The Alt-Hist File: Brave New Frontiersman

I’ve encountered a lot of very friendly and helpful people within the audio drama community. This has only increased since I have begun work on my own audio drama. So, with that in mind, I thought I’d give back to an audio drama that offered its help to me. And by give back, I mean write a review. We’re taking a look at Brave New Frontiersman. 

Brave New Frontiersman is set in an alternate version of 18th Century Colonial America. This version of North America is a land filled with magic and mythical creatures. You have creatures from the Old World, such as banshees and trolls, but also creatures from the New World, such as Sasquatch and Raven Mockers. Our hero is simply known as The Frontiersman. He travels across the frontier to aid those in need of help. He is joined by his old fur trapping companion Coyote. Along the way, they pick up a noble named Jame Byron, who has an aptitude for magic. Our three heroes will travel the frontier and encounter many strange creatures and strange magics.

I had known about Brave New Frontiersman for a while. Recently, however, I was contacted by the Brave New Frontiersman Twitter account. They had seen my casting call for my upcoming audio dram The Books of Thoth, and wanted to know if I needed people sent my way. I already cast the roles for the first three episodes, but I’ll certainly keep them in mind for future episodes. I also figured it would be nice if I gave them a review.

Now, normally I prefer an audio drama to have at least one complete season before I write a review. However, given that there tends to be a bit of a gap between episodes of Brave New Frontiersman, I am waving my usual requirement.

I’ve always found America to be a place with a look of potential to be a fantasy setting. I like to think that American folklore and history are just as rich and varied as the lore of any fantasy world. That our landscapes could rival any fantasy geography. I’m always happy to find more American-inspired fantasy. So, big point in Brave New Frontiersmen’s favor. Being set in the 18th Century, and dealing with the frontier, I was immediately reminded of the Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper. The most famous book in the series being The Last of the Mohicans.

The frontier has always had a special place in the mythology of America. I’m reminded of when Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition. He asked them to bring back a wooly mammoth, as many people believed that mammoths still roamed the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. Well, obviously, they didn’t have much luck finding a live mammoth. However, they did find a fossilized mammoth tusk. Hmm, I wonder if there are mammoths in Brave New Frontiersman. None have appeared so far, but they could always pop-up later.

Point being, frontier has often been mythologized as a land of adventure and discovery. A land completely unknown, well, except for the numerous Indigenous tribes that were already living there. The point I’m trying to make is that Brave New Frontiersman taps into that mythologized notion of the frontier as “here be dragons” territory.

As previously mentioned, Brave New Frontiersman is alternate history. Obviously, there’s the magic and mythical creatures bit, but there’s other aspects as well. One episode begins with the characters reading a newspaper. From this, we learn that the Aztec Empire still fell to Spanish Conquest. However, it did so in the 18th Century, rather than the 16th Century, and rather recently in terms of when the story takes place. The Inca Empire remains independent, at least for the moment. Also, the mythical king Prester John is apparently real, and his kingdom has recently been discovered. 

We also learn that the Seven Years War, known to Americans as the French and Indian War, lasted twenty years in the world of Brave New Frontiersman. I guess it will be called the Twenty Years War instead. I do wonder what effect that will have on the American Revolution. We’re already getting hints of friction between the colonists and the British. It is mentioned that nobles have an affinity for magic, but what does that mean? Do nobles have a greater aptitude for magic? Or can anyone learn magic with enough time and practice, and nobles are just more likely to have better training? It is repeatedly mentioned that lead cancels out the effects of magic, so an anti-monarchist rebellion could still work.

Another interesting point is the depiction of religion. So far, we’ve only seen Catholic priests. Now, the first time was in a town populated by Irish settlers, so that was understandable. As for the second time, it made me wonder whether the Protestant Reformation still happened in the world of Brave New Frontiersman. Granted, settlements of English Catholics weren’t unheard of. Maryland was founded so that English Catholics would have somewhere to freely practice their religion. There is, eventually, mention of Martin Luther being viewed as a heretic by the Catholic Church. So, clearly there was a Reformation in this world. What the exact details were, however, remain to be seen. 

Now, let’s talk a bit about the voice acting. The first couple episodes were a bit rough at times. It was clear that the Brave New Frontiersman team hadn’t quite found their footing yet, and were still trying to figure out how the characters should sound. However, as the series progresses, the casts gets more of a handle on their characters, and the performances get stronger. I see more improvement with each new episode. I’ve also noticed that sometimes the sound levels will be a tad uneven. Again, this is improving, but it is important to make sure all the dialogue is equalized. That way, it helps create the illusion that everyone is together in the same place. Also, this is a minor point, the characters pronounce New Orleans as New Or-Leans. I’m from Louisiana, as many of you know, and we pronounce it as New Or-Lens. I realize this doesn’t make a lot of sense to people who aren’t from Louisiana. However, pronouncing it as Or-Leans is a goo way to mark yourself as someone who isn’t from Louisiana.

Let’s shift gears and talk about the bestiary. One episode had our heroes facing off against a dullahan, a type of headless horseman from Irish Folklore. It makes for a clever reference to “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. In fact, one of the twists in the episodes has its roots in the twist of “Sleepy Hollow.” Very nice use of literary allusions. Another episode see the heroes deal with a Raven Mocker. It is a creature from Cherokee Mythology. They’re shapeshifting spirits who target the dead and dying, and eat their victims’ hearts to extend their own lives. They can only be seen by an experienced medicine man, and usually his presence will be enough to keep them at bay. I always enjoy when I get to learn about a new mythical creature.

There are only seven episodes of Brave New Frontiersman out so far. That means there’s still a lot of places for the story to go. Obviously, I’m very interested in the alternate history aspects of the setting. I’m also hoping that we’ll get to meet some Native Americans at some point. Native Americans aren’t very common in pop culture, which is a real shame. I did raise my eyebrow a bit when it was mentioned that all Indigenous spirits are vulnerable to tobacco. That felt like it was playing into the unfortunate trope where all Native American cultures are lumped together into a single category. Though, thankfully, the Raven Mocker was specifically identified as a creature from Cherokee Mythology. So, I have hope that Brave New Frontiersman will be able to handle Native Americans with tact.

I’m also hoping we learn a bit more about the backstories of the Frontiersman and Coyote. At the moment, we don’t know too much. Going by the cover art, the Frontiersman does look vaguely similar to Natty Bumppo, the protagonist of the Leatherstocking Tales. So, I wonder if he might have a similar backstory. The way Coyote talks kind of reminds me of Tonto from The Lone Ranger. Though, I don’t think Coyote is suppose to be Native American. On the other hand, the Coyote is a trickster spirit common to many Native American tribes. So, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The keyword with Brave New Frontiersman is potential. There is a lot of potential in the characters and the setting. We’ve got seven episodes so far, and I feel a clear sense of improvement and progress as the episodes go on. I feel confident that Brave New Frontiersman will be able to keep up the momentum, and spread its wings even further in the future. And I certainly can’t wait to see where the adventure takes us next.

So, there you have it. Brave New Frontiersman is an audio drama set upon the frontier of an 18th Century America filled with magic and mythical creatures. Only seven episodes out so far, but it improves with every episode, and has a lot of potential.

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

Flag of the Federation of Patagonia

This is the flag of the Federation of Patagonia. It comes from a world where Britain conquered Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th Century. Patagonia is a highly developed nation, and is often referred to as the Canada of the Southern Hemisphere. Patagonia also includes part of southern Chile. Chile has never forgiven Patagonia for annexing this land. Though, this occurred during the days of direct British rule. The Falkland Islands are considered indisputably Patagonian territory. 

Like Canada, Patagonia is the result of the bending of two European peoples. In this case, British and Spanish. However, also like Canada, said people have historically had their tensions.

Northern Patagonia has historically been the heart of Hispanic culture. Meanwhile, Southern Patagonia has historically been majority Anglo. The name Patagonia used to refer to the region that became the southern provinces, but grew to refer to the nation as a whole. The ruling Anglos felt that Argentina and Plata were too Spanish for their taste. Hispanic Patagonians were pushed further and further north for much of the 19th Century. In fact, Buenos Aires and Montevideo used to be majority English-speaking cities. Though, Spanish speakers still accounted for a healthy forty percent of Buenos Aires and Montevideo’s population. Patagonia also experienced far less Italian immigration than Argentina did in our world. Catholic Italians weren’t eager to move to a colony of Protestant Britain. Subsequently, Patagonian Spanish has much less Italian influence than Argentina Spanish of our world. The northern provinces, initially, tended to be poorer than their southern counterparts.

