#audio drama review

[arthurdrakoni]

Seen and Not Heard is an audio drama that makes the bold choice to depict the experience of deafness in an audio medium. And it does so quite well. This is my review.

Audio drama, and audio fiction in general, is the last place you’d expect to find people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Despite this, there are a surprising number of such individuals involved in the world of audio drama. And it isn’t just fans. In fact, @seenandnotheardpod is an audio drama created by a deaf individual. 

Seen and Not Heard follows a young woman named Bet Kline. She has recently lost most of her hearing as a result of an unspecified illness. The series follows a few weeks in Bet’s life as she tries to navigate her now mostly soundless new life. She has to deal with her rather insensitive mother. She meets a nice young man named David, who might be more than he appears. More than anything, Bet has to decide what she wants out of her new life. 

I first become aware of Seen and Not Heard when it got recommended to me on that “You Might Also Like” section of the Apple Podcast app. The first thing that stood out to me was the title card. You see a circle of hands using sign language. That, plus the title, clearly indicated that this would be something involving deafness. A non-fiction podcast about deafness would certainly be odd, but not necessarily out of the question. But this was recommended based on my recent listening. Surly, it couldn’t be an audio drama about deafness, could it? I tapped the cover art, and sure enough, that’s exactly what it was. 

I admit that this show had a certain dancing bear element to it. It’s not everyday that you find an audio drama where the main character is deaf. Oh, but that’s not the only unusual feature about Seen and Not Heard. You see, it is also created by a deaf individual. Series creator @saucymincks, who uses they/them pronouns, is legally deaf. They describe themselves as being exactly halfway between fully hearing and fully deaf. So, they have some hearing, but it is less than optimal. They often get help from their friends to make sure that the audio from their podcasts is correct and up to snuff. And yes, that’s podcasts plural. Caroline Mincks has made several other podcasts besides just Seen and Not Heard. They have also worked on several other audio dramas, and have helped make transcripts for several shows. Speaking of which, transcripts are available on the Seen and Not Heard Twitter account. 

And Caroline isn’t alone. As it turns out, there are a surprisingly high number of deaf and/or hard of hearing individuals who enjoy audio dramas. They come because the shows all seem interesting, and they want to take partake in them. Just the same as hearing people do. This is why it is important to include transcripts with your audio dramas. Without them, it is very difficult for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to enjoy audio dramas. Also, transcripts are very handy for people who write reviews of audio dramas. 

Now, prior to listening to Seen and Not Heard, I’d had a less than stellar experience with depictions of deafness in audio dramas. The only other time I’d seen deafness in audio dramas was in The AM Archies; which is season six of The Bright Sessions. There’s a scene between a hearing character and a deaf character. The deaf character communicates using sign language, which is conveyed by a series of barely audible wind rushing noises. I actually had to rewind multiple times to just to figure out what the hell I was listening to. It didn’t help that Lauren Shippen bragged about how groundbreaking the scene was on Twitter. She came across less as someone who wanted to sincerely depict deafness, and more like she was cynically trying to virtue signal. It also didn’t help that the characters only appeared in that one scene, and had no impact on the plot.  

I went into Seen and Not Heard with an open mind, but I was fully prepared for it to be terrible. Much to my surprise, Seen and Not Heard proved to be quite well-written, and took great care to execute it premise in an entirely audio medium. There is strong feeling of sincerity and genuine care being put forward. This is clearly a very intimate subject for Caroline Mincks, and they wanted to do the topic of deafness proper justice in an audio medium. I alway give points to those who act with sincerity and genuine conviction.

We get a few scenes where we actually get to hear what things are like from Bet’s perspective. It sounds like she has her head underwater. I could kind of make out a couple words and phrases, but I was fairly lost during those scenes. Of course, that’s the point of those scenes. We’re suppose to sympathize and empathize with Bet’s struggles. Bet communicates verbally both in interactions with other characters and her internal monologue. Bet was not born deaf, so presumably she remembers the mechanics of talking. It is also mentioned that she can lip read, and can somewhat better understand people if she’s facing them. She does enroll in a sign language class. She’s the only actual deaf person in the class. Pretty much everyone else has family of significant others who are deaf or hard of hearing. 

