The Audio File: Regina Prime

I have said, on many occasions, that sometimes it takes me a bit before I get to certain audio dramas. Other times, I make a point of listening and reviewing as quickly as possible. Today, we are taking a look at an example of the second scenario. Without further preamble, here is my review of Regina Prime.

Regina Prime begins in the form of an urban exploration vlog. We follow a woman named Regina who is exploring an abandoned research laboratory. Everyone starts of pretty normal, but then strange things begin to happen. It also becomes clear that Regina is hiding something. Or perhaps she’s being forced to hide something. Oh, but we aren’t done yet. Each episode is split between Regina’s adventures, and the happenings of another woman. Well, multiple women, and they all have very similar voices to Regina. These women have been kidnapped by a shadow organization that is seeking Regina Prime. Just what is going on here?

Regina Prime is created by Jessica Berson, who also created the audio drama Echoes (in) Between. It was an audio drama that was very much about slowly peeling back the layers of the central mystery like an onion. Regina Prime is very much cut from the same cloth. In fact, I’d argue that it is even more so. Most episodes of Regina Prime are only about half the length of a typical Echoes (in) Between episode. So, I had to be a bit coy with the summary. I will do my best to keep things spoiler-free for as long as I can.

Now, back to the subject of Echoes (in) Between. Those of you who read my review will know that I felt immense guilt for putting off reviewing Echoes (in) Between. This is due to the tragic way in which the show came to an end. To make a long story short, Jessica Berson had a pretty nasty falling-out with her production partner. It is highly doubtful a review from me could have prevented this. All the same, I felt bad after I learned about what happened. However, towards the end of my review, I also expressed confidence that Jessica would one day rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

My confidence was certainly not misplaced. Jessica has, in addition to Regina Prime, also started an anthology audio drama called Blue Rose Stories. I’m waiting til it has a few more episodes before I review that one. I will say that the episodes that Blue Rose Stories has out so far are really great.

I first became aware of Regina Prime when I got followed by the show’s Twitter account. I was very pleased to see that Jessica was making another serialized audio drama. I made a note that I was going to be proactive and not drag my feet this time round. I had to take care of a few personal matters first, but here we are now. It seems that Jessica is taking a back to basics approach with Regina Prime. As I have previously noted, the episodes are about half the length of a typical Echoes (in) Between episode. Jessica also provides the voices for all of the characters. She manages to give them all distinct personalities, and that’s no small task, given how similar most of the characters sound. As for why that is, well, that’s something for the spoilers section. One of the characters is a computer AI. Jessica considered using an AI voice for the role, but ultimately decided against it. She felt it wouldn’t be the right thing to do. And speaking of AI…but that’s another thing for the spoilers section.

I hadn’t really given urban exploration much thought before listening to Regina Prime. I’ve seen a couple YouTube videos, and of course I remember when the Tomb of the Burger King was discovered. Easily the greatest archeological discoveries of our times. That was a joke about some urban explorers who discovered an almost perfectly preserved Burger King from the 1980s. I know urban exploration isn’t the main point of Regina Prime, but it still made me want to learn more about it.

Okay, I’ve put it off for as long as possible. It is time to get into the spoilers section. So, if you don’t want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

If everyone who wants out is gone, let’s get into it.

I’m going to go on a slight tangent for a moment, but just bare with me here. There was this show I remember briefly watching once called New Amsterdam. It was about this guy, named John Amsterdam, who was an immortal living in New York City. Oh, and it was also a detective show. As the title suggests, John’s been around since when the Dutch owned Manhattan. They had another show called Forever, which had basically the same premise, but I personally liked Forever better of the two. Ironically, both shows got canceled after only one season. Quite a shame really.

I bring this up because of something I found interesting about New Amsterdam. John has to keep a detailed list of all his descendants so that he doesn’t accidentally wind-up committing incest. I should probably mention that he’s looking for his true love, who will be the one to cure his immortality.

