So, with all of that out of the way, let us continue our review of The Truth.
The first episode we’ll be looking at in this part of the review is “They’re Made Out of Meat.” It is adapted from the short story of the same name by Terry Bisson. It follows two aliens who…well, actually, we don’t get any physical description of them. The only thing we know for sure is that they definitely don’t look human. You see, they have discovered a mysterious planet known as Earth. The local intelligent life isn’t made out of energy, or plasma, or gas, or anything sensible like that. No, Earthlings are made out of meat! And they stay meat their entire lives!
I was familiar with the original short story, but this episode was still a lot of fun. When you think about it, it is kind of amazing that a lump of meat and fat can produce our complex minds. Oh, and just so you know, you probably used that lump of fat and meat just then. I suppose this is a humor solution to the Fermi Paradox. Just where are all the aliens? Well, we do tend to be biased towards ourselves. We assume that E.T. and company will be carbon-based meat sacks like us. But what if they turn out to be different? Perhaps we’ve been looking in all the wrong places.
This episode also includes an interview between Terry Bisson and Jonathan Mitchell. Terry said that this episode was probably one of the best adaptations of the story. I agree; this story doesn’t lend itself well to the visual mediums. Though, he did mention a short play a university did. The aliens were represented by lights on a stage curtain. That sounds kind of fun and unique. Also, apparently Steven Pinker and Sam Harris have used this story in their university classes. There was the part where Terry apparently didn’t know audio dramas are a thing, and Jonathan tried to politely correct him. I thought “Mr. Bisson, I’d love to give you some recommendations!”
All in all, an excellent adaptation, and an excellent interview. Two great episodes for the price of one.
Our second episode will be “Possible Side Effects.” This episode follows a guy named Joel. He’s been having stomach pain, but his doctor has put him on a wonderful drug called Intestilax. It has helped it, but it does come with a few side effects. Chief among them is that Joel is hallucinating the disembodied voices of three women named Kimmy, Tina, and Scarlet. Kimmy is the sweet and cutesy one, Tina is the sensible one, and Scarlet is the sexy one. They all love Joel, and want him to be the best version of himself possible. And Joel is equally fond of his special ladies. Unfortunately, Joel no longer needs to take Intestilax. Long term use can result in kidney failure, and his doctor isn’t keen on the whole hearing voices thing. Joel refuses to be without his girls, and will do whatever it takes to get a supply of Intestilax.
There have been times in my life where I would have loved something like this. Well, maybe not the parts where Intestilax turns out to be detrimental to Joel’s health. Still, having some voices that only I can hear, and who like me for who I am, might be fun. Though, as I type this, I realize that this all sound kind of like schizophrenia, which is a decidedly not fun disorder. I’m also reminded of how Son of Sam claimed to hear his dog talking to him, and then he killed all those women. So, uh, yeah, maybe I should think twice before indulging in the fantasies of this episode.
On a lighter note, Kimmy, Tina, and Scarlet were a lot of fun. I find it interesting that they reminded me a bit of the three personalities from The Three Faces of Eve. It could have been coincide, and it probably was, but it was just something I noticed. I suppose there’s an anti-escapism moral in this episode. Escapism can be a good and even necessary thing, but eventually we must face our problems head-on. Retreating too far into our fantasies can have negative results.
Possible side effects of this episode include: laughing, smiling, and listening to another excellent episode of The Truth.
Our next episode is “Sleep Some More.” It follows a college student named Dan. He is taking a literature class, and is really struggling. Then, one night, he hears his roommate Tom talking in his sleep. Tom’s sleep talking provides deep and insightful literary analysis about the various works that Dan has to write essays about. The only catch is that Tom bleeds when this happens. The more Dan exploits Tom’s sleep talking, the more Tom bleeds, and the weaker he gets. How far will Dan go to maintain his grades?
I admit I always kind of struggled with literature class. There were some bright spots during middle school. I had a good English teacher. What finally clicked was eleventh grade American Literature class. I had an excellent teacher, and I really loved how she incorporated history into what we were learning. It made me interested in learning more about the various great novels. Naturally, I became a bit of a popular resource among other students. Though, nobody ever tried to pick my brain while I was sleeping. Well, to my knowledge, anyway.
