The Audio File: Live From Mount Olympus: Pandora

Even the best of audio dramas can have slip-ups. Past success doesn’t make one immune to the occasional hiccup, or lapse in judgement. A certain amount of slack is certainly due, but that doesn’t mean we ought to omit any criticism. Without further ado, onto the main event. We’re taking a look at season five of Live From Mount Olympus. 

You might know the story of Pandora. The curious woman who opened a box and let all of the evils into the world. But it wasn’t a box, it was actually a jar called a pithos. And maybe the story you think you know isn’t really what happened. Hermes and Athena are going to work together to weave a new story of Pandora.

We have had many successful seasons of Live From Mount Olympus at this point. Season one retold the story of Perseus and Andromeda, season two retold the story of Persephone and Demeter, season three the story of Atalanta, and season four the story of Prometheus.

Season six is a mere three episodes long. I wasn’t bothered by this. Perhaps it would serve as a coda to the story of Prometheus? Or perhaps the show runners were experimenting with a new format? The story of Pandora doesn’t have enough material to sustain a full season. So, perhaps the shorter format would work?

So, the first episode follows the story of Pandora as written by the poet Hesiod. The gods create Pandora with traits to punish humanity for stealing fire. Traits such as the ability to deceive men and lead them astray. She is given as a wife to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Pandora immediately falls in love…with cooking, cleaning, and looking pretty for Epimetheus. And, of course, curiosity gets the better of her, and she opens the lid of the jar. The jar the gods specifically told her not to open. And thus, evil enters the world, but hope remains in the pithos. Obviously, we’re playing up the sexism inherent in the original. Hesiod believed that women were inherently evil, and only lived to deceive and hurt men. Sadly, this wasn’t exactly an uncommon belief in Ancient Greece. If anything, this retelling is being slightly nicer. In Hesiod’s version, Pandora opened the jar…just because, really. Athena isn’t having it, and that sets in motion us learning the “real” version of Pandora’s story.

Now, admittedly, there are some details of Pandora’s story that retellings often get wrong. As you may have noticed, she did not have a box, but a jar. A pithos was a type of large jar used for storing things like olive oil or wine. They were also sometimes used to store dead bodies for burial. The common confusion is due to a mistranslation. As for hope, there are multiple interpretations. Some say that hope was a good thing, as it can get us through hard times. Others, however, feel that hope was a dangerous thing. Sometimes, it can be a bad thing to put your faith in a better tomorrow that isn’t coming.

The second episode retells the story, but form a different perspective. We follow Athena and Hephaestus as the work together to craft Pandora. There’s some cute moments where they bond over how much Zeus makes them frustrated. There was a myth where Athena, Hera, Apollo, and Poseidon all teamed up to try to overthrow Zeus while he was taking a nap. But they are stopped by one of the Hecatoncheires; also known as the Hundred-Handed Ones. Hephaestus was thrown off of Mount Olympus by either Zeus or Hera, depending on the version of the myth, when he was a baby. So, I can definitely see them having such a conversation.

Anyway, this time around, Pandora has more agency. The traits the gods gift her allow her to think for herself, and navigate the world. She is constantly curious, but that’s because she literally was born yesterday. In fact, her curiosity is portrayed as a good thing. Pandora is driven by her desire to gain more knowledge and experience. She’s not some bimbo who exists only for Epimetheus’ pleasure. However, just like the first time around, Pandora winds-up opening the pithos and releasing all of the evils into the world.

So, we come to the final story. The “true” story of what happened. Pandora is telling the story to all of her granddaughters. She learned that the world needs both darkness and light. For example, lying can be a good thing if it keeps someone’s feelings from being hurt. So, Pandora reasoned that maybe the so-called evil isn’t so evil after all. That humanity needs to know how to deal with darker feelings and emotions if it is ever to achieve its true potential. Epimetheus felt this way also, and so he and Pandora opened the pithos together. So, the pithos was actually a secret test from the gods all along. At least, that’s Pandora’s take on the matter.

This actually wasn’t a bad idea in theory. It was a unique take on the story of Pandora, and I might have enjoyed it under other circumstances. However, Live From Mount Olympus is supposed to be educational as well as entertaining. Presenting your reimagining as the “true” version of the story is only going to confuse kids. Suggesting that the evils in the pithos might not have been so bad is a very modern concept. The Ancient Greeks would certainly not have viewed things that way.

Live From Mount Olympus has always been about filling in the gaps of the myths. What was going through Perseus’ head during his quest? Did he ever struggle with self-doubt? What was Demeter and Persephone’s relationship like? What was it like for Atalanta to try to balance her wild nature and the civilized world? However, this season didn’t do any of that. Instead, it just made things up out of whole cloth to tell any entirely different story.

But what really irks me is why this all happened in the first place. The creators of Live From Mount Olympus have admitted that they found Pandora’s story to be incredibly sexist. As such, they felt that they had to change the story to better fit modern sensibilities. And to that I have to ask, well, why? There was no reason they absolutely had to adapt Pandora’s story. Wouldn’t it have been better to adapt a more agreeable myth?

In fact, I know just such a myth. You could even keep this season’s Rashomon style that this season was aiming for. I’m talking, of course, about the story of Arachne. There’s a lot of different angles you can take with Arachne’s story. The original version of the story portrays her as a victim of her own hubris. She arrogantly thought she could challenge Athena, the goddess weaving, to a weaving contest. Not only that, but Arachne also depicted the gods behaving badly in her tapestries. Then you have Ovid’s version. According to Ovid, Arachne genuinely was better, and Athena unjustly slew her out of petty jealousy. Ovid had a habit of getting on the bad side of Roman authority figures, and perhaps his writing reflects this.

So, you could do a season asking who Arachne really was. Was she an arrogant braggart who was rightly knocked off her high horse? Was she a brilliant artist who was unjustly persecuted? Was the truth some combination, or was it neither? You could have the season end on an inconclusive note. Rashomon did this for its ending. You could have the moral be that sometimes there just aren’t definitive answers, and we must choose what to believe. Hey, if Live From Mount Olympus wants to hire me as an idea guy, I’m ready and willing.

I would like to think that season five will serve as a lesson on how no to adapt stories from Greek Mythology. I would like to think that Live From Mount Olympus would know better. However, I do worry that this season is a sign of things to come. I suppose it is possible that things could course correct, but that remains to be seen.

As it stands, season five of Live From Mount Olympus was incredibly disappointing. A perfect streak of outstanding Greek Mythology adaptations was finally broken. The creators prioritized inserting their own views and messages over being true to the mythology. Next time, they really ought to pick a myth that is more agreeable to their sensibilities.

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

The Audio File: Live From Mount Olympus: Prometheus

I’ve been on a bit of a review hiatus, but I’m officially back in the saddle. To start, we’re going to revisit an audio drama that has appeared on this blog several times in the past. Without further ado, let’s get right to it. We’re going to be taking a look at season four of Live From Mount Olympus. 

Prometheus, titan of foresight, is chained high in the Caucasus Mountains. He always has an eye towards the future. Yet now he looks back at his past, and what lead him to be chained. We follow him as defies his fellow titans in order to aid the Olympians. We watch as he forms a budding friendship with Zeus, the future king of the gods. We also witness his famous theft of fire for the sake of humanity. Prometheus, titan of foresight, adviser to Zeus, friend to humanity. This is his story.