I’d never really considered it, but that would be a concern for someone who is immortal. But what happens when you have multiple immortals running around? And let’s assume these immortals can reproduce. Oh, nothing too bad would happen at first. Slowly but surly, however, the gene pool would start to get shallower and shallower. Iceland has had to deal with a variation of this problem. They’ve had little to no immigration over the years. Most Icelanders are descended from the original handful of Viking settlers. So, accidentally hooking up with a distant cousin is a reasonably legitimate concern. In fact, there’s an app that cross references two people’s family trees using government records. The app works when two people bump their phones together, and its slogan is “bump this app before you bump in bed.”

Okay, where am I going with all of this? Well, Regina Prime takes into consideration the ramifications of having a bunch of immortals running around and having kids. Well, that, and the effects of widespread cloning. Remember that part about the people being held captive? I initially believed it to be concurrent with Regina’s own adventures. As it turns out, I was wrong. The second segment actually takes place hundreds of years after Regina’s adventures. In that time, cloning has become very wide spread. Many people choose to have their kids cloned from donated tissue cultures. Regina’s sample proved very popular, but she had a genetic mutation that made her biologically immortal. All of her clones share this mutation, but they can still be murdered.

Hmm, a sample of immortal cellular tissue? Could that be a reference to the HeLa cells? They are a sample of cancer cells that have continued to divide long after the point they should have died. They were controversially harvested from Henrietta Lacks, who died of cervical cancer. The HeLa cells proved invaluable in numerous cancer treatment studies. However, the Lacks family didn’t learn about this until many years later.

People turning to cloning to ensure their kids are smarter, faster, stronger, and better might seem far fetched to some. However, I’d argue it isn’t too different to what is going on in the here and now. Think about all those people who pursue artificial insemination. Oh, they might claim to be opposed to things like eugenics. But when you get down to it, they’d probably prefer a tall, blonde hair, blue-eye, athletic college professor as their donor. They probably aren’t going to go for a short, flat-footed, perpetually anxious, autistic guy who writes audio drama reviews.

Obviously, all of the prisoners are clones of Regina. But why have they been captured? More importantly, who has captured them? I’ll leave all of that for you to discover. I will, however, reiterate that Jessica does a great job of giving the clones all distinct personalities. I helped that Epsilon, the clones are all referred to by Greek letters, has a British accent. Jessica does refer to herself as a committed Anglophile on her Twitter account. Hmm, going by that, I wonder if we’ll eventually see a clones who is obsessed with baseball?

I think we’ll wrap it up here. Season one of Regina Prime was really great. It is excellent to see Jessica Berson making audio dramas again. I can’t wait for season two to come out. And I have full confidence that there will indeed be a season two. If you enjoyed Echoes (in) Between, you won’t want to miss out on Regina Prime.

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

Comic Review: Siege Town

I have been ask to review audio dramas many times. I’ve also been asked to review audiobooks on a few occasions. Today, however, we are breaking new ground. This is the first time someone has asked me to review their comic book. So, without further ado, let’s get into it. We’re taking a look at Siege Town. 

Siege Town take place in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. We follow two brothers named Robert and Charles. They are from America and…well, actually, we never find out why exactly they’re in the Soviet Union. Anyway, they’re traveling across Russia on their motorcycles, and they’ve recently stopped in a rural town. They’ve decided to stay at an inn run by an incredibly creepy man named Igor. He isn’t exactly popular with the townsfolk. In fact, the townsfolk have decided they’ve had enough of Igor, and they’re out for blood. Charles and Robert are about to find themselves in the middle of a major siege.

I was approached to review Siege Town by Ben Ruffett. He is attempting to found his own comics publishing house called Witching Hour Comics. He raised the funds for Siege Town over on Kickstarter. Currently, you can only receive a copy of Siege Town by being a backer to the Kickstarter, but Ben hopes to change that soon. Ben has seen me share my comic book reviews over on Reddit, and asked if I’d be willing to review Siege Town. I said yes, and he shipped me a copy. It was the first time I’d receive a package from a foreign country, in this case Canada. So, that was kind of exciting. He did address it to Arthur Drakoni, which is my Reddit username. Caused some minor confusion when my parents found the package while I was at work. That was my fault. I should have clarified who it should be addressed to.

