Personal highlights
Moonbase Theta, Out, Episode 2: Comeback. I loved the callback to MTO’s International Podcast Month episode from last year, with Dr Just waking up in his bunk – this time waking up from stasis. There’s conflict between Dr Just and Roger, and I always found it interesting last season seeing the dynamic between Roger and the rest of the base, after we saw everything through Roger’s perspective in season one. And Dr Just isn’t the only scientist who’s woken up! Back on Earth, we meet a couple of new characters, and learn more about this future world…including the importance of slam poetry.
Oz 9, Diary if a Oz9ivist: Is this a cheese dream? A crossover episode with Diary of a Space Archivist, and these two space comedies mesh together so well. We’ve previously heard Puck’s voice pop up around the Oz 9, and in this episode Sam arrives and ventures onto the ship to look for him. Puck is found somewhere he clearly feels at home in, but it’s not just Puck Sam and the Oz 9 team find!
The Amelia Project, Episode 31 – The President & Episode 32 – The New President. A double helping of cocoa this week, after The Amelia Project reached a patreon goal. Things are starting to come together, and there was a real aha! moment at the end of episode 31, when the two separate story strands collided together. There was another surprise in episode 32, with the reappearance of former client, who has to collaborate with the Interviewer. I’m really looking forward to seeing where these plans will take the Amelia team in this second half of the season.
Jar of Rebuke, S1E8 – Black Ice. There’s some more insight to the strained relationship between the Enclosure and the local community, as Jared gets invited to the school’s career fair – the haunted school he was investigating a few weeks ago. There’s friction between the Enclosure and local people, the Enclosure doesn’t hire local people, and always brings people in from outside the community. We also see Jared’s resentment towards his job, he hasn’t even been doing what he’s supposed to be recently, which is frustrating him.
Lost Terminal, 2.10 – I have so much to learn. The season two finale. Seth is still outside, but plugged in, and he still wants to move to the bunker. After what Seth learned about Alexander last week, we see a depiction of Dissociative Identity Disorder through Seth’s eyes, who is starting to understand what he’s seen since he arrived on Earth. They finally reach the bunker, and Seth uses the radio to broadcast ‘Hello world’ to the world again, which was so lovely to hear. There’s an unexpected ending, which has me very excited for season three!
Unseen, Episode 7 – We Ourselves. Another episode which deals with complicated family dynamics, as Nicholas talks to his niece. We also learn about another form of magic, and who invented it – memory magic – and that memories have an actual physical price to them. Nicholas is a collector of memories, and the episode creates a fascinating images of rows of glass vials of memories, which can be transported into other minds. We only find out at the end what Nicholas’ goal is in talking to his niece, who’s been sheltered from his job and memory magic. “Family is all about give and take”, he says, and he needs to take.
The White Vault, Episode 4.05 – Returning. Something’s hiding in plain sight. I was particularly struck by the recording from Simon, as he tries to survive, waiting for someone to rescue him. He calculates how much food and water he has left, and we see his health gradually deteriorate. There aren’t any updates from the Documentarian in Stockholm, what’s going to happen next?
Dining In The Void, 2×05 – Fragmented. (Note: I play a Siren in this episode) I love the different version of the theme! There’s a whole new threat to deal with, as sirens are aboard the station, screaming and laughing. I love the sound design in the episode, the sirens sound so eerie!
We Know None, 09 – Rose Tinted. The penultimate episode of the season. Gwen plays a tape of her and Frankie together, from early on in their relationship. It’s an introduction to their paranormal investigations, where they describe a disturbing experience. I was wheezing at Gwen poking fun at Frankie’s terrible pronunciations! Gwen talks about how their relationship had been in the weeks leading up to Frankie’s disappearance, with some details we didn’t know before, and it’s so sad hearing her blame herself.
MonkeyTales, Episode 9 – Impressions. An episode written by Evan Tess Murray, the writer of This Planet Needs a Name. In an emotional story, two characters hide in a doorway after a bigoted attack on their first date. What they talk about is anything but your usual first date stuff, as they share difficult life experiences and bond. They’re stronger together, and decide to not let the bigots win.
Hughes and Mincks: Ghost Detectives, Eight Ghosts, Nine Opinions: A Hughes and Mincks Chanukah Special. Mincks is off work for Chanukah, but she phones Hughes with a problem – her house is haunted…by her family. Who have a lot of opinions about her house, her Chanukah dinner, and her life in general. There’s a sad moment when Mincks talks about how her family – her living family – are far away, and that she just wanted to do something special for Chanukah. The ghosts didn’t want her to be alone for the holiday, and in a heartwarming ending, we see them helping to prepare dinner.
Temporal Light, Vignette 3 – Work. Work here refers to anything but Zaneta’s actual job – the work in looking after her siblings, taking them to school, the million and one chores she had to do at home. We see the the differences between her and her younger siblings – she went to a state school, her siblings go to a private school. Zaneta thinks her dad’s not monitoring her broadcasts at this point, we certainly haven’t heard from him, but is this the case?
Y2K, Episode 50 – December 17-17, 2000. (Note: I play Emma in this episode.) Olivia and Tammi are in Australia. Olivia has finally met her bio dad, Mike, and we hear the story of how he met Jess. There’s an emotional conversation about their families, with Olivia dealing with her parents’ divorce. In 2000, Kat’s naturally heartbroken. There’s a voicemail from Shirin, who talks about the racism she experienced in her old workplace, and how life is much better for her in New York. Things are on the up for Claire, who’s been working on herself over the course of the last few months. It’s now the beginning of Olivia and Tammi’s long journey back home, who talk about their flights back at the end of the episode.
Paired, S3E9 – Paging Dr. Stormer. Pairy has thoughts about her own existence. And sports. Instead of actually doing her work, she would rather get into deep philosophical debates, Pairy style, obviously. But after all the banter and fun, things sadly turn very serious towards the end of the episode, which has a worrying effect on Pairy.
Station Arcadia, 8 – The Queen of Port Azuriel. In the steampunk society, Arcadia takes us back to the courier again, and we discover that some kind of plans are afoot. There’s also a haunting story of loss from an airship, told through a series of journal entries. A journal that Station Arcadia somehow discovered.
Debuts
Life on Pause is a new anthology series from Tandon Productions, set in a world which has been hit by a global pandemic. The first episode is written by Gabriel Urbina, and is the story of a missed connection. There’s a fateful meeting between two people at a bar, but lockdown means they never make it to their next date. Anthony has no way of contacting Mary, and so he sets out to find her, with the help of social media.
A Sky Full of Pods 