Live From Mount Olympus is doing something a little different this time. Season four is a mere five episodes long. It seems that season five, which will focus on Pandora, will be about the same length. From what I understand, this was done to get new episodes out faster. And hey, we get two seasons for the price of one.

Season four is easily the best season of Live From Mount Olympus to date. We get a real sense of what a tragic hero Prometheus was. He constantly gets visions of the future. From the start, he knows that his journey will lead him to those chains, and having his liver ripped out each morning. And yet, he doesn’t try to fight it, nor does he protest his fate. For his visions also show him the heights that humanity will achieve once they harness the gift of fire. Knowing this is enough for Prometheus.

We see these even before the big heist. Prometheus begins his journey by openly defying Kronos and the other titans. He and his brother Epimetheus are some of the only titans to do so. This is no small feat, but Prometheus has seen the glories that the Olympians are destined to achieve.

I liked how this season handled Zeus. He and Prometheus start off as the best of friends. This makes it all the more tragic when Prometheus must betray Zeus. It would have been easy to portray Zeus as a tyrant, or a one-note villain. However, Live From Mount Olympus takes a nuanced approach. Zeus is clearly depicted as being in the wrong, but you can understand why he is so hesitant to share fire with humanity. Zeus rightly points out that humans are already fairly destructive and naïve. Giving them a new tool, especially such an inherently destructive one, could potentially make things worse.

I also really like how the actual theft of the fire is portrayed. It plays out almost like a heist movie. I thought that was a very fun touch. I also enjoyed seeing Hestia become a fairly prominent supporting character this season. I always kind of felt bad for her. She was the stalwart and steadfast one. She didn’t get involved in the shenanigans that the other Olympians did. Consequently, she doesn’t really feature in many myths. In fact, some lists of the Twelve Olympians even replace her with Dionysus.

Now, all of that being said, I also feel there were some areas that could have been better. I know that this season is shorter by design, but I felt that worked against it at times. Having more episodes to really develop Prometheus and Zeus’ friendship would make Prometheus’ betrayal carry more weight. We’d also get to see Zeus transition from an idealistic rebel to a flawed, but ultimately good at heart, king of the gods. It was necessary for the Titanomachy to be part of this season. Having the season start after the Titanomachy wouldn’t work. There just wouldn’t be enough material to sustain a full season, even a truncated one. Still, I feel that the Titanomachy could have made for an interesting full season in and of itself.

So, now for a bit of mythological musings. You would think that Prometheus, being a friend to humanity, would be a pretty popular guy in Ancient Greece. However, from what archeology can tell, this doesn’t appear to have been the case. Oh, he had some cults, but they were fairly minor. In fact, the earliest account of Prometheus, written by the poet Hesiod, depict him in an unflattering light. Hesiod portrays Prometheus as a self-righteous trickster who ended the Golden Age of humanity. Though, Hesiod is a bit mum about how not having fire, and having to sacrifice most of our food to the gods, was beneficial to humanity. To be fair, Zeus was considered the god of law and order. The Ancient Greeks viewed the world less as good vs evil, and more order vs chaos. So, Prometheus defying Zeus, and in such a chaotic way, would have potentially rubbed the Ancient Greeks the wrong way.

We do get to see a more sympathetic Prometheus in the play Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus. Here, Prometheus is a tragic hero and friend to humanity. Though, at the same time, the playwright Aristophanes depicts Prometheus as almost comically sneaky and devious. Interestingly, the bit about Prometheus creating humanity doesn’t show up until much later. The story of Prometheus, as we know it, really solidified during the Hellenistic era.

Where am I going with this? Well, the point is, Prometheus has always been more of a literary character than a mythological character. Often, ancient playwright and storytellers weren’t focused on replicating old stories, but rather, on exploring new themes and ideas. There was no strict canon in Greek Mythology. The stories varied from city-state to city-state. Prometheus has inspired artists from the Renascence to the Present Day. Live From Mount Olympus follows in that tradition, while also being faithful to the ancient sources.

Once again, let’s take a moment to thank the cast for the wonderful performances. Ato Blankson-Wood gives a very layered performance as Prometheus. He makes Prometheus sound very world-weary, and perhaps a bit resigned as well. Yet he also carefully drapes a thin layer of hope over everything that Prometheus does. Ian Lassiter, meanwhile, shows as more vulnerable side of Zeus as a younger god trying to make his mark on the world. Andres De Shields recently promoted Live From Mount Olympus when he was interviewed on The Today Show. I also love the title card this season. The orange and black evoke Ancient Greek pottery. Thought, really, all the title cards have been great. 

Season four is dedicated in loving memory of Vinie Burrows. She passed away last year and played many characters on Live From Mount Olympus. She always brought such power and grace to her roles. She will be missed by listeners and cast alike. 

The season ends on a bittersweet note. Prometheus is still chained, but he knows that one day he shall be free. Specifically, he shall be freed by Heracles, a son of Zeus. And though our time with Prometheus has come to an end, our time with Pandora will soon begin.

So, there you have it. Season four of Live From Mount Olympus is easily our best season to date. We explore the tragic story of Prometheus, the fire-bringer and friend to humanity. We’re going to be picking back up with the story of Pandora in season five, and I can’t wait to listen to it.

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

The Audio File: Live From Mount Olympus: Atalanta

Well, I can’t really think of a clever introduction for this one. We’re talking about another fantastic adaptation of Greek Mythology, in audio drama form, today. And one I’ve been eagerly anticipating. We’re taking a look at season three of Live From Mount Olympus.

Atalanta is a conflicted young woman. She was abandoned in the forest as a baby and raised by a family of bears. She loves her home in the forest, but she finds herself increasingly drawn towards human civilization. She is determined to learn about her origins and find her birth parents. She soon becomes renowned for both her fierce prowess in battle, and her incredible beauty. Atalanta must learn to balance her wild nature with the ways of civilization if she is ever going to find her place in the world.

I had previously speculated that we might see the story Atalanta get adapted as a season of Live From Mount Olympus. Atalanta is one of the few Greek heroes who, it could be argued, got a happy ending. Put a pin in that bit for now. However, as we can see, my prediction turned out to be fairly on the money.

The most famous aspect of Atalanta’s story, of course, is how she challenged her suitors to defeat her in the foot race. This happens, of course, but not until the end of the season. To be fair, the race does occur later into the story of Atalanta. Still, I’m remind of how, back in season one, Perseus slaying Medusa took less time than you might expect. However, in another parallel to season one, this just serves to emphasize the aspects that many people tend to forget in retelling of Atalanta’s story. One such aspects is the role that Meleager plays in Atalanta’s story.

Who is this Meleager person? He was the prince of Calydon, and a member of the Argonauts. The Fates connected his life with a piece of firewood. It was prophesied that Meleager would die if the firewood ever burned. Meleager’s mother kept the firewood locked in a special box. The truly cultured among you will notice this is an early example of Chekhov‘s Gun. It is a literary device name for the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It comes from advice he gave to aspiring playwrights. He said, paraphrased, don’t introduce a gun in the first act of a play unless you intend for it to be fired in the last act of a play.

Each season of Live From Mount Olympus has always been a two-person story. Season one was Perseus and Andromeda, season two was Persephone and Demeter, and now we have Atalanta and Meleager. It is Atalanta’s slaying of the Calydonian Boar, and her relationship with Meleager, that gets the lion’s share of the attention in season three. Of course, season three does break the pattern slightly. Meleager dies slightly over halfway through the season. Even then, a big driver for Atalanta’s growth as a character is learning to come to terms with Meleager’s death.

