Some podcasts are just so big, and come up in conversation
so much, I just can't ignore them. Eventually, I have check them out just to
see what the fuss is about. Sometimes they turn out to be overrated, but other
times they turn out to indeed be worthy of the praise. That brings us to the
podcast we'll be reviewing today. We're taking a look at A Scottish Podcast.
A Scottish Podcast follows two Scottish dudes named Lee and
Douglas. Lee used to be a radio DJ, but he recently lost job. In his quest to
not starve, Lee has stumbled across, what he thinks, will be a surefire path to
success: starting a paranormal investigation podcast. Lee soon drags Douglas
along for the ride, and the two set out to make the best paranormal
investigation horror podcast set in Scotland.
Well, I must admit, I'm glad I finally gave this podcast a
listen. I wouldn't so much call A Scottish Podcast a horror podcast. I'd say
that it's more of a comedy/slice-of-life podcast that happens to include horror
elements. The podcast primarily focuses on Lee and Douglas' day-to-day lives,
and the various mundane aspects of running a podcast. Still, there's plenty of
laughs to be had, and shout-out to other podcasts. Lee models the podcast,
known as The Terror Files, as essentially a Scottish version of The Black Tapes. Haven't listened to that one, but from what I understand, it's kind of
like the X-Files. Though, The Black Tapes is a fiction podcast, whereas The
Terror Files would, in-universe, be a non-fiction investigation podcast. In
other shout-out, at one-point Lee and Douglas discuss an episode of Campfire Radio Theater that is set in Scotland. It's a meta joke, because Lee and Douglas'
voice actors, Rob Cudmore and Matthew McLean, played the lead roles in that
episode. Two other podcasts Lee hopes The Terror Files will be able to rival is
The Message and Limetown. Like I said, plenty of shout-outs and love to go round.
Now let's talk characters. A Scottish Podcast is very much a
character-driven show. There are plot threads that are set up at the start of
the season, but it really is the characters, and the focus on their lives, that
carries the show. Granted, there are hints of horror throughout the seasons.
Things also tend to come to a head during the finale episodes of each season,
which take a more serious tone, at least at the start.
Anyway, back to characters. Lee has a freewheeling
devil-may-care personality. He's the type to jump in first and hammer out the
details as he goes along. That pretty much describes how he created The Terror
Files. By contrast, Douglas is more sensible and cautious. Well, he did agree
to Lee's crazy idea, but otherwise he's pretty sensible. He's also got a bit of
a chip on his shoulder due to the time he shit in his pants on live
television.
Lee and Douglas' primary financial backer is a gangster
named Bruce. He's the top gangster in Scotland, and widely considered to be the
most dangerous man in Britain. He's also a huge fan of horror investigation
podcasts, and The Terror Files is right up his alley. Douglas was a bit
hesitant about being sponsored by a violent criminal. Lee meanwhile, pretty
much said "where do I sign?" immediately. Though, considering their
primary sponsor prior to that had been a hemorrhoid cream company, perhaps it
is understandable why Lee said yes so quickly. A good bit of humor comes from
how Brice his always cordial and polite, even when he's doing gangster stuff.
For example, one time he politely calls to ask how the podcast is going, while
also murdering a man in a cement mixer. He's also speaking with an English
accent, which I found a bit odd. Is that common with Scottish gangsters? I once
took a school trip to London (and Paris and Venice) and encountered a Scottish
drug dealer selling marijuana. I had to do my best to defuse a tense situation
after one of my stupid classmates pissed him off, but I digress. Bruce is voiced Karim Kronfli. He has dyslexia, but that hasn’t stopped him from perusing a successful career as a voice actor.
In other notable characters we have Helen, the perpetual
drunk who practically lives at the local bar. I'm not sure how I feel about
her. She was amusing at first, but then she got kind of annoying. Still, the
prequel episode where she fills in for Lee as Santa at a charity even for sick
kids was kind of fun. Helen, being Helen, rented some vans and took the kids to
the pub, and bought them all jäger bombs. That was probably one of the best
Christmases those sick kids ever had. It was also amusing when Lee think he's
died and gone to Hell, which appears to him as the local pub. When questioned,
Helen basically says, "it's Hell, everyone is Scottish." She is voiced by Sarah Golding, who is to the audio drama community what John Ratzenberger is to Pixar movies. She’s a true gem of the community, and has appeared in countless audio dramas in various roles.
