#derelict podcast

[ghostflowerdreams]

Audio Drama Recommendations, Pt. III

Click here for part one and here for part two. Recently, I've been drawing a lot, which gives me plenty of time to listen to audio dramas and podcasts. These are the ones I liked the most and found entertaining enough to recommend to others. This is not in any particular order, either.

The Green Horizon – is a sci-fi comedy drama created and written by Paul Walsh. It is sponsored by Faustian Nonsense, an indie entertainment network. It currently has three seasons, with each episode being about 20 - 30 minutes long, but later on it increases to 30 - 40 minutes. A fourth season is said to be coming out soon as well.

It is set in the year 2261, and it focuses on a ne'er-do-well Irish space captain and his rag-tag crew, as they traverse a war-torn Galaxy in search of fame and fortune. [ONGOING]

It was a little chaotic and rough at the beginning, but it does smooth out and become more polished. I can definitely tell that they up their game with the improved sound effects and production quality. The voice actors and the writing for the audio drama does an excellent job at bringing their characters to life, which made it very fun to follow along.

If you like Firefly, Red Dwarf, Orville, Cowboy Bepop, and so on then I think you may enjoy this too.

DERELICT – is a sci-fi narrative audio drama from award-winning science fiction author J. Barton Mitchell, and produced by Night Rocket Productions. It currently has one season titled FATHOM, which consist of 10 episodes with each one ranging from 40 mins to an hour, mostly the latter.

Something has been found at the bottom of Earth's ocean. An ancient artifact that can only be described as a giant door, inset into the sea floor. It becomes known as the Vault. A gigantic enigma, buried and forgotten...nineteen thousand feet down.

To study the artifact, the galaxy's most powerful corporation, Maas-Dorian, has built a massive, self-contained, secret laboratory base surrounding it, named FATHOM. It's objective: unlock the secrets of the artifact and discover what it holds.​ But some mysteries should remain buried. And some doors should never be opened... [ONGOING]

DERELICT started as the first project set up as a kickstarter. They produced one episode to entice backers, but then the pandemic happened, and they didn’t raise enough money for the rest of it. Instead, they worked on a prequel season called FATHOM. It's where the story really starts, and I highly suggest you listen to it before listening to "DERELICT E1 - Through the Gate."

I hope they redo the DERELICT's first episode because there's a bit of disconnection from it and FATHOM. For example, Sarah and Agent Blayne already know each other. She mentions it to the others, but the conversation they have with each other doesn’t make it seem that way.

Never mind. I apparently confused this Sarah with the Sarah in FATHOM. Can't blame me for thinking that when I heard the name Sarah and that she was already familiar with Agent Blayne.

Deviser – is a sci-fi horror audio drama created, directed, acted and produced by Harlan Guthrie. The same creator of Malevolent. It's a 7-part limited series, with each episode being about 20 mins long.

Son wakes up aboard a spaceship bound for earth in an effort to recolonize. What he discovers, however, will change everything he knows about his world and himself. [COMPLETED]

It's not for everyone, so please do not ignore the content warnings because there's graphic description of violence, self harm, body horror, gore, animal death/being hurt, and what not.

Victoriocity – is a detective comedy audio drama written by Chris and Jen Sugden, directed by Nathan Peter Grassi and produced by Dominic Hargreaves. It is an entirely independent production. It has two seasons, containing 13 episodes in total, and each one is about 30 to 45 minutes long. There's also a feature-length special and a up-coming third season with the help of a kickstarter.

It is 1887 in Even Greater London, an alternate steampunk Victorian London, where Queen Victoria reigns even after being assassinated eleven times, thanks to the wonders of modern science.

In this vast metropolis, Inspector Archibald Fleet and journalist Clara Entwhistle investigate a murder, only to find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy of impossible proportions. [ONGOING]

It's put together so well, and I see why people say it gives off strong Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett vibes to it. So if you like their works, then I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you like this too.

Impact Winter – is an apocalyptic vampire audio drama created and written by Travis Beacham (Carnival Row, Pacific Rim). It has two seasons containing 22 episodes in total and each one is about 17 to 30 minutes long.

“They came after the impact and the firestorms. When the sun went dark. Like they’d been there all along. Just waiting.”

