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- Bobby's Snacks Vol. 24: Who Cares if I'm a Shill When I'm This Happy?
Bobby's Snacks Vol. 24: Who Cares if I'm a Shill When I'm This Happy?
Bob Raymonda
July 21, 2024
Happy #AudioDramaSunday Friends!
It’s been another whirlwind two weeks since my last update and I’ve admittedly gotten a lot less listening done than production. I haven’t had any long drives, which is often how I can tear through a big swath of shows, but I’ve got some trips coming up in the next month that should help me catch up a bit better. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to enjoy every last drop this summer as it continues to slip through my fingers. Swimming, spending time with friends and family, escaping the heat at the movies, and even sneaking another Ghost Tour show in there.
My favorite thing that I’ve gotten to do since we last spoke, though, was go into the studio with Emily Battles and Nadia Sepsenwol, who play Helina and Sylvie in our show Windfall (which is officially returning for season two this September!!). I haven’t had a chance to record in person with these two incredible actors in legitimately 6 years, so being able to get them together again in order to re-embody these characters, (as well as a few new ones for an upcoming episode of Good Pointe’s new show, Someone Just Like You) was a dream come true. A huge shoutout to Sean Williams for opening up Gideon Media’s home studio for us so that we could play. We had so much fun making magic together, and I can’t wait for you to be able to hear the fruits of our labor.
Let’s get down to business:
This show came to its thrilling conclusion, after Daniel was finally able to convince his siblings without a shadow of a doubt that the woman pretending to be his mother was anything but. The whole series gave off the perfect summer Amblin Entertainment vibes and made me want to break out the classics like E.T. and Men in Black. And while the series had an incredibly satisfying ending, there are some hints that this world may have more surprises up its sleep. I can’t wait to see what Bizzie Media Group has for us next! I also want to take a quick minute to shout out Black Audio Dramas Exist, a fantastic resource managed by Alpha 8’s Xperience Jay that showcases other shows in the audio drama sphere made by black creators.
After 3 long years, Whale Bus returned with the series finale of their fantastic musical following Dante, an aspiring rapper at NYU who becomes an RA to follow in the footsteps of Childish Gambino before him. It’s honestly perfect timing for this show to return, with the release of the final Childish Gambino album before Donald Glover retires the moniker just this past Friday. This show is hilarious, full of heart, and features some incredible tunes, and I’m so happy that I can finally tell people to go listen to the entire thing!
Some tragic answers are finally revealed during Emmeline Ayuba’s search for her sister in the Unitologist’s archives… but that doesn’t mean that her investigation is over. Or the danger that’s lurking just around every corner. This show is ABSOLUTLEY doing its job of making me want to go back and replay these brilliant games, especially now that there’s a remaster of the original. I don’t know how many episodes are left until Emmeline does reach the end of her journey… but honestly? I’d be thrilled if it kept going forever.
I’m not going to tell you that this show hasn’t been weird from the beginning, because of course it has, but Jessica Best’s script for this most recent release was next level. Malik and Jamie dive deep into the realm of the fae, which, if you’ve ever spent even the smallest amount of time playing Dungeons & Dragons, you know is going to provide some mixed results. Things get really weird, and for a moment, Malik might even be losing time to their clutches? It’s wild stuff, and worth catching up with!
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the public release of this show since it got its first announcement in deadline. Not only is Kelly Marie Tran royalty to me from her roles in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (my second favorite SW movie of all time, get bent losers), Sorry About Your Loss, and season 3 of Netflix’s Sweet Tooth adaptation, but also from John Scott Dryden and Lauren Shippen’s brilliant fiction podcast Passenger List. This show, an eerie murder mystery steeped in creepy Christian cults, also just so happened to be written by AP Quach, the celebrated creator of Deck the Halls With Matrimony, who also happened to be a second rounder at Austin Film Festival 2017 alongside Christie Donato and myself. I’m only two episodes in so far, but I’m already absolutely obsessed, and before the season is through, I will be interviewing her about it!
We’re already to the penultimate episode of season two, how the hell did that happen? This is one of my favorite scripts from the entire bunch, and I want to commend Mac Rogers for his work here. I know for a fact, from working with the team, that there was a version of this episode that looked very different. That leaned more deeply into the team’s theatrical roots and stayed entirely in the POV of Morgan & Graham/Joshua’s meeting. And while I know that that’d have been incredible, and the scenes we do get exploring what their relationship looks like with this new normal, folding back in moments with all of the other major players from throughout the season was just the right move. Especially for an episode placed so close to the end, as it is. Speaking of which, are you ready? Because I promise you, the conclusion of this season is going to RULE!
Speaking of endings, she freaking did it. Lauren Shippen, over the course of a single year, gave us 260 episodes of a brand new independent fiction podcast. For 52 straight weeks, she gave us Abbie, Harry, Birdie, Fox, Junior, and Don’s journey in 2-5 minute chunks, every single Monday through Friday. And gosh, was the ending ever satisfying. I’m also incredibly honored to say that I played a very small part in its creation: recording lines that Lauren sent over just a few weeks back for its super sized finale. You probably won’t be able to hear me in the finished piece, as the messages were then translated into Morse Code… but getting to contribute to a small piece of the puzzle from an artist whose work has meant so much to me for so many years was extremely satisfying.
Last, but very much not least, I’m all caught up with season 5, part 3, and gosh was this episode freaking brilliant. Getting to witness the aftermath of a death faking gone wrong, rather than one that went perfectly, was hilarious. Especially with such a high profile client. Huge props go out to Eli Hamada McIlveen for the sound design on this one, which was top notch, and as I mentioned last time, I’m so glad that we’re still getting scripts from the show’s creators in the midst of a season with so many brilliant guest writers. I can’t wait to see whose turn it is to lose their life next!
BONUS SNACK
There is a loud, vocal contingent of this toxic fandom whose entire personality revolves around telling you why you should hate Disney Star Wars. There are others out there with completely valid criticisms about the pacing of the series along with the episode runtimes and the Mouse’s insistence on 8-episode shows. I, as is (probably) abundantly clear, do not fall into either of those groups. You can call me a shill all you want, but you’re telling me that I got to watch a new show set during The High Republic, a phase of storytelling I’ve been for years calling the most exciting thing Star Wars has ever done, and it’s going to be made by the creator of Russian Doll? And it’s going to feature the likes of Lee Jung-jae, Jodie Turner Smith, Amandla Stenberg, Daphne Keen, Charlie Barnett, and Manny Jacinto? I was all the way in before I ever pressed play, but my god, that was a satisfying freaking show. And I am begging the universe to give me another season of this. And for them to let it be 12 episodes like Andor, dammit, so that plot lines can be less rushed.