I do wonder how much of Seen and Not Heard is autobiographical. It didn’t escape my notice that Bet and Caroline Mincks share a number of similarities. They are both Jews from northern Virginia. Many of the foods that Bet cooks and eats are also ones I’ve seen Caroline mentioning cooking on Twitter. They also seem to be fairly similar in terms of personality. There’s also the obvious similarity that they are both deaf to the same degree. 

There’s a bonus episode where Caroline Mincks gives advice on how do write deaf characters, as well as a bit about what it is like to be a deaf audio drama creator. They said it is considered rude to ask deaf people how they became deaf. Be that as it may, given all of the other similarities between Bet and Caroline, I can’t help but wonder. I also wonder how much of the plot draws from Caroline’s own life. There are some differences, like how Caroline identifies as non-binary, while Bet identifies as female. However, I also don’t know how Caroline identified when Seen and Not Heard was made. 

I should also mention that, in addition to being the series creator, Caroline as provides the voice for Bet. Caroline gives a very earnest and heartfelt performance. It was quite clear, as with everything else, that this was a very personal subject for Caroline. Caroline also assembled a team of very talented voice actors to help bring the other characters to life.

Caroline has hinted that we might be getting a season 2 of Seen and Not Heard at some point.  I’m certainly on-board if that does come to pass.

Have you listened to Seen and Not Heard?  If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-audio-file-seen-and-not-heard.html?m=1

[quisters]

I’m going to start reviewing fiction podcasts. What should I do first?

(Please comment, ask, or reblog your suggestions!!)

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Who is the Best Fiction Podcast Artificial Intelligence?

After receiving 57 submissions for 36 characters from 30 podcasts, a few disqualifications, and one preliminary poll, we have our bracket!

Bonus Poll: Which semi-sentient automobile is sexier? (The Ruby Seven vs Odyssey-San) (Ends May 10th.)

Round 1

Hera (Wolf 359) vs Flamingo Chris (Eidolon Playtest: Eidolon ROCK)

Proxy (StarTripper!!) vs ANDI (Marsfall)

Blue Sky A.K.A GORD (Red Valley) vs Tumnus (Moonbase Theta, Out)

Chester (The Magnus Protocol) vs Echo (Khôra Podcast)

SAYER (SAYER) vs Jet (Under the Electric Stars)

Keychain A.K.A. Otto (Not Another D&D Podcast: Trinyvale) vs Fern (inc: The Podcast)

The Divine, Arbitrage (Friends at the Table: The Divine Cycle) vs Dax (We Fix Space Junk)

Ship (ROGUEMAKER) vs QWERTY (Trial and Error)

The Audio Tour Guide (The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality) vs Fan (Red Odyssey)

Imogen (Stellar Firma) vs MORIS (Inkwyrm)

SPEAKER (SAYER) vs Potential Parent A.K.A. Ai (Monstrous Agonies)

Sergey Ushanka (The Magnus Archives) vs Minerva (Tales From The Fringes of Reality)

Eris (Wolf 359) vs Ellis (Tartarus)

Alexandrite (Not Another D&D Podcast: Campaign 3) vs Seth (Lost Terminal)

Larry (Friends at the Table: COUNTER/Weight) vs Sec (The Vesta Clinic)

Mr. Ceiling (Rusty Quill Gaming) vs Dad (Deviser)

[hinaypod]

This is so lovely! Thank you so much 😭💞

[flickerspod]

🚨 New Fiction Podcast Alert 🚨

hey all :)

so i made an audio drama called Flickers !

If you like audio dramas like The White Vault, The Cellar Letters, or The Hyacinth Disaster, I think you're really gonna like Flickers.

It follows Alex, a 17-year old left alone to sort through her late-grandfather's belongings. She mourns the lost link to her ancestral heritage, but when a blizzard hits & knocks out power to the area, she realizes that her grief is not the only thing she has to contend with.

episode one premieres today (listen here, transcripts and cws here)

[mended-bunny]

On Third Eye by Felicia Day

I am not an expert in tropes or storytelling. I'm just a fan of fantasy stories, and a lover of magic. But I'm going to give my review on the audio drama Third Eye by Felicia Day.