In the British countryside, a band of survivors forms a resistance in the fallout shelter of a medieval castle. Darcy is a battle-tested vampire hunter who is at the front line, leading the charge to save humanity. Meanwhile, her younger sister Hope wants life to return to normal so she can go above ground and know what it’s like to live again. And she just might be willing to risk it all. [ONGOING]

It has a stacked cast led by Holliday Grainger (Cinderella, Great Expectations), Esme Creed-Miles (Hanna, The Legend of Vox Machina), Liam Cunningham (Games of Thrones, Hunger), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven, Tenet), David Gyasi (Interstellar, Carnival Row), Caroline Ford (Carnival Row, Nekrotronic), Chloe Pirrie (Emma, Carnival Row), and Bella Ramsey (Games of Thrones, The Last of Us).

This reminded me a lot of the film 30 Days of Nights (2007) with a little bit of Reign of Fire (2002), which were both fun films to watch. I think if you like those two, especially the former, you'll enjoy this or at least be entertained by it.

A Voice From Darkness – is a scripted paranormal horror audio drama. It is written and produced by Jac Rhys. It currently has two seasons, containing 20 episodes in total and each one is about 20 to 30 minutes long. It also has 7 bonus voicemail episodes and 15 Patreon exclusive episodes which are longer than the main episodes. A third season in the works as well.

Join parapsychologist and radio broadcaster Dr. Malcolm Ryder as he helps those who suffer the supernatural, paranormal or otherworldly problems on his call-in radio show. It is also interspersed with segments, one of which is called 'Today In Odd America' that delves into the origins of a holiday, local traditions, and history. [ONGOING]

If you like Welcome To Night Vale then I think you'll like this too. A Voice From Darkness is a bit more serious and not as long-drawn as Night Vale was, with a perfect mix of storytelling and lore. It also reminds me a bit of The Magnus Archive too.

How i Died – is a mystery audio drama that brings a "new twist on the true crime genre." It is an Audiohm Media original production, co-starring Vince Dajani as Jon Spacer and Shaina Waring as Sheriff Fran Crowley. It currently has three seasons with 39 episodes in total, not including bonus episodes. Each episode is usually about 20 mins, give or take a few minutes.

Bodies are piling up in the strange town of Springfield, and forensic pathologist Jonathan Spacer intends to find out why. But, Jon isn’t without his own secrets… He can talk to the dead, for starters. [ONGOING]

Ooo, a character that can speak to the dead? It's always so interesting to see what they'll do with their ability and where the creators take them. This has been entertaining, but at times I do think they can do better in developing their characters a bit more. For example, I can count on one hand the number of times Crowley doesn't get angry. Though to be fair, Jon isn't an immediately likable character, but that does change the further you go...sorta.

The Amelia Project – is a comedy fiction audio drama created, written, directed, produced and edited by Philip Thorne and Øystein Ulsberg Brager for Imploding Fictions and The Fable and Folly Network. It currently has four seasons, with a fifth one on the way. There's about 72 episodes, not including prologue, special, and BTS episodes which would up the total to 122. Each episode also varies in length from 20 to 45 minutes long.

The Amelia Project is a secret agency that fakes its clients' deaths, then lets them reappear with a brand-new identity. A black comedy full of secrets, twists... and cocoa. The series starts as a succession of interviews with clients who want to fake their deaths, then slowly a larger narrative begins to emerge... Each episode tells its own story, but we recommend starting with Season 1. [ONGOING]

It was fun to listen to while I was drawing or washing the dishes. I could also follow along without becoming too distracted by it, either. I was worried it would be one of those that take a while to get to the main overall story, but thankfully it did not. It will definitely keep you entertained and interested to know what will happen next.

Community Cat News – is a neighborhood news show done from the perspective of cats. There's currently 13 episodes so far and each one varies from 5 to 12 minutes long.

Local News: The human is opening the fridge! Will we get a taste?

Foreign Affairs: What are those squirrels up to now?

Traffic: WHY is the bathroom door shut again?

Every episode is sponsored by Meow Meow Puffytail, Feline Rights Attorney, who is ready to sue your human for even the slightest inconvenience. [ONGONG]

It's cute, light-hearted, and funny. I didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It even uplifted my mood.

