one is the bond between Amanda and Beth. Their chemistry is perhaps even more apparent than the main couple of Odessa and Beth who meet in episode one and fall in love so quickly that it feels disingenuous to the people inside the story. Not to ship anyone, but
Character Dynamics and PlotPlot is clearly second fiddle to characters, as Brad Williams has said in the minisodes published between seasons one and two. His focus was on character interactions and dynamics. For him, good characters can turn a good story great. However, you still need a plot. Otherwise the great story will just be good if everything else is done well. That’s where my complaints lie with this Fallout 76 romance.
It’s a breath of fresh air to not see the typical romantic comedy plot rehashed and have different story beats than one might expect in this first season. In terms of engagement I wasn’t invested until the episode with a content warning about an attempted sexual assault by one of the characters. After that, the only other episode aside from the finale that confused me was episode seven.
Playing 3D Chess in a Fallout 76 HolotapeAs listeners we are trying our best to put round objects in round holes on iPad. We’re working on a 2D plane. Brad Williams is playing with real blocks and three dimensional space. That rectangle is actually a cube. I won’t try and explain what happens in episode seven. Do know, however, that I have so many questions. Key among them being is the journey up until Beth and Odessa a simulation? Is this Fallout 76 meets Inception?
Episode seven feels like a transition point for the moments we’re with Beth. As soon as she’s out, everything goes back to normal. On paper, this section of the story undoubtedly makes more sense than what one hears in the final product. Maybe not that much, but a difference nevertheless. With Odessa and Beth trying to perform espionage, having them call each other by their fake names so one scientist doesn’t get suspicious just plain confusing. After Beth escapes the simulation(s?), the trajectory returns until the last episode when the simulator aspect is brought up again. At that point, I gave up trying to understand what happened in those sequences. It’s probably an Occam’s razor situation, except the simplest possible solution eludes me.
The heart of the story for me was just shy of working the way the creator intended. The overall tone never wavered and that’s hard to do. It’s much easier, to the point of being accidental, to start with one story and end with another. The only thing linking them together are the characters, often times acting out of to force the ending to work. For this Fallout 76 romance, the external plot regarding the Morning Star was far more interesting for me than the will they won’t they dynamics between all the female characters. In short: the morning star plot was the more engaging, but handled less than ideally. The romance plot on the other hand was less interesting but handled better.
7.5/10 Stars
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There are many names in pulp era of the 1920s-40s that have stood the test of time. The Shadow, Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, Zorro. Some of these characters have influenced future characters and stories while others have been rightfully seen as problematic. It was a different time back then, but there are few characters who were both problematic and have remained in the zeitgeist for almost a century. Flash Gordon is one of those characters.
History, Adaptations and its InfluenceOriginally a comic strip inspired by Buck Rogers that ran from 1934 to 1992 as a daily newspaper, Flash Gordon and characters like him can be seen as misogynistic and outdated in today’s world. However, we probably wouldn’t have Star Wars if not for the character.
From space opera aesthetics to the opening credit crawl, Flash Gordon and the stories set “in a galaxy far, far away” have much in common. George Lucas has said that characters like Gordon and Rogers had an influence on Star Wars. Today, the intellectual property spanning generations has gone on to inspire other works in the science fiction genre. Everything from fan fiction in various media and officially licensed spin-offs, series and specials to new stories with similar aesthetics.
Flash Gordon: Fourth Wall Cracks and Bad Acting HumorThe second episode of “Amazing Interplanetary Adventures of Flash Gordon” starts with the camp dialed up to 11. It both sounds like something that might’ve aired in the twentieth century while also sounding modern. The best analogy that the opening leans into is the bad porno scene, complete with wooden acting and obvious innuendo. It’s clearly intentional, but it wasn’t until they escape that it becomes obvious that this is an original script with characters from the series.
The first hint that this isn’t an adaptation comes from the back and forth between Flash Gordon and Prince Baron are talking about faces. When Baron responds to “Oh yeah, say it to my face.” with “I am, literally, right now.” The scene acts as a fourth wall crack. It’s not quite a break, but it makes clear that the words were written after the original series ended.
Despite the new material, the people at the Mindstream Players production and Lumen Actus productions clearly know how capture that sense of wonder many of us find goofy today. There are 6 episodes in total so far.
8/10 Stars
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The story of “Hell Gate City” is a mystery plot, but at least half episodes belong to an improv or variety show. The episodes dealing with the mystery, aside from the two-part season finale, on first listen were hard to distinguish from the radio variety show format.
Hell Gate City: Puns Galore in a Variety Show Episode one of “Hell Gate City” is where the radio station aesthetic kicks in. If you aren’t listening carefully, it can take at least two playthroughs to grasp the humor. Each comedic bit is bouncing off the walls with puns and radio station jokes that often hit, but are so fast that there’s not enough time to appreciate them. The radio spots for fictional companies like Trappy’s hot sauce whose jingles stay the same, but the words leading up to “the favorite of your pappy’s and your great grandpappy’s. Trappy’s hot sauce” change in increasingly ridiculous scenarios. It’s definitely a great bit.
The rest of the radio spots the second time through were like eating a Hershey’s semi-sweet kiss. You can taste the difference between it and a regular chocolate morsel, but most of the nutritional value is gone.
Six Episodes of Plot, Two of Substance in Hell Gate CityIt’s not until episode six that the second out of the six total episodes, dedicated to the main story, that the mystery begins to unravel. Once I finished the season finale, going back was a much better experience. It wasn’t without its faults, however.
Even focusing solely on the plot episodes and skipping/not listening as carefully to the radio ones proved harder than expected. The series almost requires the listener to stop and take breaks before starting or resuming the plot. With two episodes in between the middle of the plot episodes, you either forget the previous plot episode or are so engrossed with the variety format that the story portion feels like an afterthought. This is in spite of the fact that there are more episodes dedicated to it. For reference, the plot episodes are 0, 6, 8, 9, and 10. It’s like catching up with a story, getting your bearings only to start an entirely new story thread for a whole chapter. Whatever momentum was built is gone when you return.
“Hell Gate City” wants to have both a variety-style radio show and a dystopian plot with a character whose only saving grace is that he’s sometimes funny. Yes, his tragic backstory involving his dad is interesting, but it comes too little too late. To say the show has a bit of an identity crisis is putting it mildly. It wants to do it all and by doing so weakens the sum of its parts. On their own, the story elements of Hell Gate City are all there. They’re just combined in a way to detracted from my overall enjoyment of the series.
7.5/10- Stars
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Ex Tenebris is a unique experience and an acquired taste. Strap yourself in and prepare yourself for an epic music/storytelling production unlike anything you’ve heard before.
From the start, the music sets the stage and is the dominant form of audio in the album. The actual story and drama is something to be desired as the script takes a back seat to the epic chanting a la the Halo video game franchise. In fact, Halo: Combat Evolved is the most appropriate comparison someone could make on both the story and music. Ex Tenebris feels like it could’ve started as Halo fan fiction. They share a lot of the same elements and beats.