It is interesting how the action of the episode paralleled Tom’s insights into Dan’s assignments. Like Macbeth, Dan is conflicted towards the start of the episode, but he quickly made his choice. Like Dr. Faustus, that choice is an, albeit metaphorical, deal with the devil. Like Victor Frankenstein, he is more concerned with whether or not he can do something morally questionable, rather than if he should. Like Dorian Gray, he wears a mask of civility in public, and uses it to hide a rotten soul. Like Rodin Rashkolnikov, he is laser-focused on his life’s goal. Dan’s only concern about Tom’s failing health is how it will impact his dream of becoming Secretary of Commerce.
The parallel with Gregor Samsa is especially interesting. Tom is Gregor, and Dan is Gregor’s family. Tom, albeit unknowingly, sacrifices himself for Dan. And yet, Dan is completely ungrateful. He never even considers stopping for Tom’s sake. He never thinks of revealing the truth to Tom, and perhaps getting his permission to continue. No, all Dan cares about is what’s in it for him.
But this brings us to the most important question of all: how far are you willing to go to listen to this episode of The Truth? To your podcast app of choice, that’s how far!
For our forth offering we have “Salamanca.” Our protagonist reminisces about a trip he took to Spain back in the 1980s. He had a wonderful time in Salamanca, especially when he met a beautiful woman named Emilia. An old legend says that if he can find the frog carved into the Cathedral of Salamanca, you will have good luck all year. Our protagonist certainly felt quite lucky in those gentle summer days. A dream come true, you might say. But a dream, no matter how beautiful, must come to an end eventually.
I have never been to Spain. However, I really wanted to visit Salamanca after I listened to this episode. I never felt like a travel ad. Although, Spain's Ministry of Industry and Tourism probably should have commissioned The Truth. Audio dramas can do wonders for the tourism sector; just ask Blum. Anyway, this felt like a sincere love letter to Salamanca.
The legend about the frog is indeed a real legend. It is also not the only notable site at Salamanca. There’s also a carving of an astronaut. Contrary to what the loonies on Ancient Aliens would have you believe, there’s a mundane explanation for this. The cathedral underwent renovations in 1992, and the astronaut was added as part of that. Along with other additions, such as a dragon eating ice cream.
This episode reminded me of a trip I took to Italy the summer before junior year of high school. I saw many wonderful things, but I also met Rebecca. She was another student on the trip, and we really hit it off with each other. We remained friends, and kept in touch. We thought about maybe being something more, but she had personal demons to sort out. In all honesty, so did I. Eventually, we got our shit together, but then she came out as lesbian. We still remained friends, and I did my best to be supportive, but things were always kind of awkward between us after that. Honestly, part of me wished we could be more than friends, even if I knew that could never happen.
Still, despite everything that happened, I’m grateful that I got to know Rebecca. I still treasure all the good times we had together. I’m reminded of what the protagonist’s Spanish papá says about the song at the end of the episode. I loved the bird, but if it was caged, it would not be a bird.
Come and take a wistful, slightly melancholy, auditory journey to Salamanca.
We’ll be changing gears as we take a look at “Justice Battalion.” Holy Silver Age, Truthman! This episode is an homage to Super Friends. We follow a noble group of heroes called the Justice Battalion. They are: Bright Star, Night Wolf, Captain Kilowatt, and Silicone Savior. The President is giving the State of the Union address. Among other things, he plans to ramp up the War on Drugs, repeal climate change legislation, and will increase production of fossil fuels. Bright Star has had enough, and murders the President on live television. The remaining members of the Justice Battalion must find a way to bring Bright Star to justice. But what does justice even mean in the modern world?