[nightvale-thoughts]

the derelict/fathom fandom is so unbelievably tiny that i have decided to keep my thoughts about agent blayne to myself ⋅♡₊˚

[syndesinae]

[eowynstwin]

Y’all fucking NEED to listen to Derelict I swear to god—interstellar corporation Maas-Dorian funds a research project on Earth studying a massive, ancient vault found at the deepest part of the ocean floor. Grieving mother Dr. Eva Graff becomes convinced that to put her own life back together, she has to open it up. The station’s AI Mac is disturbingly keen to help her. And Agent David Blayne is trying to figure out why researchers are hearing voices telling them just how they can do it.

If you’re a fan of the alien franchise, cosmic and maritime horror, lesbian atrocities, cyborg wifeguys, and coping with trauma via banter, then this is THEE podcast for you.

[tomboy014]

Okay, sorry, but I need one more rant for the night.

One of the podcasts I listen to is a sci-fi one called "Derelict." This rant is specifically about the first season of the show, "Fathom", a prequel of sorts to the main plot of Derelict in season 2.

So, Fathom takes place in an underwater base approximately 20,000ft (>6000m) below sea level on the ocean floor. For all intents and purposes, it's a good show. I certainly prefer the sci-fi heavy first half over the more action focused second half, but it's science, and AI and underwater and ticks off a lot of boxes that make my geeky self happy.

But!

There's one bit of it, that's repeatedly used and brought up, that almost instantly pulls me out of the story every. single. time.

Leaks.

Spoilers ahead

The igniting incident of the story is that a tidal surge hits the base and knocks out one of the support pillars, causing an area to collapse and water surges in parts of the base flood before watertight doors seal off the worse of it.

Bitch. I'm former Navy. We got trained on things like crush depth, and older vessels had a crush depth of not much more than 500ft. Ships and submarines only few hundred feet down have sealed bulkheads IMPLODE at those pressures.

YOU ARE 20,000 FEET DOWN!!!! That means you're under almost 9000 POUNDS of pressure PER SQUARE INCH!!! 61 MEGAPASCALS!!! More than 6 HUNDRED ATMOSPHERES!!!

You don't have a leak; YOU HAVE AN IMPLOSION!!!!

The water isn't going to flow in and slowly fill a room. It's not going to trickle in. As soon as a portion, even a pinhole, gives way, water is going to rapidly enter the space in an attempt to equalize the internal and external pressure.

There's only air outside of these vessels. Now imagine there are a few miles of ocean overhead trying to get in.

In Bioshock, sure, it could be a leak. Because of the gardens grown via sunlight, Rapture has to be firmly in the epipelagic, or sunlight, zone and less than 200 meters down. Even at the maximum 200m depth, you'd experience 291psi (~2MPa). Dangerous, but doable, and vessels can be designed to withstand high pressures.

But those also rely a lot of using a cylindrical or spherical shape to evenly distribute the pressure. Ideally, the base would be hemispherical and placed directly on the ocean floor to disperse as much pressure as possible.

Except the base is built on multiple pylons. All the pressure on the top and sides of the base is now being concentrated onto the pier. So now, you have 9000psi over however many inches, plus the weight of the structure all being concentrated onto one much smaller point, increasing the pounds per square inch on the pylon.

And the bulkheads in the base are flat. Which does not withstand pressure nearly as well. Any corners or sharp changes in geometry create areas of localized stress that are going to give out a lot sooner.

But even more damning! Is the fact that seawater at the bottom of the ocean is only a degree or two above freezing. In Fahrenheit (33-34°) or Celsius (1-2°). So when a vessel fails, you're not experiencing ductile failure; you're experiencing brittle fracture, which is so much more catastrophic and dangerous.

Now, ductile failure means that the metal will experience plastic deformation before it breaks. It'll stretch, sometimes a lot, and that gives users warning and time to reverse whatever is causing the deformation before the metal fails.

Brittle fracture is sudden. Catastrophic. There is zero deformation prior to the break, meaning there's no warning, and brittle fracture is much more likely to happen at cold temperatures.

Add to that, that hypothermia will set in a LOT faster in frigid water than frigid air. There are a number of characters who have to move through partially flooded areas, and even at the surface, hypothermia can become debilitating in as little as 20 minutes and death can set in within 1-2 hours.

