Dome Dog
Official Site/Listen : Click Here
(Icebox Radio Theatre)

This is a classic comic book hero goofy adventure much like the Red Panda only for younger listeners. This is a lot like the colourful Saturday morning cartoons or comic books aimed at the 5-10 age bracket. I’ve received several comments from parents wishing there were more audio dramas for kids out there, and here is a great example of one.

There are two “Volumes” of Dome Dog out so far– “Enter The Packer-Backer” and “Rise of the Hunter” each with five episodes. To find them, click “2009″ in the Libsyn page. Set in Minnesota, Dome Dog & Mustard Girl each find themselves with mysterious superpowers. Dome Dog begins his crime fighting career first, stopping a grand theft auto with his superstrength. When a Viking fan suddenly finds himself backward (he runs backward, talks backward and becomes a Greenbay Packers fan) he emerges as the supervillain bent on destroying all Vikings fans. The characters, situations and ‘tech’ are quite cheesy– in both the literal and literature senses of the word. Packer-Backer’s weapons and gear are all made out of cheese with inventively wince worthy pun names.

In the first set of episodes, we have a classic setup where we are introduced to the main characters through some relatively harmless fun superhero vs supervillain fighting. In the second set, it gets a bit more serious– the supervillain arranges for Dome Dog to join the pro football team. It seems harmless enough until the contract reveals fine print that prevents any crime fighting on pain of a 10 million dollar fine or his reveal of his secret identity. When Packer-Backer captures Mustard Girl and robs a bank during the game, Dome Dog must make the ultimate choice– save her and break the law or fulfill his contract.

These are recorded in studio with extremely minimal effects, but they are done in a fun way and this sort of story doesn’t really need a complex ambient soundscape. Again this is a great one for the kids, although anyone can enjoy it.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 4)

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The Scoop Sisters
Official Site/Listen : Click Here
(Icebox Radio Theatre)

Melody, a single mum raising a teenage girl heads home, only to find her own elderly mother has decided to run a newspaper business. The granddaughter Mary is the only technically savvy one of the group, but soon all three find themselves caught up in a series of adventurous reporter mysteries. This is in the genre of TinTin: Boy Reporter and The Hardy Boys. It fits right in to the era when reporters actually went out snooping to solve local crime rather than sitting back and purchasing ready made news stories.

For the pilot, click “2008″ archives and find the two part first episode. The second episode has just started coming out and includes part 1 and 2 of “New School Blues”. In the pilot, there is some backstory and character introductions that are well executed, as well as a fascinating local mystery to solve. Each of the characters is quite unique, and there aren’t that many, so it is easy to keep them all straight. In New School Blues, as you might have guessed, Mary is having trouble with one of her teachers, and school in general, meanwhile something comes up that is so important that the FBI steps in. I won’t spoil the plot for you, but it is a solid set of episodes and follows well after the pilot.

There aren’t that many effects in this series– just a few here and there when really needed for the scene or as time transitions. However, it has some great music in the long OTR mystery tradition under narration and off and on to accent moods. This has a very similar soundscape to Decoderring’s Black Jack Justice– if you like a lot of ambient effects this is not the series to try listening to. The overall sound quality is excellent, the levels are well adjusted and there aren’t pops or irritating background noises.

For great old fashioned family fun with some well-written mysteries, I would recommend checking this series out. Although, due to the fact it is mostly about three women, I’d say this is primarily a “chick audio drama” I wouldn’t completely write it off. The adventures are still enjoyable no matter what your gender. I hope more come out soon, meanwhile check these first few out and let Icebox Radio know you want more!

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 4)

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Because sitting about working, mixing & writing 24/7 isn’t good for your health!

Original Idea | Descriptions

21 February, 2010 - 105 miles - West of Barrow-downs

I didn’t expect it to rain today so I went to San Francisco without any raingear. I came back a bit damp, but that’s just the sort of weather I love walking in, so I pulled on my Ranger/Jedi cloak and headed out for Shollenberger. It is very beautiful this time of the year– lots of green grass like Rohan and birds everywhere. After the rain, the lake and river are nice and full. Green hills were surrounding the area with just enough fog to look like the Misty Mountains. It was just at sunset, and though it was cloudy, there was sparkling light cast on the water. Gorgeous!

24 January, 2010 - 101 miles - West of Barrow-downs
17 January, 2010 - 98 miles - House of Tom Bombadil
29 December, 2009 - 95 miles - Rescued by Tom Bombadil from Old Man Willow
15 October, 2009 - 83 miles - Path In The Old Forest
13 October, 2009 - 80 miles - Path In The Old Forest
27 September, 2009 - 78 miles - The Old Forest Bonfire Glade
3 September, 2009 - 76 miles - The Old Forest, path vanishes
24 August, 2009 - 73 miles - Leaving Crickhollow

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 4)

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I posted a poll on AudioDramaTalk and it looks like most people requested six episodes of the series. I therefore wrote a filler episode 5 and just finished the final one today. All the scripts are out to the VAs now, so I can wash my hands of that series (at least when it comes to writing).

This was a completion of the story arc– something I’d planned from the outset. I’d heard a hilarious story of an O.S.S. agent parachuting in behind the lines because they’d gotten the dates and locations wrong. He expected to join in the resistance but instead found himself with nothing to do stuck hanging out in an old farmhouse for months.

You might remember the flashback sequence to Area P and Lt. Smith’s training– we see the return of those characters in the final episode. Major Hall and Lt. Lee have several scenes woven in through the more serious plotline. I did have one surprise– Phenix shot Chardin. I know that guy needed to get his due, but I was going to have someone arrest him after the Germans left. Instead what ended up coming out was Chardin trying to flee and Phenix tracking him down and eliminating him.