When I listened to this episode, I immediately thought of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. The first thing I thought after finish this episode was “Wow, The Truth told a better story in thirty minutes than Zach Snyder did in two and half hours.” I don’t think this was necessarily meant as a response to Batman vs Superman. I detected the DNA of quite a few comics. The idea of the Superman analog going rouge, and embracing vigilante justice, brings to mind Injustice: Gods Among Us. However, the bit about a superhero killing the President, and the question of how far is too far in the pursuit of justice, brings to mind Black Summer by Warren Ellis.
So, now let’s sort out who is who. Bright Star is Superman, Night Wolf is Batman, Captain Kilowatt is Wonder Woman, Crying Clown is Joker, and Silicone Savior…hmm, I guess he’s vaguely similar to Red Tornado. This also extends to the performances the actors gave. Erica Schroeder sounded almost exactly like the Super Friends version of Wonder Woman. Billy Bob Thompson was channeling Mark Hamill’s iconic take on Joker. Marc Thompson was going for Christian Bale’s raspy Batman voice. And, of course, Graham Rowat nailed the announcer role.
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s another excellent episode of The Truth!
Our next port of call is “Mark the Creep.” We follow a man named Mark who has been dealing with some intrusive thoughts. He frequently has hallucinations about people getting angry at him over the slightest mistakes. He also occasionally has fantasies about intimacy, but he worries that this means he’s secretly a pervert. We follow Mark as he tries to navigate life and come to terms with his intrusive thoughts, and gain a sense of self-worth.
This was one of those episodes from the final season of The Truth. It was the worst of times, but it was also the best of times. There were increasingly more misses, but when The Truth managed to land a hit, they really knew how to knock it out of the park. Case in point, this episode. It is rare to see a work of fiction that captures my own struggles so clearly. Like Mark, I also frequently deal with intrusive thoughts, and fear that everyone secretly hates me and resents me. I have a tendency to assume the worst about interactions if I’m uncertain. Such tend to be the case when you’re on the autism spectrum. And yet there are plenty of times, probably most of the times, in all honesty, when things turn out perfectly fine. The other person isn’t angry or appalled at me, and I simply catastrophized things in my head. It’s probably the result of my anxiety and low self-esteem. I sometimes wonder if I might have undiagnosed OCD. I’ve got pretty much every other mental disorder.
This episode was a surpassingly realistic take on someone with OCD. Contrary to popular depiction, OCD isn’t about obsessively ordering everything. Rather, it is dealing with repeated unwarned intrusive thoughts. Basically, you fear that if you think about something bad for too long, you’ll eventually do that bad thing for real. This often leads to various coping methods. You know they’re irrational, but they’re the only thing that feels like it brings relief. Perhaps I need to be more like Mark, and learn some more self-compassion, and to cut myself more slack.
Like I said, this episode was a bright star during a turbulent time for The Truth. Keep that in mind as we get into the next review.
Speaking of which, we will now turn our attention to “Journey into Kalanu.” It follows a man named Richard. He has a strained relationship with his sons Brian and Zach. Still, he’s trying his best. He has taken them to a theme park centered around Kalanu. It is a science fiction franchise that…well, it’s basically Star Wars, with a smidge of He-Man thrown in. The author of the Kalanu book is pretty clearly George R.R. Martin. Anyway, Brian and Zach are big fans, but Richard just doesn’t get it. Richard decides to try out the park’s latest dark ride, and has a surpassingly good time. Little does he know he’s going to uncover the dark underbelly of the Kalanu fandom.
You know, I actually had hopes for this one initially. At the start, it seemed like the episode was going to be about Richard coming to appreciate Kalanu. He enjoys his trip on the dark ride, gets to know a Kalanu fan named Christine, and perhaps even becomes a fan himself. Now, doesn’t that sound like a great episode?
Unfortunately, that’s now how things played out. You see, Christine does not like the recent changes that have been made to the Kalanu franchise. She especially isn’t fond of the new character Rey Palpatine…okay, that’s not really her name, but she’s clearly meant to be Rey. Also, the company that bought Kalanu is pretty clearly Disney. Christine belongs to a conspiracy theory group that claims that the creator of Kalanu is being held hostage, and is being forced to make these changes. And what do they decide to do about this? Why, to set fires across the park, and commit other acts of domestic terrorism. Also, Richard’s sons support the arson.