Things would begin to shift starting in the 20th Century. Industry began to invest in the northern provinces of Patagonia. The influx of industry lead to an increase in wealth among Hispanic Patagonians. Several baby booms occurred during this time, ensuring that Hispanic culture would survive in Patagonia. Hispanic Patagonians made major political gains in the Patagonian parliament. Bilingualism became official government policy starting in the 1950s. Packaging is required to be printed in both English and Spanish, signs are printed in both languages, and all government documents are printed in both of the official languages. There are also numerous Spanish-language schools and universities, though most are located in the Hispanic-majority northern provinces.

Patagonia remains culturally divided among geographic lines. However, tensions have relaxed between Anglo Patagonians and Hispanic Patagonians. Patagonia is also home to immigrants from throughout the world, and prides itself on being a refuge for those seeking better lives. Patagonia has a friendly rivalry with Canada. Canada is referred to by Patagonians, with tongue planted firmly in cheek, as the Patagonia of the Northern Hemisphere.

The flag was officially adopted in the 1970s. Prior to that, Patagonia used a British Red Ensign. Care had to be taken, when designing the new flag, not to favor Anglos or Hispanics. The colors evoke the landscape of Patagonia. The white represents the snow-capped mountains, while the ice blue represents the glaciers. The shape is meant to evoke the textile work of Indigenous Patagonians. The three guanacos were chosen as a symbol beloved by Patagonians of all cultures. In fact, the guanaco is the official mammal of Patagonia.

The Audio File: The TEMP: Season 2

Welcome back to my review of The TEMP. We’re taking a look a season two this time. If you haven’t already checked out my review of season one, you can find it over here. With that out of the way, let’s get into season two.

Just a quick recap, The TEMP follows a man named Bernie Pfelger. He's a temporary worker, a temp if you will. He has worked many strange jobs, with many strange employers. We are joining him on all the wacky misadventures in his quest to find permanent employment. I realize that isn't much of a summary, but I promise that this is a good show. I was approached by series creator Michael Wilhelm to review this audio drama. He noticed my frequent posting of reviews in the Audio Drama Lovers Facebook group. I said yes, after I took care of a couple other reviews, and now here we are.

Episode Nine is titled "Mother's Nature." Bernie is having deal with a real mean girl at his latest office job. Her name is Maxine and she's got it out for temps, and Bernie is her latest target. Will Bernie innocence and charm win her over, or are more drastic measure required?

We have some new things this season. For example, the formerly instrumental theme song now has lyrics. It's a fun little ditty, as you might expect. Also, Bernie and Penny's daughter Menorah finally makes an on-screen appearance, for lack of a better way of putting it. She's dropped out of college...because she's making a six-figure salary reviewing stuff on YouTube. Bernie was worried that it involved nudity, but his fears are misplaced. Now, if it had been Twitch or OnlyFans, well, then he might have had a more legitimate concern.

Clearly, Menorah isn't reviewing audio fiction. You don't make...well, actually, I don't make any money doing this. It is a labor of love. Of course, that's partially on me. I don't run ads on this blog, because you guys have enough ads in your life, and I probably wouldn’t make much anyway. I don't have a Patreon, because I don't know what to give as rewards, and there are tons of audio dramas that deserve your money more than I do. I also take my reviews pro bono. I will never charge to review someone's show. Audio drama is expense enough as it is, and charging for reviews would be exploitative. Like I said, labor of love. But enough about me, back to the show.

So, Menorah is doing pretty well for herself. Though, I do understand Bernie's concern about her dropping out of college. I mean, imagine if her YouTube career fizzles out. She'd be wandering around aimlessly from temporary job to temporary job. Oh, everything would be fine for a bit, but then she'd inevitably get fired and have to find a new job. But what would Bernie possibly know about that?

Good thing The TEMP is a comedy. Bernie is a middle-aged white man being tormented by a young white woman. That sort of set-up, especially in the post-MeToo world, would not have ended well in a more serious show. Bernie would be at a serious disadvantage. Well, that and Bernie would have gotten into trouble for the scene where he wears a baseball cap backwards and goes "yo, yo, yo." In real life, somebody probably would have complained that he was being racist.

Still, I guess one of the upsides of Bernie constantly getting fired is that, no matter how terrible his job, it's only temporary. It's like Avenue Q says, everything in Bernie's life is only for now. Well, except for death and paying taxes, but hopefully he won't die anytime soon.

Episode Ten is called “Gumshoe.” Bernie gets a job working at the Marge in Charge Detective Agency. Despite the name, it’s actually Marge’s husband who is the head detective. Well, he’s kind of an idiot, and she does most of the work. But still, he’s still head detective on paper. Bernie mostly just holds down the fort while the detectives are away, but hey, he’s living his detective dream. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, there was a bit of unintentional bit of synergy in my life with this episode. I listened to it not long after beating all of the detective endings on Kyle is Famous. It is a Choose Your Own Adventure type game where you are a talk show host preparing for his latest episode. Well, that’s the basic plot. There are over 117 possible endings, and things can quickly go off the rails, and into complete insanity. You can become a ghost, time travel, or even show up to the interview totally naked. You can also have Kyle change jobs, one of which is being a detective. You’ll probably need a guide sooner or later, but it is worth it to experience Kyle is Famous in all its insane glory.

Anyway, back to The TEMP. Bernie mentions that it has been his lifelong dream to drive around in a van and solve mysteries. Does he also plan on adopting a Great Dane as part of this plan? Bernie, I really can’t sugarcoat this, so I’m going to give it to your straight: you’re simply too old to be a meddling kid. Also, I’m pretty sure meddling kids don’t get paid, and you can’t afford to be working pro bono. But hey, even if Bernie is too old to live out his Scooby-Doo fantasies, he’s still the right age to give us plenty of laughs and entertainment. I also realize that I’ve heard the theme music on certain commercials before, but nothing wrong with that. Audio drama is expensive, and royalty-free stock music is a good way to save on cost, while also utilizing a quality product.

This was, all things considered, another reasonably good episode.

Episode Eleven is “Meme, Myself, and I.” Bernie becomes a meme after accidentally eating some insanely spicy potato chips, and washing them down with copious amounts of milk. Bernie is suddenly inundated with job offers and opportunities. It’s almost too good to be true, but how long will it last?

This is another episode that shakes things up. Bernie gets fired halfway through the episode, but that’s when the real fun starts. We also see a different side of Menorah. When she first appeared, she seemed fairly sweet and kindhearted. Come this episode, I’m tempted to believe that Menorah is slightly evil. She’s the one who tricked Bernie into eating the spicy chips, and knew he’d make a fool of himself with the milk. I also appreciated the brief nod to Penny getting stuck in the mascot costume in episode two. Also, milk is indeed useful in combating spicy food. Water spreads the oils within chilis around your mouth, but milk bonds with the oils, and draws them away.

So, about the meme itself. The TEMP prides itself on being a family-friendly comedy audio drama. A bring this up because, in real life, I can see the memes getting very perverted very quickly. Given what milk looks like, it wouldn’t take long for places like 4chan, and the seedier parts of Reddit and Twitter, to take the meme in some very family-unfriendly directions.

I figured that Bernie’s meme would die fairly quickly. That’s just how it tends to go with the lifecycle of memes. Still, didn’t see him becoming a creepypasta. Well, it’s called Spooky Noodles, but it’s pretty clearly meant to be a parody of creepypastas. For those who don’t know, creepypastas are horror stories that are posted on the Internet. Bernie is reimagined as the Milky Man, which sounds vaguely similar to Slender Man. Maybe the company didn’t want to risk a repeat of the Slender Man Stabbings. Back in 2014, two girls attempted to murder their friend because they believed Slender Man want them to become his avatars. Before anyone clutches their pearls, I would point out the girls were determined to be suffering from mental illness, and were later committed to a psychiatric institute. Also, the creepypasta community held a fundraiser to raise money for the victim of the stabbings.

