The Audio File: Timestorm: Season 3

Sooner or later, every audio drama must come to an end. Not just the end of an episode, or the end of a season, but the end of the series. The sun must set at the end of every day. The curtain must fall at the end of every play. But that doesn't mean we can't have good times along the way. If nothing else, the shows you love will always live on in your heart. It helps that, in most cases, you can easily relisten to the series whenever you feel like it.

Why am I talking about all of this? Because it ties in with today's review. We're taking a look at season three of Timestorm.

Alexa and Beni Ventura are continuing their mission to witness, find, and remember events from throughout Puerto Rican history. They're aided by their cousin Horacio and his trusty AI Atabay. In the present day, they're assisted by their other cousin, Josie, and their mutual friend Janelly. Lately, the Ventura towns have been going on a lot of quests to retrieve guanín artifacts. Things have been going pretty well, but lately there is trouble on the horizon. A mysterious woman named Kaylee is also very interested in guanín, and believes the Ventura's can lead her to a great treasure. At the same time, Alexa and Beni begin to question the ethics of collecting artifacts. There are many questions to be asked, and many answers found, in the final season of Timestorm.

I can't believe the final season of Timestorm is here already. It seems like it was only yesterday that the adventure first began. I mean, I knew on some level that this day had to come eventually, but it's still kind of surreal that it's here already. Still, let's not dwell too much on the sad times. We still got a fantastic final season full of plenty of great moments and episodes.

Season three differs in a couple ways from its predecessors. For example, not counting bonus episodes, the previous two seasons had ten episodes each. Season three, by contrast, only has eight. I don't know if that was always planned, or if something happened behind the scenes. Season three also lacks an obvious theme. Season one was about women, especially teachers, in Puerto Rican History. Season two was about how Puerto Rican culture is the result of the blending of African, Indigenous, and European culture. Season three doesn't really have a central theme. The closest it comes is that it does touch on the question of who archeological artifacts ought to belong to.

The quests are also slightly different. They're carried out in two stages. For the first part, Alexa and Beni go to the past and locate the artifacts, and then return to the present day to retrieve the artifacts. At one point Janelly raises a really good question: why store the artifacts to the Artifact Cloud? What is Horacio and Atabay's long-term goal with that? You know, I'd never really thought of that before. I always just accepted it as part of the plot, and never really gave much thought. Well, your guess is as good as mine, as we never get an answer to that particular question.

One of the first missions takes the twins back to 1918, during the height of the Spanish Flu Pandemic. The name is more than a bit of a misnomer. Conventional wisdom is that the 1918 Flu originated in Kansas. However, recent evidence suggests that it may have actually originated in China. How did it become associated with Spain then? Well, it first began during the final years of World War I. Nations on both sides of the conflict censored mentions of the flu in their newspapers for fear that it might lower troop morale. Spain was a neutral nation, so their newspapers were uncensored, and reported on the flu. Thus, everyone wrongly associated the flu with Spain. Though, in the long run, the deaths caused by the 1918 Flu got overshadowed by all the deaths caused by World War I. Of course, the 1918 Flu is getting more attention now in large part due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 Pandemic happened while season three was being produced, and that particularly episode is clear meant to tie-in with the Pandemic. There's even a point where Beni says he can't imagine a pandemic in modern times. Oh, don't worry Beni. In a couple years you'll get to find out what that's like. As you might recall, Timestorm is set about three years in the past of when each season comes out. So, for the characters, the present day is 2018.

The series also continues its work in highlighting important, but often obscure, figures from Puerto Rican history. Another quest sees Alexa and Beni travel to 1980 to meet the archeologists Osvaldo Garcia and Ricardo Alegria. They both made major discoveries regarding the Taino people. Osvaldo and Ricardo proved that the Taino had a considerably advanced knowledge of astronomy, and played a ritual ballgame. I find that very interesting, as the peoples of Mesoamerica, especially the Maya, also had those traits. The Taino did have ocean-going canoes. However, this is no evidence that the Taino ever made it to Central America. It's fun to speculate about, but there isn't any evidence of trade or contact between the two cultures. On the other hand, countless Maya records were destroyed by the Spanish. Who knows what might have been recorded within those codices? Again, fun to speculate, but let's get back to the review.