Live From Mount Olympus thrives by filling in the gaps and spaces of the original myths. That remains very true in season three. We spend a lot of time getting to know Atalanta’s adoptive family of bears. In fact, we spend more time with the bears than we do with her human family. At times, I was a bit reminded of Tarzan. Then again…well, actually, I guess Enkidu from The Epic of Gilgamesh would be the original Tarzan. Atalanta is a respectable second, however. We also see that Atalanta feels remorse over all the suitors who are killed as a result of losing the foot race to her. In the original myth, this is kind of glossed over. Here, however, she reflects on how they all have family and friends who will mourn their deaths.

We also get a closer look at Hermes’ godscast. It was just a framing device in pervious seasons. Season three, by contrast, makes it feel more like Hermes is actually producing a podcast. There’s a few scenes where he interviews Artemis and Athena about their role in Atalanta’s story. They both banter a bit with Hermes, and those scenes are written quite well. It never comes across as forced or annoying, unlike certain other podcasts. That means you, Parcast. Getting back on track, I thought this was a nice addition to season three of Live From Mount Olympus.

The voice acting is as fantastic as ever. We see several of our leading voices returning to the spotlight. Joanne Hernandez, who played Persephone in season two, takes center stage as Atalanta. It was fun getting to hear her play a character who headstrong, aggressive, and just a tad cocky. However, she also wonderfully captures Atalanta’s more vulnerable side as well. Divine Garland, who played Perseus in season one, also makes a triumphant return as Meleager. He is tasked with going in the opposite direction of Joanne’s performance. But it should come has no surprise that he captures Meleager’s thoughtful and sensitive nature. He managed to capture that side of Perseus fairly well. I must also give praise to Libby King’s performance as Athena, and Christina Liberus’ performance as Artemis. And, of course, Andre De Shields was just as wonderful as ever as Hermes.

There’s a running theme throughout this season about nature vs. civilization, or put another way, chaos vs. order. Artemis is the representative for team nature, while Athena represents team civilization. I like that neither is portrayed as being better than the other. Artemis and Athena do have friendly competition over who will influence Atalanta more, but it never turns malicious. Artemis and Athena both gives valuable gifts and advice to Atalanta. So, I guess the message is that we’ve all got a little wild and a little civilized inside of us. The trick is to find a way to balance them.

Okay, now I know you’re all wondering this for a while. Just how does Live From Mount Olympus handle the ending of Atalanta’s myth? Well, first we should talk about how the foot race goes. True to the myth, Hippomenes wins the race using golden apples given to him by the goddess Aphrodite. He dedicates each apple to an aspect of Atalanta that he loves. So, she isn’t just intrigued by the apples being shiny. We also get to know Hippomenes before the race, and learn why he loves Atalanta so much. This was, I suspect, done to makes the whole marriage race thing more palatable to modern listeners. I also loved how the announcer guy made the race sound like a modern-day sporting event. It was a fun little touch.

The original myth ends with Atalanta and Hippomenes getting turned into lions after having sex in a temple dedicated to Rhea. This might not seem bad, given how much Atalanta loves the wilderness. However, the Ancient Greeks certainly wouldn’t have viewed it in a positive light. The Ancient Greeks had many strange ideas about sex. One of these was that lions could only have sex with leopards. Therefore, Atalanta and Hippomenes had been cursed to never be able to have sex again.

Obviously, you can’t do any of that in an audio drama aimed at kids. Still, there could be some potential workarounds. Perhaps have them simply kissing and laughing, though that could still come across as unintentionally suggestive, given the audio only medium. Perhaps, Live From Mount Olympus could put a positive spin on the curse. That is, Atalanta could finally be free of civilization, and can return to the wilderness she loves for good. That would, of course, go against the theme of balancing nature and civilization.

However, Live From Mount Olympus took another approach. Season three ends right after the foot race. They do pay some lip service to the original myth. Hippomenes remarks that Atalanta is fierce like a lioness. Also, this is all presented in present tense. So, from the perspective of the gods, Atalanta’s story has come to an end yet. This is certainly a shake-up compared to previous seasons.

I also wonder how this will impact future seasons going forwards. Jason and the Argonauts were all depicted as jerks to Atalanta. So, that rules them out. Theseus was also a jerk to Atalanta, so that rules him out. Atalanta is sometimes a member of the Argonauts, but Greek Mythology is often contradictory. That, and that bit about dumping Ariadne on an island. Hmm, maybe they could tell the story of Theseus, but from the perspective of Ariadne. She married Dionysus after Theseus dumped her, so, she got a happy ending. Maybe they could combine several of the myths about Athena to make a season about her. Dionysus has too much alcohol and sex in most of his myths to get his own season.

I want to make it clear, I’m not faulting Live From Mount Olympus for ending season three the way it did. Greek Mythology has all sorts of things in it that aren’t exactly kid-friendly. Inevitably, this was going to happen at some point. As with many things, it is the journey, not the destination, that truly matters. Season three of Live From Mount Olympus certainly gave me a wonderful journey.

It is with season three that Live From Mount Olympus has officially bowled a turkey. This season retold the story of Atalanta, and highlighted the bits that tend to get downplayed in most adaptations. I certainly hope that there is a fourth season on the way. I certainly can’t wait to see which Ancient Greek myth gets adapted next.

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

The Audio File: Silly Old Bear

We’ve finally gotten the public domain moving again after many years. Many great works of fiction are becoming free for everyone to use and remix with each passing year. I’ve seen some familiar faces, such as The Great Gatsby, enter the public domain. However, there have also been many pleasant surprises along the way. We’re going to discuss one of those pleasant surprises in this review. We’re taking a look at Silly Old Bear.

Edward J. Bear, known to his friends as Winnie the Pooh, lives in a house in the forest. He has many friends, such as Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Eeyore, and of course Christopher Robin. There’s lots of adventures to be had for a bear of very little brain. Pooh and friends will learn many lessons, and have many laughs, during their (mis)adventures. So, why not journey into the forest, and spend some time with everyone’s favorite silly old bear?

I am a lifelong fan of Winnie the Pooh. I grew up with the Disney cartoons, and watched the video tapes constantly. Well, when I wasn’t watching Thomas the Tank Engine or The Tales of Beatrix Potter, of course. Though I’ve gotten older, there’s still very much a special place in my heart for Winnie the Pooh.

So, one fine and blustery day on Twitter, I saw a tweet. It was one of those “these people you follow also follow this” sort of tweets. It was promoting an upcoming audio drama called Silly Old Bear. It was to be an adaptation of the original Winnie the Pooh stories by A.A. Milne. It was created by Caroline Mincks, who has created several other audio dramas, such as Seen and Not Heard. There was only a trailer available, but I decided to give it a listen. It was love at first sound. The gentle, calming, whimsical music perfectly capture the spirit of Winnie the Pooh. That theme music always manages to put a smile on my face whenever I hear it. And then there was the actor who played the titular silly old bear. Ashley Hunt was obviously not copying the Disney version of Pooh, but my goodness, did he ever nail Pooh’s character. The entire trailer was less than a minute long, but I was sold. I eagerly awaited launch day.