So, we’ve got another episode that decides to mix thing up, and I’m definitely here for it.

Episode Twelve is “Royal Flush.” Bernie decides that he’s stuck in a rut, and decides to shake things up. By that, I mean he tries out a different temp agency. He lands a pretty sweet position as a bathroom attendant at a very prestigious country club. The tips alone bring in quite a bit of money. It’s like a dream come true. But things rarely stay stable for long with Bernie.

There are indeed fancy places that have bathroom attendants. Said attendants offer visitors a variety of soaps, towels, cologne, and amenities. I suppose it seems kind of nice, but public restrooms always make me feel rather nervous, especially when there’s a lot of people in them.

Bernie is told that he cannot use the restroom himself. Employees have their own bathroom in the basement. It seemed like that was setting things up. I assumed Bernie would eat something that would disagree with him, and he would have no choice but to use the fancy toilets. That, or he’d try to hold it, but would wind up soiling himself. However, it seems that this was a red herring.

He does, however, find himself in the middle of a class war. Several of the other employees decide to revolt against the country club, and barricade the fancy bathroom. I guess you could say they were planning a shit-in. The leader speaks with a noticeable lisp, and he reminded me of Barry Kripke from The Big Bang Theory. He’s the one who says stuff like “Hewwo, Swelldon Cwoopa. It is me, Barwwie Kwipke.”

Well, Bernie learned a valuable lesson from all of this. If an offer seems too good to be true, chances are, it’s probably a load of shit.

Episode Thirteen is “Chemical Reaction.” He has been assigned to work at a toy factory. Bernie feels like he’s just gotten hired by Willy Wonka, and in a way he’s correct. That is, he’s not working in an office, but on the ground floor of the factory. So, he’s basically an Oompa Loompa. The toys are made using several highly toxic chemicals, and the factory is a very unsafe place in general. But hey, what’s the worst that could happen?

The episode description described the toy factory as progressive. I assumed this might mean that the episode would be poking fun at political correctness. This would be odd, as The TEMP is usually fairly apolitical. But this was not the case. The factory is a decidedly unsafe place to work, with numerous OSHA violations. I’d probably be just as nervous as Bernie was, if not more so. But hey, Bernie’s probably already been exposed to all sorts of horrible chemicals. Depending on how old Bernie is, his body is probably full of lead. It was used all the time in gasoline and paint back in the day. It’s just like how everyone in my generation are probably full of microplastics.

Usually, The TEMP is pretty episodic. However, this episode adds a bit of continuity. Bernie and his temp agent are still dealing with the consequences of the previous episode. In fact, Bernie thinks his agent set him up as revenge for going to a different temp agency. Oh, and in other Wonka references, Bernie calls his agent a Vermicious Knid. I guess we’ll have to see if this plot thread continues in future episodes.

So, Bernie has saved the day and stop a toxic factory. Well, there’s a decent chance the factory owners will regroup and move production somewhere else. Presumably, somewhere with fewer safety regulations, such as China or India. But hey, Bernie should count his wins no matter their size

Episode Fourteen is “Class Trip.” Bernie enrolls in a class that promises to help land him a permanent job. Bernie feels like he’s a kid in school again. The class covers things like rhymes, hopscotch, proper siting, and being efficient. Is this really going to help him be better? Does Bernie even need to be fixed?

This episode was deceptive. Well, to me it felt like it was. I have had many nightmares about having to repeat college and/or high school. I mean, overall I did enjoy my time in college, but I am glad to have finally put my formal education behind me. I’m still not entirely convinced that the teacher of the class wasn’t a cult leader. She takes away everyone’s cellphones, thereby limiting their contact with the outside world, constantly tries to shame and gaslight everyone, tries to get everyone to tie their self-worth to her approval, and she claims her method is the path to salvation. Sounds like a cult leader to me. When the teacher offers everyone juice boxes my first thought was “No, Bernie! Don’t drink the Kool-Aid!”

Speaking of our main man, we learn that he likes to watch the movie The Towering Inferno whenever he’s feeling down. Apparently, the sight of a skyscraper full of people burning to death calms him down. Well, now we know why Bernie has never been able to hold down a job. His agent did give him bad jobs, but with good reason. If Bernie stay in one place for too long, he might get bored, and give into his pyromaniac tendencies. Wait, a minute, Bernie is pretty heavily based upon Michael Wilhelm. Uh, will you please excuse me, I need to call the Fort Wayne, Indiana Police Department. That was a joke, just in case it wasn’t obvious.

This episode is probably the closest that The TEMP will come to a horror episode. I like the part where Bernie lists all of his accomplishments over the course of the series. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Episode Fifteen and Episode Sixteen are a two-part episode. The first half is “Lost & Alone” and the second half is “Lost In Space.” Bernie Pfelger is missing! Well, not really. He’s actually been brought in for questioning by some government agents. But hey, Penny and Menorah don’t know that. They’re determined to find Bernie no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, Bernie recounts his latest misadventure. He got hired as the personal assistant to a very eccentric genius at a rocket company. Bernie’s new boss had some truly out of this world ideas. Like wanting to launch himself into orbit to defend the Earth from aliens.

This was a lot of firsts for The TEMP. We had our first two-part episode. We also got to see Penny and Menorah take the lead for a good chunk of the first half. That was a fun change of pace. It was interesting to witness Bernie’s escapades from the perspective of someone other than Bernie himself. I initially wondered if Bernie’s new boss was going to be a parody of Elon Musk. However, this was not the case. He was more of a generic mad scientist type.

I also liked how there were some real space facts slipped in with the comedy. For example, seven miles-per-second is indeed the escape velocity for launching into Earth orbit. Also, Earth orbit is indeed filled with all sorts of junk and debris. This is a major problem, and is known as Kessler Syndrome. Basically, the more debris in orbit, the more likely collisions are; and the more likely those collisions set off the chain reaction of collisions. I also liked the bit with the radio transmissions coming from all around the world.

This two-part episode certainly didn’t crash on the launch pad. It was truly out of this world, and a fitting note to end season two on. 

We had a great first season of The Temp. Our second season not only continues this quality, but manages to shake things up and try new things. I’m very much looking forward to season three. Especially because I acted as a consultant for one of the episodes. But, uh, more on that when season three gets here. 

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

The Audio File: Mija

I always found tales of immigrants to be fascinating. They offer a window into a world that I can only imagine. I often find myself pondering several questions. What would it be like to leave behind the land of my birth? What would it be like to try to assimilate into a totally different culture? What, if any, aspects of my own culture would I preserve and pass on. The audio drama we’re reviewing today deals with these questions, and a lot more. It is the tale of immigrants; their trials and tribulations, their triumphs and tragedies. We’re taking a look at Mija from Studio Ochenta. 

Mija is a story about families of immigrants. Those alive, those long gone, and those still dreaming. Each season is a self-contained story that follows a different family of immigrants. Season one follows a Colombian family in New York, season two follows a Chinese-Vietnamese family in Paris, and season three follows an Egyptian family in London. The story of each family is told by its own Mija, which means “my daughter” in Spanish.

As I said in the intro, stories of immigration have always fascinated me. The Italian part of my dad’s half of the family came to America via Ellis Island, and eventually found their way to New Orleans. We don’t know too much about the German and Irish parts. Meanwhile, my mom’s side of the family has been here since before the American Revolution. In fact, I had a few ancestors who were part of Jamestown. As is often repeated, all Americans, except for Indigenous people, have ancestors who came here from other lands. It was an interesting experience listening to Mija when I did. Immigration has become a hot-button issue as of late.

So, a bit of terminology before we got forwards. The narrators of season one and two are both called Mija. For the sake of convenience, we shall differentiate them as New York Mija and Paris Mija. Technically, the narrator of season three is also a Mija, but she’s more often referred to as Binty, which means roughly the same thing in Arabic. So, we shall call her Binty.

