Audio Drama Reviews: 2011-2018: Audio Drama Review Collections, #3

AUDIO DRAMA REVIEWS:

2011-2018

Michael L. Bergonzi

Audio Drama Reviews:

2011-2018

Michael L. Bergonzi

Copyright © 2018 by Michael L. Bergonzi. All rights reserved.

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AudioDramaReviews.com

To my wonderful fans and audio drama enthusiasts across the world.

You make this venture worth it.

Preface

Welcome to the third book in the Audio Drama Reviews ebook collection series. I thank all those who’ve made this journey not only possible, but a hell of a good time as well. This book is organized a little differently than the site or previous books in the series. I should also note all royalties from this book ultimately go to the Audio Drama Reviews PayPal account, which helps keep the podcast up and running and the website active each year. I don’t pocket the money for personal financial reasons. With that out of the way, let’s talk about how this book is structured.

It took me a while to figure out the best way to organize the reviews in this and previous ebooks as there are so many of them and the purpose of these collections is not only to keep the business from sinking, but also to give people an alternative way to read the reviews they want without digging around on the web. I’ll be the first to admit, the archives aren’t exactly the best way to find old reviews. So how is this book structured? I’ve broken them down into four main categories:

Shorts and Anthologies

Single Productions

Chapters and Audiobooks

Seasons and Series

There’s a fifth category which I’ll get to later, but for now let me explain what each of the above four descriptors mean. The first is all the anthology shows and the episodes within them. These include Pendant Productions Parsec Award Winning series, Seminar, Anansi Story Time, Starlight Radio Dreams and much more from the earlier days of the site when I reviewed individual episodes.

Next, Single Productions, are audio dramas longer than two hours and have stories with a beginning, middle and definitive end (sometimes told in multiple parts). These include The Star Wars radio dramas, Graphic Audio Productions (Marvel Civil War and The Death of Captain America, The Mistborn Trilogy), and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (The BBC Radio Adaptation), and others. In terms of numbers, this one beats the next section by more than ten reviews.

Chapters and Audiobooks are similar to Anthologies and Shorts, but typically follow one person narrating the entire story, commonly found in most audiobooks or stories originally sold as print or ebooks. Such examples are 7th Son: Descent (Prologue-Chapter 5) by J.C. Hutchins, School of Deaths by Christopher Mannino, and The Beam: Season One by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant.

The final section, Seasons and Series are for shows with more than one season in their catalog (differentiating it from a Single Production classification). These include individual episodes and/or entire seasons.

The last category are unreleased reviews. These include all the remainder of the reviews for 2018 (except for Graphic Audio’s G.A.S.P.). At the time of releasing this book, I have not finished listening to it and therefore have not reviewed it. The reviews are:

The Lost Logs of the Saratoga

Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting

Powder Burns Episode 6

Wolf 359: Season One

Shorts and Anthologies

A Four Star Murder

The ending was borderline deus ex machina. It involved knowing who the last name of the culprit and the last name is a used as an unsuccessful attempt at a joke. A lot of things can be forgiven, but when a joke gets in the way of telling a good story, you've lost me. In prose fiction, if the author withheld information from the reader in a third-person limited story, then it's cheating. The same principle applies to any form of storytelling. If the punch of your plot twist requires withholding information from the reader, that reveal is going to feel unsatisfying.

The writer had a golden opportunity to twist the whodunit story on its head. 2-3 times we here the line you're wasting your time. If the culprit actually had been the person already in police custody, that would have been a nice twist. But the writer goes for the twist that's not foreshadowed and is a dirty trick.

A Shadow of the Past

Two old time radio episodes of The Shadow, starring the grandfather of radio drama Orson as Lamont Cranston AKA The Shadow. Showcased on the Sonic Society as part of their Sonic Echo series, these two episodes are wonderful for those who have never experienced an old time radio program.

The first episode, titled Circle of Death is how the shadow stops a mass bomber by tricking them. The second shadow story is about a mafioso organization which is threatening an entire town. Needless to say, The Shadow stops both of them.