So, the first thing that strikes me about Siege Town is that, physically speaking, it is a very constructed. Holding it in my hands, it felt like I was flipping through something produced by a professional comic book company. The pages are glossy and strong, the cover is slick and shiny, the binding holds well. It even has the smell that you get from a professional comic book. Ben and his team clearly put a lot of effort into making sure their comic met the physical standards of a professional publisher.

The same goes for the artwork. It is all drawn and colored very well. Andrey Portilla did the drawing, and Cristian Ramirez handled the coloring. The artwork is very evocative of Vertigo during the heyday of series like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, or the various horror titles Vertigo published. Wasn’t really into the horror side of Vertigo myself, but I know enough to recognize the influence.

So, there’s a lot of care put into the artwork and physical presentation of Siege Town. I just wish the writing and plot had received the same level of attention. The plot, when you get down to it, is really just there to set-up the fight scenes. Don’t get me wrong, they’re very well drawn fight scenes, but I would have preferred if the plot had a bit more meat to it. The other issue I had is that the plot introduces a lot of potentially interesting elements, and promptly does nothing with them. 

For example, Robert and Charles are traveling through the Soviet Union during the 1950s. That was the height of the Cold War, and most Americans couldn’t just waltz into Russia to have a look around. So, what brings Robert and Charles to Russia? What are they looking to accomplish? Beats me, as the comic never provides any answers. In fact, the unusual setting never really factors into the plot. You could set the story in rural America during the same time period, and nothing would change.

On an unrelated note, the beginning of the comic makes a list of all the various peoples who have invaded Russia over the years. You get the usual suspects; Napoleon, Hitler, the Mongols…and the Russian Empire. Yeah, apparently, the Russian Empire invaded Russia. It would seem that the script could have used a tad more proofreading.

It is also established early on that Igor has a collection of killer ants. This is set up as thought it is going to playing a major role in a big climatic scene. However, the most that happens is that it breaks open, the ants bite one of the villagers, whop quickly brushes them off, and that’s it. On that note, I feel that Igor’s characterization was a bit rushed. Everything about him practically screams serial killer at the top of its lungs. Frankly, what were Robert and Charles expecting when they decided to spend the night? It might have worked better if he started off more innocuous, but then gradually revealed his true colors. This would also add to the sense of rising tension as the villagers close in, and make their motives a bit more mysterious.

Now, I didn’t hate Siege Town. I’d been going through a stretch where I hadn’t read a comic book for a bit, and it was nice to be back in the saddle. I was reminded of all the reasons I love comic books as a medium. There’s certainly an audience for comics that put heavy emphasis on action scenes. There’s certainly a lot of people who enjoy the Hellsing manga. That having been said, I am not part of that audience. If you are, however, then perhaps you might want to look into Siege Town.

The last few pages of the comic make mention of some upcoming comics from Witching Hour Comics. They both kind of sound like the same plot as Siege Town, but in different settings. The one that is set on a Moonbase sounds promising, but I’m concerned about the execution. Especially since the other one is about a bunch of Vietnam veterans in a small town in America. I certainly hope my critique about Siege Town’s setting doesn’t turn out to be prophetic.

So, that was Siege Town from Witching Hour Comics. It looks like a professional comic, down to the smell. It has artwork evocative of Vertigo. The story, however, leaves something to be desired.

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

The Audio File: The Dial-Up: Season 2

There are a lot of audio drama that I really hope get more seasons. Sometimes, it takes a bit, but the new seasons materialize. And then there are the shows where, at least from my perspective, the new seasons appear almost instantly. We’ll be reviewing one of the latter examples today. Without further ado, here is my review of season two of The Dial-Up.