Season one is, in my opinion, the best of the three main Mija seasons. Season one is a very personal story for Studio Ochenta founder Lory Martinez. She drew upon her own experiences and the stories of her family, with some embellishments, to craft season one of Mija. Unsurprisingly, Lory also provides the voice of New York Mija. It was also from season one that I learned where Studio Ochenta got its name from. New York Mija grew up on Ochenta Street in Queens. I wasn’t familiar with that street. So, I looked it up, and realized that I actually did know it, because Ochenta means Eighty in Spanish. It was in that moment that I knew I had brought shame upon all of my Spanish teachers. And to my mom, who lived in the Panama Canal Zone for a few years during her childhood.

Getting back on topic, I could tell from the first episode that this was a very personal story for Lory Martinez. There was love and affection in every aspect of season one. The way she describes New York and Bogota paints such a vivid picture. I felt like I was there along with the characters. The story of season one is not only a tale about immigration, but also a tale about heritage and culture. We get the story of New York Mija’s parents, and how they made a new life in a new land. But we also get the story of her family members back in Colombia. In fact, even that ties into the theme of immigration. Several of Mija’s family members had to move from the Colombian countryside to Bogota as a result of violence from insurgency groups. It was scary, and hard at times, and certainly wasn’t what they planned for. And yet, they built new lives in a new home.

I often saw shades of my own family in New York Mija’s story. The scene where she reveals that she is part of a group text with several members of her extended family was super relatable. My aunt, uncle, and cousins all live in Temecula, which is a suburb of San Diego. So, naturally, we don’t get to see each other often. But we stay connected with the group text and phone calls. My parents are both from South Louisiana, but had to move to North Louisiana to find work as lawyers. For reference, North Louisiana and South Louisiana are basically two different states. My mom has talk about how hard it was for her to be away from her support network when I was first born. And yet, thirty years later, here we all still are. I also learned what a pollo chico is. It’s a chick that sticks very close to its mother hen. So, a mama’s boy, basically. Mija mentions that her dad and brother are both major pollo chicos. I guess I’m also a pollo chico.

Season one of Mija is a story of surviving and thriving, but there is also a strong undercurrent of melancholy throughout it all. For example, Mija’s maternal grandparents weren’t able to attend her parents’ wedding because the U.S. embassy rejected their visa applications. Then there’s also the reasons why the episodes tend to be ten minutes long. Mija’s father worked as a taxi driver, and often long hours at that. Oftentimes, Mija only had ten minutes each morning to really spend time with him. In the final episode, Mija talks about how her extended family doesn’t often get to be together because of how spread out everyone is, and how difficult travel can be. She also reiterates that many immigrant families face this problem as well.

But there is also hope. Throughout season one we are introduced to the concept of el cacumen. It’s kind of like good luck, but there’s more to it than just that. It's kind of like saying that things might be bad, but we’ll make it through somehow. Clearly, everyone who was part of season one of Mija had el cacumen on their side. The central question throughout Mija is, well, what is home? And where is home, for that matter? The answer that Mija goes with is that, where you have family and friends who love you, then that is your home.

I’m not the only person who thinks that season one of Mija is absolutely fantastic. Lory Martinez was interviewed on NPR’s All Things Considered. She discussed the origins of Mija, and various behind the scenes details. There is a slight irony that Lory Martinez has become an immigrant herself. She moved to Paris in 2015, and it is where Studio Ochenta is based. Apparently, her family didn’t take it well at first, but they came to terms with it once they got to listen to season one of Mija.

Mija is not just devoted to its global scope purely in terms of story. Mija is available in multiple languages. Currently, English and Spanish are the only languages that all four seasons are available in. Seasons one and two are available in French, season two is also available in Mandarin, and season three is available in Arabic. However, Studio Ochenta is working to translate all four seasons of Mija.

With the success of season one, there was the obvious question of what to do as a follow up. There could still be more stories from New York Mija, but that didn’t seem right. Though, Studio Ochenta did eventually release a series of short vignettes set in the life of New York Mija and her family. But no, everyone decided that the story of Mija wasn’t just limited to a Colombian family in New York. There are plenty of Mijas all over the world. The question, then, was where to go next?

Studio Ochenta teamed up with Melanie Hong to tell the story of a Chinese-Vietnamese family living in Paris. Season two had some good ideas, and it certainly meant well. However, it was also plagued by some serious growing pains. It was pretty clear that the Mija team were still trying to figure out exactly what the podcast would be going forward. One theme they wanted to emphasize was the common connections between the stories of immigrants. This is all well and good, but the execution left something to be desired. Several bits of Paris Mija’s dialog are copied almost word-for-word from New York Mjia. This is most apparent in the episode that focuses on Paris Mija herself, and in the final episode, especially the twist at the end. We also get an episode where Paris Mija takes us on a tour of Paris; much as New York Mija showed us around Queens. Good idea, but again, undercut by the self-plagiarized dialogue.

I also feel that season two bit off more than it could chew. In season one, there is certainly a feeling that there’s more to the story of New York Mija’s family than we see. However, with season two, it feels like the Mija team tried to squeeze too many ideas into only eight episodes. Paris Mija is unique in that she has a multiethnic background. However, given the limited scope of the season, I felt we didn’t get to explore the two sides of her heritage as much as we could have. Also, her parents are divorced and she has a stepfather, but this doesn’t factor into the plot as much as you might think. Now, as far as narration, Melanie Hong tried, she really did. Unfortunately, she just couldn’t compete with Lory Martinez’s performance in season one. Part of that was down to the lackluster script, but part of it was due to English not being Melanie‘s first language. There were a few times it was kind of hard to understand her, and I had to rewind the podcast a few times.

Now, I want to be clear here. I did not hate season two. It had it’s flaws, to be sure, but it also had plenty of moments where it shined, especially in the later episodes. That all being said, there was still a lot of room for improvement, and I consider it to be the weakest season of Mija.

It would seem that the Mija team were well aware of the need to iron our the kinks. I’m happy to report that season three saw a notable improvement in quality, and a welcome return to form. I’d also like to take a moment to say how grateful I am that the protagonist of season three had a name other than Mija. It makes writing this review that much easier. Season three is structurally inverted compared to its predecessors. The previous seasons start with Mija, then her brother, her parents, a cousin, her grandparents, and then a family reunion. In season three, we go in reverse order. Occasionally, I had trouble keeping track of who was who, but it didn’t take me long to get the hang of things. In other inversions, instead of a force of good fortune, like el cacumen in season one, we get the evil eye, the bringer of woe and misfortune. Binty’s family always tries to remain humble, and avoid boasting, for fear that they may attract the gaze of the evil eye.

The narration also saw a notable step-up compared to last season. Rana Abdelhamid overall does an excellent job with the narration. My only issues is that Binty has lived most of her life in London, but doesn’t have even the slightest trace of a British accent. It just seems a bit odd. Binty also differs in how her story came to be. Unlike the previous season, there’s not a single writer. Rana Abdelhamid and Mona Elboghdadi are the head writers, while Sadia Azmats and Alya Mooro acted as cultural consultants about the Arab/Egyptian-Londoner experience. So, I would assume that Binty contains elements of all four women, making her something of a Franken-Mija.

Binty and her brother move to New York towards the end of the season. I was wondering if New York Mija was going to make an appearance, but no, this never happens. I suppose that was for the best. Season three is supposed to be Binty’s story; there’s no reason to tie it into the stories of the other Mijas. On that topic, season three did a much better job of showing the common connection among the experiences of Mijas and their families. I felt that it did so in a far more organic way than season two did. There’s no repeated dialog to be found. The episodes are also slightly longer than in the first two seasons. This gives season three a bit more breathing room to tell its story.

Another difference I noticed is that we don’t get an episode where Binty takes us around London. In fact, Binty, and to a lesser extent her family, seems to have something of a disdain for London. We get plenty of loving descriptions of life in Alexandria, but not really any of London. In previous seasons, the Mijas and their families took great pride in their new homelands. The previous Mijas also embraced themselves as the blending of multiple cultures. Binty, by contrast, considers herself to be Egyptian first, and everything else second. Binty mentions that, when she was younger, she tried really hard to assimilate. Then, later in life, she really threw herself into her Egyptian heritage. Though, the impression I got was that she simply swung from one extreme to the other. Compared to the other Mijas, Binty seems to still be struggling to come to terms with her identity, and isn’t totally comfortable in her own skin.