Where this really shines is that its not outdated, even by today's companies making a living off creating audio dramas. The ambience and sound effects make it like your listening to a 40s-60s black and white film. The same thing occurs in modern audio dramas. The difference is the culture and period of time one grew up in.

There also needs to be a sense of immersion through sound effects. Dialogue which tells the listener what the scene looks like is often clunky and can be spotted in a heartbeat. This story has moments, because these types of programs were where the scene exposition dialogue thing originated, but even with that fault it still stands the test of time.

4.5/5 Stars

Anansi Storytime

Fairy Tale and Culture

This review is of the multi-cultural fairy tale collection, Anansi Storytime. Since this audio drama is an anthology, the subject matter being critiqued will be the following episodes:

Building Asgard's Wall (Norse)

The Island of Skeletons (Native American)

Doctor Knowall (German)

Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs (Akan/African)

This list should serve as enough of a showcase of the different cultures the podcast tackles. With eighteen episodes at the time of writing this review, I tried my best to include one for each major region of the world. Obviously I couldn't get all of them.

Building Asgard's Wall and Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs: Variations and Diversity

Ever since Marvel Studio's introduced Thor into their universe, the desire to learn more about Norse mythology has gone up. At the very least, comparing and contrasting actual myth with the comic book is a fun exercise and Building Asgard's Wall does it beautifully. Highly doubtful it was their intention, but their characterization of key players in both Mythology and the MCU like Loki is on point. Granted most of my knowledge comes from Crash Course: Mythology and the MCU, meaning it's second hand at best. Still, the story is told in the style of a more western-themed fairy tale. It even starts with Once upon a time ... To be honest, it felt odd hearing those words and similar variations of that phrase throughout this sample collection.

Essentially an Anansi origin story, Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs is a tale not unlike those explaining how the leopard got its spots. At least, you can't help but compare the two. Told with slapstick humor, this African tale has a lot more in common with western storytelling of the same time period than one might think.

Native American Skeletons and an Uncommon Grimm Fairy Tale

With a title like "The Island of Skeletons, images of the supernatural jump to mind. While otherworldly elements are present in many fairy tales (this one included), the emotional core of the story is very much not about the paranormal at all. Yes, the main trials the character goes through to achieve his goal are cemented in the spirit realm, but the story is very much a heroes journey. And while the argument that Campbell's theory of myth is universal has been debunked by not only writers, but neuroscientists as well, the story is no less an excellent example of the power of this style of storytelling.

Compare that tale to a more western-centered model of fiction and you'll see more similarities than differences. This could come as a surprise to some, as the story of Doctor Knowall is a Grimm Fairy Tale. A lesser known one when compared to ones like Hansel and Gretel, but a story in their bibliography nevertheless. The analogous elements of the two stories differ in tone, but follow a similar plot. Doctor Knowall is a true children's tale. The Island of Skeletons feels more like a modern day young adult story as it is surprisingly dark.

Overall these four stories from four different cultures proves the wealth of fiction across the world and that no matter where you are, good storytelling has no boundaries.

4/5 Stars

Brimble Banks Brothers Episode Ten | Coquettes & Cougars

A charming and humorous blend of oral storytelling and drama for the ear. The tenth episode of the Brimble Banks Brothers is a self-contained unit and at the same time a continuation of previous episodes. Coquettes and Cougars is the story of a family in Atlanta and their daughter’s planned marriage to someone of aristocratic heritage and wealth.

Honestly, the frame story of the brothers was far more interesting than the one of southern sensibilities and random cougar attacks. The frame narrative uses classic fourth wall breaking to constantly throw you in and out of the story. At times this is exhausting as you aren’t sure if you’re listening to the story about cougars in the southern United States or back in the real world with two bickering brothers who can’t seem to agree on what the story is about.

The overall narrative is all over the place and incorporates characters from previous episodes into the story. Yes, it’s that kind of story. No holds barred and out there in terms of pacing and plot. In this story, anything goes, including the kitchen sink. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ll enjoy the stories type of humor.

The biggest problem with this is the lack of attention to detail at some points. Not from a story stand point, but a production aspect. The volume goes up significantly at random places throughout the 50 minute long episode. It’s doubtful it was intentional and it’s not something you hear every day in the audio drama community, no matter if it’s free or for purchase.