Excerpt:

Chardin: Suitcases, check… valuables, check…Edith Piaf records, check…hatboxes, check…

SFX: Walking off along gravel

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This is from the Twelve Dancing Princesses, as the title suggests. It was created by Ray Sullivan and is just perfect for the story. Basically, Worsley finds himself in a mysterious palace where he is called upon to solve a mystery. Each night, the princesses are given new satin slippers, and each morning they are worn through. Yet the girls never leave their room! He uncovers a sinister plot in which the princesses turn men into zombies to do their bidding by means of a magical drink which they consume at dinner. In this scene, you see one of the men having just drunk the potion.

This is by Amado Gonzalez, and depicts the arrival of Worsley’s cousin Jane in Oxbridge. She finds herself falling right into one of the mythological adventures, but recovers quite well and decides it is exciting enough to be worth sticking around for a while to see what happens.

Haines Hall is the spectacular artist of this album art. Westbrook (the chap on the bridge) and Atherton find themselves in ancient Japan. Westbrook rushes off to try the strange, yet fascinating bridge, while Atherton gets himself into trouble (bet you didn’t see that coming!)

Another Haines Hall illustration, this time of Jane again. Remember the number of the episode corresponds with the month, so this takes place in May, as you can tell. She goes out on a pleasant walk looking for houses to let when she is mistakenly kidnapped by the West Wind.

This is a montage of photos, the river is the one that actually runs by the college and where much of the episode takes place. I like to think of this one as the ‘tour of Oxbridge’ ep, much like the Jinn episode in series 1. We get to see the river, quadrangle, high street, and the debut of the famous covered market. If you’ve never been to the covered market in Oxford, I hope this episode will give you a bit of the sense of the location. If you have been, you’ll be nodding along going ‘yup I know that shop’.

Jonathon Earl Bowser has outdone himself in this spectacular painting. As you might have guessed, that is Sophie Roberts! Hopefully people will have been listening along to her adventures over at Imagination Lane. If you haven’t, I deliberately wrote the episode so it will still be understandable. I hope you are listening to the accompanying podionovel, however.

This depicts the rainbow bridge between Middle Earth and the home of the gods. This episode sees the return of Loki and Oden with the addition of Fenrir. If you’ve heard of Fenrir Greyback, this is the wolf he was named after– much nastier customer than the literary fictional werewolf of J.K. Rowling. Fortunately he is still fairly congenial at this point, due to the fact the gods have not declared open war against him yet.

I’ve wanted to do this story ever since the beginning of Maudelayne. It is quite possibly the creepiest faerie story ever written. Still gives me chills! If you haven’t read the original, I highly recommend it. This version of course involves Worsley– who can resist all the shrieking? That picture is one I took in C.S. Lewis’ church in Oxford.

Jonathon Earl Bowser again, this is the Snow Queen in the story who arrives along with King Frost and proceeds to freeze almost the entire cast. Except Professor Cecil, of course, he’s too clever for them both.

The major cliffhanger Stevie & I have been dropping hints about! You will recognize the Jonathon Earl Bowser piece from last year’s Naiads. I don’t want to give anything away on this ep so that’s all I shall say.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 4)

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The Paranormalists
Official Site/Listen : Click Here
(Crocanapple)

This started out as a professional radio drama series, but is now available in podcast form as well. There are two episodes currently out on the feed: Episode 1 in 4 parts “Minehead Elvis” and episode 2 in 6 parts “The Legend of Brown Willy” with the promise of more to come.

Due to the fact it is a professional production, the acting is top notch and has some rather famous actors in it, such as Michael Cronin. It is a British production, set in West Somerset in 1993. It has a definite 90s feel to it with references and general style, which is not a bad thing. A few of us, after all, grew up in that era.

The basic premise is that a group of friends with a bit too much time on their hands form a sort of club called The Paranormalists where they investigate anything out of the ordinary. Some of them consider it a fun way to spend their time, however the sort of leader, Hitchard Screening, takes it way too seriously. He treats it like an elite team with a quest for the ultimate truth and tends to easily overreact. He’s the one kneeling in the middle of the road making plaster casts of random footprints. Murray Black, his friend, is much more apt to wander off and do his own thing, and is always under the thumb of his demanding father. Linda & Pete Fortune are a brother sister pair that are enthusiastic and whose family has special powers. Pete can sometimes see into the future, and his mother has special abilities as well. Linda is “the only girl” in the group, and probably also the cleverest of the lot. Pete is still in his teens, and loves tech gadgets.

I would start with episode 2 of this series, because it is more of a linear storyline in a traditional setting with each character off on their own adventure. It is a good way to get to know them and slowly get used to the world of the audio series. Episode 1 is set in a court case atmosphere and is more difficult to follow. It seems a bit more experimental and can be a bit off putting to a new listener. The sound is on the minimal side, although the music is a lot of fun. There are just enough effects to keep the story going. The writing is a lot of fun to listen to. It isn’t straight comedy, though it is definitely amusing. There are some somewhat frightening moments. It is, in general, good solid British comedy writing.

This is definitely not a family friendly series. It has a lot of mature references and some language. Don’t let the kiddies listen to this! It isn’t that bad, however, and is clearly labeled in itunes. Some of the episode parts are just fine, it is only occasional episodes that are marked with a warning. If that is a problem, though, don’t listen.
Otherwise this is an interesting scifi/xfiles/comedy show.

(1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 4)

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