The Audio File: Treasure Island 2020

A new year means new entries into the public domain. I'm particularly excited because The Great Gatsby has finally entered the public domain. It should have entered a lot sooner, but you can thank Sonny Bono and The Walt Disney Corporation for artificially extending copyright terms beyond what was originally intended. But that's a discussion for another day. The point is, the public domain is a net good for writers, artists, and anyone else involved in a creative endeavor. It provides rich fodder for storytelling.

Yes, this does relate to the audio drama we're reviewing today. We're taking a look at Treasure Island 2020.

Treasure Island 2020 reimagines Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel as a modern-day time travel adventure. James Hawkins is a modern boy who lives with his mom at an old seaside motel on Montauk, Long Island. James longs for adventure, and for his father who mysterious disappeared years ago. He gets his adventure when a mysterious man named Billy Bones arrives at the motel. It soon becomes apparent that Billy Bones is a time traveler from the 18th Century. Before long, James is joined by two other kids named Max and Morgan, and the trio soon discover a portal to the past. They're about to embark on an adventure with pirates, time travel, buried treasure, and the adventure of a life time. But danger lurks around every corner. James and his friend must face-off against pirates in the past and a shadowy corporation in the present.

I was intrigued when I first heard about this audio drama, but I did have some hesitation. You see this is a co-production between Gen-Z Media and BYU Radio. BYU stands for Brigham Young University, the most notorious Mormon college in America, if not the world. As such, I was a bit worried that Treasure Island 2020 would wind-up being Mormon propaganda, or at least, have strong conservative overtones. Granted, I was reasonably certain that Gen-Z Media wouldn't let one of the shows be used as a soapbox for conservative opinions, but you never know. Thankfully, I can report that this was most certainly not the case. In fact, you could even describe Treasure Island 2020 as somewhat progressive at times.

Though one minor critique I'll give is the title of the audio drama. Originally, it was going to be called Time Pirates, but it got changed to Treasure Island 2020. Really should have stuck with the original title; much better and more evocative choice. Treasure Island 2020 just gives a "picked the name at the last minute" vibe.

The audio drama divides the action equally between the past and the present day. The section set in the past follow the plot of the original Stevenson novel fairly closely. In fact, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how faithful the segments in the past were to the original novel. Obviously, there are some differences. For example, in the original novel the captain was a man named Alexander Smollett. Here, the captain is a woman, who dresses like a man, named Bonny. Her name is a sly reference to Anne Bonny, a highly successful female pirate who disguised her as a man. It something of a tradition of adaptions of Treasure Island to recast at least one character as a woman to increase the number of female characters. In the book, Jim's mother was the only significant female character. For example, the Disney film Treasure Planet also made the captain a woman. Muppets Treasure Island cast Miss Piggy as Ben Gunn, or Benjaminia Gunn, as the case was. Kermit was cast as Captain Abraham, rather than Alexander.

Ben Gunn is reimagined as a scientist who discovered the secret of time travel. The kids recognize him as a fellow time traveler when they catch him singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" despite them being in 1754; a good twenty-two years before the start of the American Revolution. He's gone a bit loony after being stranded in the past on a Caribbean island for several years, but his mind is still sharp as ever. He dreams of delicious modern foods he no longer has, such as bagels. He also longs for sushi, which is strange, as you'd think he'd have access to plenty of raw fish.

Now let's talk about our main trio of heroes. They aren't exactly charting new territory in terms of characterization, but I thought they were all enjoyable kid hero characters. James was a good update of Jim Hawkins from the original novel. He's driven by his longing to follow in the footsteps of his father, who is no longer around. Max and Morgan are a study in contrast. Max is kind of like Arnold from The Magic School Bus; in that he constantly wishes he'd stayed home. He’s nerdy, would prefer to read book rather than have adventures, but he can be brave when the chips are down. Morgan, by contrast, jumps at the opportunity to have an adventure, and charges headlong into danger. Captain Bonny even takes Morgan under her wing and teachers her sword fighting.

Long John Silver is mostly faithful to his book counterpart, but eventually becomes more of an antihero rather than a true villain. In fact, by the end I'd say he was more of a hero than anything. He starts of friendly, cordial and polite. He even takes a shine to Max and help build up his confidence. Of course, like in the book, it's all an act due to him actually being a pirate. Though, he does switch sides to good once Dread Captain Flint arrives, but we'll get to that in a bit. Eventually, he journeys into present day to help the kids take down Flint and save the day. I enjoyed getting to see him trying to navigate through the modern world. For instance, it was fun seeing Long John so freaked out by seatbelts and tunnels, and discovering the wonders of New York pretzels.

This is a Gen-Z Media production, so you know the voice acting and sound effect will be top of the line. Some of the voice actors seemed familiar. I think James' actor might have been in Young Ben Franklin, but I can't be sure. Max also sounded familiar, but I can't place where, if any, I've heard his voice actor. In any event, everyone was great, and I hope to hear more from them all in the future.

Though, speaking of Young Ben Franklin, that's really a missed opportunity. Young Ben Franklin takes place in 1720, so the characters would be older but still alive. That meant they could have made cameos. If not Ben himself, then at least some of his friends. I'm just saying, it was a bit of a missed opportunity. 

Okay, now we've got to talk about some spoilers. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

Well okay, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

Let's talk about Dread Captain Flint. In the novel, he's a ruthless pirate who hid his treasure on the titular island. However, he long dead by the time of the story. By contrast, there are rumors that he still roams the high seas of 1754 in Treasure Island 2020.

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. Remember that shadowy corporation I mentioned at the start of the review? Guess who runs it. I'll save you the trouble: it's Dread Captain Flint. He's discovered the time vortex and has become quite the successful businessman in the present day. His company specializes in treasure hunting and exploration. However, they've also become quite talented at hostile takeovers of smaller companies. Or, to put it another way, Flint is a modern-day pirate.

But why does Flint want this particular treasure? Well, it isn't gold or jewels, it's time. That is, whoever claims the treasure will become the master of time itself. Flint wants to use it to loot the greatest treasures of history, and become the ruler of all time.

At one point he attempts to kidnap Morgan, but she successfully fights back and rescues herself. I must admit, I didn't see that coming, and I'm surprised in a good way by it. It was a lot more progressive than I was expecting something partially made to BYU Radio to be.

So, there you have it. Treasure Island 2020 is an excellent science fiction time travel adaption of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel. It's aimed at kids, but can be easily enjoyed by adults. Listen to it today, you'll be glad that you did.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.