So, what exactly is guanín? It is an alloy created my combining gold, silver, and copper. It was often used for the necklaces and medallions worn by caciques. Horacio's grandfather was a skilled guanín smith, and hoped to pass the skills on to Horacio someday. In fact, this season seemed to put a lot of emphasis on Horacio's family history, and his personal legacy. For example, we learn that his father Gael work in the Civilian Conservation Corp.

It was never established how exactly time works within the Timestorm, or how much subjective time Horacio has experienced. That being said, it is implied that he's experienced a few years, if not real time, in the Timestorm. Granted, he's got Atabay to keep him company, but it must get awfully boring and lonesome at times. It is implied that Horacio no longer needs to eat, sleep, drink, or use the bathroom. Frankly, it's a small miracle he has gone completely insane from being confined to his helicopter.

Like I said, we do get themes about legacy as it relates to Horacio and his side of the family. We also get some touching on themes of colonialism. Granted, we did get that in previous seasons with Idrissa's story, but this season touches on that in a lighter way. Kaylee wants to build a community center in San Juan. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but she doesn't get any impute from any Puerto Rican people. You know, the very people she claims to want to help. She's also pretty clueless about Puerto Rican culture and history. It reminds me of what happened when the slums of London got torn down in the Edwardian era. The social reformers wanted to help the poor and destitute, but they didn't both talking to the poor, and finding out what they wanted/needed. As result, most of the former slum dwellers didn't meet the residency requirements for the new public housing that was built in place of the slums. Oh, they got monetary compensation, but only enough for a night or two in a boarding house.

Josie has an assistant in San Juan named Lalo. He runs ghost tours when he's not working at the comic shop. That's interesting because there was a bonus episode from last season where Alexa and Beni meet a ghost pirate. It was especially notable in that the supernatural never factored into the plot before. The time travel is explained as really advanced science. Said ghost pirate also mentions guanín as his treasure of choice. We got the guanín hunt, but no ghost pirates to be seen. I wonder if something happened behind the scenes necessitating a rewrite, and Lalo's side job was a vestige of the original plan.

We have all these elements that could make for a theme, but none of them quite hit the critical mass to become the overarching theme of the season. I also wonder why this season was only eight episodes, rather than the ten we got with the first two seasons. It further adds to speculations that something happened behind the scenes. Like many audio dramas, the COVID-19 Pandemic impacted the production of season three of Timestorm. I'm just not sure to exactly what degree it did.

We're about to get into the spoilers, but before we do, I want to take a moment to be clear. I did very much enjoy this season of Timestorm. The writing was still very much on-point. The acting was just as excellent as always. There was clearly a lot of love and dedication put into this season, as is to be expected from Timestorm.

But now we must get into the spoilers. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue?

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

So, how do Alexa and Beni resolve the question of who gets the guanín artifacts. Well, one of them is a container that belonged to Horacio's dad, so Horacio gets to keep that one. As for the rest, they decide that the artifacts belong to the land itself. With that in kind thy decide...to throw the artifacts into the sea. Um, what? I know they said it was about giving them back to the land and...wait, if they were giving them to the land, why did they throw them into the ocean? What was the thought process? If we can't figure out who can have it, then nobody can have it?

It feels like one of two things happened. One possibility is that Dania Ramos painted herself into a corner and couldn't think of a proper resolution. The other possibility is that the ending was going to be different, but then something happened behind the scenes, and it necessitated a rewrite. Tying into that is that the possibility that Timestorm had to end sooner than expected, and the ending got rushed. The pacing of the final episode did feel a bit rushed in places.

To be fair, the questions raised by this season of Timestorm aren't easy to answer. As the podcast itself notes, there aren't very many pure-blooded Tainos left; but there are many people who, to varying degrees, have Taino ancestry. But who, if any, should get the artifacts? How do you determine that? Moreover, sometimes the correct answer isn't clear cut. For example, many people believe that the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece. However, given how much economic and political turmoil Greece has been going through, a case can be made that it would be better for them to stay in the British Museum. During the Arab Spring, there was concern about archeological and historical artifacts in Egyptian Museum in Cairo being damaged or looted. Thankfully, baring a few minor incidents, this didn't happen. Ironically, it was the gift shops that got targeted by looters, such as they were.