At this point, it should be explained what is meant by music and story. This isn’t your typical audio drama. Rather than have background music, Ex Tenebris goes the route of the avant-garde and has entire songs of nothing but orchestral strings, sweeping synths, and generic Hans Zimmer drums. By the fifth of six musical track, it got a bit tedious.
The story portion of this production is generic, cliched science fiction horror at worst and an Alien franchise ripoff at best. The dialogue here is bad. There’s no getting around it. While the performances aren’t nearly as bad, they don’t enhance anything. A good actor can make bad dialogue at least sound somewhat better. In this case, it comes across as more standard military jargon inserted clumsily into B-movie horror film. Saying “fubar” every few seconds draws attention to itself in all the wrong ways.
If you buy this on iTunes, you’ll be disappointed with your purchase. Assuming you’re looking for an audio drama. Purchase it on Bandcamp and at least you receive bonus material and at a cheaper price. Apparently, there are more than one of these audio drama/music hybrids by the same creator. With the attention focused so heavily on the music rather than a well-crafted story, taking a chance on others in the series is going to be a risk. And we received a free review copy. Still, the production quality and sound design were well done. Just not good enough to save the drama and story portions of the album.
3.5/5 Stars
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A collection of short audio fiction, mixed together with somewhat upbeat songs found on indie and alternative radio stations, the aptly named “Sad Stories and Happy Songs” is diametrically opposed with itself. Yet the tones work well together on a conceptual level.
The individual stories and songs might have competing tones. After all, the listener is given a sad story and a happy song one after another in that order until the hour-long production closes out with one last tune. Albeit a badly sung one. Which begs the question of why it was chosen at all. A cover of a Paul McCartney song should be at the very least enjoyable. This sounded like a cat being run over by a train.
In addition to the juxtaposition of genres acting as both stimulant and barrier for some, the stories themselves aren’t memorable. Yes, they’re emotional, but you’d be hardpressed to remember what they’re about. This requires more than one listen. And it’s a listen, thanks to the music, that makes it more tedious than enjoyable.
There are about one or two decent songs in this hour-long audio drama and they both happen early on. The second track is the most mainstream in terms of its melody and beat.
Radio: AM vs FMIt should be mentioned there is a frame narrative which connects the individual “sad stories” with the music and vice versa. It’s similar to King Falls AM, except its primarily about the backstory behind each of the drama portions. The host sounds like a radio DJ. He creates a welcoming atmosphere for the listener. A sort of mixture between the calm, docile, and informative content of an AM radio and the voice and energy of an FM radio host. By far it’s one of the more entertaining aspects of the show.
Overall the stories are sad, but forgettable—and the music happy, but range from decent to just plain bad.
4/5 Stars
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The audio version of the review is now up on Patreon. Obviously.
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Warning: If the mere mention of rape and all its various other names causes you distress, Step 9 and the following review might not be for you.
This audio drama, written by Jack Confora is on a subject that is either danced around or has its consequences not talked about enough in real life. Step 9 doesn’t pull punches when talking about rape, able to capture both sides of the aisle without resorting to strawmen arguments disguised as characters. With somewhat shifting perspectives on the issue, it’s impossible to pin down the writer’s own thoughts. It’s a “Captain America: Civil War” situation where your beliefs will make you side with one party over the other. But still, you understand the other’s arguments and might agree on some level.
Step 9: Slow and Shallow Beginning, Quick and Deep Middle The first episode is entirely forgettable and almost skippable. It sets up the story and the characters of Emily and her daughter, with the latter not being heard until later in this 8-episode audio play. Aside from that, there’s not much plot progression and what little there is happens at the end and is akin to reading “he opened the door and …. Next Chapter. With a less-than-optimal start to this audio play, expectations were moderately low. The near-constant plosive sounds from less-than-ideal mic techniques almost turned me off entirely. It does show again in later episodes, but by that point, the story is in full throttle and barely noticeable.
The middle of this audio drama was not a slog in any sense of the word. I will gladly stop listening if there’s nothing engaging me with the story. It gives the creator and their team a better chance to not have their labor be affected by my personal mood at the time of listening. It’s also why I tend to listen to shows I don’t particularly care at least a second time. My opinion might change dramatically. Sometimes that’s harder to do, especially with longer audio dramas and especially traditional audiobooks. All this is to say that I binged Step 9 and I’m not much of even a casual binger even with shows I like.
Trauma and Ostracism From episode 2 onward, the story gains both depth and breadth for an issue with a very real past and very real consequences. While making Step 9 about rape and its aftermath isn’t easy to tackle, playwright Jack Confora doesn’t just walk along the line. He gives us a gymnastics performance on it instead.
A line of dialogue that stood out was: the person who is raped is traumatized for life, so why not the rapist? I’m paraphrasing but it brings up a legitimate argument you don’t hear often. At least not in such a succinct way that it can’t be swept under the rug.
Step 9: An Ending or EpilogueWhile the middle is engaging, the ending misses the mark. If you’re a fan of a story skipping ahead to an epilogue, you’ll enjoy it. If you want to see how the characters resolve the conflict in the scenes, you’ll be disappointed. The main plot doesn’t really get resolved in a satisfying way. The writer of Step 9 might have a lot to say about rape and its after-effects, but like the balance beam metaphor above, it doesn’t quite stick the landing.
7.5/10+ Stars
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The first four episodes of “The Mantawauk Caves” have been an exact copy of most successful true crime fiction podcasts by big media released in the past 5 years. It’s a serious take on something that Audible’s “Unlicensed” original podcast handles with humor and character quirks. It uses all the tropes and does some of them well and others not so much.
If your audio drama is about a murder, a small town, or a murder in a small town—you have the current recipe that big media seem to be looking for in regards to audio fiction. The problem, aside from lack of creativity, is that there’s nothing new being added to said recipe. It’s the difference between a microwavable meal and an appetizer olive garden. The portion sizes are roughly the same, but one tastes better due the ingredients and how it’s cooked.
All that said, what “Mantawauk Caves” does do well, it excels in—almost nullifying the less than enjoyable or overdone aspects. The narration by the main character is often in one ear out the other. Aside from a few flashback scenes playing in the background as he narrates it, what you need to know is simple. The double homicide of a Tennessee deacon’s two children by someone who most everyone thinks killed them gets an another chance.
Donnie Darko + A Murder in Mantawauk CavesThe main character of Julien Soles is, without a doubt, an unreliable narrator in the same vein as “Donnie Darko.” The opening of episodes three and four begin with him waking up from a nightmare involving a grey man at 11:11 and 3:33. Is the mysterious man or demon an homage to the rabbit in the early Jake Gyllenhaal film from 2001.
That particular revelation, whether true or not, didn’t click until the most recent episode. There’s an ominous and almost obvious sense that Julien is coming back because either he killed the two boys, or knows who did. After listening to episode 4, my money’s on the father now.
By far the most interesting scenes are the ones involving two people talking. The runner ups are the bullying flashback scenes for their realistic portrayal of school bullies. Everything else more or less blends together to form the bronze medal of basic narration.