Without having listened to earlier episodes, it’s hard to give thoughts on the overarching series with the two brothers. That being said, it sits on my feed, waiting for when I have free time.

4/5 Stars

Companions

It’s not quite a romance in space, but writer Bob Koester knows how to elicit the same emotions as a Harlequin novel. Interpret that however you want, but personally the milieu of Companions convoluted the romance arc, leaving it watered down and by no means easy to follow.

The story’s setting is hands-down hard science fiction, while the primary drive comes from the two love interests. The main problem with the characters is how they interact and that has nothing to do with the actor’s performances. Koester complicates their method of communication by adding a layer of confusion to an already loaded script, filled with a lot of exposition that doesn’t add much substance. They talk through a virtual simulation and the dialogue during those scenes will make you re-listen at least once, because you don’t know who’s talking: the online avatar or the person controlling it?

One thing which stood out was the non-linear structure of the story that’s combined rather elegantly with a classic victorian-esque frame narrative, though obviously set in the future. In addition to the frame, the story also skips around the lives of the protagonist, dodging the boring bits through obvious author sleight of hand.

Whether it’s a romance masquerading as hard science fiction or hard SF pretending to be a romance, Companions is worth a listen or two. Just don’t expect to understand everything even a second time through.

4/5 Stars

False Ending

False Ending is a dark comedy and a good one. The story starts in media res (in the middle of things) and you aren't quite sure whether you started this episode of The Truth podcast near the end instead of the beginning.

Once you make it past the first hurdle of not knowing what the hell is going on, the story takes a darker turn and is immediately followed by a moment of humor. The process is repeated enough times where the creator's don't overdo too much of a good thing.

This story is a complete mindf**k and uses humor to soften the blow. Without it, the story would be far too dark.

4.5/5 Stars

Fugue State

One word: Mind blowing is all that comes to mind when thinking about Fugue State. From both a production and story standpoint, this short 45 minute production from BBC Radio 4 is everything you expect from a modern audio drama, but plays with the structure of a traditional narrative.

The setup was brilliant. In fact, you don’t realize how brilliant it is until your 3/4 of the way through, because you’re enjoying the story as it unfolds. The way the creators used the medium of audio to their advantage by crafting a story around it, rather than the other way around, is brilliant. The story is deeply layered. It’s a different kind of depth than something like the dialogue in Powder Burns. Rather, it’s the techniques that have been used by audio dramatists for almost a century, molded together in a different and unique way.

With all this praise, one thing that bothered me was the ending. It was too abrupt. After hearing the credits, one’s reaction would probably be one of it’s over? For someone who’s been listening to audio dramas of all shapes and sizes, the moment of getting lost in a story for the mind is a rare phenomenon indeed and one I haven’t experienced since my introduction to audio drama podcasts. This was both a huge nostalgia trip and a cohesive story. Something that is a hard thing to do.

The film Interstellar is a good movie to compare this story with. Both have elements of wonder involving space and the ideas they posit are completely unimaginable by human standards. In Interstellar the people who made it possible to get from Saturn to another galaxy are referred to as the mysterious them. By the film’s climax, we still aren’t sure with 100 percent certainty who created the wormhole: aliens or humans. As the character Polly explains in the audio drama, the human mind can’t comprehend what happens when it has truly blown.

Therein lies an inherent problem with the Fugue States ending. The explanation for the mystery which drives us along for the majority of the tale is, for the most part, too abstract. This isn’t like love, where it can be somewhat quantifiable in the sense that we get sweaty palms or our nervous around those who have strong feelings for, but something beyond comprehension. On a microlevel, this is commonly referred to as non-humanoid characters. Whether they’re aliens or something else, fictional people who are so out there in both appearance and customs are too far removed from human culture that we can’t empathize with them. That being said, the metaphor of the ant was well done and gave a good enough explanation to make the concept not completely alien to us.

All in all, Fugue State is worthy of the praise it has gotten, from both the story and the wow factor it invokes if you just think about it.

5/5 stars

Good Omens

The adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's pre-apocalyptic story on the events of the book of Revelation makes for an interesting story, and an