Point is, sometimes there aren't any easy answers when it comes to who archeological artifacts belong to. But I still maintain that throwing the artifacts into the sea felt like a cop-out. There's also a point where Alexa and Beni briefly travel into the future. We see that a community center has been built by Josie and Lalo. It is the site of a protest about...well, actually, we don't find out what the people were protesting. In the grand scheme of things, it isn't important. Though the way the scene is written makes it look like the people are protesting the community center itself. This gives the unfortunate impression that Josie and Lalo screwed-up really badly, or possibly did something morally questionable, and the Ventura twins needed to set them straight.

It is too bad Mr. and Mrs. Ventura never found out about their children's time traveling adventures. It would make things easier for Alexa and Beni, not having to constantly make-up excuses and stories. Also, the family is planning a trip to Puerto Rico, and Josie's magic tapestry would be a great way to save on airfare. That, and you don't have to be stuck on a plane for hours on end.

I remember when my family went to Puerto Rico. We left from the Dallas Airport, since Shreveport only has a regional airport. It was a four-ish hour flight, possibly a bit longer. We were all in coach class, which meant cramped leg room, and no room to recline the seats. The food wasn't much better. The main offerings were sandwiches of questionable quality. Oh, and they weren't free; you had to pay for them on-top of your ticket price. Guess it was marginally better than my aunt, uncle, and cousins who started from San Diego. They live in Temecula, California. I really wished I could magically teleport to and from San Juan. I shudder to think how much time starting from New Jersey adds to the plane ride.

On that note, I think I visited the tower Alexa and Beni go to in this season...possibly. I'm not sure if it was the exact same one, but I remember it was a tower in the middle of the rainforest, and the view at the top was absolutely gorgeous. I also remember there were lots of signs that said "don't pet the mongooses, they will bite you. I'd always wanted to visit a tropical rainforest, so I had a good time.   

It's too bad that Sonia never got in on the fun. She was the only character, besides Mr. and Mrs. Ventura, not to know. Even Datu from the New Jersey branch of Taino comics found out, but not Sonia. Though I did like the song she sings for the radio contest. Also, season one set up Thad as a major recurring character, but he fell off the face of the Earth after season one. Not a complaint, just an observation. Perhaps his actor had other commitments, or there just wasn't much else to do with the character. And this is a random aside, but I love the new series title card we have for season three.

I realize I sounds like I'm being a bit negative. I just want to emphasize that, overall, I did very much enjoy season three of Timestorm. The writing was still, overall, strong. The cast also gave great performances as usual.  

I had a few theories on what would happen if Timestorm ever officially came to an end. I thought for sure that, somehow, Horacio would manage to free himself from the Timestorm, and move-in with the Ventura family. However, it appears I was wrong, and that never happened. But that does make sense. 

The series ends with Alexa and Beni being summoned to the Timestorm for another mission. I liked how they take a moment to revisit the artifacts they've collected over the course of the series. It is a reminder of how far they've come, and the lessons they've learned along the way.

There is a strong vibe of "And the adventure continues" with the ending. It felt less like "Goodbye forever" and more like "Goodbye for now." Dania has said it might be possible that Timestorm will return one day. However, if it does, and I must emphasize what a big if that is, it will be several years from now. For the moment, Dania and company are moving on to other things. Specifically, she and Timestorm's music producer and sound designer Michael J. Aquino are working season two of the audio drama Time Trip! As the name suggests, it is also a time travel audio drama, but takes a more comedic approach than Timestorm. Personally, I found Time Trip! a bit too silly for my liking, but perhaps I'll give it another chance. Fun fact, Time Trip! was one of the things Orlando Segarra was involved with before he was cast as Horacio in Timestorm.

I wish everyone involved in Timestorm the best in all their future endeavors. Thank you too all the actors who contributed their voices to the podcast. I hope to see you in many future audio dramas. Thank you to the writers, cultural consultants, sound designers and engineers, and the other behind the scenes heroes. And thank you for quoting my first review and linking to it on Cocotazo Media's page for Timestorm. I want you all to know that it really meant a lot to me to see my review quoted alongside many other top audio drama critics and reviewers.