Minor Nitpick: Mantawauk County or Mantawauk CavesThe title is “The Mantawauk Caves” and while they play an important role in the story, thus far we’ve only learned about them as it pertains to the past. If you told me that it was called caves and not county, I’d tell you you’re wrong due to my eyes not being what they used to. Maybe it’s just me but county sounds better than caves. It’s also in line with a lot of similar stories and they’re titles. “Uncanny County” comes to mind immediately for obvious reasons.
It’s clear this audio drama is banking on its ending blowing everyone out of the water as the techniques they are using are all quite obvious if you have any knowledge of writing and storytelling. Will it do something different. I’ve left my thoughts above on who I think killed the two brothers
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If “Where the Stars Fell” takes a serious, yet charming look at cryptozoology. Murphy plays it straight all the way through, adding an epic feel to an often laughed at field of study. It’s blend of non-horror X-files with some non-romantic urban fantasy elements make for an interesting counter example of how to treat cryptozoology with a modicum of respect.
The first episode, titled “Pilot,” is exactly that. It sets up the premise and characters and either keeps the listener wanting more or boring them for a little less than an hour. While I enjoyed episode 1, there were plenty of moments that I wish could’ve been sped up or skipped entirely. In the behind the scenes episode that premiered in between episodes three and four, one of the writers said it was their first audio drama script.
Law and Order, created by Dick (Were)WolfWerewolf puns and “Law and Order” jokes aside, the second episode involves a werewolf. That may be a spoiler, but suspicions are placed in the first scene. Not that there’s a werewolf in this episode. but that these two people, Peter Bourdot and Phillis Burger are up to no good. Phyllis slithers his S-sounds like a snake and Peters accent is either French, Eastern European or both. It’s inconsistent if you’re paying close enough attention.
Both fortunately and unfortunately, if one does gives their utmost attention, they’ll find some plot holes in the form of why shoot a bullet at someone if you’re just going to blow up the building? One doesn’t leave a bullet for forensics to find unless the writer needs that to move the plot along. This is what I feel happened the moment I gave this my full attention on second listen. Questions that a constable in the UK would think a little suspicious.
Jack’s refusal to believe that Peter or Phyllis might be a werewolf isn’t the irritating part. I won’t say who the werewolf is, but the episode makes it clear that Murphy thinks it’s one of them. The frustrating part that didn’t bother me until a second listen was the questions of why someone reopened the case if it was closed, and they had a confession. Add in the fact that Jack and Murphy’s digging reveals the truth about the killer being a werewolf and could’ve been avoided by not assigning them, or anyone else for that matter, to the case. A lot of things didn’t add up that were outside the confines of the story’s world. There may be a reason given that I missed. But it’s either mentioned so briefly or not at all that it seems like an afterthought.
Murphy 3: With “Blood” in the Title, You Know There’s VampiresIf Murphy episode two was a Jack-focused story, then episode three is all about Murphy and her past. Episode four, according to its description, sees the group travel to Ireland to handle an Elliot-based story. At least I assume, as I haven’t listened to it yet. I’m hoping episode five gets into the meat and potatoes of the series as a whole. Here in episode three, we learn more about what Murphy was trained to do.
Like the episode before, I have questions. This time they’re more about blocking than inconsistencies in the plot. That is where things are in relation to other people. The problem didn’t start at the beginning. Rather it happened toward the end when Murphy’s former monster hunter teacher mentions her parents. Someone exits the car. I thought it was the teacher. Yet later he’s driven the car into a pond and committed a quadruple murder-homicide. I had no idea what was going on until someone mentioned it a bit too late for my taste.
Despite the complaints that may have answers to them, the sound design and music are what make this audio drama stand out. It’s up there with shows like We’re Alive in terms of production quality. For their first time creating an audio drama, this was more than a simple turn on the microphone and start recording. Props to everyone involved. Even if I have problems with how the story is unfolding doesn’t mean the story itself is bad. It’s just noticeably neutral, which is also the rating.
7/10 Stars
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Mac (and Bonnie’s) comes recommended by Ana Muso who calls it “well done, with a lot of heart.”
This audio drama series is a podcast where steady and somber are the keywords best used to describe the show. Both in terms of plot/structure and the performances. For a story about moving forward and looking back, it’s quite unique in almost every way.
Quiet Performances and Somber PacingThe pacing feels slow due to the performances of the actors. The character of Mac with his melancholic delivery paired together with certain dialogue make for a different response from the listener. It’s oxymoronic in a way. The juxtaposition of a calm, soft-spoken cadence with lines such as “I’m gonna die if I hear one more story about Barney’s wife.” A line that’s meant to be a joke for the listener, but comes across as desperation from the character. It’s not bad, just different.
Despite the short duration of the first couple of episodes, it can feel like it drags on in places. The quiet performances of the actors make it more noticeable. An aspect that isn’t, at least for me, is the recap at the beginning of episodes. Podcasts such as this are more than likely going to be binged as the time commitment is so little. Having a two minute recap of what happened a few minutes ago for the average listener, seems like a waste of storytelling real estate.
Mac (and Bonnie’s): A Musical without the Song and DanceAt the time of this writing there are four episodes with the second one split into two parts. That last part of the second episode and the opening of episode three, aside from both having recaps, give a musical number vibe. The shift in the background music from piano to synths is so dramatic that you expect the “guests” to start breaking out into song. Or maybe that’s just me.
For a story about a bar owned by a man in his 60s, images of the TV show Cheers (1982-1993) might come to mind for some older millennials. Having not watched the show due to being less than 5 years old at the time it aired, I can’t say it resembles Mac (and Bonnie’s). Based on what I know, Cheers is more sitcom set in a bar. This audio drama is something else entirely. It tackles issues of race in a way that amps up the relatively somber tone of the show to something resembling horror.
While the audio drama is certainly fresh in its execution, the story told isn’t anything fresh. For sure, this is a character story with some big plot elements in certain episodes, but it’s in service of the characters Mac and Bonnie.
8/10 Stars
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Where the Stars Fell is crowdfunding its third season. It’s also the first submission we received on our Audio Drama recommendation form.
Where The Stars Fell was Recommended By…Milo Katz recommends this audio drama for its take on gay and neurodivergent representation. Something the show does “exceptionally well.”
Inclusivity and ConflictIn storytelling, it’s often said that conflict is king. People are interested in clashes both big and small, external and internal, and range from interpersonal to multi-personal consequences. By that logic, it would seem that being inclusive implies less conflict. A writer can remove conflict from a character’s journey because they don’t want bad things to happen to them. Often times the result is an easy and simple path to the character’s desire at their story’s end. That’s not what creator Newt Schottelkotte does with their audio drama. Inclusivity and conflict is handled well in the first episode. It’s miscommunication and a character quirk combined that feels more like characterization than something from TV Tropes.
Instead of treating this urban (rural) fantasy with mythical creatures as something like the myriad of children’s literature, Schottelkotte goes the more realistic route. There are mythical monsters of the week, but the source of tension comes from the interpersonal conflict between Dr. Edison Tucker and in-world fantasy author Lucille Kensington who are constantly butting heads. It’s an odd couple situation and full of typical sitcom drama that it got old during the middle episodes. Some moments shined brighter than others. Particular those around stereotyping having the potential to harm someone, not just black and white. By the second to last episode, I was still waiting for something big to happen, even if it was big to the characters in the story.