I mean, wow, where do I even begin? What we have here is a massive strawman argument. Basically, you can either blindly consume everything in a franchise without any criticism, or you can be a domestic terrorist. We never see a character who doesn’t like the current direction of Kalanu, but expresses it in a sensible way. Given the lack of nuance, it’s pretty clear what the message is here. Especially given the connection between Kalanu and Star Wars.
There’s certainly a double standard whenever fandoms do stupid shit. If it’s a fandom that skews male, the media immediately pounces on it, and declares a moral panic. If it is a fandom that skews female, completely crickets from the media. True, this episode does has Christine as the main fanatic. But just ask any woman who openly admits to not liking the Star Wars sequel trilogy about their experiences. Odds are, they’ve been called a pick-me, or get accused of having internalized misogyny. So, no, this episode ain’t off the hook.
So, what do I mean about the double standard? Well, there was that fan artist who got harassed by the Steven Universe fandom because she, supposedly, drew some characters too light-skinned and a smidge too thin. Poor girl tried to take her own life, and thankfully failed. Hell, even the Steven Universe creators had to step in, and tell people to knock it off. And what was the response from the media? Silence, complete and utter silence.
There was also the shipping wars within the Voltron fandom. Further proof about how hardcore shippers really need to get a life, and maybe some meds. Death threats being sent left and right, the creators having to tell everyone to knock it off. And then there was that one person who threatened to link storyboards of the new episodes unless their favorite ship became canon. Naturally, Studio Mir quit giving out tours of the studio after that stunt. But once again, nary a word from the media.
I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point. The message of this episode might as well be “Don’t ask questions, just consume product. And then get excited for next product.”
It isn’t like we can’t poke fun at fandom excess. William Shatner’s “Please Get a Life” sketch is one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches. The Animaniacs also had a similar sketch that I enjoyed. But both of those felt like they were coming from a place of good faith. It also help that they weren’t trying to lecture their audience. Both traits being something this episode sorely lacked.
What else can I say? Two thumbs way down. Easily one of the worst, if not the worst, episode of The Truth.
We shift gears slightly to have “Breakfast in Wartime.” We follow a struggling comedian named Liz. She’s been trying to break into the big times, but her fellow artists are being unsupportive. Liz wants to be apolitical, and just have a good time. However, the other artists think are should have important messages, and speak truth to power. In fact, they’re all involved in a protest for…well, actually, the episode never says why they’re protesting. So, Liz brushes them off, and lands a gig as a comedian for Fox News/The Daily Wire. She has to decide how long she’s willing to ignore the events around her.
There was an idea here, but it just never came together. I feel that this episode got yanked out of the oven too early, and didn’t have chance to bake properly. The biggest problem is that we never find out why exactly Liz’s friends are protesting. Now, granted, as we saw with “Journey into Kalanu” this could easily go rather poorly. On the other hand, it is very hard to care about them if we don’t know what they’re fighting for. I also felt Liz got a bit of an unfair shake. Not all art needs to have a profound message. Even the most seemingly trivial piece of art can have significance to everyone. It is easy to get emotionally burned out, and sometimes you just need an escape. There is nothing wrong or evil about that. It is important to have an emotional release valve. Doing that could be Liz’s supporting her friends in her own way.
So, while this episode had potential to be good, it just never came together. Perhaps another round of revisions was in order.
We’ll finish this installment with “Naughty or Nice.” It follows an elf named Spark. He works at the Naughty and Nice division of Santa's workshop. He and his coworkers sort all children onto either the Naughty or Nice list. Lately, however, more and more children are winding up on the Naughty list for misdemeanors. Something's going on, and Spark is going to get to the bottom of it.
This was a really fun episode. Of course, in order to discuss it we're going to have to talk about the twist. Why are so many children getting coal? Santa is in bed with the coal industry, that's why! You'd think he'd be concerned about global warming, due to living in the Arctic and all. Maybe he has enough magic where it wouldn't be a problem? In any event, Santa was well-written, and seemed believably nice before the big reveal. I love these stories that give a more technological edge to Santa's workshop and its employees. Also, great sound editing to make the actors playing elves sound convincing.