Season three puts more of an emphasis on the bigotry and prejudice that Binty and her family had to overcome. We do get hints of this with the other Mijas, but its more of a background detail. This does add to season three having a more distinct tone compared to its predecessors. That said, I felt that it got laid on a bit thick at times, and occasionally things got a tad preachy. I would argue that season one worked in part because it took a somewhat understated approach when it tackled serious issues. I also have to ding one scene in the episode about Binty’s mom. She grew up in Alexandria, but moved to London to work in the egyptology department at the British Museum. One of the things that strikes her when she moves to London is that she see Muslim women wearing hijab outside of mosque and prayers. Uh, do what now? I find it hard to believe that she wouldn’t have seen that plenty of times in Egypt.

Honestly, though, those two points are really my only critiques of season three. It was a noticeable step up from season two. Season three didn’t quite reach the same heights as season one, but it got very close, and proved to be a worthy successor.

There’s also a spin-off miniseries called Mija Música. It is something of an unofficial fourth season of Mija. It is a notable departure from the main series in terms of style. It follows a young man named Gavilán. He lives in New York, but he is originally from Monterey, Mexico. He has found himself back in Monterey due to his grandfather’s Lolo’s funeral. Lolo was a musician who had a passion for Colombian vallenato music. Gavilán is determined to investigate his grandfather’s music career. Along the way, he’ll explore the history of vallenato, and discover some secrets about his grandfather.

Like I said, it's different, but that’s not a bad thing. I wasn’t familiar with vallenato music, but I had fun learning about it. The episodes are a bit shorter than in the main Mija seasons. Speaking of music, I also wanted to take a moment to discuss the use of music in the main Mija seasons. Each season uses music from its respective immigrant culture to help set the mood. It was one of those little touches I appreciated, and it helped give each season its own feeling. And that is most certainly true of Mija Música as well. You’ll be well acquainted with the many styles of vallenato by the time the miniseries is over.

We’ve had three seasons, and one miniseries, of Mija so far. I certainly hope that this is not the last we’ve heard from Mija. It tells the stories of families of immigrants. Those who leave the land of the birth to seek a better life, those who stay behind, and those with feet in both worlds. It is a celebration of community, culture, and the places we call home. It is absolutely fantastic, and I can’t recommend it enough. Give it a listen today.

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

The Audio File: Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature

The new year is here once again, and that means plenty more audio dramas to review. And I know precisely where to start. I’ve been wanting to review this one since last year. Without further delay, let’s get right into it. We’re taking a look at Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature. 

Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature is presented as a series of recordings from a second year Literature and Classics class at Harbridge University. Anterra is a civilization discovered only six or seven years prior to the recordings. It dates back to over 60,000 years ago. This makes Anterra significantly older than any previous known civilizations. It was discovered when rescue drones were sent to recover a sunken Chinese submarine. The Chinese government has been rather secretive about archeological finds from the ruins of Anterra. However, some discoveries have made their way to the West. In particular, quite a few discoveries relating to the mythology and literature of Anterra. These finds offer a tantalizing glimpse into a civilization unlike anything that came after it.

We follow the class as they explore the fascinating mythology and archeology of Anterra. However, there’s something sinister lurking in the background. Many strange occurrences happen throughout the course. Could these mysterious happenings have something to do with Anterra?

One day, for no particular reason, I found myself scrolling through the Realm Media website. I came across a show called Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature. It was made in association with Wolf at the Door Studios. They’ve been involved in several audio drama productions, such as season three of the DUST podcast and Batman Unburied.

The title sounded intriguing, and so did the premise. At first, I thought it would be like a fictional college course about xenoarcheology. That is, archeology applied to the past civilizations of alien planets. I assumed that Anterran referred to the Antares star system. But no, that wasn’t quite the case. Oh, it takes the form of a fictional college lecture, but Anterra is a purely terrestrial human civilization. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly disappointed by that initially. However, what I got instead was just as good, if not better. 

The sound-design is phenomenal. I loved the use of ambient background noise. Sometimes, whenever I’d hear a car driving by, or an ambulance siren, I’d pause the podcast to see if it was real or not. The audio is done in such a way as to give the impression that it is a recording. We can hear the professor fairly well, but sometimes he’ll move around and get fainter until he comes back. We also don’t always fully hear the students, depending on where they are seated. Thankfully, we can get the gist thanks to the professor’s responses. Though, some students are heard clearly if they’re close to the recording device. That, and if they happen to be an important character to the plot. The episode where a music professor comes and plays some recreations of Anterran music was a nice touch. It's one thing to talk about how unusual Anterran music was, but it is far more effective to actually hear how unusual it sounds.

Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature also has an amazing sense of atmosphere. Things start off normal, but there’s a sense that something is lurking in that background. That’s there something just a little off about everything. At first, it just seems like the usual incidental mishaps that might occur in a college classroom. A bit of water spilled on the floor, the lights going out, the professor having a sudden headache. But it all starts to add up after a while, and can’t just be dismissed as coincidence. There’s something going on, but what could it be? And what connection does it have to Anterra?

I have stated on a few previous occasions that I am a history major. As such, I can attest that the dialogue, and the general presentation of the class, is very true to real life. I was frequently reminded of my own time in college. Granted, nothing mysterious or supernatural ever happened during any of my history courses. The professor reminded me of several professors I had over the years. This is the first time I’ve encountered an audio drama that takes the form of a college lecture course. It certainly makes from a very fun change of pace, and I hope to see more show that use this format.

There’s a debate amongst the students of the class as to whether or not the professor is telling the truth, or if he made Anterra up. It was pretty clear to me that the professor was telling the truth. Still, even if he had been crazy, I’d probably have still signed up for his course if I could. Everything about Anterra and its culture is utterly fascinating. Everyone on the Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature team clearly put a lot of thought and dedication into crafting Anterran culture. In fact, they’ve included a small list of real world inspirations on the series website.

The general culture of Anterra appears to be vaguely Polynesian. The names all have a vaguely Polynesian feel to them. This does make sense, given where the ruins of Anterra are located. Anterran Mythology has a number of unusual features. For example, it was humanity who created the gods, not the other way around, in Anterra. The Anterran creation myth says that the first human was a woman named Teotia. She helped to shape the Earth, but her creation would reset itself if someone wasn’t observing it. She had children, the number nine is very important to Anterran culture, and they slept in shifts. But then Teotia decided they needed a more permeant solution. So, she created the 1000 eyed-god Ikopaa to always watch over the world. Thus, the world was preserved, and humanity could grow and multiply.

The first parallel that comes to mind is Argus Panoptes from Greek Mythology. Argus, much like Ikopaa, was covered in hundreds of eyes. Though, Argus was a fairly minor character, rather than a major world-preserving deity like Ikopaa. Very unusual that it was a human who created the gods. Gods are on a much higher power scale than humans. Some mythologies speak of humans who ascended to godhood, and ever gods who temporarily become human. But I can’t think of a single mythology that has humans creating the gods.

But you can also tell a lot about a civilization based on the monsters it imagines. This is true of Anterra as well. One Anterran myth tells of how a goddess of beauty fell in love with a mortal woman. They had five daughters together, but this angered the other gods. So, they drugged the goddess and ripped apart her children. The goddess decided to defy the other gods and bring her children back to life. She stitched them together into a Frankenstein-style monster, with nine arms and ten legs. Unfortunately, the monster still felt the pain and suffering of the daughters, and killed the goddess.

Apparently, this legend came from a time when Anterrans were placing a lot of emphasis on loyalty to the collective. That is, they expect everyone to be loyal to society as a whole above all else. Even loyalty to one’s family was discouraged in favor of loyalty to the collective. So, you can see that in the myth. The goddess defied the other gods in the name of her daughters, and she paid dearly for her transgression. There have been plenty of societies that prioritize the collective good, but few who do so at the expense of family units, especially in pre-industrial society.

But there’s more to Anterra than just myths and legends. There’s plenty of archeology and history to discover. One cultural institute of note was that of the Idiot King. Anterra culture has a reverence for darkness and the unknown. So, in the early days of Anterra, a child would be selected to be taken to an elaborate underground palace complex. The child would be fed and treated well, but it would never be taught anything. There was a group of diviners whose job it was to interpret the will of the Idiot King. Whenever there was a major problem, especially involving the unknown, the diviners got advice from the Idiot King.