To recap, season one of The Dial-Up followed a tech support worker named Lewis. He wound up having an Internet phone call with a dude named Callum. Not too unusual, except that Lewis was in 2022, and Callum was in 1999. They chatted it up, compared their lives, and prevented a minor catastrophe from happening. Lewis decided, on Callum’s advice, to quit his dead-end job and go see the world. Unfortunately, money doesn’t last forever, and Lewis had to go crawling back to his old job. It sucks, but it pays the bills. Well, Lewis is having another cross-temporal conversation. Only this time he is chatting with a woman named Dana from 2052. Dana needs Lewis’ help to prevent a massive earthquake from striking Glasgow.

Philip Catherwood promised us a fantastic second season of The Dial-Up, and he certainly did not disappoint. I had wondered if something like this might happen. We already got a caller from the past. So, it would certainly make sense for the future to come calling. Philip said he approached this season by taking various predictions about the future, and selecting the ones he felt were most likely to happen. I myself also got to play the game of speculation with this season. 

No, I’m not referring to having to wait a week for new episodes this time round. Philip Catherwood allowed me to listen to the first two episodes of season two before anyone else. He only requested that I tweet out a spoiler-free Twitter thread about my thoughts. Philip did this because of my role helping promote The Dial-Up, and being a key listener. Thank you for that, Philip. Also, sorry that it took me so long to get this review out. I was working on some personal projects. Hopefully, said project will be out soon.

Anyway, back on topic, Craig McDonald Kelly returns for another fantastic performance as Lewis. I loved how Craig portrayed Lewis’ dorkier side now that he is in Callum’s shoes. Perhaps, Callum managed to rub off on Lewis. I must also give praise to Amy Alexander’s performance as Dana. You can see shades and echoes of how Lewis was in season one, but Dana has enough differences to make her interesting. The part about Dana being a history major who had to sort out her personal issues was…kind of relatable. We’re still a bit light on sound effects, but we got a bit more this time round. And hey, nothing wrong with going lighter on the sound effects. The performances of the actors is more than enough to compensate for that. Just like last time, it never felt like anything was lacking sound-wise.

Lewis seemed a bit less intelligent this time around. Of course, Dana works in theoretical physics, while Lewis is just a guy at a tech center. So, maybe he came across as smarter than Callum only by comparison. Callum was just an average guy, but a good guy all the same. Of course, this time round, Lewis is the one geeking out over what wonders are awaiting in the future. So, there’s that too.

Okay, so as previously stated, this season makes a lot of predictions about the future. And what are my thoughts on the matter? Let’s go through a few of the predictions. Okay, so apparently Britain is going to be getting a space program in the future. Hey, wait a minute, Britain already has a space agency. The United Kingdom Space Agency was founded in 2010. Now, granted, they currently don’t have any manned space missions. So, perhaps that’s what Dana meant. I don’t know how likely this is, but I like the idea of there being more nations sending humans into space. Well, more than just America, Russia, and China. Though, the bit about Britain becoming a leader in spaceflight was, perhaps, a bit of wish fulfillment on Philip’s part. As for the bit about Elon Musk going bankrupt, eh, it could go either way. Musk is enough of a wild card that anything really is possible. So, I’ll let that bit slide.

In other predictions, climate change has gotten worse by 2052. I’d like to think that won’t happen, but the cynical part of me thinks it probably will. Look at how many people tried to ignore/deny Covid even when it was staring them in the face. I can certainly see Scotland getting hit by a hurricane under such circumstances. Though, I do disagree with Lewis and Dana about it being cool. I’m from Louisiana, where hurricanes are a major concern every year. It has been nearly twenty years since Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, but that’s still fresh in the minds of many Louisianans. Even a relatively weak hurricane is no laughing matter.