Where the Stars Fell Climax: A Motivational Twist?To say I enjoyed the the last couple of episodes would be an understatement. Episode seven more so than eight. I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers, but the best way I can describe what happens near the end of the first season is to call it a twist in motivation rather than plot. Character motivations don’t change in the sense that the listener never knew the characters motivation at all. That can be done, but it helps to have a red herring motivation for it to work at all. Even then, it’s hard to pull off well.
One scene took this audio drama to the next level. The roughly three pages of monologue about Edwin’s past left me speechless. Engrossed in every word, like reading a good book you can’t put down, I thought I missed my flight at the airport listening to it the first time. I was in the zone and Schottelkotte’s performance was seamless. Whether there was editing involved, the flow of the monologue is smooth, yet bumpy when it needs to be for emotional value.
Characterization and EccentricitiesI applaud Newt and their sensitivity reader for not equating autistic quirks with eccentric behaviors. It would have been so easy to make Lucille a carbon copy of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. Something that is a point of contention for many people on the spectrum and those who support them.
The character interactions between Lucille and Edwin are almost funny at times. Yet the humor doesn’t detract from the serious issues raised about mental health. The only thing keeping this first season from a 10/10 are the middle episodes. Even still, the last two episodes definitely have qualities of a “Repeat Listen” rating.
9.5/10+ Stars
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Broadcast News StoryEarlier this year, I produced a 30-minute newscast for a journalism class. One of the stories we showed, I put together last semester and wrote a web article this semester. It was about an audio drama company in Chicago.
News StoryInterview 1Interviews 2 and 3Coming Soon…
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An Update to the Recommendations FormI’ve decided to branch out the recommendation form to include the following positions:
- Sound designers/mixers
- Composers
The previous rule of any writer or creator of a show can’t recommend it themselves still applies. A fan is still eligible, but after thinking about it a bit more, I decided why not give the unsung heroes of audio drama a turn as well as those going the extra mile to compose original music.
Podcast NewsFor the past few months, I’ve gotten recommendations from fans of certain audio dramas and today is the first of these shows. The podcast you know and hopefully loved before the robots took over will return. I’ll be reading the reviews for the Audio Drama Reviews podcast. Some may be abridged, while others might be unabridged. It depends on if I can certain words on the days I record.
Since the website already has a text-to-speech function for newer reviews and those upcoming, it didn’t make much sense to have the podcast do the same thing. Expect the previous two months of reviews to drop sometime in March as 1-2 episodes. Reviews outside of the Black identity and history celebration like Harley Quinn and Quiet Part Loud will hopefully be a nice drop in your day sometime before that collection drops.
Blog NewsNo reviews the next couple of Sundays. We’ll resume a relatively consistent schedule depending on how many new recommendations I get. I’m hoping to have something special release between now and then. Reviews will return March 19.
Tentative Release Schedule* March 19 – Where the Stars Fell S1 * March 26 – Mac (and Bonnies) * April 2 – Murphy * April 9 – Step 9
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PrefaceDuring Fall 2021, I wrote an essay on the first two seasons of Timestorm through the lens of a customized 20th century theory of interpreting the world. Its original incarnation, called “grotesque realism” is attributed to Mikhail Bakhtin of Russia. My Latinx American pop culture class at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign simply called it the grotesque. The name is misleading, hence why I’ve added this preface to help readers better understand what I mean when I say “grotesque.” At its core, the theory is about openings and inclusivity rather than closed loops and exclusion. Something referred to as part of the new bodily canon. Also spoilers for seasons 1 and two of Timestorm.
EssaySpoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of Timestorm
Timestorm is an audio drama podcast, which ran from 2019-2021 and lasted 3 seasons. Created by Dania Ramos for a middle-grade audience (ages 8-12), the story follows two Puerto Rican twins, Beni and Alexa Ventura, as they travel through time to “witness, find, remember” important artifacts that have been lost to history.
The first task of the Ventura twins brings them to 1838 where they meet Celestina Cordero—a schoolteacher for girls in San Juan before public schools in Puerto Rico or the United States were even a thing. Celestina and her brother Rafael were both figures who led the charge for equal education regardless of one’s background or identity. The story’s plot concludes with episode five and is one way that Timestorm mirrors the grotesque. That being of serialized fiction and the correlation between it and independent publishing.
Serialized fiction is not as mainstream compared to earlier centuries. Whether it’s the written word or an audio adventure from the golden age of radio, or the modern-day audio drama movement of the twenty-first century—incomplete stories are often deemed unpublishable in the traditionally published landscape of today. Predominantly focused on white American and European writers until recently, the lack of representation in book publishing is the new bodily canon in practice.
Going back to the Timestorm episode where Alexa and Beni meet the Cordero siblings to “retrieve a plea of equality” the episode splits the twins up early on, as was customary at the time due to a gender bias in education. They soon learn people from the nineteenth century aren’t that different from their twenty-first descendants. Despite being in an all-girls school, the other students gang up on Alexa for accidentally breaking some chalk. A school supply that is not easily replenishable, because of the sexist tendencies of nineteenth-century Puerto Rican society and government. By the end of the two-episode story arc, we understand the gravity of a certain question the twins struggle with. Why do something if you know it will end badly? In the real world, the answer is that nobody can predict the future. Alexa and Beni, they have the choice to change the past, but can’t despite all the hardships they would potentially prevent. The people behind the show could’ve let the episode speak for itself in terms of its relevancy today. Instead, they took the time to include an episode guide for the first ten full episodes of the series. These guides include their research into lesser-known historical figures whom Beni and Alexa encounter on their adventures.
Unlike season one, season two of Timestorm has an overarching plot broken up into pieces to create a sense of progress for the twins. At the end of several episodes, the artificial intelligence known as Atabey (also the name of one of the Taíno’s—indigenous Puerto Ricans—supreme deities), tells the two time-traveling kids that the quest is incomplete. Through this multi-part journey, they learn just how horrible the Atlantic slave trade was for generations of African slaves.
While the life of African slaves is far too gruesome to depict on a children’s program, the listener can still feel its weight as they learn about what happened to an African from Senegal named Idrissa and how he is the twin’s ancestor. This revelation is appropriate for a middle-school age demographic, but the sequence of events leading up to it can be a bit confusing.
However, more interesting than the chronology of events is how the creators—Dania Ramos and the rest of Cocotazo Media—use our course’s modern idea of the grotesque to explain history in a complex, yet simple way. For the full effect, I recommend listening to the first half of season two, which focuses on the multi-stage quest depicted above. These are episodes 11-17.
In addition to the transatlantic boundary-blurring of what it means to be of African and Puerto Rican descent, Timestorm also tackles discrimination against black and brown people today in a manner that is succinct and poignant. A good example is the bonus minisode titled “Beni’s Silence” the listener learns the reason for Beni being quiet on the car trip home in episode 15. While a bit heavy-handed, it’s by no means an inaccurate portrayal of white supremacy in action. The decision to make this a short or “miniature episode” of an event we already experienced, but told from a different perspective, is a tried-and-true method of writing craft and storytelling technique.
In some ways, Timestorm is a new paradigm as it blends the simple and the complex into something fresh. Unlike the new bodily canon, this viewpoint is not closed-off or restrictive. It’s also not that complicated to understand, sympathize, and act respectfully with the other.
8/10 Stars
BonusPre-orders are now open for the next book in the Audio Drama Reviews’ Review Collections series. This is the Podtales 2019 book I gave out to people and sold to some others. The book releases on March 7, 2023
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The second season of Bronzeville takes what worked with season one and amps the story portion up to a 2000s Scorcese film level of quality.
A Non-Linear The Departed with a Black CastThe vibe this story gives off is The Departed meets Pulp Fiction. It has all the engagement of the former and the episodic nature of the latter that all come together in a nice bow at the end.
Bronzeville season two follows three main characters and their storylines involving the fallout from season one. A lot of what happened in that arc didn’t ring any bells. Even with a recap at the beginning of the season, this felt like a new show I was listening to for the first time.
Law and Order: Jim CrowLike season one, Bronzeville both chronicles the lives of Black Chicago and tells an episodic story. That storyline is a bit like an episode of Law and Order with an A and B plot, meshed together with a season-long arc that doesn’t hit you until an episode or two before the finale.
At seven podcast episodes (with the first being a two-parter), it takes a while to get to the best engaging part of the season. For me, that’s the actual trial scene. After listening to the beginning a second time, a lot of the story came together nicely. On my first listen, the standout plot threads—in order of interest—were the trial of Henry Davis, Jimmy Tillman and Lisa Copeland’s romance with a separate arc for each of them, and the conversations involving Lawrence Fishburne’s Curtis “Eyeball” Randolph.
The plan itself feels pretty disingenuous in the world of Bronzeville. It’s even slyer the way the writers pull a Glass Onion where the reveal is hinted at throughout as early as the first episode. At least, I think that’s what happened.
Comparing this season with the previous and there’s a big difference between them. That is the absence of or any mention of communism. In some ways, this feels like a mini-series one might find on Netflix or the BBC.
Bronzeville Season Two – A Tale of Two ChicagosAfter a white landlord is murdered by a black tenant, the two worlds of Chicago might collide. Both groups are caught between a proverbial rock and a hard place. If the defendant is found not guilty, the outrage from whites would mean bad news for the Black population. The same thing could happen, but on the other side of the Black/white race divide.
White people have the power and influence to make good on threats. The Black population of Bronzeville, by contrast. would have to fight an uphill battle. Which outcome is the lesser of two evils in a utilitarian sense is lightly debated by the people with influence in the story. Much like we see in today’s systemic violence against blacks, there’s no lesser of two equal evils here. It’s one more powerful evil and one less powerful one. The end result of their conflict being the proverbial annihilation of the weaker power. To even the playing field, radical change is often needed.
8.5/10- Stars
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Some things people expect in a period piece about Black people. The portrayal of traditional racism in the civil rights movement, slavery in the south, Jim Crow laws, and segregation. Others, like the imprisonment of activist Angela Davis, are topics glossed over at best; forgotten at worst.
After doing a bit of research on the historical figure of Angela Davis, it became clear why she isn’t talked about in history classrooms in K-12 schools. Because the issue is fraught with opposing views stemming from somewhat outdated Cold War politics, many people would rather ignore the discussion. At the very least they dismiss it outright as not worth it or dangerous to the (white) population.
Prison Reform and Melodrama for Angela Davis Davis’ role in prison reform is something that should’ve upset the pond to where the ripples’ effects led to actual change. Aside from California getting rid of the death penalty in 1972, not much has changed in terms of prison reform. Most notably the bail system. Something the writer Yhane Washington Smith points out at the end of each episode in this seven-part series.
While the message is clear and articulated well for the most part in the opening and closing credits, the story runs from cringe to eye-rolling in terms of the performances. It’s a bit too over the top and begs whether Smith rushed the production to coincide with the anniversary of Davis’s acquittal. Smith’s other period piece “Harlem Queen” is leagues above some actors’ voice acting and mic quality. At least starting in season 2 of that show.
Angela Davis and Shirley Chisholm: Black Fighters in a Post-Civil Rights World Part of the problem with doing anything closer to the twenty-first century or more recent historical events is making a character seem like a monolith in their ideas. People are complicated. I’d be shocked if Angela Davis or former Congresswoman Chisholm talked that way all the time. The story does have moments with the politics dialed down. The scene in prison between Angela Davis and George Jackson is set at a nice clip but ends the conversation with a political mantra that feels more like the writer using big words that don’t feel natural to say. You can even hear the actress begin to run out of breath because there’s so much being said in one sentence.
Studying Angela Davis: Doing Your Homework Before Dinner Normally, I let a historical fiction story dictate whether I dig deeper into the time, place, or person in question. Knowing about the events as they happened helped the enjoyment immensely. They were like easter eggs, but for history. I wish I did this before starting this mini-series about 1970s civil rights activists. It still didn’t make some of the dialogue work.
7.5/10- Stars
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The historical drama based on actual events during United States’ Jazz Age is three seasons long. Still, it has a subtextual depth that rivals that of Tolkien’s middle earth and the immersion readers get reading it. Harlem Queen is everything an armchair historian looks for in a historical fiction piece without substituting conflict for easter eggs and historical fan service
Harlem Queen, Madame St. Claire and the Numbers GameThe entire series is three seasons long at roughly four episodes per season. While the first season upon initial listening struggles to find its footing, its finale is where the story’s depth becomes apparent. Harlem Queen is the story of Madame Stephanie St. Clair and her racketeering empire in the form of a numbers game. Numbers games blended gambling, lottery winnings, and investment banking for a predominantly Black demographic.
St. Claire was the only woman involved in the numbers game, which made her a target for many takeovers of her territory. The Harlem Queen’s business savvy and sense of equity for the Black populace shine through in her decision to pay more than her competitors. Famous mob bosses such as Lucky Luciano make cameos later on in the series.
The “Saint” Clair of HarlemThe rivalry between the Bronx-based mob boss Dutch Schultz and the Harlem Queen as depicted in the show is the main source of external conflict for Stephanie St. Claire. The internal conflict is a beautifully complex example of dramatic irony and has more of an indirect connection to St. Claire herself. Stephanie’s daughter is living a lie without realizing it. She is able to pass as white and is totally oblivious to her heritage thanks to St. Claire’s money, power, and discrete handling of the issue. It’s a similar character to my own historical fantasy about a boy born in one world but raised in another, just made more modern.
Briefly glancing at the Wikipedia page for Stephanie St. Claire and this 11-episode series tackles the subheadings found on the page and is more or less consistent with the quality. Searching for any mention of the daughter proved fruitless, but artistic license is sometimes necessary to give a story weight. Assuming the character of Michele existed in some form only adds to the real-world credibility of just how successful Ms. St. Claire was in hiding the truth from her enemies and allies.
