• Contemporary audio theater
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Audio is the most convenient medium available, as it is the only one that does not require its audience to look at it. Because of this, one can listen to an audio drama while doing any sort of mindless work. Nonetheless, audio theater is far less popular than books or movies. Due to its considerable lack of popularity, nearly all well-known, contemporary audio plays are produced independently, which is good because many of them are free and available online and bad because many of them are shit. The following are some that I have heard and recommend. [URL="http://www.darkerprojects.com/index.php"]Darker Projects[/URL] (Dark Matter and Five Minute Fears) Darker Projects is a company with about twenty series, many of which I don't quite care for (although The Byron Chronicles happen to be very popular). The two that are most definitely worth listening to, in my opinion, are Five Minute Fears and Dark Matter. The former is a science fiction series and the latter is exactly what its name suggests. [B]Pros:[/B] Both series are generally fun and clever, sometimes even interesting. Each episode contains a full and usually decent plot. [B]Cons:[/B] Both series are somewhat hokey, which may bother some people. Darker Projects also uses a popular production method in which the actors record their lines independently and send them to the producer or director. The difference in recording quality between actors is sometimes noticeable and annoying. [URL="http://www.decoderringtheatre.com/shows/index.html"]Decoder Ring Theatre[/URL] Decoder Ring Theater is a modern company with two shows: Black Jack Justice, about a gumshoe detective, and The Red Panda, about a masked vigilante. [B]Pros:[/B] Both series are considerably well-acted and well-produced. Decoder ring theater fully intends to imitate the golden age of radio, and does so remarkably well. Both series contain some very well-written ass kickings. [B]Cons:[/B] Lack of originality. Jack Justice is quite a stereotypical gumshoe detective, and the Red Panda is a simple combination of Batman and The Shadow. Each character has a stereotypical female sidekick. The Red Panda holds its share of Deus Ex Machina endings. [URL="http://wormwoodshow.com/"]Wormwood[/URL] Wormwood is a supernatural mystery podcast about a vigilante paranormal activity expert who goes to a small Californian town called Wormwood, "where shadows lurk in every corner and evil stains the souls of the inhabitants", in pursuit of a drowned girl of whom he has had a premonition. [B]Pros:[/B] Wormwood easily has the best plot of all the series on this list, as well as the best character (Doctor Xander Crowe). [B]Cons:[/B] Early on, Wormwood had some annoying and unconvincing character voices due to actors who played multiple parts, as well as a pretty poor production quality. Both of these problems have been fixed for the most part by the end of Season Two. [URL="http://www.leviathanchronicles.com/"]The Leviathan Chronicles[/URL] The Leviathan Chronicles is a science fiction series about a woman who discovers that she is a member of a secret, immortal race and has been genetically programmed to help a rebellion force that is fighting against the head of that race, whom they suspect of intending to destroy humanity and replace it with her people. [B]Pros:[/B] A very good and original plot with some very good actors and a high production quality. [B]Cons:[/B] A bit slow at the beginning for me. It took about ten episodes for me to really get into the show. [URL="http://www.zombiepodcast.com/The_Zombie_Podcast/Main.html"]We're Alive[/URL] During a zombie infestation, Some people set up a sanctuary station in a hotel. These are not your typical Romero zombies either. They are intelligent. Some can run extremely fast and some can jump extremely high. At least one is huge and nearly invincible, and at least one is capable of some extent of human speech. [B]Pros:[/B] An excellent script with some excellent actors. This may be my favorite. [B]Cons:[/B] Some people (myself not included) get angry about non-traditional zombies such as these. No real complaints. [URL="http://ageofthezombies.necropolisstudioprod.com/aotz.html"]Age of the Zombies[/URL] Age of the Zombies takes place during the invasion of George Romero's trilogy, and follows the stories of the survivors in some of the major safe houses throughout the world. [B]Pros:[/B] Contains pretty much everything that makes George Romero's zombies fun. Definitely the goriest of all the series on this list. [B]Cons:[/B] Lower production quality and slightly worse script and acting than We're Alive. [URL="http://www.outcastmultimedia.com/dangertheater/"]Two Minute Danger Theater[/URL] A comedy series that parodies the Golden Age of Radio with such protagonists as Blake Diamond, Blast Off Patrol, and The Voice. Each episode is approximately two minutes long. [B]Pros:[/B] Witty dialogue and outrageous situations. [B]Cons:[/B] Each adventure lasts about five to ten episodes, and it's a bit annoying having to select and play each one sometimes; it would be a bit more convenient if each adventure were one long episode instead of five to ten short ones. [URL="http://www.thebatfry.com/"]Bell's in the Batfry[/URL] A family comedy series with an outrageous Rocky and Bullwinkle / Looney Tunes style about John Bell and his cast of eccentric characters producing a podcast. [B]Pros:[/B] Appropriate for your children and younger siblings. Very witty and often funny. [B]Cons:[/B] The character voices take a couple of episodes to get used to, and it's always annoying as fuck when the characters burst into song. I hope you enjoy these, and if you know of any more good ones, feel free to post them in this thread.
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