Dana mentions that it was fifty-five Celsius when she visited Vietnam. Hmm, let’s do some conversions. Thirty degrees Celsius is roughly equivalent to ninety degrees Fahrenheit. So, that would mean that fifty-five degrees Celsius is…yikes! That’s about 131 Fahrenheit, and that’s past the point the human body can comfortably survive! I sure hope that people of Vietnam have invested in industrial air conditioners by 2052. I also shudder to imagine the consequences of them experiencing a blackout. Having lived through the Great American Heat Dome of 2023, I certainly hope that this prediction does not come to pass. Because if Vietnam is that hot, Louisiana is sure to be an oven as well.

Speaking of things going hot, apparently China invaded India at some point. Uh, how exactly did that happen. They’re both nuclear armed nations, and that’s a pretty big deterrence against invasion. Were they fighting over the Kashmir? If so, shouldn’t Pakistan have been involved? Of course, they are also nuclear armed, which brings us right back to the first problem. Yeah, I don’t see this one as likely, especially since it didn’t lead to World War III breaking out.

Well, enough international events, let’s get back to the homefront. Movie theaters haven’t totally died out by 2052, but there is only one movie theater left in all of Glasgow. Dana isn’t too thrilled about this, as she actually enjoys going out into the world, rather than doing everything digitally. Naturally, she finds a kindred spirit in Lewis. People have been predicting the demise of movie theaters since…well, basically ever. I remember watching this old film from way back in the 1950s bemoaning about how soon television would drive theaters out of business. Ironically, I watched that film on a television. Was I watching it on Turner Classic Movies? Hmm, I can’t remember. Well, anyway, it is certainly true that many theaters are struggling to stay afloat. Many of them are trying to offer a more deluxe and upscale experience in hopes of attracting customers. I actually did wonder if Covid would be the deathblow to theaters, but they’ve weathered the storm. Look how many people went out for Barbenheimer.

So, I don’t think movie theaters will ever truly go away. There’s always going to be some people who will prefer that to streaming or on-demand. That said, I do think that the number of movie theaters is probably going to decrease in the future. So, that’s certainly another of the stronger predictions from this season.

We also learn that eating bugs has become fairly common by 2052. Red meat and white meat aren’t illegal, but they are prohibitively expensive for most people. So, insects are used as a cheap source of protein. This is presented as something unpleasant, but I’m hoping that eating insects becomes more common. Bugs are very tasty, and they are an excellent source of protein. I’m always excited when I hear about chefs experimenting with recipes utilizing insects. Now, granted, I don’t want insects to replace other forms of meat. I do love my burgers, fried chicken, and baked salmon. Rather, I want them to be welcomed into the western diet. Also, mealworms are not gross. Most of the ones currently on the market are a bit too dried out for my taste. However, that’s easily fixable with better packaging to seal in freshness.

As for the bit about augmented reality glasses becoming more common…beats me. I kind of feel that would have already happened by now. However, I also thought the iPhone was stupid back when it first came out. Now, I can’t survive without my iPhone, and I typed this review on my iPad Pro. Shows what I know. However, Metaverse is not going to take off. I don’t care how much money Mark Zuckerberg tried to pump into it. Metaverse is like the word fetch; it is, like, so not going to happen.

Now, there is a huge spoiler that happens at the end of episode two. Oh, how I want to discuss it, but I really shouldn’t. I’ll leave it for you to discover. All I will say is, woah, did not see that coming. Didn’t see it coming, but it got me very excited for the rest of the episodes. And those episodes certainly did not disappoint.

I wondered what season three will bring. And yes, there will be a season three. We’ve gone backwards in time, forwards in time, but what about sideways in time? That is, staying at now, but connecting with a different version of now. One where history went differently. Certainly a lot of possibilities to be had. But no, that’s not going to be the case. I won’t spoil what the case will be, but I was certainly pleasantly surprised. It looks like season three is going to hold great things indeed.

So, that was season two of The Dial-Up. We follow the continuing adventures of Lewis as he gets an unexpected call from the future. It has great character interactions, great voice acting, and interesting predictions about the future. You won’t want to miss this if you enjoyed season one of The Dial-Up.

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