And come it did. A new episode came out once every three weeks, but I always eagerly awaited the premiere of new episodes. The first season has come to an end, and my review is here at last.

Now, as previously stated, Silly Old Bear draws upon the original Winnie the Pooh books by A.A. Milne. Only the original books are in the public domain. The Disney cartoons are very much still under copyright. For example, Pooh’s iconic red shirt was codified by the Disney cartoons. He did wear a red shirt in The House at Pooh Corner, but that’s still under copyright. So, a good rule of thumb for artists is as follows: Red shirt on bear, artists beware. If nude he be, your Pooh is (copyright) free. Also, don’t expect to see Tigger in Silly Old Bear. He first appeared in The House at Pooh Corner, which won’t be public domain until 2024. Think of it like this: Norse Mythology is public domain. However, if you make a comic book or an audio drama, and your versions of Thor and Loki look and act too much like the Marvel Comics versions, you can expect a cease and desist letter in the mail.

The books are mostly the same as the cartoons, but there are some slight differences. For example, everyone knows that Winnie the Pooh lives in the Hundred Acre Woods, right? Except, no he doesn’t. The Hundred Acre Woods is but a small part of the unnamed forest that Pooh and company live in. The characters were a bit more nuanced and multifaceted in the books. The cartoons simplified them into their most iconic elements. For example, in the books, Eeyore was still gloomy and a bit depressed. However, he could also be snarky, sarcastic, grouchy, stubborn, and even a bit of a jerk at times. Or to put it another way, a bit like a real donkey. We do get a few hints of this in Silly Old Bear, but nothing too major just yet. Of course, that might change in future seasons. It was from listening to Silly Old Bear that I learned that Winnie the Pooh’s real name is, in fact, Edward J. Bear. But, of course, he is known as Pooh to his friends.

The voice actors don’t attempt to copy the voice actors from the Disney cartoons. I suspect that this is done deliberately. That way, it helps to give Silly Old Bear its own unique identity. Well, that, and Disney’s legal team probably wouldn’t like it if Silly Old Bear sounded too similar to the Disney cartoons. The casting in Silly Old Bear also returns Winnie the Pooh to its British roots. The Disney cartoons used American voice actors, which has lead to the misconception that Winnie the Pooh is of American origin. To the contrary, it is quite British. In fact, A.A. Milne was considered one of Britain’s finest satirists and playwrights before he wrote Winnie the Pooh.

The cast of Silly Old Bear is a veritable who’s who of British audio drama voice actors. Our narrator is played by Sarah Golding. She is a highly versatile actress, and it would be easier to list the audio dramas she hasn’t been involved in. She is to audio dramas what John Ratzenberger is to Pixar movies. However, some highlights of her career include Drunk Helen from A Scottish Podcast, one of the aliens from We Fix Space Junk, the Irish grandmother from Cultureverse, the receptionist from Boom, and she’s narrated several episodes of Gallery of Curiosities.

Our title character is voiced by Ashley Hunt. He does an absolutely fantastic job of capturing Pooh’s child-like innocence and optimism. Piglet is voiced by Sophs Hughes, who uses they/them pronouns. They nailed Piglet’s nervous and perpetually paranoid demeanor. Their performance as Piglet was one of my absolute favorites of the entire cast. It was equal parts cute and hilarious.

Rabbit is voiced by Felix Trench. He is most famous for playing Rudyard Funn in Wooden Overcoats, but he also gave some fantastic performances in Unseen. I mean, if Rabbit is going to be anyone from audio drama, he’s definitely going to be Rudyard Funn. Owl is voiced by Karim Kronfli. He is most famous as Bruce the gangster on A Scottish Podcast. He does a good job, but knowing him as Bruce makes some of Owl’s lines come across as unintentionally sinister.

And of course I must give praise Ethan Hunt, son of Ashley Hunt, as Roo. What can I say? He is just utterly adorable. I see a very bright voice acting future for young Ethan. And of course I must also praise Khalila Marie for her performance as Kanga. I wasn’t aware that Pooh and the gang, mostly due to Rabbit’s paranoia, didn’t truest Kanga and Roo initially. The book version of Kanga is a loving mother, but she has a bit more bite to her than the Disney version. Khalila’s performance really emphasized this.

Rounding things out, we have Layla Katib as Christopher Robin. She captures Christopher Robin as the voice of reasons, but also shows his playful and adventurous side. So, as you can see, we have great performances from the entire cast.

Silly Old Bear was an absolute joy to listen to from start to finish. I loved revisiting stories I was already familiar with, and discovering new ones. Whether it was hunting for heffalumps and woozles, trying to find Eeyore’s tail, having tea with Rabbit, or enjoying some honey, it was splendid to spend time with Pooh and friends. 

And I’m certainly not the only person who thinks that Silly Old Bear is fantastic. As with Caroline Mincks’ other shows, Silly Old Bear is now a member of the Realm Media family. Realm doesn’t really have much in the way of family-friendly shows at the moment. Silly Old Bear is pretty much the only such show. But a lot of big name audio dramas have been joining the Realm family. So, who knows what the future might hold. Silly Old Bear is certainly an excellent starting place for family-friendly shows at Realm.

Well, I don’t think there’s really much else I can add. Silly Old Bear fills me with warm and fuzzy feelings, and always manages to put a smile on my face. It is an absolute joy from start to finish. It is an excellent audio drama for both the young and the young at heart. You certainly won’t want to miss it if you’re a lifelong Winnie the Pooh fan.

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

The Audio File: Live From Mount Olympus: Persephone

It is always exciting when an audio drama puts out a new season. Especially so when you aren’t sure if the new season was on the way. Well, I don’t really have much more to add, so let’s get directly to it. We’re taking a look at season two of Live From Mount Olympus. 

Persephone is a young goddess with a reasonably good life. Her half-sisters Athena and Artemis are her best friends, her parents Demeter and Zeus love her, and she’s a fairly talented artist. And yet, she feels that she doesn’t know who she really is. She worries that she isn’t pretty, and that she has no identity beyond being Demeter’s daughter. But that’s not Persephone’s only problem. She’s been swallowed by a hole in the ground, and now finds herself in the underworld. Apparently, Zeus offered her hand in marriage to Hades. Persephone must journey through the underworld to discover who she really is. Meanwhile, Demeter will search high and low for Persephone. She will do whatever it takes to get her daughter back, no matter the consequences.

I had been hoping that Live From Mount Olympus would be getting a second season. As you might recall, I absolutely adored season one of Live From Mount Olympus. There’s plenty of stories from Greek Mythology that would make for great adaptions. Lo and behold, Live From Mount Olympus put out some bonus mini-episodes, and announced that a seconds season was on the way. The only hint was that it would involve a female character as the protagonist. Who could it be? What myth would be adapted? Psyche and Eros? That one had a happy ending, which is fairly rare for Greek Mythology. Atalanta, perhaps? But the ending of that one is bittersweet at absolute best. Didn’t seem like the sort of thing Live From Mount Olympus would go for.

But what if it wasn’t anything about mortal heroes? What if it involved the gods and goddesses? Sure enough, it turned out to be an adaption the Persephone and Demeter myth. Well, season one turned out pretty great. So, I had full confidence that season two would live up to its predecessor. It would seem that my faith was certainly not misplaced.