And thank you to everyone who gave Timestorm a chance because of these reviews. I hope it taught you more about Puerto Rican history, and brought some entertainment into your life. Really, I hope all of my reviews help you find your next favorite listens.

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

The Audio File: Timestorm: Season 2

 I've been catching up with a lot of audio dramas now that they have their second seasons out in full. There really isn't much more for me to add here, so let's jump right to the point. We're taking a look at season two of Timestorm.

First, a brief recap. Timestorm follows a pair of twins from Newark, New Jersey named Alexa and Beni Ventura. They go on time travel adventures, usually throughout the history of Puerto Rico, to recover artifacts for their cousin Horacio and his A.I. friend Atabay. Horacio is halfway between life and death in a region outside of time and space called a Timestorm. This season, Alexa and Beni are going to take part in a multistage quest to recover the beat of three motherlands. Meanwhile, in the present day, they must uncover the identity of the mysterious author of the comic Take Back Time.

Timestorm wowed me with an amazing first season, and I was eagerly awaiting season two. I must say, it more than delivered, and the show just keeps getting better. In fact, I'd say this season was even better than the first, which was already pretty great in its own right. Waiting a week between episode was a new experience, as last time I listened after the season was completed in its entirety. Still, it wasn't like it was a great burden or anything, and the consistent quality kept me eager for more.

Last season, the main theme was about women in Puerto Rican history, especially those who have been largely forgotten by history. This season, the main theme is about how Puerto Rican culture is the result of the mixing of African, European, and Indigenous culture. To this end, most of the time travel adventures this season take place outside of Puerto Rico. We get to see Senegal in 1810 and Spain in 1852. Africa tends to get ignored in time travel media; especially ones aimed at kids. As such, I was very happy that Alexa and Beni visited early 19th Century Senegal, and that we got to explore the richness of Senegalese culture. Although, when I saw that it was 1810, I got worried. The Transatlantic Slave Trade was in full swing in 1810, and I knew things were going to get back to Puerto Rico eventually. Would these new characters be captured as slaves? Well, everyone gets through the episode okay but...well, actually, let's put a pin in that for right now.

We didn't explore Spain as in-depth in the episode where Alexa and Beni visit it. Granted, we do get to meet Francisco Oller, a famous Puerto Rican painter who studied in Spain. We also meet Frederico Madrazo, a famous Spanish portrait artist, and Francisco's teacher. Still, we probably didn't explore Spanish culture as much because it would have been redundant. Spain, arguably, left the biggest impact on what would be Puerto Rican culture. Spanish is the dominate language in Puerto Rico, after all. Still, as this season makes clear, Africans and Tainos made fairly significant contributions to Puerto Rican culture of their own.

Speaking of which, remember last time when I said that I hoped we'd get an episode centered around the Taino people? Well, this season granted my wish to me. Not only that, but Alexa and Beni visit the Taino in 1488, a good five years before the Spanish arrived on the island. This means we get to see the Taino in their pre-contact prime. Taino are the native people of Puerto Rico. You might not have heard of the Taino, but you've probably used words from their language. The words hammock, canoe, and hurricane all have their roots in the Taino language. Hurricane is derived from an epitaph for the Taino goddess of storms. I found that interesting, because the Maya people of Central America have a storm god named Huracan. Though it is probably just coincidence, as the Taino storm goddess' proper name is Guabancex.

I also recently learned a new word: Boricua. It means a person of Puerto Rican ancestry, but who does not necessarily live in Puerto Rico. It derives from the word the Taino used to refer to the island, Borikén. So anyway, Alexa and Beni get to meet Aguay, who went on to become a great cacique, a type of chief. In fact, he was cacique when Spanish explorers first arrived in Puerto Rico in 1493. His real name was Agueybana, but he had a brother by the same name, who also appears in the episode. Timestorm got around this by splitting the name. Agueybana I is called simply Aguey, while his brother Agueybana II is called Bana. Aguey recounts the creation story from Taino Mythology to Alexa and Beni. I always love when less well-known mythologies get featured. This also meant we got mention of the supreme earth goddess Atabay, namesake of a certain snarky A.I.