In season two, Lee and Douglas are joined on their
adventures by an American woman named Gina. She's a big fan of The Terror
Files, and I though she provided a good foil to Lee and Douglas. There are
plenty more characters, but those are the ones who really stand out. So then,
let us move on to other subjects.
Season three is perhaps the most bonkers to date, but in a good way. Lee disappears for a while. Then, Douglas finds him again. Specifically, Lee is on a spaceship, and he’s taking Douglas to the planet Yuggoth. They’re off to explore the mysterious ruins of Yuggoth. We went from a slice of life with horror elements, to what I can best describe as We Fix Space Junk, but with two Scottish dudes. Hmm, would that be Wee Fix Space Shite, then? Well, didn’t see that coming, but I’m all here for it. In all of its glorious insanity.
I must also take a moment and talk about the fantastic voice
acting this podcast has. I also must be very careful about how I chose my
words. The team behind A Scottish Podcast are usually good sports about
negative reviews. In fact, they've turned several of their negative reviews
into drink coasters that you can purchase. All the same, I'd prefer if my
reviews didn't wind up on a drink coaster for the wrong reasons. I'd also just
like to say the official series title card is awesome. Even more than good word-of-mouth,
it is what really convinced me I needed to give A Scottish Podcast a try.
Okay, so how do I put this delicately? Fine, I'll just be
brutally honest. I've always found Scottish people to be kind of annoying. They
always sound like seals barking, which I, half-jokingly, suppose explains where
the legend of the selkie comes from. However, I found the cast to all be rather
pleasant to listen to. They're all very talented, and clearly hard working and
devoted to their craft. Also, if this does wind up on a coaster, I demand a
royalties check. Just putting that out there now.
In addition to the main show, A Scottish Podcast has had
many fun special. They did a Burns Night Special, where the characters all read
poetry, but it was all original works, rather than the poems of Robert Burns.
They also did a special where the characters all read poems written by HP
Lovecraft. This was framed as a poetry contest that Bruce was running to
sponsor a butcher shop he owns. They're famous for their meat pies...if you
know what I mean. Naturally, he was declared the winner, because everyone was
too scared of what would happen if he didn't win.
Lovecraft was clearly a pretty big influence on the
creators. Several of the strange things Lee and Douglas investigate have strong
Lovecraftian undertones to them. For example, in season two they investigate a
professor from Miskatonic University who conducted experiments for the British
government during World War II. Also, apparently Miskatonic University is real in
the world of A Scottish Podcast; albeit as a mundane university that is a bit
annoyed that Lovecraft featured them in his works. Season one also featured
Lovecraftian horrors lurking beneath Edinburgh, but also an undead cannibal
warrior from the 10th century. A Scottish Podcast even did it's own adaption of The Shadow Over Innsmouth. The set-up is that Douglas is traveling to England on holiday, and stays at the seaside town of Innsmouth. Ah, so that's how Lovecraft slipped that one under the radar. Everyone thought the reals Innsmouth was in New England, like the story, but it was actually in Old England all along. Thought, to be clear there is no Innsmouth on either side of the Atlantic in real life.
There was also an episode where A Scottish Podcast crossed
over with several other horror podcast audio dramas. The episode featured Lee
and Douglas attending a podcasting convention, and meet with the creators
and/or characters of the other podcasts. However, they were all podcast I don't
listen too, so I didn't quite have the intended effect on me. Still, for fans
of those podcasts, I'm sure they were over the Moon. I know I got excited when
A Scottish Podcast merely mentioned Campfire Radio Theater, one of my favorite
podcasts.
So there you have it. A Scottish Podcast is a
comedy/slice-of-life podcast about two Scottish dudes trying to create their
own horror investigation podcast. It's a name you often hear in the world of
audio drama podcast, and I'm glad I finally gave it a listen. Give it a listen
yourself, you'll be glad that you did.
Well, I think that should be enough from me for now. I will
see you guys next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment