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- Bobby's Snacks Vol. 35: A Lovely Bag of Sausages
Bobby's Snacks Vol. 35: A Lovely Bag of Sausages
Bob Raymonda
December 29, 2024
Happy #AudioDramaSunday Friends!
I can’t believe this is already my last update of the year. The holidays have been incredibly restful for my wife and I this past week, which has been so hugely appreciated. We’ve been to the movies several times, spent the afternoons lazing around in our new matching pajama sets, and have given ourselves the grace to get takeout more often than usual. My mom, stepdad, brother, and now stepbrother have all joined in on Sam’s parents Christmas Eve party tradition, which has been a great boon for us, getting to combine our families in this way and allowing them to really get to know each other a bit better. I’m feeling very full and grateful for the life I’ve built with the people who continue to show up for it, and am looking forward to these traditions continuing to grow in 2025.
I’ve been reflecting on 2024 a lot, and despite the fact that there were a few points where I almost achieved some life-changing opportunities, only to not ultimately cut the mustard, I’m still incredibly proud of everything I’ve accomplished in the last twelve months. In this newsletter alone, I’ve written ~75,000 words about this community I adore and the creatives who are responsible for bringing it to life. On top of that, I’ve helped write a new season of Forgive Me!, drafted not one, not two, but three new podcast pilots, five show reviews for Brooklyn Vegan, and finally launched the premiere of Windfall season two. I’ve been playing with Ghost Tour for just over a year now, and have played 9 shows with them, one of which was opening for Fred Mascherino of Taking Back Sunday, as well as releasing our first single and music video, and have already begun writing our next batch of songs we hope to record in the next few months. And… well… the biggest accomplishment of all? Is that Sam and I found out a few months ago that our first baby is due in May.
I’ve been coy about this news in past updates but I’m too excited not to share it with you all at this point. We’re not the types to do maternity photoshoots or big announcement posts (Sam would much rather be behind the camera than in front of it, we didn’t even have a photographer at our wedding), but we’re incredibly thrilled and anxious for what the future will bring. Parenthood is something that has… specifically terrified me for a long time, in a lot of ways, but it is a challenge that I really do feel prepared to tackle. Not because I think we’re more or less ready than anyone else out there (lord knows, there’s still so much to be done), but because we’re lucky enough to have a support system who are ecstatic to go along for the ride with us.
That being said, I’ve listened to a veritable boatload in the past two weeks, so let’s hop to it:
I am so mad at myself, because I completely forgot to talk about our brand new Christmas Special on my last update! A Christmas Clara is the genuinely funniest thing that my partner Jack Marone has ever written, and I am so proud of how this Dickensian tale of our favorite church bell ringer turned out. Casey Callaghan’s take of Hot Ben, i.e. the Ghost of Christmas Present, was so inspired and had all of us in stitches. And the work of both Krystal Osborne and Josh Rubino as Clara and Fr. Klem are second to none, as always. While I know the holiday has passed, if you haven’t listened already, it’d mean a lot to us if you’d check it out!
Four episodes deeper into this mystery, and I am continually intrigued by every single new development. Baby Menendez Dimitri’s taken a bit of an unwise trip across the country to connect with middle sibling Lupe, who lives in Canada with her husband. Lupe’s simultaneously thrilled to see him and furious with him for putting himself in greater danger by fleeing when the feds may still have questions for the whole family. On top of that? There’s a reappearance from a childhood penpal with their own shaky ties to shady government agency, who’s more than happy to aid in their search for Junie. It’s fantastic all the way around, but I’d like to specifically shout out Ralph Ruiz and Adriene Arce for the seemingly effortless sibling chemistry that they’ve both slipped into.
Longcat Media have done all of us a massive favor by releasing this delicious three-part holiday special. First of all, the tofu turkey commercial song being used to torture the titular prisoner is an absolute ear worm. But on top of that musical goodness? We get to learn more about Matty’s time locked away over the course of three Christmases between 1990 and 1996. A wonderful treat that I’m thrilled to have heard!
My favorite part of Goshawk has to be the juxtaposition of the terrors happening out in the frozen tundra of Maine and the interpersonal dramas between the families in attendance of this year’s conference. The longer this show has gone on, the more the curtains have been pulled back on the inner-workings of the people who’ve devoted their entire lives to understanding the power of Svalbard and the other places of terrifying power around the planet. Killer stuff.
I’m finally all caught up to this brand new series from my friends over at MonkeyMan Productions, and I couldn’t be more tickled with how things are developing over in the land of monsters. Frequent D.J. Sylvis collaborators Tau Zaman, Cass McPhee, and Leeman Kessler have all had their characters introduced, and every single one of them is a massive delight. Realizing specifically that Kessler’s Raven is the new form chosen by none other than Edgar Allen Poe is perfect. And seeing the ways in which that Karo & Yvonne are being run around in circles through the land of October, likely in response to Karo’s undercover exit all those years ago? Chef’s kiss
Well shit. I can’t believe it’s already over. Going with a weekly schedule means we’ve already burned through the entirety of season 2, and our beloved hotdog-slinging, punk rock guitar-wielding demons? They’ve wrapped things up for the final time! This show was the perfect blend of Kevin Smith’s Dogma and Mallrats, and I’m so happy that it came back this year. Kristen DiMercurio is such a bright light in this industry, and I can’t wait to see what she and her crew have up their sleeves next.
Gabriel Urbina’s tenure on this beloved series continues with a holiday episode! And what a better way to celebrate the reason for the season than untangling the spontaneous appearance of a hoard of White Christmas Zombie Horses all over the country. Jamie and Malik take it all in stride, and end the episode with a super sweet exchanging of two very baseline presents. I’m so glad that we’ve spent so much of the last year with these wonderful friends. And I can’t wait to see what new fresh horrors 2025 has for them to laugh their wade through together.
My favorite discovery of the year is back for a new holiday special murder presentation! Minty’s sister, played by the ever-wonderful Tal Minear, is getting married and bodies have started to show up around the venue! Who better to deal with this development than Santa’s bastard daughter turned North Pole’s pre-eminent Private Eye. I was thrilled to feature this show on the Forgive Me! feed, because I genuinely believe it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard, and deserves all the listeners in the world. Please do yourself a favor and enjoy all that this candy-coated comedy mystery thriller has to offer.
Another episode of my other favorite series of 2024! Again, it was a no-brainer for me that I’d fall in love with any continuation set in the Midst-cosmos, but this one in particular is such a delight. Zoron is another weird cosmic being that Merlin and the other Un-explorers come across, and you know what? He’s a damnable delight. The imagery in this series is so distinctive, and makes me want an animated series ala Scavengers Reign set in the universe more than anything in the world.
And that’s it! We’ve reached the end of another season of this wonderful show. And god damn, what a beautiful ending it was. Kat Waterford spend the entire season speaking circles around the one thing she really wanted to say. There were so many points that I really didn’t think that she’s finally open up to her ex in the way that she so clearly wanted to. But in the end? She finds her voice, and she allows herself to speak into the world exactly what she wants. Now? What happens after that, we may never know. But at least we know she put herself out there. Sometimes, that’s all we can do. And it’s enough.
To the surprise of absolutely no one, I would kill and die for Skullcrusher. The mantelope introduced in Chapter 26 is a perfect companion for Iyer, Winterlich, and Co. and they will stop at nothing to make sure that he’s safe. Even if, you know, he’s the one who sometimes is creating the havoc that he might be in danger from. This Christmas special was my personal favorite of the year, and it’s all thanks to this big terrifyingly sweet lug. Can’t wait to see where he pops up next!