As I noted in my review of season one, Live From Mount Olympus is all about filling in the gaps. The original myths don’t offer much in the way of introspection. Characters will do things, but we don’t really get insight into their inner thoughts, and there’s not much in the way of dialogue. Point being, there’s a lot of wiggle room, and room for creativity, when it comes to adapting myths. For example, while the myths never say that Persephone hung out with Athena and Artemis, there’s also no evidence against it. The dialogue is modern, but feels natural, and never comes across as trying too hard to be hip and cool.

Persephone is also more assertive, and isn’t just some damsel in distress like in the original myth. She has adventures exploring the underworld on her own, and this is a big part of her character arc. She gains confidence and learns to embrace her new role as the queen of the underworld. She learns to see her new role as a chance to finally step out from her mother’s shadow. Persephone also makes some changes to the underworld. Prior to her arrival, all shades drink water from the River Lethe. It makes them lose their memories, and Hades believes that this will help them adjust to life in the underworld. However, Persephone convinces Hades that it might be better to let some shades retain their memories of life. Technically, this isn’t really part of the original myth, but it was a nice addition. I’d say there’s enough wiggle room that we can let it slide.

I really liked how Hades was portrayed. It is depressingly common for works that draw upon Greek Mythology to portray Hades as, basically, Ancient Greek Satan. In actual mythology, however, he was stern, but ultimately fair and reasonable. Death comes for us all sooner or later. Also, unlike Zeus and Poseidon, Hades only had a grand total of two affairs. In both cases, his lovers were turned into plants by Persephone. Of course, this is Live From Mount Olympus, so, naturally the writing is going to portray Greek Mythology accurately.

Hades is shown to be a very kind, sensitive, and introspective. He isn’t forceful with Persephone, and allows her take her time getting acclimated to the underworld. He also willingly let’s Persephone return to the land of the living after she learns how bad things have gotten in her absence. Persephone and Hades’ relationship progress realistically. Persephone doesn’t instantly fall for Hades, and still isn’t head-over-heels for Hades by the end of the season. However, she has grown to enjoy spending time with Hades, and is eager to continue to help improve the underworld.

I also enjoy that equal time was devoted to Demeter. This is pretty much the only myth where Demeter played a starring role. Oh, she appeared in other myths, but usually as a supporting character. As such, it was nice to explore Demeter’s time living among the mortals. She teaches humanity how to plant and harvest crops in the last episode of this season. This is in keeping with the myth, but earlier segments of the season seemed to indicate that humanity already knew how to do that. Mortals complained that the ground was barren, and nothing would grow. Did Demeter teach them how to harvest, but not how to plant? The Greek Gods could be jerks at times, but that comes across more as being scatterbrained. Demeter is a bit overprotective of Persephone, but that’s because she’s worried about being a bad mother. Demeter never really had a relationship with her own mother, Rhea, due to being swallowed by her father Kronos as a child. So, Demeter’s kind of figuring out parenting as she goes along. But then, isn’t that true of all parents?

Hermes still acts as narrator, but he’s joined by Hekate this time. That pairing made me think of The Hermes & Hekate Road Show. Such a good show, such a same that it only lasted one season, and is no longer available to listen to. Anyway, getting back on track, Hermes has a more reduced role this time round. He still pops into the story ever now and again, but not to the extent he did in season one. On the flips side, Persephone meets the goddess Styx during her time in the underworld. Styx is the personification of the river of the same name. Many gods and goddesses were personifications of various concepts or geographic features. They usually did have much in the way of personality, so that gives you wiggle room when adapting them. Styx provides words of wisdom to Persephone, and reminds her of the new opportunities she can find in the underworld. And I did love how Cerberus was portrayed as, basically, a big happy, energetic puppy. But, you know, with three heads and all that.

Okay, let’s just get this out the way now. Hades is the brother of Zeus and Demeter, who are Persephone’s parents. So, that means that Persephone’s parents are also her aunt and uncle, she is both their daughter and their niece, and her hand in marriage has been offered to her uncle twice-over. Live From Mount Olympus doesn’t deny any of this, but it also doesn’t go out of its way to emphasis any of it either. Like, there are times Zeus and Hades are mentioned to be brothers, and a couple times that Kronos and Rhea are mentioned as the parents of Zeus and Demeter, but not at the same time. Also, just as a random aside, I did notice that Hera was conspicuously absent from the happenings. Personally, I think this was the best approach to take with such subject matter. Don’t deny it, but also don’t go out of your way to draw attention to it.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about the voice acting. Joanne Hernandez had to walk a very fine line in her portrayal of Persephone. She strikes a good balance between sounding confident, but also showing an insecure side at times. Likewise, Nidra Sous la Terre strikes a good balance of portraying Demeter as overprotective, but also genuinely sympathetic. Andre De Shields is once again wonderful as Hermes. He’s joined by Ching Valdes-Aran as Hekate. We also get a surprise cameo from Anna Kendrick as Eos, goddess of the dawn. In other cameos, Divine Garland briefly appears as both a soul in the underworld, and as a human learning how to plant crops. I don’t think the soul was meant to be Perseus. I’m pretty sure the story of Perseus took place after the story of Persephone and Hades. It was just meant to be a fun little cameo.

Well, there you have it. Season two of Live From Mount Olympus lives up to the standard set by its predecessor. This has opened up many more possibilities for future seasons. There’s still so many myths left to adapt. The possibilities are endless, and I can’t wait to see where this show goes next.

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

The Audio File: Young Ben Franklin: Welcome to New York

Sometimes a great audio drama dies after only one season. Other times, an audio drama is specifically designed to be a limited series. Then, on rare occasions, there are shows that looked like they’d only last one season, but wind-up getting more seasons. We’re going to be taking a look at a show which falls in the third category. We’re taking a look at Young Ben Franklin: Welcome to New York. 

When we last left our hero, fourteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin was about to depart from Boston to either New York City or Philadelphia. I assumed it would be the later, but it would seem that I was wrong. New York is a vibrant, but also very seedy and corrupt, city in 1722. Ben’s going to need all of his wits and cunning if he’s going to stay out of trouble. Along the way, he’ll make some new allies, and several new enemies. There’s plenty of thrills and adventures to be had in the next exciting chapter of young Ben Franklin’s life.

Well, I have to be honest, I was not expect this to be the Gen-Z Media show to get a sequel. Don’t get me wrong, season one of Young Ben Franklin was absolutely fantastic, and I loved it. However, the ending felt like it tied everything together pretty well. There weren’t any dangling plot threads, or hints that a new season might be on the way. But then there’s been exciting things happen behind the scene at Gen-Z Media. Gen-Z Media was recently purchased by Wondery. They’re a podcast network that has help make several fantastic shows such as 1865, Imagined Life, Blood Ties, American History Tellers, and a pretty good adaption of The Handmaid’s Tale. To any parents reading this, I must here warn that most of the shows I just mentioned are decidedly not kid-friendly. 

Anyway, funnily enough, it wasn’t all that long ago that Wondery got purchased but Amazon. So, this means more money all around. And more money means more audio dramas. I wonder what other Gen-Z Media shows will be getting new seasons? I hope this means we won’t have to wait as long for season three of The Natureverse.

Some of you will probably note that Benjamin Franklin never visit New York City during his youth in real life. Old Ben notes, towards the end of the season, that this is one of the events that didn’t make it into the history books. So, you can view Young Ben Franklin in general as the untold story of the lost years of Benjamin Franklin. Well, assuming that Old Ben can be trusted, and isn’t embellishing/fabricating any details.