A fun, slightly satirical tale that I'm sure you'll enjoy. This one is on the nice list.
And with that, we wrap up Part 2 of our look at The Truth. Don’t worry, this is not the end of my review of The Truth. I fully intend to make a Part 3 at some point. I’ve got a feeling that there will also be a Part 4 sooner or later. So, be on the look out for both of those.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
But this brings us to the most important question of all: how far are you willing to go to listen to this episode of The Truth? To your podcast app of choice, that’s how far!
For our forth offering we have “Salamanca.” Our protagonist reminisces about a trip he took to Spain back in the 1980s. He had a wonderful time in Salamanca, especially when he met a beautiful woman named Emilia. An old legend says that if he can find the frog carved into the Cathedral of Salamanca, you will have good luck all year. Our protagonist certainly felt quite lucky in those gentle summer days. A dream come true, you might say. But a dream, no matter how beautiful, must come to an end eventually.
I have never been to Spain. However, I really wanted to visit Salamanca after I listened to this episode. I never felt like a travel ad. Although, Spain's Ministry of Industry and Tourism probably should have commissioned The Truth. Audio dramas can do wonders for the tourism sector; just ask Blum. Anyway, this felt like a sincere love letter to Salamanca.
The legend about the frog is indeed a real legend. It is also not the only notable site at Salamanca. There’s also a carving of an astronaut. Contrary to what the loonies on Ancient Aliens would have you believe, there’s a mundane explanation for this. The cathedral underwent renovations in 1992, and the astronaut was added as part of that. Along with other additions, such as a dragon eating ice cream.
This episode reminded me of a trip I took to Italy the summer before junior year of high school. I saw many wonderful things, but I also met Rebecca. She was another student on the trip, and we really hit it off with each other. We remained friends, and kept in touch. We thought about maybe being something more, but she had personal demons to sort out. In all honesty, so did I. Eventually, we got our shit together, but then she came out as lesbian. We still remained friends, and I did my best to be supportive, but things were always kind of awkward between us after that. Honestly, part of me wished we could be more than friends, even if I knew that could never happen.
Still, despite everything that happened, I’m grateful that I got to know Rebecca. I still treasure all the good times we had together. I’m reminded of what the protagonist’s Spanish papá says about the song at the end of the episode. I loved the bird, but if it was caged, it would not be a bird.
Come and take a wistful, slightly melancholy, auditory journey to Salamanca.
We’ll be changing gears as we take a look at “Justice Battalion.” Holy Silver Age, Truthman! This episode is an homage to Super Friends. We follow a noble group of heroes called the Justice Battalion. They are: Bright Star, Night Wolf, Captain Kilowatt, and Silicone Savior. The President is giving the State of the Union address. Among other things, he plans to ramp up the War on Drugs, repeal climate change legislation, and will increase production of fossil fuels. Bright Star has had enough, and murders the President on live television. The remaining members of the Justice Battalion must find a way to bring Bright Star to justice. But what does justice even mean in the modern world?
When I listened to this episode, I immediately thought of Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. The first thing I thought after finish this episode was “Wow, The Truth told a better story in thirty minutes than Zach Snyder did in two and half hours.” I don’t think this was necessarily meant as a response to Batman vs Superman. I detected the DNA of quite a few comics. The idea of the Superman analog going rouge, and embracing vigilante justice, brings to mind Injustice: Gods Among Us. However, the bit about a superhero killing the President, and the question of how far is too far in the pursuit of justice, brings to mind Black Summer by Warren Ellis.
So, now let’s sort out who is who. Bright Star is Superman, Night Wolf is Batman, Captain Kilowatt is Wonder Woman, Crying Clown is Joker, and Silicone Savior…hmm, I guess he’s vaguely similar to Red Tornado. This also extends to the performances the actors gave. Erica Schroeder sounded almost exactly like the Super Friends version of Wonder Woman. Billy Bob Thompson was channeling Mark Hamill’s iconic take on Joker. Marc Thompson was going for Christian Bale’s raspy Batman voice. And, of course, Graham Rowat nailed the announcer role.