We even get a short bonus episode set 1510. Bana is now the main cacique, and the Taino are uncertain about what the coming of the Spanish will bring. This is shortly after Ponce de Leon has visited the island. Yes, he who sought the fountain of youth. Ah, so is that where the city of Ponce got its name from?  There's a disclaimer at the start that, though it involves real people, the events of the episode are fictional. I thought it was a nice touch, and very much appreciated.

We also get more development in the Ventura Twins' present day lives. For example, we learn that Datu, the owner of the Taino Comics & Games Store, is apparently Filipino. We know this because he meant that his grandma is from Manila. I always assumed he was Boricua like the rest of the cast, but I guess I was wrong. To be fair, Filipinos are often called, with varying degrees of seriousness, often call Latinos who got lost and wound up in Asia. About one out of five Tagalong words come from Spanish, they eat flan, they're devout Roman Catholics. I'm just saying, a case could be made, but I digress.

More importantly, we meet Josie. She is Datu's boss, even though I think he owns the store...the chain of command was a bit unclear. Whatever the exact pecking order, she is his superior. More importantly, she has a magical tapestry that can transport people to the other Taino Comics & Games in San Juan, Puerto Rico. There is a tapestry there connected to the store in Newark. How did Josie get this magical tapestry? Well, that's another thing we'll have to put a pin in for now.

We also learn the series is set in 2017. I always assumed there was no definitive date, but that works. That way, there series won't be impacted by any major world events, especially if the characters travel to the future at any point. Obviously, you don't want to make predictions, only to have them not turn out to happen. As of this writing, there is speculation about Puerto Rico finally becoming a state. Personally, I'm skeptical about this, given how many times it has been proposed, only for things to stay just as they have been, but you never know. Also, this explains why none of the characters make mention of things like wearing masks or social distancing.

We'll be getting into some potential spoilers in just a minute. For now, I'd like to talk about something I thought could have been done better. There's a mini episode where the twins are attending a music festival, which includes Afro-Puerto Rican music. So, Beni is playing on the drums and having a good time when some white guys walk up and say, basically, "that's sounds like slave music to me." And this really hurts Beni. Really now, that's the example of modern-day racism you're going to go with? Did the white boys perhaps return and call him doo-doo head while they were at it?

Every year at the high school I went to all the students had to watch a PSA video about stranger danger and how to not get molested on the Internet. It was a poorly made video from start to finish. It seemed to have been created under the assumption that kids of my generation has somehow never used the Internet before. Then there was the incredibly wooden acting, and the fact that they made the creepy adults so over the top they were basically saying "child molesters are so glaringly easy to spot you basically have to be trying to not notice them." Naturally, this elicited quite a few giggles from the students. The teachers naturally didn't take this well, and tried to shame everyone into behaving, to little effect. The point being, despite their good intentions, the crappy execution of the PSA video undermined the message. 

It is a disservice to your listeners to tackle topics like racism without fully committing to it. Do or do not, there is no try. Maybe that means writing uncomfortable scenes, but you know what else is uncomfortable, actual racism. You wouldn't even have to use any naughty words. You could just have the white boys pretend to be friendly, only for them to then say "Well, if you like black music so much, why don't you go back to Africa?!" I know it's a minor point, but it still bothered me. Especially in light of the stuff we're going to talk about in the spoiler section. I've lived in Louisiana my entire life, so I'm well aware of what actual racism looks like. I could help but think "Damn it, Dania! Real racist aren't that nice!" And if the issue is the actors feeling uncomfortable reading such lines, well, I charge three dollars per hour of production. No not really; I'd work for free if Timestorm actually offered me a role. In all seriousness, racism isn't a topic you can handle with kid gloves if you wanted to seriously tackle it.