Fred Greenhalgh’s anthology of Maine-set horror stories is back with a two-part, one-woman show written and performed by Méabh de Brún from The Secret of St. Kilda and The Silt Verses. Dearbhla Ashe is an aspiring standup comedian with a plum regular gig at a local watering hole… until, that is, the owners niece comes along and decides she’d like to learn from her. And, you know, she’s good. Good enough to take that plum gig away from Dearbhla, who, try as she might, has never been willing to get quite so vulnerable in the way that makes comedians really funny. It’s a dark and hilarious story, that I’m so glad I got to enjoy!
This show rules. Lauren Grace Thompson and Ian Geers’ are so fucking funny. Chauncy Grace, that Fried Food & Savory Sauce-extraordinaire, is a delightful new character creation in an ensemble full of them, and her hatred of aiolis knows no bounds. But even beyond that? She makes a damn good case for why she’d be a fantastic new John Watson for the Merriment Park… and I’m absolutely inclined to agree with her. Hilarious as always. Please devour. You’ll thank me.
I’ve been dragging my feet on this one, because I knew the episodes were shorties, and I wanted to devour most of them close together. Newt Schottlekotte took inspiration from Lauren Shippen with this new miniseries that takes place on New Years Eve’s over the course of a millenia, as the angel Gabriel and demon Beelzebub carry on a torrid love affair with the land they’ve been tasked to both witness and judge. Casting new actors to play the pair in each episode is an inspired choice, and while all of guest actors are fantastic, my personal favorite moments are when Taqi Nazeer of The Kingmaker Histories pops up as BB, and when Emma Sherr-Ziarko plays her hand at Gabe. Can’t wait to hear the final episode!
My gosh, the finales really haven’t stopped in these past two weeks, have they? Gabriel Urbina and team delivered the best classic vampire adaptation this holiday season, bar none. And yes, that is shade at Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, which I thought was mostly just okay as a movie, even if it was beautifully shot and well-performed. This show, on the other hand, pulled out all the stops at the very end. Mina Harker and The Count’s tête-à-tête has been delicious from the very beginning, but it’s here, in the finale, where the tables have fully turned and we understand who’s been in control all along. I so hope that the team finds a reason to dip their toes back into her story. Because lord knows, I’d keep tuning in if they did. And I’m sure you would too.
And that’s also it for another year of bovine storytelling! I love when this show introduces a character that gets on Benjamin Partridge’s host’s nerves, to no end, and this episode was no different. We’re served up a veritable charcuterie of the biggest news in Beef from 2024 and it was full of belly laughs, as always. Can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store for this world of beef animals and dairy herds.
We get some big revelations this week as the troupe’s performance is cancelled due to rain. Fel’s reasoning for pulling away from some of his friends is revealed, as well as his deep, deep feelings for Leona. We also get to learn more about the magic behind some of the shows from across the company’s history, and why some are easier to make than others. And why those others are just as important as any other. A nice, cozy listen as always. Claudia Elvidge and her lovable band of theater misfits will always have my heart. As will Trace Callahan, who has quickly become one of my all-time favorite composers in the medium.
It’s back! It’s back! It’s finally back! On creator Caroline Mincks’ birthday yesterday, this delightful show officially returned for the first prologue of season 2. And, as I think I’ve mentioned in this newsletter in the past, I had the opportunity to do some script consultation (and writing!) on this season, so I can tell you: it’s going to be so special. The sound design by Tal Minear here, as always, is impeccable, and Sean Lenheart, Mincks, and Leslie Gideon have their dynamics down pat. I’m so tickled that this series is back. It is so good, and the people behind it are all so good, and I’m just thrilled to be living with these characters again. A true holiday gift.
BONUS SNACK
I’ve been eagerly waiting to find the time to dive into this show. A weird meta-narrative starring Jimmy O. Yang as Willis, a background character trapped inside of a Law & Order: SVU-style police procedural who wants nothing more than to be part of a case. Sam and I are just about halfway through the season so far, and it has been everything I could have asked for and more. The greater ensemble (which includes the always-unhinged Lisa Gilroy) is delightful, the themes beautiful and well-seeded, the weird rules of its meta-narrative clear, and the mystery is genuinely intriguing. Can’t wait to see how it wraps up.