Harlem Queen: The Third and Final Season?The third season doesn’t end with St. Clair’s death in 1968. After getting out of the numbers game, St. Claire married someone people referred to as “Black Hitler.” The writer, Yhane Washington Smith chooses to end the series (with hopefully more coming soon) with the Harlem Queen’s arrest in a tragedy worthy of Shakespeare. No spoilers, but it’s a distant second to the bard’s take on the assassination of Julius Caesar in terms of its iconic nature. Definitely in second place for betrayals in modern audio dramas. At least the ones I’ve listened to so far. First place has to go to the second season finale of the Bright Sessions.
The downer and abrupt nature of an ending for the show does kind of leave a bad taste in your mouth. However, it feels intentional. The decision gives the listener a sense of dread that is on par with the ending of Blackbirds.
Overall, Harlem Queen does what any good historical story should achieve at some level: get people interested in the period or person they’re dramatizing. It dips in places in terms of technical quality, but that’s true of a lot of independent audio dramas.
Rating: Internally Consistent (8/10 Stars)
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By Logical Positions Staff Writers
Since podcasts are completely audio, improving the production value can be difficult, as
we often think of production value in visual terms. If you want to improve your
podcast’s production value, we have some helpful tips below!
Invest in Better EquipmentIt seems obvious but still worth mentioning that if you want your podcast to sound more
professional, you must invest in better-quality equipment. One of the best ways to
improve the overall sound quality of your podcast is to get a professional-grade
microphone.
You and your audience will immediately notice the difference in sound quality! Many
podcasters start with USB microphones, which are convenient and affordable. But XLR
mics are more durable and better at producing a balanced sound free of distracting
noise.
Pro TipIf you record your podcast remotely, consider upgrading to professional-grade recording
software for a better sound.
Create a Captivating Intro & OutroWhat’s the first and last thing your audience hears when listening to your podcast? If it’s
simply a greeting and goodbye from you or the host, that leaves room for improvement.
You may like the simplicity of just your voice, but if you want to grab the audience’s
attention and get them intrigued enough to return to the podcast, consider creating an
original musical intro and outro.
If you’ve already done a lot of episodes, consider using clips from some of your favorite
moments to give new listeners a taste of what to expect. Or you could create a
completely original music intro or hire someone to produce it for you.
Pro TipAn intro and outro should be around 10 to 15 seconds long, but never longer than 30
seconds—at that point, you’re testing your audience’s patience.
Add Music & Sound EffectsAnother excellent way to improve your podcast’s production value is by adding
music or sound effects throughout the show. By sound effects, we don’t mean wacky
clips and cartoonish sounds (unless that’s what you want for your show) but clips and
sounds that better immerse the listener.
If your podcast has a storytelling angle, adding simple sound effects like wind blowing
against trees, rain falling on a window, or floorboards creaking can better engage your
listeners. If you don’t like sound effects, adding music for background effects or as a
short interlude between segments instantly adds a professional quality to the podcast.
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The first episode of the new series from iHeart Radio starts out with audible Star Wars opening credits crawl, but with words belong in a dungeons and dragons campaign. Those words are read by Arthur Morgan himself—Roger Clark. Intra Quest episode 1 releases February 3.
Intra Quest: Cyberpunk meets Epic Fantasy?I’ve only listened to episode 1 of Intra Quest, which comes out this Friday, at the time of this writing. The story thus far throws the kitchen sink right after heaving you under a stationary bus. It’s not as dangerous or disorienting as a moving one, but the combination of cyberpunk and epic fantasy gives a sort of dark portal fantasy vibe like the Magicians from Lev Grossman. Nothing wrong with that, it’s just a lot to take in even in a roughly 41 minute episode. I’m not sure if even did.
Worldbuilding and Dialogue: Believable or Expository?The setting is post-apocalyptic according to Clark’s narration. Assuming I understand the worldbuilding. An event happened that caused this world to to go backward technology-wise.
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Batman fans will know that the character of Harley Quinn doesn’t exactly have a sound mind. She didn’t even start out in the comics. Instead she premiered in Batman: The Animated Series where show runners Paul Dini and Bruce Timm created the clown price of crime’s co-dependent “love” interest in . A few years later and her origin story would premiere in the New Batman Adventures episode titled “Mad Love.” An adaptation of a comic book story written by Paul Dini. Since the episode premiered, Batman lore regarding the Joker changed forever.
From the video games to animated and live action movies, Harley Quinn’s depiction has been the serotonin to Joker’s psychosis. While some stories like Tell Tale’s Batman: The Enemy Within video game, have a different take on Harley Quinn, that story is more an outlier than a representation of the average Quinn storyline. That is, until today.
Harley Quinn’s Sound Mind and Audio Origin DebutThe gall and misogyny of the head psychologist toward Harleen Quinzell is so aggravating that you desperately want to punch him in the face. His and the other male doctor’s arrogance masquerading as a sense of ignorance and the belittlement towards Harleen is hair-pulling bad in a good way.
Horror angle of Bob’s mental breakdown is manipulative by the Joker. The words he says make it sound like the Joker is a Hannibal Lecter character. Someone who gets under your skin and in your mind. You almost feel bad for Bob even though earlier in the episode he’s a total prick.
Bruce Wayne: Public Face, Billionaire PlayboyMost accurate portrayal of Bruce Wayne public face mask. Even if you know Bruce Wayne is Batman performing Wayne as a billionaire playboy, this version comes across as a little more arrogant than other interpretations. Not nearly as much as the doctors in Arkham, but from Harleen’s point of view, they might as well be the same.
Bruce Wayne is played by Smallville’s Oliver Queen/Green Arrow Justin Hartley. Wayne’s personality is summed up perfectly by Harley’s remark at Bruce being Batman’s PR agent. It’s a dramatic meta irony that feels unique to a character that has over 75 years of lore.
Harley Quinn and the Sound Minds of her PatientsThe patients Quinzell treats act as a mirror of Harleen’s own struggle with misogyny and belittlement from everyone around her. Mag Pye’s introduction is more of the same. Ignoring the alter ego of Harley Quinn and her sound mind in a capitalist society. It brings up images of the “we live in a society” memes from Zac Synder’s Justice League. Another comparison would
The basic plan orchestrated by Joker and Harleen for her father is easily pieced together. However, it is a bit jarring at first. The way episode two ends and the third begins gives an implied conversation between Joker and Harley that is off-screen.
A Harley Quinn that uses Everything Everywhere All at OnceHarley Quinn and the Joker: Sound Mind was produced by Realm and released today on Spotify. The story combines practically every interpretation of the character and her relationship with the Joker, even the ones that contradict each other like Telltale’s reversal of the duo’s dynamic in their video game. Somehow, it just works.
8.5/10+ Stars
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Blackbirds: Volume 1, written by Andre Phillip Coleman and directed by Keena Ferguson, is the story of the Jim Crow south leading up to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s. To say this topic makes some people hesitant to talk about race is an understatement. However, Coleman does not hold any punches in his depiction of the legally segregated southern United States.