Third Eye is a concept that's been done before, but not often. What happens when the hero destined to save the world.... Fails?

This irreverent take on YA fiction (that is very much not YA) is an excellent use of flipped tropes and self-aware comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously. The story is excellent, and the voice acting is spectacular. (Though with talent like Neil Gaiman, Felicia Day, Will Wheaton, Danny Pudi, Sean Astin, and LilyPichu, I would have been shocked if the acting was anything less.) The story explores depression and trauma, and the long term effects of mental and emotional abuse in a way that left me vaguely uncomfortable. If it isn't clear, that is a *big* endorsement from this child of an abusive home. It made me think about abuse and self love in a way that I hadn't ever processed. I know it's unlikely that Felicia Day will ever see this, but just in case she ever does. Felicia, you're fantastic. I appreciate you for your portrayal of Laurel. It helped me.

Long story short, if you grew up on YA fantasy novels and enjoy writing in the style of Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams, I cannot recommend this fantastic audio drama enough.

[littleacebee]

Today is International Podcast Day so I decided to finally go on Podchaser and create list with all the podcasts I listened to. Behold – Littleacebee’s Big Podcast List!

All the podcasts I extremely enjoyed and highly recommend, so if you are looking for a recommendation or wonder what podcasts I have listened to or want to recommend me something, feel invited to take a look.

[mentallyamagpie]

Release Day Review for Re: Dracula

*tappity tap tap*

Yes I know I haven't been here but the point is Re: Dracula is here not just on Tumblr but in real life, as a podcast now and I wanted to talk about it in multiple places. Your girl wants to write podcast reviews and wants people to read them and this one is a good audio drama.

Please do me a favor and take three minutes to check out my review on my actual website because that will actually help me as a person trying to do this.

If you don't have three minutes the TLDR is that it's an epistolatory podcast that takes place in "real time" (dropping seemingly randomly) - and it's all around really good for those of you who want some spooky in your summertime.

So please, read my review, go follow them they're @re-dracula

[twigsandhearts]

Audio Drama Sunday

Subtitle: Cry goes slightly off-topic

For a while, I didn't get much of a chance to do anything but edit and write so listening to other shows was off the cards. Recently I've been trying to get back into it and it's given me the chance to get back in touch with some people and see what they've been up to creative-wise. So, here's my list of recent shows:

DO YOU COPY?

I haven't seen many people talk about this show outside of the creators but with season one out, it's an easy binge. It follows the audio logs of several different groups of people who stayed behind after a National Park's closure. The cast is small and easy to follow and the voices are distinguishable. It's set in a more supernatural America with a mystery void that seems to distort reality and contain cryptid-like creatures. Though some themes are familiar, the story feels original and I've enjoyed listening.

UNIVERSE 9/5

It's your alternate universe people switch out tropes, made queer sci-fi. The posting schedule feels a little random and the discord server seems to have already created its own community around art and animation but it's hard to tell where it's going quite yet with only 2 episodes out. It's a change of pace to all the horror shows I'm used to with being very much not horror and quite light hearted but I am enjoying it all the same.

YET ANOTHER DATING APP

It talks of a new dating app that more specific than ever before. It gives casual banter with a sci-fi twist in a similar vibe to LIFE WITH LEO(H) which I enjoyed. Yet again with only 2 episodes out it's hard to get the whole picture. It's a small cast with good chemistry and the sound design has been nice so far. I'm interested to see where it leads.

[wolfmountainworkshop]

Hey you should go leave a review for a podcast you like right now. It’ll make them feel good.

[tarotkillerpodcast]

At last, the first audio file for Tarot Killer! Enjoy this interview with Detective Diego Muerte with your host, John Brixley on the show, 'Tonight at Santa Muerte'! I'd love to hear what people think of it~

[arthurdrakoni]

Long Night in Egypt is a fantastic horror audio drama that draws upon Egyptian Mythology. And stays incredibly faithful to the original sources.

There are some audio dramas I listen to that absolutely scream for me to review them.  I know I have to get the word out as soon as possible.  That way, everyone can enjoy them.  Such is the case with Long Night in Egypt. 