This is very obviously a reference to Ursula K. Le Guin’s famous short story “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” It’s a little strange that none of the characters ever brought this up. “Omelas'' is frequently taught in philosophy and ethics courses. If nothing else, the professor should have been familiar with it. You can also see parallels to ancient oracles, such as the famous Oracle of Delphi. The general consensus is that such oracles would deliberately word their prophecies in ways that could have multiple meanings. That way, people saw what they wanted to see. And if the prophecy failed to come true, well, then you just picked the wrong interpretation. Perhaps the diviners of the Idiot King operated under a similar principle.

And yet the Anterrans were also strangely progressive in many ways. For example, everyone got to pick their own gender. Children were referred to with gender-neutral pronouns until their coming of age ceremony, which is when they got to pick their gender. Anterra did have a caste system, but this too was oddly progressive. The caste system was less of a tiered pyramid, and more of a pie chart. No one caste was necessarily better or worse than the other, and there was some degree of relative mobility within castes.

I could keep going, but I’ll leave some of the myths and culture of Anterra for you to discover on your own. Suffice it to say, the worldbuilding of Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature is top-of-the-line.

I liked the way that the professor handles the stranger aspects of Anterran culture. He presents them in a very matter-of-fact sort of way. It isn’t totally non-judgmental, but that’s understandable. We’re all human, and we all have our biases. Still, the way he approaches it is from a perspective of “What does this tell us about Anterran culture?” That is an excellent perspective, and probably the best to strive for. When you study ancient civilizations and/or non-Western cultures, you’ll often encounter things that don’t mesh well with modern sensibilities. However, the question to ask is not “How well does this jive with modern Western sensibilities?” but rather “What does this tell me about this civilization that I’m studying?”

My only real point of criticism would be that the Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature website hasn’t been very good about keeping up to date with the transcripts. Only transcripts for the first three episodes are available. It would have been nice to know how to spell the names of various Anterran gods and people for this review. Realm is usually pretty good about keeping up to date with the transcripts for it’s shows. As I have often reiterated in the past, transcripts are very important for listeners with hearing difficulties.

Now, it is time for some speculations. I’ve got a few theories about the mysterious happenings. One of the characters is Hai Rong, a foreign exchange student from Canada. Though, her parents were originally university professors in China. She makes a couple statements that suggest she’s quite familiar with Anterra. Almost on a personal level. Could it be that Anterra isn’t so dead after all? Could Anterran society have continued, somehow, in the shadows. Alternatively, Anterra is indeed gone, but what if the myths and legends of Anterra are more than just stories? Or here’s a thought, what if, somehow, Anterra discovered the secret to immortality, and Hai Rong is an Anterran? And on an unrelated note, is Harbridge is a fictional university, or did Harvard and Cambridge merge, and the series takes place in the near future?

I guess we’ll have to wait and see. And I certainly can’t wait to find out. I listened to several shows from Realm, but none of them really knocked my socks off. I’m pleased to say that Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature finally broke the streak. It has a great sense of atmosphere, amazing worldbuilding, and I love how it took the form of a college lecture. I strongly recommend giving it a listen as soon as possible.

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

The Audio File: Echoes (in) Between

I have often spoken about how sometimes it takes me a bit to get around to certain audio dramas. I’ve also spoken about those unfortunate audio dramas that die after only one season, despite their high quality. Well, today’s review covers an audio drama that ticks off both boxes. It was an excellent show, it only lasted one season, and I took way too long to listen to it. So, without further ado, onto the main event. We’re taking a look at Echoes (in) Between.

Echoes (in) Between starts with an in-universe podcast of the same name. It is hosted by Gemma Avots and Thomas Fonte. They are exploring the concept of memory. More importantly, how we might retrieve memories. They are assisted by Dr. Adrian Thorne. The good doctor has developed a series of sound waves capable of stimulating people’s memory. At first, it seems to work remarkably well. Gemma, Thomas, and their listeners all begin to recall memories that were either hazy or completely lost. Then strange things begin to happen. Gemma and Thomas start remembering each other’s memories, and they begin to hear voices. Gemma and Thomas are going to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth behind the recordings. But what they will discover is beyond anything they could have imagined.

I’d known about Echoes (in) Between since before the first episode even came out. The show’s Twitter account followed me, and they were always really good about liking my posts for Audio Drama Sunday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect based on the description and the trailer. There were mentions of things such as past life memories and parasitic twins, but where was this all going. Well, time went on, and I got sidetracked. Several people requested that I review their shows. I also took time for myself. Sometimes, I need to be able to just listen to a show without taking mental notes, or immediately reviewing it after I finish it. Of course, I usually wind-up reviewing such shows later on, but I digress.

Eventually, much as I did with The Call of the Void, I decided that it was time for me to review Echoes (in) Between. Series creator Jessica Berson followed me on Twitter, and I took that as a hint. Probably should have taken the hint back when Echoes (in) Between first followed me. It was around this time that I learned some troubling news. There had been issues behind the scenes, and Jessica had a falling out with her partner Bronson Metcalfe. Bronson decided to leave Echoes (in) Between, which was a bit of a problem given that he voices Thomas. Ultimately, Jessica decided to end Echoes (in) Between after only a single season.

I doubt it would have made any difference if I hadn’t dragged my feet. Still, hearing how hard all of that was for Jessica made me feeling incredibly guilty. So, here we are; too little, too late. I’m not going to say that we should be thankful for what we got. I’m not going to say that at least Echoes (in) Between will lead to new opportunities for Jessica. Though I have no doubt that this is far from the end of her audio drama journey.

You know what? Screw it all. Sometimes life is unfair. Bad things happen to good people. A good audio drama dies a bad audio drama’s death. You do everything right, and things totally beyond your control prove to be your downfall.

I will now get into my formal review of Echoes (in) Between. I’m just going to warn you that there will be some pretty serious spoilers later on. It will be a bit like the review I did of season one of SINKHOLE. For now, however, I will stick to the non-spoiler stuff.

Echoes (in) Between starts off with an interesting question. What if you could enhance any of your memories? Be able to perfectly recall anything you wished? We all have at least a few things we desperately wish we could remember. What were the lyrics to that one song? What was that interning TV show you randomly came across? What color was the neighbor kid’s dog again? Seems harmless enough. Still, I don’t know if I’d do it if I could.

Autistic people are often noted for having exceptional memories. I bring this up because I’m on the autism spectrum, and that’s certainly true for me. I am noted to have exceptionally good recall. It is certainly helpful when writing audio drama reviews, or remembering random tidbits. I still haven’t full grasped the notion that normal people have trouble recalling events from only a few years ago. But I can’t really control my recall. So, for example, I still had to study for tests. And having such good recall also makes it even harder to forget bad things. My parents have remarked that, at times, it seems like I only remember bad things. There are times I’ll be minding my own business then something, a sound, a taste, a random thought, will summon a bad memory.

Maybe it was a time my parents screamed at me, or a time I did something embarrassing, or a million other things. And it will be just as sharp and painful as when it first happened. Sometimes, I just want to scream for the bad memories to shut up already. As you can imagine, this has caused anxiety and depression to be my constant companions. As screwed up as I am, I’m not sure I’d want to mess with something that could affect my brain.

I wondered if this might be the big twist. That is, that the recordings would give everyone perfect memory, and it would slowly drive them insane. But no, that wasn’t it. As for what it actually was, well, we’ll get into that in the spoilers section. I will say that Echoes (in) Between was one of the scariest audio dramas I’ve listened to in a while. I knew, intellectually, that it was all just a fictional show. All the same, I’d still sometimes get nervous and tense-up whenever the sound tapes were played. I know that probably sounds stupid, but I guess that makes Echoes (in) Between effectively scary.

Though, speaking of bad memories, I was initially wary when I listened to the first couple episodes of Echoes (in) Between. I’ve gotten burned by one too many bad Parcast podcasts, and the banter between Gemma and Thomas reminded me of that. Granted, I’m pretty sure that this was done deliberately. And I will say that it didn’t last long, and I found Gemma and Thomas’ non-podcast host dialog to be well-written and enjoyable to listen to. I got a better feel for the sort of audio drama that Echoes (in) Between was trying to be as I continued listening. I found it to be a very enjoyable audio drama.