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s another excellent episode of The Truth!
Our next port of call is “Mark the Creep.” We follow a man named Mark who has been dealing with some intrusive thoughts. He frequently has hallucinations about people getting angry at him over the slightest mistakes. He also occasionally has fantasies about intimacy, but he worries that this means he’s secretly a pervert. We follow Mark as he tries to navigate life and come to terms with his intrusive thoughts, and gain a sense of self-worth.
This was one of those episodes from the final season of The Truth. It was the worst of times, but it was also the best of times. There were increasingly more misses, but when The Truth managed to land a hit, they really knew how to knock it out of the park. Case in point, this episode. It is rare to see a work of fiction that captures my own struggles so clearly. Like Mark, I also frequently deal with intrusive thoughts, and fear that everyone secretly hates me and resents me. I have a tendency to assume the worst about interactions if I’m uncertain. Such tend to be the case when you’re on the autism spectrum. And yet there are plenty of times, probably most of the times, in all honesty, when things turn out perfectly fine. The other person isn’t angry or appalled at me, and I simply catastrophized things in my head. It’s probably the result of my anxiety and low self-esteem. I sometimes wonder if I might have undiagnosed OCD. I’ve got pretty much every other mental disorder.
This episode was a surpassingly realistic take on someone with OCD. Contrary to popular depiction, OCD isn’t about obsessively ordering everything. Rather, it is dealing with repeated unwarned intrusive thoughts. Basically, you fear that if you think about something bad for too long, you’ll eventually do that bad thing for real. This often leads to various coping methods. You know they’re irrational, but they’re the only thing that feels like it brings relief. Perhaps I need to be more like Mark, and learn some more self-compassion, and to cut myself more slack.
Like I said, this episode was a bright star during a turbulent time for The Truth. Keep that in mind as we get into the next review.
Speaking of which, we will now turn our attention to “Journey into Kalanu.” It follows a man named Richard. He has a strained relationship with his sons Brian and Zach. Still, he’s trying his best. He has taken them to a theme park centered around Kalanu. It is a science fiction franchise that…well, it’s basically Star Wars, with a smidge of He-Man thrown in. The author of the Kalanu book is pretty clearly George R.R. Martin. Anyway, Brian and Zach are big fans, but Richard just doesn’t get it. Richard decides to try out the park’s latest dark ride, and has a surpassingly good time. Little does he know he’s going to uncover the dark underbelly of the Kalanu fandom.
You know, I actually had hopes for this one initially. At the start, it seemed like the episode was going to be about Richard coming to appreciate Kalanu. He enjoys his trip on the dark ride, gets to know a Kalanu fan named Christine, and perhaps even becomes a fan himself. Now, doesn’t that sound like a great episode?
Unfortunately, that’s now how things played out. You see, Christine does not like the recent changes that have been made to the Kalanu franchise. She especially isn’t fond of the new character Rey Palpatine…okay, that’s not really her name, but she’s clearly meant to be Rey. Also, the company that bought Kalanu is pretty clearly Disney. Christine belongs to a conspiracy theory group that claims that the creator of Kalanu is being held hostage, and is being forced to make these changes. And what do they decide to do about this? Why, to set fires across the park, and commit other acts of domestic terrorism. Also, Richard’s sons support the arson.
I mean, wow, where do I even begin? What we have here is a massive strawman argument. Basically, you can either blindly consume everything in a franchise without any criticism, or you can be a domestic terrorist. We never see a character who doesn’t like the current direction of Kalanu, but expresses it in a sensible way. Given the lack of nuance, it’s pretty clear what the message is here. Especially given the connection between Kalanu and Star Wars.