On a much minor note, every episode ends with a reminder that Timestorm is produced on the traditional land of the Leni Lenape people. It didn't bother me,  but I feel there might be better ways to honor the native peoples of New Jersey. Perhaps have Alexa and Beni go back in time to visit the Lenape. The team has shown that they're more than capable of writing time travel episodes set outside of Puerto Rico. Our maybe have some Lenape characters in the present day. That would be good because it would show that Native Americans are a living breathing people and culture; not just a topic you read about in history books. I'm a big advocate of increased Native American representation in media.

Okay, now that we've got that out the way, it is time for the spoilers. If you don't want any of that, turn back now.

Last warning. You sure you want to continue?

Well okay, if everyone who wants off is gone, then let's dive into it.

Remember when I wondered if anyone the Ventura twins met in Senegal was going to get sold into slavery? Well, turns out I was right on the money with that one. Well, in one case anyway. Idrissa was captured and taken to Puerto Rico, where he was renamed Gabriel. Alexa and Beni meet him again in 1890. I don't think they said how old he was in 1810; my guess would be twenty-something, maybe late teens. If I'm right, then he'd be nearly 100 years old by 1890. Technically not impossible, but would still be rather unusual for a man who had to endure a life of hard physical labor. That would be especially true if he wound-up on a sugar plantation.

Sugar cane goes sour only one day after it is harvested. That means it has to be processed right away. The process of processing the sugar had a nasty tendency to result in hands getting chopped off. Oh, and it wasn't a question of maybe, this was a guarantee that someone would get maimed. As such, sugar plantation had large populations of slaves to supplement the workforce. That, and sugar was the oil of its day in terms of value. Sugar plantations were common across the Caribbean and Brazil. I bring this up because fourth-five percent of all slaves brought to the New World went to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. Fifty percent went to Brazil, and the remaining five percent went to the Untied States and the rest of mainland Latin America.

Idrissa has become a broken man from his life in bondage. The horror of slavery wasn't just the threat of physical violence. It was also the psychological horror that you could be taken from your loved ones at any moment, and that you would never see them again. Or perhaps you lost your loved ones because you were captured, stuffed onto a ship, and taken to a land you'd never even heard of before. Then, upon arrival, your captors do everything in their power to stamp out your culture, and force you to adopt their strange and alien culture.

And yet, despite all of this, Idrissa survived and started a family. But not just any family. Alexa and Beni do some research in the present day, and wouldn't you know it, Idrissa is their several times great-grandfather. If nothing else, they know his life's story, and thanks to time travel, he was able to pass on some of his traditional African culture to them. So, this means that even though he lost touch with his African roots, his culture will live on in future generations thanks to Alexa and Beni. In the end, the slavers lost, and Idrissa's struggles were not in vein. Though spare a thought for all the Idrissas who didn't get to have their stories told.

Alexa and Beni discovered this all partially thanks to an Ancestry.com type genealogy service. Strange that it wasn't actually the real thing. I'm pretty sure Ancestry does sponsorships, and that might help offset production costs. But I know that Timestorm is partially sponsored by The Corporation For Public Broadcasting, so maybe there are rules about that. Hmm, I guess that makes Timestorm is the closest thing to if PBS Kids were to make an audio drama. Molly of Denali doesn't count; because it was based on a pre-existing property. 

Speaking of family, now let's talk about Josie. Surprise! She's another long lost Ventura cousin. Also, Janelly finds out about what Alexa and Beni have been doing. Maybe this will means she and Datu will get to join the Venturas on future adventures. It would be nice to show that you don't have to be a blood relative of the Ventura family to have adventures. Now all we need is to get Sonya and Mr and Mrs. Ventura onboard, and the gang will all on the same page. Also, I now know what piraguas are. Sure, they sound like just a variation on snow cones/balls, but I'd still like to try them. Though, if I did have a magical tapestry that took me to San Juan and back again, I'd be making a beeline for the nearest mofongo restaurant. I haven't had any in years, and I still think about it often.

Well, I think that covers everything if importance. Season two of Timestorm builds upon the already excellent first season, and just keeps getting better. I can't wait to see what excitement and adventure future seasons bring. If you haven't listen to season one...you should probably do something about that, or else you'll be very confused. But if you have listened to season one, but have not listened to season two yet, do so today. You'll be glad that you did.

I think that's enough from me for now. I will see you guys next time.