So, let’s now talk about our characters. Gemma and Thomas met when they were in college. Gemma was an upperclassmen assigned to show Thomas the ropes. They developed a reputation for investigative journalism. In particular, they managed to bust a professor for forging his credentials. As a result, they refer to each other as Woods and Burnsy, in reference to Woodward and Bernstein, the reporters who broke the Watergate scandal.

Gemma is snarky, driven, and outspoken. Also, her real name is Gemini, but she thinks that sounds too much like a hippie name. Hey, at least it was better than the alternative. Gemma’s mom wanted to name her Tamzin. She and Mr. Avots did a coin toss to pick their daughter’s name, and Mr. Avots won. I looked it up, and apparently Tamzin means twin in Aramaic. So, I guess that kind of makes it an equivalent of the name Gemini. Gemma had been living in New York, with dreams of becoming a hotshot journalist, but she had to moved back to Minneapolis to take care of her father. Still, she’s making the best of things. Gemma is voiced by series creator Jessica Berson.

Thomas, by contrast, has always been soft-spoken, cautious, and a bit reserved. Thomas freely describes himself as bland, but he has his moments of spice. He’s been in therapy for the last few years, but he’s working through his problems. Thomas is voiced by Bronson Metcalfe.

The dialog is edited so that it often slightly overlaps. Jessica says that this is so that it mimics natural speaking. That is true, people often interrupt each other, or talk over each other, in real life. I also really love the intro and outro music for the in-universe podcast, which also serves the same function for the out of universe Echoes (in) Between audio drama. The audio drama does a good job of building a growing sense of mystery and creating an atmosphere of suspense.

Okay, I’ve put it off for as long as I could, but we have to talk about spoilers now. 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’s one very crucial bit of information I’ve been leaving out until now. You see, the universe of Echoes (in) Between isn’t quite our own universe. There was an event that occurred many years ago, back when Gemma and Thomas were just kids. It involved all adults basically turning into zombies for a day. It was like their brains ran on autopilot; they went about their normal routines, but with no obvious signs of emotion or consciousness. Thankfully, the adults were back to normal by the next day, but it severely traumatized all of the kids. This event became known as The Blackout, and nobody knows what caused it. Though, several hypotheses cropped up over the years.

Dr. Thorne had his own take on the matter. He called it the Chimera Universe Hypothesis. Dr. Thorne proposed that The Blackout was caused when a parallel universe got absorbed by our own universe. The other universe got destroyed, but the consciousnesses from that universe got thrust into our own, and took up residence in the brains of their counterparts in our universe. Children’s minds are yet fully developed, so they were better able to accommodate the other consciousnesses. Adults weren’t able to assimilate the consciousnesses so easily, hence why they blacked out for a bit. If you’re wondering, chimera refers to how, sometimes, one twin will absorb the other in-utero. The surviving twin develops normally, but will now have two sets of DNA.

Okay, so now all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. The words from the teaser trailer suddenly make sense. I did not see that coming, but that was the point where Echoes (in) Between set itself apart from that crowd. Oh, I was enjoying it before that, and it certainly managed to hold my attention. But this was the point where Echoes (in) Between proved that it was something truly special.

Believe it or not, there is a grain of truth to the idea of a Chimera Universe. Some scientists believe that parallel universes travel around the multiverse. Occasionally, they will bump into each other. Some scientists believe that the Big Bang might have resulted from the collision of two universes. It is theorized that sometimes the universes bounce off each other. However, other times, one subsumes the other, or they merge into a composite universe. These reactions can become especially volatile if the universes have different laws of physics. Though, given that the mind is a byproduct of the brain, I doubt consciousness could survive a universe collision. Still, it does make for an intriguing premise for an audio drama.

I see a lot of interesting implications in the scenes where Gemma and Thomas finally contact the alternate versions of themselves. I see a lot of Jungian shades. In particular, the confrontation with the Shadow. The Shadow is the aspects of ourselves that we like to deny, particularly negative emotions, and project onto others. According to Jungian Psychology, denying your Shadow leads to your mind becoming unaligned. Therefore, you must confront your Shadow, and accept/embrace those suppressed aspects of yourself. Some Jungians believe that it is possible to encounter your Shadow via a dream or vision. In other words, not too dissimilar to the trance that the later recordings are capable of putting people in.

Thomas has a pleasant experience when he confronts who doppelgänger, who he names Tom. So, you could see them as an example of someone who has made peace with their Shadow, and is in a state of alignment. Gemma also confronts her counterpart, who is known as Tamzin. Apparently, their mom won the coin toss in the other universe. This suggests the other universe was very similar, but not completely identical, to our universe. Hmm, Gemini and Tamzin both mean twin, and Echoes (in) Between is set in Minneapolis/St. Paul, which are known as the Twin Cities. Huh, the foreshadow was there from the start.

Well, anyway, Gemma’s encounter with Tamzin is far less cordial. I saw that coming; things with Thomas and Tom seem to go a little too smoothly. I wondered if another shoe was about to drop. Of course, the result was still incredibly chilling, and quite effective. Tamzin makes several sharp remarks claiming that Gemma is selfish, hurts Thomas, and is wasting her life. Gemma denies this, of course, but you get the feeling that she worries that this is all true on some level. However, it is often said that we ourselves are our harshest critics. For example, Gemma could have thrown her dad in an assisted care facility, but she moved back to Minneapolis to help take care of him. She did this even if it meant having to make sacrifices in her own life. Of course, Tamzin would say this was a bad thing. 

I must say that Tamzin is a well-written villain. She’s clearly in the wrong, but a lot of what she says has a grain of truth to it. It is unfair that she, and everyone else from the other universe, had to be trapped in the minds of their doppelgängers. What she went through was horrifying beyond comparison. However, that doesn’t give her the right to take over Gemma’s life. Who is she to pass judgment on Gemma’s choices? I suppose it shows that you can be a victim, and still be a horrible person.

Or here’s a thought. Tamzin was a child when she got stuck in Gemma’s head, and was only recently awakened. She has access to all of Gemma’s memories, but still pretty much only has the lived experience of a child. So, mentally, Tamzin might still essentially be a child, albeit, more akin to a child prodigy. Or maybe she aged, but at a slower rate? That does raise the question of how a mind would develop with the input of hormones. Of course, a mind can’t exist without a brain, and yet here we are…hmm, I’m probably overthinking it.

Getting back on track, I liked the way Jessica voiced Tamzin. In particular, the parts where Tamzin pretends to be Gemma. Tamzin gets ballpark correct, but is off just enough to come across as creepy and disconcerting. Almost a vocal equivalent of the uncanny valley. Tamzin is too cold, too reserved, and a bit too formal to pass as Gemma.

And then there was that ending, after the final tape was played. Just who, or what, were all of those voices? Well, going back to Jungianism, Carl Jung believed that humanity has a collective subconscious. Might the final tape allow listeners to access the collective subconscious? But here’s another thought. We know that the other universe was very similar, but not totally identical, to our own. What if there were people in that universe who lacked counterparts in our universe? What would happen to their minds? Or what if that wasn’t the only universe that got merged into ours?

All are interesting ideas, but sadly, it seems they shall remain unanswered. It is certainly unfortunate that Echoes (in) Between had to end as it did. But there is a light in the darkness. When Jessica Berson next commits to making an audio drama, and I have no doubt that she will, I know it will be absolutely fantastic. Jessica has proven to be a very talented writer, and an excellent voice actress. This isn’t the end for her, it is only the beginning. I look forward to what she will bring us in the future.

My only regret is that I didn’t get to Echoes (in) Between sooner. It is a fantastic science horror audio drama with some strong psychological themes. It joins the ranks of Lights Out and The Hermes & Hekate Road Show as an audio drama that was tragically slain well before its time. Don’t make the same mistake that I did. I strongly encourage all of you to give Echoes (in) Between a listen as soon as possible. And best of luck to Jessica in all her future endeavors. I’ll try not to wait so long next time.