Long Night in Egypt follows four college students named Mo, Kayla, Jorden, and Pia. They are on vacation in Egypt to visit Mo’s aunt and uncle; a pair of renowned Egyptologists. It’s sure to be a trip filled with relaxation, visits to archeological sites, and maybe even a bit of partying. Then, Mo’s cousin Samira comes up with the idea to visit the Pyramid of Unas at night. Mo’s aunt and uncle are very firm that the Pyramid of Unas must never be entered at night. However, the students sneak into the pyramid anyway. They will soon discover that the myths and legends of Ancient Egypt might just be true after all. They will have to navigate their way thought the Egyptian underworld, and face numerous challenges, if they wish to survive their long in Egypt. 

I always find myself returning to the gods and stories of Egyptian Mythology. I love the weird and wonderful animal-headed gods. I love reading about all of the spells and incantations Egyptian magicians created. I love the way that real Ancient Egyptian historical figures sometimes factor into the stories. I love Egyptian Mythology. The stories of Egyptian Mythology took me on magical adventures away from my mundane world. 

We have had several audio dramas adapt or reinterpret Greek Mythology, but not really any takes on Egyptian Mythology. In fact, Long Night in Egypt is, thus far, the only audio drama I’ve encountered that utilizes Egyptian Mythology in a major way. Now, this was certainly an exciting discovery, but I had my apprehensions. I’ve had to endure far too many movies and television shows that played way too fast and loose with real mythology. Hey, I’m just saying. If the source material you’re incorporating is a hindrance to the story you want to tell, then perhaps you should write a different story. That, or find a mythology more agreeable to the story you want to make. 

Sorry, I got a little distracted there. Getting back on track, I was cautiously optimistic, but I was fully prepared to be disappointed. I was combing through every episode with a fine-toothed comb. I was prepared to pounce at the slightest slip-up. I was particularly worried that Anubis and/or Set would be portrayed as Ancient Egyptian Satan. However, much to my pleasant surprise, I couldn’t find a single mythological misappropriation. In fact, I even learned a few things as a result of listening to Long Night in Egypt. 

The main inspirations for this audio drama are The Pyramid Texts and The Egyptian Book of the Dead. The Pyramid Texts is one of the oldest surviving religious texts in the world. It is inscribed into the walls of the pyramids and burial chambers of Saqqara. And yes, that includes the Pyramid of Unas. The texts are a series of spells, incantations, hymns, and utterances that help the pharaoh to navigate the afterlife and ascend to godhood. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is much the same, but with different spells and writings. Also, the Book of the Dead was written on papyrus, not carved into stone. 

The Pyramid Texts were completed in the Old Kingdom era, while The Book of the Dead wasn’t completed until the New Kingdom era. The characters do discover inscriptions from The Book on the Dead on the walls of the Pyramid of Unas. However, they do acknowledge this discrepancy, and wave it off as The Book of the Dead being older than previously believed. The Book of the Dead does drawn heavily upon The Pyramid Texts, so, this isn’t all that implausible. 

We frequently hear characters, both mortal and divine, quoting passages from both The Pyramid Texts and The Book of the Dead. Oh, and that part where Unas consumes some of the gods to increase his power? Believe it or not, that is directly from The Pyramid Texts. That particular section is even called The Cannibal Hymn. See, this is why I’m such a big advocate for being accurate to the mythological sources. Oftentimes, the actual sources are way wilder than anything a modern writer might come up with. 

Long Night in Egypt is a horror audio drama, and I like the approach it took to that. Unas isn’t portrayed as some monster who is bent on world domination. The main characters were warned not to go into the Pyramid of Unas at night, and they paid the price. Granted, they probably wouldn’t have believed the real reason they were to stay away. Still, their troubles are self-inflicted because they ran foul of ancient traditions, and disrespected the pyramid. Even without the undead pharaoh and the magic, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to go into a pyramid at night. It is bound to be dark, and you can get easily hurt if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

I loved how the horror comes from the characters finding themself in a story straight out of mythology. I do tend to fantasize about going on urban fantasy mythology adventures. On the other hand, perhaps I should be careful about what I wish for. Such things might be fun to read about, but it might not be so fun to actually live though. Especially if you don’t have magical powers. 