A Transcript and Screenplay of Jim CrowThe author of this audio drama comes from a visual background. It shows in the way he handles setting the scene. While not obvious until after the halfway point, there’s a sense that the voice-over narration is off. It took until episode 4 to grasp that the scene description was essentially in screenplay format. Everything clicked once that happened. I can only assume its intentional because of the writer’s background as a screenwriter. Normally the idea of using audio drama as a springboard to film and television is worrisome to me as it belittles the medium. However, the uniqueness of reading a screenplay for an audio drama. combined with individual voice actors for each role is something to marvel at. It’s something that shouldn’t work, but strangely does, due in no large part to the ending.
Before touching on the ending, it’s probably best to discuss the plot and characters. The setting of the segregated south is something many people know happened, and it’s not much different than most Hollywood films about the time period. The racism is blatant and the characters don’t try to hide it.
Oral Storytelling and NarrationThe narration evokes that feeling of listening to masterful oral storytelling. The long history of the oral tradition often isn’t touched by modern audio dramas. Instead, today’s creators focus on making the story as cinematic as possible. Black Birds is a nice callback to the oral tradition while still incorporating more modern techniques of storytelling.
An Ending for the Past and Present of Jim CrowThe ending is both screenwriting 101 and surprising, but not inevitable. The foreshadowing is there, but the implications are what make the finale stand out. It both subverts expectations while also fulfilling promises made to the characters inside the story. It makes the listener give a sigh of relief only to realize a brief second after that the worst is yet to come.
8/10 Stars
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After the more comedic undertones of Batman: The Audio Series from HBO Max and the various news reports of an audio continuation of Batman: The Animated Series and Spotify’s “Batman: Unburied” can seem like Bat-craze overload.
Batman and Batmania 2.0Released the same year as “The Batman” movie, Unburied is both closer to the comics than the Matt Reaves film and different at the same time. Reaves’ take on the dark knight takes more iconic storylines like The Long Halloween and simply transposes them into live action without changing much. Unburied, written by David S. Goyer (co-writer of Batman Begins with Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight Trilogy) tells a more original story with elements like Barbara Gordon’s inclusion as a Gotham PD detective rather than her usual persona of Batgirl or Oracle.
That’s jumping ahead a bit too much. Backing up, the show’s description on Spotify implies that this is a Batman Story with Bruce Wayne as the focal character. This marketing copy puts the interested party in one of two scenarios before listening. The “turnoff” and the “different” factor. These arguments are often that the reader is turned off by the idea of a Batman with no Batman or that it’s different and therefore might be good. I fell in the latter camp.
Pre-1960s or Post-1980s BatmanAfter the reveal in episode 3, the plot went full Batman. Not of the Frank Miller variety or any other famous living comic book writer. Instead, the story goes full 50s-70s Batman and that’s where you got campy sci-fi Batman that is tonally different from the later comics. The difference between Unburied and something like the 1966 Batman show with Adam West is that they leaned into the silliness.
Regardless of your opinion on the 60s Batman TV show, this Spotify original tries to have it both ways. This can be done, but this nowhere near the level of care the Lego Batman movie went with the character. Where Lego Batman combined humor with deep cuts from the comics in a new perhaps more realistic take on the dark knight as the film asks what would happen if some billionaire decided to fight crime. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say someone like Jeff Bezos is more interested in other people when it affects his bottom line.
~~Way~~ Why Too Serious?Anyway, Batman: Unburied doesn’t go for humor. It instead makes Bruce Wayne a Black man (played by Winston Duke) whose parents didn’t die and the desire to become Batman never came up. He’s a mortician too, and a new villain nicknamed the Harvester is maiming bodies., which Bruce feels responsible for in the GCPD’s search for the serial killer.
For someone far who’s far more interested in Bruce Wayne being the main character instead of the mask, the revelation as to why this isn’t a Batman story works well in the same way that Wandavision works with its first twist. After it, however, there are two many subversions that occur that I thought I was watching the end of Naruto Shippuden. The plan of Unburied’s villain feels more personal than the climactic battle of that anime. They both strangely involve trees. I will say after listening to it a second time, the climax and falling action of the story are better than I remember.
If it weren’t for the setup amounting to nothing, this would have been higher. As it stands, on the first listen, I’d give this 7/10 stars. After re-listening to the final 4 episodes again and really focusing on what the story was trying to do. My final rating for Batman: Unburied is:
(7.5/10+ Stars)
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Small Victories is a slice-of-life show combined with 90s radio station aesthetics that are more apparent in the beginning and end of each episode that it’s both a frame and not a frame for the show. Produced by WGC Productions and with a predominantly Black cast, the 9-episode first season goes by quicker than most shows with more episodes.
The main way the episodes feel fast is through pacing. Each scene is roughly one episode and that makes the time go quickly. For the most part, the story engages with the listener on some level through dialogue and character interactions.
Framing Devices in Small VictoriesThe show’s description from their press kit—like its episodes—is short, sweet, and to the point. “After a near-death experience, Marisol Montgomery has decided to be sober which, of course, is harder than it sounds.”
Perhaps needless to say, the story kicks off with a relapse. For a story about addiction, it’s a bit of a low-hanging fruit. However, it’s what a story does afterward that makes it stand out from every other story about getting over addiction.
Small Details and Small VictoriesThe level of detail in certain episodes adds to this world quite similar to our own. One example is the constant barrage of text message notifications on Marisol’s phone in episode four. In most other shows that use Apple’s default tone, even sparingly, have an uphill battle as it almost always knocks the listener out of the story. Small Victories circumvents this by making the jerk back into reality part of how Marisol is feeling at the time. That being tense, anxious, and wanting to get away.
Character Interactions and ChemistryThe chemistry between Marisol and Nina is so realistic. They bounce off each other so well that it feels like they’re in the same room together. Add in the subject matter of a waning relationship and this slice of life is a big pie with plenty of filling in that one piece.
8.5/10+ Stars
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A topical premise for the COVID-19 pandemic that plays with socio-political expectations and heartstrings in unexpected and expertly crafted ways. For a show about a virus, the tropes common in the sci-fi genre with that are noticeably absent in Apollyon. Those seeking a post-apocalyptic world can find elements of the genre’s close cousin, dystopia in later events of the story in the expected capacity in hindsight.
The Real Virus was Apollyon All Along?They say the devils in the details, and Theodora “Theo” Ramsey is a workaholic for all intents and purposes. Add in that she’s a Black woman in a world where there’s a virus that could break out at any moment and the unchanged experience of a Black woman in the 22nd century doesn’t seem like the future can solve all problems. We see this in the argument between Gabriel Larson and Ramsey in the second episode regarding the vaccine presentation. The 7 days of leave feel ominous and the build-up of that unease gives just enough breathing room that you let your guard down. The result is a beautifully executed moment in the next episode. By then, it should be obvious what will happen to Theo’s mother. That doesn’t make it any less impactful.