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

The Audio File: Chain of Being

As is often the case, there are times when I’m aware of an audio drama for a while. However, sometimes it takes me a bit to get around to them. It helps when I get a nudge in that direction. But it almost always proves to be worth the wait. So, without further ado, let’s get into the audio drama we’ll be reviewing today. We’re taking a look at Chain of Being. 

Chain of Being is set far into the future. Humanity has spread to the stars, encountered numerous alien races, and made major advances in science and technology. And yet this world of tomorrow is very much connected to the mythical past. Magic exists alongside science and technology, leviathans and angels attack unsuspecting spaceships, and gods constantly meddle in the affairs of humanity and the other sentient races. The series follows Adam Delta 5. He is the biblical Adam, the very first human ever created. Adam has been wandering the universe for thousands of years, and has grown a bit distant from the rest of humanity. Lately, however, Adam is taking more interest in humanity. A strange force is mutating beings across the universe, and twisting them into strange and unnatural forms. A force that may have a connection to Adam’s past.

I had been aware of Chain of Being for a while. I had been giving some thought to checking it out. Then I got followed by Chain of Being on Twitter. That certainly bumped Chain of Being up in my listening schedule. I have had many audio dramas follow me on Twitter, and I have speculated that they might be fishing for a review. I am always happy to review any audio drama that asks me. However, if you really want to make sure your show gets reviewed, the best way is to ask me directly. My Twitter DMs are open, if you don’t want to ask me in public. You can also message me on Reddit. You can also message this blog’s fan page on Facebook, or you can message my personal Facebook account. Point is, there’s a lot of ways to get in touch with me.

Chain of Being is a member of the Faustian Nonsense podcast network. They are a network of several quality fiction podcasts, such as The Lavender Tavern. One episode of Chain of Being features Kieran Walsh, who plays Gino Whelan on fellow Faustian Nonsense show The Green Horizon.

The first few episodes of Chain of Being are a bit shorter, and are primarily there to ease the viewer into the setting. The show truly starts around episodes six and seven, Epistasis parts 1 and 2. That’s the point where Adam officially appears. I do understand why series creator Cai Gwilym Pritchard started with these prequel episodes. The setting of Chain of Being is a very unusual one. I can best describe Chain of Being as what would happen if China Miéville decided to make an audio drama. The key word here is weird, as in Weird Fiction. Think things along the lines of the stories from The Drabblecast. I would also classify Chain of Being as mythpunk. We’ve got an advanced futuristic setting, but we also have mythological gods and magic existing side-by-side with science and technology. 

You do get some hints of familiarity here and there. There’s certainly plenty of biblical allusions, and nods to various mythologies. However, they’re often presented in an unusual context. For example, our protagonist is the biblical Adam, but he’s an immortal, and he has glass horns and completely black eyes. I thought the horns might have been an obscure mythological reference. However, Cai Gwilym Pritchard says that they’re meant to be a reference to the Mark of Cain.

The politics of the various human and alien races are reasonably easy to follow along with. There’s an alliance of planets that is trying to create unity among the various races of the galaxy. However, they frequently do this by forcibly relocating people to frontier planets, even if it means breaking up families, in hopes of speeding-up integration. And there’s this group of human supremacists who are all descended from colonists from Mars, Venus, and various other parts of our Solar System. Earth is considered semi-mythical, and nobody really knows what became of it. Obviously, the human supremacists are pretty fascist. 

All easy enough to follow, but I also feel I don’t have the complete picture of Chain of Being’s universe. But this is very much by design. Cai Gwilym Pritchard has stated that they deliberately withheld certain bits of worldbuilding. They reason that works set on Earth don’t go into detail about Earth’s entire history. As such, the Chain of Being universe would be no different in that regard.

As previously mentioned, there are numerous references to mythology and religion from Earth. For example, we first encounter Adam aboard an ark ship that is carrying some of the last surviving specimens of birds from East Africa. This is clearly a nod to the story of Noah and the Ark. Interesting that the birds were from East Africa, as that is where humans first evolved. I’m tempted to think that was deliberate. One of the prequel episodes features a character named Tubal Cain. He’s a minor character mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and is claimed to be the world’s first blacksmith.

Angels are described as being Lovecraftian monstrosities that look like a collection of wings and eyes. There are many different types of angels, and the description matches that Seraphim. They worship God directly by surrounding the Throne of Heaven and constantly chanting “Holy! Holy! Holy!” Maybe we’ll get some Cherubs in season two of Chain of Being. Pop culture depicts them as winged babies, but the Bible describes them as having four faces; a man’s face, a lion’s face, an ox’s face, and an eagle’s face. Those are also the symbols of the four gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in that order. It is said that a Cherub guards the entrance to the Garden of Eden. In other types of angels, there’s also the Ophanim. They look like several interlocking wheels made out of eyes.

Adam at one point mentions the different gods that created the different sentient races of the galaxy. Interestingly, it wasn’t Yahweh or Elohim who created humanity. Rather, it was a goddess named Epicurosa. She doesn’t appear to have an analog in any actual mythology, and appears to have been made-up for Chain of Being. Cai Gwilym Pritchard has said they feel a bit embarrassed that most of the aliens are humanoid. However, I think Chain of Being has a pretty brilliant explanation for that. Humans were created in the image of the gods, so it would make sense that other sentient races would be humanoid. It is mentioned that humans aren’t the only race that Epicurosa created. We later learn that Eden is located in another dimension, and is basically the test lab of the gods. The garden is but one small section of it.

There’s a couple religious orders dedicated to the Greco-Roman gods Nemesis and Cupid respectively. So, that means the Greek gods are out there somewhere. I guess that works. The Old Testament doesn’t necessarily deny the possibility that other gods exist; just that you shouldn’t worship them. Though, it does make me wonder how many other gods from Earth are running around. The sign of the entity that is mutating everyone kind of sounded similar to the Elder Sign from the Lovecraft Mythos. I’m not sure if that was a coincidence or not. Or here’s a thought, what if it was meant to be the Chain of Being itself?

So, what exactly is this Chain of Being thing? The Chain of Being is a philosophical concept. It was codified during the Middle Ages by thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, but it has its roots in the teachings of Aristotle and Plato. The Chain of Being organizes all things in the universe into orders of importance and complexity. God is at the top and minerals are at the bottom. There were also subdivisions within the different sections of the chain. For example, monarchs reigned at the top of human society, and men ranked above women. The Chain of Being was used, among other things, to justify the divine right of kings, and to deny women opportunities to advance in society. Yeah, not a particularly nice system. One of the ways Western society managed to advance was by rejecting the rigid hierarchy of the Chain of Being.

Now, let’s talk about the voice acting. Cai Gwilym Pritchard provides the voice of Adam. Adam speaks with a notable echo. It often sounds like multiple voices speaking at once. This gives Adam an eternal and otherworldly quality. As the series progresses, however, this echo becomes increasingly subdued. Perhaps that symbolizes how Adam is regaining his connection with humanity once again. I should also note that Cai Gwilym Pritchard created Chain of Being at the tender age of seventeen. They wanted to see more science fantasy stories, and decided to be the change they wanted to see in the world. Quite the accomplishment that was indeed. All of the other actors also give excellent performances.

The only real point of criticism I have is the transcripts. They aren’t easy to find on Faustian Nonsense’s website, and it will always display the transcript for the first episode, no matter which episode you click. You find them by selecting an episode, and then clicking the three little dots. Now, Chain of Being does have full transcripts on its Tumblr account, but I wouldn’t have known this if I hadn’t come across it by chance. Transepts are important so that listeners with disabilities can enjoy audio dramas. They’re also quite helpful for people who write reviews as well.

Season one of Chain go Being has certainly been intriguing. Personally, I’m hoping we find out what happened to Eve. Adam doesn’t give much info, as it is still a touchy subject for him, but something significant happened with Eve. Did she grow old and die, while he remained immortal? Or is she immortal, but they had a falling out somewhere along the way? Also, the human supremacists are apparently going to be the main antagonists of season two. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

But whatever the future holds, I do know that season one of Chain of Being was really great. It combines science fiction, mythology, and magic in a far future where gods still meddle in the affairs of humanity, and the other sentient races. A very unusual setting, to be sure, but also a very creative one. Give it a listen today.

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