Ben makes new allies in the form of some local ne’er-do-wells called The Dirty Dogs. They’re pretty clearly a stand-in for Ben’s friends from season one, The Wharf Rats. Though, there are a few slight differences. The Dirty Dogs are headed by a charismatic Irishman named Danny Quinn, who doesn’t really have an equivalent within The Wharf Rats. Well, perhaps he parallels Ben himself to an extent. Danny is extremely quick-witted and can talk his way out of just about any situation. He also crafts incredibly intricate plans, often on the fly, but always manages to pull them off. I think my favorite member of The Dirty Dogs was Ruby. She’s the token girl of the group, but she’s streetwise and tough-as-nails. She’s can be a bit jerk at times, and is very snarky towards Ben, but is also kind of endearing. In fact, she’s the first person Ben encounters upon arriving in New York. She pretended to be in need of help, but then mugged Ben at knifepoint after she lured him into a back alley.

In other characters, there’s Hannah. She is a free person of color, and hopes to open the first school for black children in New York. Hannah is a fictional character, and thus, her plan is doomed from the start. Young Ben Franklin has its fun, and bends historical events slightly, but tries to be reasonably true to the historical record. But hey, her granddaughter gets to attend New York’s first school for black children in 1794, so, not a total bust. Overall, I thought that Hannah was reasonably well written. That being said, I found there were a few times the dialogue got a tad clunky. When Ben first meets Hannah, she sasses him around and launches into a lecture about how being a slave is very different from being an indentured servant. Okay, fair point, but it could have been delivered in a far more organically. I’m not a big fan of delivering messages didactically. I find to be lazy, and bad writing in general.

On the other hand, I liked how this season touched on more serious issues, such as the legacy of slavery in Early America. When we think of slavery, we tend to think of places below the Mason-Dixon Line, such as Charleston or New Orleans. However, many Northern states also practiced slavery prior to, and even several decades after, the American Revolution. Many streets of New York and Philadelphia were built using slave labor. The dockside of Manhattan used to be home to a fairly large slave auction. Quite ironic in the case of Pennsylvania, which later become a major stop on the Underground Railroad. New York granted gradual manumission starting in 1799. Full abolitions of slavery in New York was finally achieved in 1827.

Personally, I think that it is good that Young Ben Franklin touches on these issues. In many ways, America’s schools still don’t do a proper job teaching about slavery. Some people say that isn’t patriotic, but I disagree. It is perfectly patriotic to learn from the mistakes of our past. How else will we be able to build a truly better future for all Americans?

I won’t give away the villain of the season. However, I will say that the twist was both refreshing and genuinely surprising. I did not see it coming. So, hats off to Gen-Z Media for that.

There are four mini-episodes that preceded that main episodes of Welcome to New York. They are an interview with historian, and Benjamin Franklin scholar, Dr. George Boudreau. He talks about all sorts of interesting facts about the real Benjamin Franklin. For example Benjamin Franklin invented the world’s first swim fins. This fact winds up getting working into the main show. Swimming was one Benjamin Franklin’s favorite forms of exercise. Another fun fact is that printing presses required a lot of upper body strength to operate. As such, Benjamin Franklin was quite muscular in his youth. We also learn about some of Dr. Boudreau’s own escapades. For instance, he once discovered one on Benjamin Franklin’s original lightning rods at an excavation at Liberty Hall in Philadelphia. He was moved to tears by the thought that he was holding something that Franklin himself once touched. Some tourist were walking by, including a small boy who said “Daddy, a fat man fell into a hole in the ground, and now he’s crying.” ‘

Dr. Boudreau also educates listeners about Benjamin Franklin’s personal failings. Later in his life, Benjamin Franklin spoke out again slavery, and was the president of an abolitionist society. Despite this, he also owned five or six slaves over the course of his life. And yes, they were slaves, not freemen. Franklin’s letters to his wife make that very clear. It is certainly important to praise Franklin for his achievements. Indeed, there is much to celebrate about the man. At the same time, it is also important to acknowledge his shortcomings as an individual.

Unfortunately, the main show fails to do the latter. True, Old Ben does mention that he regrets that he didn’t speak out against slavery sooner. However, he also fails to mentions that he owned five or six slaves. I get why Gen-Z Media probably did this. It would be kind of hard to root for Young Ben if the listeners know he will grow up to be a slave owner. All of his speeches about liberty and freedom would certainly ring a bit hollow. It would also give the unfortunate impression that he got sick of Hannah bossing him around, and tried to get revenge on her by proxy.

Overall, however, I was very pleased with Young Ben Franklin: Welcome to New York. It would seem that Young Ben will be on many more adventures in the relatively near future. In fact, we’ve got a Halloween Special on the way. I wasn’t expecting Young Ben Franklin to be getting any sequels, but I’m excited to see where the story goes. We need more quality historical fiction aimed at kids. Young Ben Franklin is certainly doing its part to bring a quality historical fiction audio drama experience for the whole family to enjoy.

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

The Audio File: Cupid and the Reaper

As of late, several audio dramas have been wrapping up their latest seasons. I certainly intend to review said shows soon enough. However, there’s one follow-up season I’ve been meaning to review for a while now. I think I’ve wait quite long enough. So, without further ado, let’s get straight into it. We’re taking a look at Cupid and the Reaper, chapter two of The Natureverse. 

Mondo Ramirez has alway been the big man on campus at his middle school in Savannah, Georgia. He’s known for being very grandiose and has a flair for the dramatic. His plan to ask his crush, Harper, to prom is no exception. It’s going to be perfect. Or it was, until a mysterious man with a black cloak and scythe appears. Oh, and Mondo accidentally electrocutes the man. Before long, Mondo learns that the mysterious man was the Grim Reaper himself. Now that the Reaper is dead, his role and title has been passed to Mondo. And as if that wasn’t enough, Mondo also learns that his classmate, Marcus Aronson, is the current wielder of Cupid’s powers. Mondo must get the hang of his new powers, and duties, with a little help from Marcus. But both boys must be careful, for there are dark forces lurking about. Thankfully, Chloe and Felix are also keeping a close eye on things from Mother Nature HQ. Hold on tight, because chapter two of The Natureverse is here.

As I said in the introduction, I’d been meaning to review this season of The Natureverse for a while. But, as often happens, life had other plans for me. Still, I’m doing it now. I thought that Cupid and the Reaper was absolutely fantastic. In fact, it was even better than Becoming Mother Nature. The writing team built upon the strengths of Becoming Mother Nature, while also addressing and correcting its shortcomings. One of my biggest complaints about Becoming Mother Nature was that the rules of Chloe’s powers were very poorly defined. It seemed like the writers were discarding rules as soon as they created them. In Cupid and the Reaper, however, the rules Marcus and Mondo’s powers are far more consistent and straightforward. Also, when Chloe does appear, her powers are far more streamlined. The way they work is presented in a far more straightforward, simplified, and internally consistent way.

Interestingly, some stories about the Grim Reaper say that it is indeed possible to kill the Reaper. However, should you successfully accomplish this, you become the new Grim Reaper. So, the way Mondo gets the role of the Reaper has roots in actual folklore. He can travel anywhere in the world, and even to the underworld, by tapping his scythe twice and thinking about his destination. He even get’s a new digital assistant, named Cerberus, to help keep track of his assignments as the Reaper. Mondo’s primary duties are to reap the souls of those due to die, and bring them to the underworld. After that, the ferryman Charon takes them across the River Styx to the Land of the Dead. However, if a soul that is due to be reaped stay in its body too long, the person becomes a zombie. Fortunately, zombies can be stopped if their souls are reaped. Well, they’re easy enough to deal with as long as Mondo doesn’t let them get out of hand.