There’s certainly a double standard whenever fandoms do stupid shit. If it’s a fandom that skews male, the media immediately pounces on it, and declares a moral panic. If it is a fandom that skews female, completely crickets from the media. True, this episode does has Christine as the main fanatic. But just ask any woman who openly admits to not liking the Star Wars sequel trilogy about their experiences. Odds are, they’ve been called a pick-me, or get accused of having internalized misogyny. So, no, this episode ain’t off the hook.
So, what do I mean about the double standard? Well, there was that fan artist who got harassed by the Steven Universe fandom because she, supposedly, drew some characters too light-skinned and a smidge too thin. Poor girl tried to take her own life, and thankfully failed. Hell, even the Steven Universe creators had to step in, and tell people to knock it off. And what was the response from the media? Silence, complete and utter silence.
There was also the shipping wars within the Voltron fandom. Further proof about how hardcore shippers really need to get a life, and maybe some meds. Death threats being sent left and right, the creators having to tell everyone to knock it off. And then there was that one person who threatened to link storyboards of the new episodes unless their favorite ship became canon. Naturally, Studio Mir quit giving out tours of the studio after that stunt. But once again, nary a word from the media.
I could go on, but I’m sure you get the point. The message of this episode might as well be “Don’t ask questions, just consume product. And then get excited for next product.”
It isn’t like we can’t poke fun at fandom excess. William Shatner’s “Please Get a Life” sketch is one of my favorite Saturday Night Live sketches. The Animaniacs also had a similar sketch that I enjoyed. But both of those felt like they were coming from a place of good faith. It also help that they weren’t trying to lecture their audience. Both traits being something this episode sorely lacked.
What else can I say? Two thumbs way down. Easily one of the worst, if not the worst, episode of The Truth.
We shift gears slightly to have “Breakfast in Wartime.” We follow a struggling comedian named Liz. She’s been trying to break into the big times, but her fellow artists are being unsupportive. Liz wants to be apolitical, and just have a good time. However, the other artists think are should have important messages, and speak truth to power. In fact, they’re all involved in a protest for…well, actually, the episode never says why they’re protesting. So, Liz brushes them off, and lands a gig as a comedian for Fox News/The Daily Wire. She has to decide how long she’s willing to ignore the events around her.
There was an idea here, but it just never came together. I feel that this episode got yanked out of the oven too early, and didn’t have chance to bake properly. The biggest problem is that we never find out why exactly Liz’s friends are protesting. Now, granted, as we saw with “Journey into Kalanu” this could easily go rather poorly. On the other hand, it is very hard to care about them if we don’t know what they’re fighting for. I also felt Liz got a bit of an unfair shake. Not all art needs to have a profound message. Even the most seemingly trivial piece of art can have significance to everyone. It is easy to get emotionally burned out, and sometimes you just need an escape. There is nothing wrong or evil about that. It is important to have an emotional release valve. Doing that could be Liz’s supporting her friends in her own way.
So, while this episode had potential to be good, it just never came together. Perhaps another round of revisions was in order.
We’ll finish this installment with “Naughty or Nice.” It follows an elf named Spark. He works at the Naughty and Nice division of Santa's workshop. He and his coworkers sort all children onto either the Naughty or Nice list. Lately, however, more and more children are winding up on the Naughty list for misdemeanors. Something's going on, and Spark is going to get to the bottom of it.
This was a really fun episode. Of course, in order to discuss it we're going to have to talk about the twist. Why are so many children getting coal? Santa is in bed with the coal industry, that's why! You'd think he'd be concerned about global warming, due to living in the Arctic and all. Maybe he has enough magic where it wouldn't be a problem? In any event, Santa was well-written, and seemed believably nice before the big reveal. I love these stories that give a more technological edge to Santa's workshop and its employees. Also, great sound editing to make the actors playing elves sound convincing.
A fun, slightly satirical tale that I'm sure you'll enjoy. This one is on the nice list.
And with that, we wrap up Part 2 of our look at The Truth. Don’t worry, this is not the end of my review of The Truth. I fully intend to make a Part 3 at some point. I’ve got a feeling that there will also be a Part 4 sooner or later. So, be on the look out for both of those.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