So, yeah, no, everyone is dead. The bulkhead ruptured? No, that water didn't trickle in. You didn't have time to make it to the next room and shut the bulkhead before the room flooded. That room imploded near instantaneously. The bulkhead failed and the entire unit imploded. Dead. Guy had to crawl through a flooded tube? People with injuries are wading through flooded areas for hours? Nope. Hypothermia. Dead. Everyone's dead. The story's done by episode 1.

And I will continue to scream at the podcast every time the water trickles in.

[scalpelfightclub]

Hi everyone. If you like deep sea disasters? Sci-fi horror? Aliens? Rogue robots? Psychological horror and emotional damage? You should absolutely check out the first season of the Derelict podcast, FATHOM. I'm currently just about done with the first season, and they recently got season 2 funded as well. It's so so well made, excellently written, beautifully sounds caped, scary, interesting, and just fucking great.

[emilreloaded]

ugh. personal rant about a podcast (Derelict/Fathom, s1e4). I was. not impressed.

Okay, I was enjoying this right up until the main character turned on a dime and decided Murder Is Cool, Actually. If they had set her up like that from the beginning, it would've been easier to digest. But they spent so much effort getting her to be sympathetic, showing us that she'd been deceived, manipulated, and ultimately cornered by an evil machine that her sudden decision to undo all of her own work just. falls flat. It's like asking me to sympathize with Sam Neill's character in Event Horizon.

So, she expends all this effort (two full episodes) to save a colleague, who warns her that the evil machine (that killed everyone else and almost killed them) is reconstituting, Here's how we stop it.

She goes through the effort of setting things up for that colleague so the colleague can help her prevent The Evil Plan. But in the process, hears the recording of The Evil Machine telling her "reality is just synapses firing in your brain" and promising to make her synapses fire good so she'll think her daughter is alive again.

After setting up the kill-switch for the Evil Machine's Reanimation Tool, she has a heart-to-heart with the colleague and asks "if things are gone, are they gone for good?" The colleague says hey I don't think you're thinking clearly--something the narrator has said of herself already--and asks her to step away from the console. Our tragic hero says well actually I want to talk to The Evil Machine What Killed Everyone And Tried To Kill You Also. Understandably, her colleague is not thrilled about this.

The colleague locks down the console. Our increasingly unsympathetic hero decides she's going to go to the server physically and expedite the Reanimation. Colleague opens the pressure doors and floods the route our delusional must take to the server; hero powers through and makes it anyway. The colleague unlocks all the doors and follows, but the effort and previous injuries cause her to collapse just as she arrives.

Another confrontation ensues. The Evil Machine's Failsafe is a recording of The Hero's Daughter being passed over for a lifesaving drug trial for political reasons. At which point, Our Pretty Crappy Hero decides We Don't Need Eyes Where We're Going and cuts her colleague in half with a pressure door. We're treated to a sanctimonious lecture while the colleague gurgles and dies a pretty slow and painful-sounding death.

Then she greets the newly-reanimated Evil Machine, explains that all she wants now is to watch the world burn (what?? what happened to the only-in-your-brain utopia you were after???), and they decide to go ahead with Burning It All Down.

And at this point, the episode is over. There's no hook here to make me want to listen to the next one. Eva shat the bed, against the character she'd established to this point and solely in service to the plot, and the only thing I'd like from the next episode or two is to hear how The Evil Machine screws her over too, before she realizes that she was the problem all along and her wife is better off without her.

[randomnow]

Hey if you love horror you should check out and maybe help back season 2 of this podcast! Fathom, the first season, is one of my favorite podcasts of all time.

The creators really know how to put together a gripping story and the production quality makes for an immersive and amazing listen (the first season is a deep sea horror story with some pretty heavy Cthulhu inspiration and also made me cry)

[partylikemajima]

HOLD ON ITS BEEN 7 YEARS BETWEEN SEASON 1 AND SEASON 2 OF DERELICT!??!?! Cause Blayne said to Sarah Raynor (im so confused cause the woman he was with on the platforms in S1 is called Sarah Clayton, but the new team he has and the one they are focusing on? Is called Sarah Raynor?) that his kid is 7 too, but in Fathom, season 1 of the podcast, his kid was just born. So ITS BEEN 7 YEARS?!? I want to know whats going on with Sarah Clayton from S1 as well i miss her 😂

[bluemoonrabbit]

Did you like both Down and Vast Horizon? Then listen to Fathom! Literally a 50-50 mix of the two!

[ashes-in-a-jar]

Derelict is the type of podcast I listen and do not comprehend

So much action I cannot follow but I love the feeling of the vibes and I like the voice actors and the occasional calm scene I manage to understand

[child-of-the-sky-people]

hi Ali! im looking for a new narrative podcast to get into, what's your current rec list? :)

Oh god it’s so long 😂

Horror:

Human Error - this one is mine so of course I’m recommending it 😂 it’s about a found family of survivors going on a road trip during a zombie apocalypse 12 years after the world ended!

We’re Alive - also zombie horror and was the show that got me into audio dramas! It’s very long and looks overwhelming but I promise it’s good!

Darkest Night - anthology horror where you find out how people died but each case is actually related and there is a bigger mystery and this show lives in my head rent free lol

The Waystation - found footage style show about a group of people on a space station that all died (the story is trying to piece together what happened). It’s along the same lines as The White Vault

DERELICT - a research group are studying a door at the bottom of the ocean, and then shit goes sideways. I binged this series super fact and I need season 2 immediately lol

The Eleventh Hour episode called The City of Statues - I made this! It’s about a group of survivors trying to make it out of a city filled with statues trying to hunt them down 👀

Someone Dies in this Elevator - mix of horror and thriller I think. It’s an anthology series where every episode someone dies in an elevator 👀 I composed for a few episodes and it’s v fun 🤩

Thriller

The Liberty Podcast - made by the same folks behind The White Vault and VAST Horizon. It’s an anthology series of stories taking place within and surrounding a tower where a civilization lives. Some episodes might lean more towards horror but I personally consider it more thriller

The Walk - made by the same folks behind zombies run! In this show you the listener are the main character, an individual making their way across Scotland with a package they were mistakenly delivered. I love this show so much omg

Primordial Deep - scientists are finding extinct dinosaurs alive and well under the ocean and they’re trying to figure out what the fuck is going on. I fucking love this show omg

Spines - woman wakes up in the middle of a cult ritual with no memories and is trying to figure out who she is and where she came from. Also there are powers!

Mirrors - same person behind Spines! Three women from three different centuries (who are all related to each other) discover they can communicate with each other through ghost like figures. It has a bigger mystery and the ending made me cry it was so good

InCo - a woman finds a prince from a world that shouldn’t exist floating in space. This show is a delight and is a micro series and I love the humor within it so much omg

Where the Stars Fell - the Antichrist is roommates with their guardian angel and they’re trying to stop the rapture

DUST - anthology series about science fiction and technology! Season 3 is definitely my favorite as it is one story but the entire show as a whole is very good

Feel Good/Light Hearted Shows

Unseen - this show lives in my head rent free and I ache for it to be real. It’s about magic existing in the real world and is an anthology! It’s made by the same folks behind Wolf 359

Joy to the World - holiday series I helped produce! It’s about an astronaut named Joy talking with different people on Earth about the holidays! It’s an anthology and v warm and I highly recommend it as a holiday series

Sidequesting - a person who is totally not the hero is avoiding the main plot and going on a bunch of side quests! It’s charming and lovely and made by the wonderful Tal

Back Again, Back Again - a woman is retelling her stories of his magical world she was transported into and about the prophecy she became involved in

If none of these are your jam lmk and I can suggest some more! If you tell me what you like to listen to/what kinds of stories you enjoy I can make a more personalized list

[singulariities]

Jacobi is Blayne post returning to earth and you can’t convince me otherwise

[murderandcoffee]

caught up with red valley. now what 🧍‍♂️

[feedergoldfish]

Dr Klayton: You know, you're incredibly supportive of someone who tried to run you over with a train. Agent Blayne: Technically, you did run me over with a train.

--------

Derelict: Fathom E06. Written and directed by J. Barton Mitchell.

I would describe their relationship as complicated.

[clockworkcheetah]

still listening to silverwood and im probably gonna drop it because it feels like its one line of dialogue from straight up using racist slurs