Mondo might seem a bit mismatched with his role as the Grim Reaper, but I think he fits fairly well. He’s very friendly, personable, and has laidback and easygoing personality. In other words, the kind of person you’d want to meet after dying. True, he has a bit of a learning curve, but eventually he does get the hang of being a psychopomp. For reference, psychopomps are gods, spirits, and other mythological beings who guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

Marcus has a pair of retractable wings, a bow, and quiver of arrows. The gold-tipped arrows make people fall in love, while the lead-tipped arrows make people fall out of love. Again, this is accurate to mythology. This most famously happens in the story of Apollo and Daphne. Apollo got hit with a gold arrow, and fell madly in love with Daphne. Daphne, unfortunately, got hit by a lead arrow, and wanted nothing to do with Apollo. She did wind-up turning into a tree, but hey, at least she didn’t have to put-up with Apollo anymore. So, you know; win some, lose some.

Marcus is very nerdy and super smart. He tracked down the original Cupid to a fountain at a park in Savannah. Cupid had grown a bit weary over the past 1000 years. He got to spread love, but never had time to pursue love of his own. So, he agreed to let Marcus have his powers on a trial basis. I really liked the Cupid before Marcus. He only appeared a few times, but he seems like a pretty nice guy, and he gives helpful advice to our heroes.

Now, some of you are probably confused about the pervious Cupid only serving for 1000 years. Surely, it ought to be at least 3000 years? Well, that ties into one of the things I really loved about this season. It is explained that the various gods from mythology aren’t individuals. Rather, they are titles and positions that are passed from person to person. That’s actually a pretty brilliant way to explain all the contradictions within mythological stories. It wasn’t the ancient writers misremembering things, or getting the details wrong. Rather, they were recording accounts of different individuals who happened to hold the same title and position. So, major points to the writers at Gen-Z Media for creativity and originality.

Marcus take a very meticulous and analytical when it comes to love. He’s developed an algorithm to determine how compatible two individuals are. Of course, he got a pretty good reasons for this. Mr and Mrs. Aronson were about to get divorced, so Marcus hit them with extra-strength love arrows. They still argue, but they do so in a very lovey-dovey saccharine way. So, Marcus knows what it looks like when a relationship falls apart. Interestingly, this is the only time he abuses his powers. He never seems tempted to use them to make girls like him. Maybe that’s why the previous Cupid trusted him with the powers. He knew Marcus wouldn’t use them to nefarious ends. Or maybe the algorithm didn’t show him as comparable with any of the girls at school. In fact, Chloe seems to be the first girl Marcus has even truly fallen in love with. He develops a major crush on her shortly after the meet. Oh, and Harper, the girl Mondo likes, is Marcus’ sister. As you can imagine, this creates issues.

I’d also like to take a moment to praise the strong performances that the cast gave. There were some very strong performances all around. Of course, excellent voice acting is to be expected with a Gen-Z Media production. I particularly liked how they handled the accents. Cupid and the Reaper is set in Georgia, but we hear a variety of accents. Some character have thick Southern accents, while other have more subdued accents, or are almost totally lacking any stereotypically Southern characteristics. As someone who is from the American South, I can confirm that this is how it goes in real life, especially in descent-sized cities.

I might be wrong, but I think Mondo’s voice actor was in the first episode of The Creeping Hour. Come to think of it, Marcus’ voice actor sounds very similar to Max from Treasure Island 2020. I wonder if it was the same person. Well, in any event, I do have one minor critique. I found some of Chloe’s dialogue to be a tad stilted and wooden. It was particularly jarring, as none of the other characters suffer this issue. For that matter, none of Chloe’s dialogue from Becoming Mother Nature had this issue either. Though, I do concede that it is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things.

Okay, that’s pretty much everything I can discuss without major spoilers. 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.

There is one more important character to discuss. Mr. Apep is a really cool teacher at Mondo and Marcus’ middle school. Well, that’s how he initially seems. This is one of those instances where being in audio was a major advantage for Cupid and the Reaper. If it had been in print, I would have figured Mr. Apep out far sooner. Apep is an alternative name for Apophis, the serpent of chaos from Egyptian Mythology. Mr. Apep was a much better villain than Duncan Sunshine was in Becoming Mother Nature. Duncan wanted the powers of Mother Nature…so that he could be the greatest weatherman in the world. Oh, and he also had an array of weather manipulation satellites, making the whole thing rather redundant. Mr. Apep’s motivations make far more sense, and his reasons for trying to manipulate the heroes is far more justified.

Mr. Apep knew Grandma Ivy, and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, she only had eyes for Chloe’s grandpa. So, Mr. Apep wants Mondo to take him to the Land of the Dead so that he can bring Grandma Ivy back to the world of the living. Of course, this is a serious violation of the natural order of things. The dead are suppose to stay dead, after all. But hey, he’s the embodiment of chaos, so what does he care? Obviously, he needs Mondo to take him to the Land of the Dead to pull this off. It was never stated, but it appears that part of his powers include eternal youth. Going off the voice, Mr. Apep appears be physically younger than his age would suggest. Based on certain comments he makes, Mr. Apep has been around since Ancient Egypt.

A big theme for this season is that death is a part of life; it is as natural as the rain. It was also clear from the start that something was going happen with Harper. She was going to be reaped if Mondo hadn’t accidentally killed the old Grim Reaper. As the playwright Anton Chekhov famously said, if you introduce a gun in act one of a play, it better fire by act five. So, what would happen with Harper? Would she become a zombie? Would she turn out to be terminally ill? Would Mondo be forced to reap her?

All wrong. She helped take down Mr. Apep. However, Mr. Apep’s power work like the Grim Reaper’s do. Since Harper, technically, killed him, she is the new embodiment of chaos. Well, didn’t see that coming, but I do like it. That’s going to open a lot of possibilities for season three. I’m also happy that the previous Cupid met a nice man at a resort in Tahiti. I guess he found love after all. Of course, Mondo also exposed his secret identity to the world, and became a bit of a celebrity. It seems that season three will involve Father Time, and probably time travel as well. I do love a good time travel story. Oh, and apparently the current Father Time is female.

Cupid and the Reaper was absolutely fantastic, and I can’t wait for season 3 of The Natureverse. Cupid and the Raper built upon the success of Becoming Mother Nature, while also correcting the mistakes and shortcomings of its predecessor. If you loved Becoming Mother Nature, you certainly won’t want to miss Cupid and the Reaper.

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

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: Becoming Mother Nature

Gen-Z Media is doing some really great work in the world of kid friendly audio dramas. They've got a good mix of genres to choose from. They've also decided to dip their toes into the world of superheroes. That brings us to the audio drama we'll be reviewing today. We're taking a look at Becoming Mother Nature, season 1 of The Natureverse. 