Cinematic Audio DialogueThe filter applied to certain lines of dialogue in the scene with Theo and her mother is off-putting at first. Still, it’s quite a unique and cinematic solution to differing camera shots in films—done in an audible format. The initial few times are jarring because it’s so unexpected. This may not work for everyone, but I appreciated the attempt.
Episode four was a nice breather after the emotional ending of the previous entry in the series. Episode five moves the plot forward and has a lot of character moments and minor revelations. They are separated, not woven together, making the episode feel disjointed. It feels like the show spinning its wheels despite the plot moving forward. By episode 6, it becomes clear that the vaccine isn’t the main plot point of the series. This makes it feel like a broken promise, but the same thing happened in “WandaVision” with the Mephisto rumors surrounding that show. Both are cases involving overactive imaginations that create entire scenarios based on similar stories that have come before.
The Final Four Horseman of the ApollyonThe final four episodes of 7-10 focus on Theo, her mother, and their mutual friend Savreen. Early on, the listener gets a sense that Savreen is hiding something about Theo’s mother after the bombshell drop. I can only imagine this is like a family member getting diagnosed with terminal cancer. The reveal involving Savreen and Theo’s mother isn’t big in terms of the world. It dances on the line between a small-stakes story and a world-ending catastrophe so many stories find hard to top in their next season. That’s not to say the first season of Apollyon is trying to have its cake and eat it too. I applaud the level of detail put into this series that many science fiction podcasts gloss over. It’s ahead of its time even going into 2023.
If there was a major complaint, it would be the ending doesn’t match the beginning in terms of tone. This is entirely subjective but for me, the characters are the driving force. The story ends with a plot twist that sets up the next season but doesn’t do much to wrap up the one the listener spent so much emotional time and energy in early on. Overall, a strong start with a cautiously optimistic ending for both the series and the fanbase.
8.5/10 Stars
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Starting out listening to Megaton Girl might seem like a no brainer. Begin with episode 1 and continue until the end. What happens if there’s a pilot episode as well? If you want the full chronological experience do not listen to the pilot first. If you’re looking to sample the audio drama to see whether you want to keep listening, go with the pilot and start with episode.
After the Megaton Decision is MadeChronologically the pilot takes place between episodes four and five. It both throws you into the deep end and provides a lifeboat. Compared to the first episode, the pilot is also less than a quarter of its runtime. Put another way, the first episode is over an hour long. The pilot is around 16 minutes. Perhaps because the first episode is the length of some movies, it can certainly feel like it drags in places. This makes the decision of what to start with even harder. My own personal opinion, start with the pilot and go straight to episode two. You can figure out most of the context through the dialogue. For this who don’t care about how Megaton Girl got her powers, the start of her and Monarch’s relationship, or how the writer works in a cracked Jack Kirby easter egg that’s clearly an homage to the king of comics.
Previously on Megaton Girl Episode 1Connie got her powers from a meteor that landed near her and Laurel’s first date as a couple after being best friends for years. Connie calls her power the “gut buster” and the mixing makes it sounds like a radioactive sonic scream.
Disney Deadpool = Megatons of fun.The relationship between Connie and her girlfriend is so wholesome and cute I could vomit rainbows. That’s not an insult by any means. I was smiling ear to ear from episode two all the way to the midseason finale. I thought my face might freeze in place at several moments.
Shit gets serious both during and after the midseason finale episode titled “Trial by Fire.” A Loki-level threat a la the first “Avengers” film forces Connie to work alongside Captain Valiant—the personification of toxic masculinity and narcissism.
Attention Deficit Disorder and Black RepresentationDuring a few scenes Laurel’s identity as a black woman gets brought up. if you were going by just show, these may be easy to miss. The wonderful cartoonish cover art of the cast on the Megaton Girl website is a nice companion piece to the show itself. The artwork feels almost like fan art for these characters and that only adds to the wholesomeness and humor of the show.
Episode 3 is where Laurel shines the most. She’s both a fan girl for other super heroes that make appearances in this and later episodes and takes ADD/ADHD medication. This is a small detail that adds depth to her character. She could’ve been just the exposition mouth piece for the heroes in the world and the love interest for the main character. Instead, this part of her identity makes her more real. The fact she works under the epitome of toxic masculinity only adds to her characterization.
Toxic Masculinity, Heroic Actions and Bittersweet EndingsThe story after the midseason finale gets more somber as it goes. It’s to the point that it feels like an entirely different story. The story swaps character comedy for growth and melancholy. Using humor is a good way to hook someone into a story, but the transition from it to serious subject matter is almost always jarring if the pace slows down even a little. That’s what you get with the Superman-inspired hero called Magnanimous and his scenes with Megaton Girl
The conversation between Magnanimous and Megaton Girl about Magnanimous’ love life goes on a bit long. Blood Oath’s identity isn’t revealed so much as told to the audience. Despite his badass opening with obvious Deathstroke vibes, the character behind the mask makes decisions based on the plot. His anger toward Magnanimous works in theory, but how bad was it actually if one conversation changed his perception? The ending is somber and only works because of the info dump throughout the episode. For someone we barely met, this character’s death hit harder than it should have.
All in all, Megaton Girl is ear to ear smiles and constant laughter at the cuteness and wholesomeness of the show. Bogged down only by the finale.
8.5/10 stars+
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The 12-episode Spotify original podcast, “Quiet Part Loud,” tackles such social issues as the alt-right/alternate facts in a tired populace. It is written by Mac Rogers of Steal the Stars and produced by Gimlet and Monkey Paw Productions.
Actions and WordsThe story starts off before the Trump presidency, but eight years after the 9/11 attacks. The main character, Rick Egan, lost his radio show after peddling conspiracy theories and using anecdotal and apocryphal evidence to “prove” his point. All throughout, the theme of belief is prevalent. Not belief in the religious sense, but belief in one’s words and whether it’s morally right to spread hate even if the person speaking doesn’t believe it. Quiet Part Loud’s Rick Egan is the culmination of every Fox News and conservative radio host. What makes him worse is he has something of a cult. That’s the scariness factor Peele wanted to play with, I feel, not so much the typical tropes like a jump scare.
The middle episodes have their standout horrific and gory moments, but nothing that makes it the scariest audio drama like Jordan Peele wanted. All you need to know is the supernatural force known as The Blank grows stronger with every step of their plan coming to fruition. They just need Rick’s powers of persuasion to do it. When he refuses to comply, Egan’s personal world becomes a target.
Making all hatred, bigotry and racist rhetoric might undermine the story’s overall themes. If all the evil in the world is an otherworldly force of nature, it almost gives the alt-right conservatives a get-out-of-jail-free card. At the very least it gives them an out for their words and actions.
Nope, Get Out: Quiet Part Loud and UsExecutive Produced by Jordan Peele, the Black auteur of the modern era. Peele is known for dealing with types of racism hidden beneath the surface. “Get Out” dealt with eugenics. “Nope” deals with exploitation and spectacle. “Us” is about privilege according to Peele. Quiet Part Loud is about just how threatening words can be. If only the ending worked as well as the opening.
7.5//10+ Stars
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