I seriously doubt we’re getting a season two of Long Night in Egypt. The ending is pretty conclusive. Still, there are a lot of other mythologies out there. There’s plenty of other myths that could be given the Long Night in Egypt treatment. Hint, hint, Violet Hour and Realm. 

Have you listened to Long Night in Egypt?  If so, what did you think?

Link to the full review on my blog: https://drakoniandgriffalco.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-audio-file-long-night-in-egypt.html?m=0

[sparrowsabre7]

8th Doctor Main Range Audio Drama Mini-reviews

I've been listening to the Big Finish 8th Doctor stories on Spotify (the first 50 Main Range dramas is on there, plus a lot of the following "8th Doctor Adventures" stories) so I wanted to give a bit of a run down of my impressions.

Storm Warning

A solid start, classic Who shenanigans and introduces a solid companion in Charley Pollard, she's feisty and fun, but also not madly enamoured with the Doctor like so many companions can be. It makes for a fun reintroduction to the 8th Doctor, not seen since the movie some 5 years prior, allowing him more time to breathe.

The premise of humans trying to make first contact in order to steal alien weapons is tried and true but the cast elevates it and makes it more entertaining than it sounds. Lord Tamworth makes for an interesting support character, especially when his role could have been taken in a very cliché direction. The final scene sows the ongoing thread of Charley having been saved from her intended fate and the potential consequences of that.

7/10

Sword of Orion

Doctor Who does Alien/Aliens but with Cybermen and a background helping of the Android/Human conflict of Blade Runner, and it works bloody well. The initial mystery intrigues and while everything feels off from the start it's not til quite a way through that things start to make sense and align.

A more forgettable cast of characters (with many being left to be cannon fodder) but the premise is strong enough to bear out the runtime.

8/10

The Stones of Venice

Ugh. The first real dud. a somewhat tedious romp through a collapsing Venice with plot twists a savvy listener can see coming ten miles off and the longer they put off the "reveal" the more tiresome it becomes. The art curator was a fun enough support character but the upper class humans vs lower class aliens along with prophecies and a pining King leave for a very rote story that does little to excite or entertain and leaves the Doctor and Charley feeling irrelevant for large swathes of runtime, aside from use as props.

4/10

Minuet in Hell

This is more like it! A real mystery to sink one's teeth into. While it's somewhat frustrating that Eight has amnesia (again!) it works in the story's favour, weave a complex web of a narrative trying to see how all the narrative pieces interlock. Some of the performances (mainly the Americans) are a little hammy for my taste, but why make Doctor Who if you can't be a little silly for once. The return of the Brigadier more than makes up for Eight's rather limited airtime, but the audio tortures us by frequently putting the amnesiac Doctor with him but not letting them recognise each other until the drama is almost over. Nonetheless, an entertaining ride.

7/10

Invaders from Mars

A somewhat lacklustre alien invasion story, another with humans using alien tech to gain power, buoyed a little by some great performances from some actors and some truly unhinged and unrecognisable turns from Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes doing the thickest American Mobster and Russian agent accents you've ever heard. There's also a delightfully scenery chewing turn from who I assume is Nicholas Briggs as the aliens. Nothing much of note here aside from this being Mark Gatiss' first DW script and sadly, much like some of his TV DW work, it's a lot of interesting ideas thrown at the wall, only some of which hit satisfyingly.

5/10

The Chimes of Midnight

This is it. This is the big one. A truly fantastic story, classic time loop premise but not in the usual fashion. It weaves a narrative that confuses and engages in equal measure throughout along with a lot of great work from the two leads. Has all the hallmarks of DW's best (perhaps not surprising that the writer Robert Shearman also wrote one of the all time great NuWho episodes in "Dalek" - in turn based on his audio drama "Jubilee") and would heartily recommend to any DW fan interested in getting to know the Eighth Doctor. I would say you need to have at least heard "Storm Warning" first to get the most benefit, as it ultimately centres on Charley and the paradox of her existence.

10/10

[achromaticbox]

what the hell is this fuckass stock photo collage cover, this does not look like it was made in 2022

[hinaypod]

Okay, who put these tears in my eyes

[kradl]

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