Twelve-year-old Chloe Lovejoy has a rather strained relationship with her mother, to put it lightly. Chloe has been sent to live with her grandmother in California so that they both have some space. Before long, however, Chloe discovers some startling secrets. Grandma Ivy is none other than Mother Nature herself. Moreover, Chloe herself is the latest in a long line of women who are destined to inherit the power of Mother Nature. Chloe's got a lot to learn, and she'll have to master it quick. There are dark forces at work that want to claim the power of Mother Nature for themselves.

I've had a pretty good track record with Gen-Z Media shows, and Become Mother Nature bowled a turkey for Gen-Z Media. That's a bowling term that means to get three strikes in a row; if you get it in the first frame of a bowling match it is called a sizzling turkey. So, when I first started listening to this podcast, I figured it was a standard urban fantasy show. Hey, nothing wrong with that, I love urban fantasy. However, the more I thought about it, I realize that I could better describe Becoming Mother Nature as a superhero audio drama. It's a little unconventional, but it's there. Chloe finds herself in possession of extraordinary powers, has to figure out how to master them, has a sidekick, and has to take down a man who is basically a supervillain.

I'm all in favor of more superheroes with magical urban fantasy style origins. Mother Nature is one of those characters, like the Sandman or the Tooth Fairy, that everyone knows of, but not many people can actually tell you anything her. There's a lot of wiggle room for interpretation. William Joyce certainly found a lot of wiggle room with his Guardians of Childhood book series. You might be familiar with its, criminally underrated, film adaption Rise of the Guardians. 

Personally, I think Becoming Mother Nature is a really fun take on a superhero origin story. I also appreciated that does touch on import life lessons. If there is a moral to Becoming Mother Nature, it is that you should be kind to other people, because you don't always know what they're going through. As I've stated, Chloe and her mom, Laurel, have a somewhat strained relationship. However, for as often as she screws up, Laurel does genuinely love Chloe, and wants to do right by here. Of course, at lot of Laurel's issues stem from the fact that she and Grandma Ivy had their own issues. Ivy did love Laurel, but her duties as Mother Nature meant that she couldn't always be there when Laurel needed her. It also meant she couldn't explain to Laurel why this was. Well, actually, I think a case can be made that Ivy should have been more trusting of Laurel in that regard. The Mother Nature powers always skip a generation, and are passed from grandmother to granddaughter.

I also like what the audio drama did with Felix. He's a boy that Chloe befriends, and he quickly becomes her sidekick/mentor. Felix, superhero fan that he is, practically jumps at the chance to be Chloe's sidekick. Felix works mission control for Chloe, and also provides moral support and guidance. Hmm, interesting. In these sorts of stories, it's usually the girl character who provides emotional support and advice. Nice to see Gen-Z Media mixing things up a bit. It was also nice to have a girl and boy as just friends with no hints of romance between them. Though, that might in part have been due to Chloe and Felix's age.

Of course, every superhero story also needs a supervillain. Becoming Mother Nature has Duncan Sunshine. He's a hotshot weatherman, and local celebrity, in the town the series takes place in. He's also been completely obsessed with Mother Nature ever since Grandma Ivy saved him during a storm when he was a little boy. More specifically, he wants to claim the power of Mother Nature for himself. So, he's kind of like Mr. Crocker from The Fairly Odd Parents, but as a genuinely threatening and competent villain. Duncan has a sidekick of his own in the form of his daughter, Raye O. Sunshine. She is involved in climate change activism, and claims she wants to save the planet. In reality, however, she's only in it for the fame and attention.

When I first listened to Becoming Mother Nature, I thought that Raye's name was spelled R-E-I. So, I envisioned the Sunshines being Asian-American. But I guess they were supposed to be more the blonde-haired blue-eyed All-American looking type.

I've often wondered if weathermen secretly get excited whenever severe weather happens. It's probably a lot more fun reporting on that than it is when everything is calm and relatively peaceful. As Duncan himself notes, storms tend to be great for the ratings.

Now, I did very much enjoy Becoming Mother Nature, but it does have a few issues. As I've said, Duncan's evil scheme is to steal the powers of Mother Nature for himself. The first step was to weaken Grandma Ivy, so he could take her out of the picture. How does he do this? Why, he builds an array of satellites that are capable of manipulating the weather, somehow launches them into orbit, and screws with weather systems across the world. Uh, what?

Why does Duncan even need Mother Nature's power? He's pretty much there already. He could probably become incredibly rich if he patented his satellites, or failing that, could make a bunch of money by auctioning them off to the highest bidder. Granted, the government can force you to suppress your inventions if they consider them a significant threat to national security. And Duncan does seem power hungry enough that he wouldn't just stop at weather manipulation satellites. So, I suppose I can let that one slide.

A bigger issue I had is that the Mother Nature powers, and their rules, were very inconsistent. At one point, Chloe freezes a puddle to test her powers out, and as a result, there's a sudden cold snap across the entire continent of South America. That just seems disproportionate. One of the big themes of Becoming Mother Nature is about the need for balance. Chloe has to find a sense of balance within herself if she wants to truly embrace her role as Mother Nature. It is also important to use the Mother Nature powers to help keep the world in a state of balance. I'm just saying, freezing a puddle causing South America to freeze just seem a bit too disproportionate.

I will say that the secret Mother Nature command center was cool. I especially loved the globe that shows real time weather events. It really added to the superhero feeling of the series. I also really loved that Grandma Ivy had a pet opossum named Oscar. He eventually becomes Chloe's pet. I admit, Oscar's not all the consequential in the grand scheme of things, but I like possums, so he made me happy.

The biggest issue with Becoming Mother Nature happened towards the end of the season. As such, we're going to have to get into spoilers. So, if you don't want that, either turn away or skip down a few paragraphs.

This is your last chance. Sure you want to keep going?

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

Duncan scheme is to get Chloe to give the powers of Mother Nature to him. There's a big spell book/user's manual for the Mother Nature powers, and one of them is transference. It is the spell that officially passes the powers of Mother Nature from person to person. So, Duncan successfully tricks Chloe into giving him the powers by pretending he'll be her mentor. Except, they don't go to Duncan, they go to Raye. Raye does mention some rule saying that only women can be Mother Nature. However, Duncan makes a remark that suggest he made-up to rule to get Raye to cooperate with his schemes. But, as previously mentioned, Raye really did get the powers.

Uh, how exactly does that work? If a man attempts the transference ritual, do the powers go to his closest living female relative instead? Oh, but we aren't done yet. Chloe may have given the powers away, but never fear, she doesn't need silly things like spell books or transference rituals. It turns out the true power was deep within her all along. So, she taps into her innate Mother Nature power to defeat Raye. Not only does the contradict the previously establish rule, it also comes completely out of the blue, with little to no foreshadowing. Then again, the rules were pretty inconsistent to begin with.

At times it felt like the writers were coming up with the rules on the fly, and this discarding them as soon as they jotted them down. That, or they painted themselves into a corner and just went "You know what, screw it."

Now, I don't want to sound too harsh or negative here. Overall, I did very much enjoy Becoming Mother Nature. It's a Gen-Z Media show, so you know it's going to have excellent voice acting, music, sound effects, and sound design. It will also add that in Cupid and The Reaper, season two of The Natureverse, Chloe's powers and portrayed much more consistently. The rules and also greatly simplified, and are followed consistently. And yes, I will review Cupid and The Reaper before long.

Well, there you have it. Becoming Mother Nature is a good, if slightly flawed, superhero origin story. It is an enjoy story on its own, and sets things up for later installments in The Natureverse.

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