Escape Artists

Escape Pod => About Escape Pod => Topic started by: eytanz on January 03, 2011, 12:24:51 AM

Title: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: eytanz on January 03, 2011, 12:24:51 AM
So, it somehow turned to 2011, which means we have outlived not one, but two space odysseys. But even as we live in the future, we must look back to the past. In this case, it means we get to decide which were the best episodes that ran in Escape Pod in 2010.

Below is a list of the main episodes that ran in 2010.  Nominate your favorite 3 and then we'll put up a poll.  Also feel free to express your reasons for why you liked those episodes. I'm not going to specify a specific deadline; I'll just wait for discussion and nominations to die out. Please remember The Rules (http://forum.escapeartists.net/index.php?topic=3289.0) and that it is all in the spirit of Fun!

Thanks to Kibitzer for assembling the list, and to Wilson Fowlie for linkifying it :)

Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Ocicat on January 03, 2011, 04:21:00 AM
Uh...

How about EP261, 265, and 270?  Not that I'm nominating them, I just noticed they were missing.  Though they're all pretty good, especially EP265: We are Ted Tuscadero for President
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Wilson Fowlie on January 03, 2011, 06:26:11 AM
I hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes here, but I thought it might be handy for people to be able to click through to stories they may not remember well.  I added the stories that Ocicat mentioned and also Episode 273, since it was dated December 30.  Also, I put the Hugo nominees in boldface.


Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Bdoomed on January 03, 2011, 06:50:46 AM
Quote from: Wilson Fowlie on January 03, 2011, 06:26:11 AM
Also, I put the Hugo nominees in boldface.

Oh?  Do I smell leading?  :D
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: eytanz on January 03, 2011, 08:10:15 AM
See, that what happens when I do stuff in hurry. Thanks for noting the missing episodes and thanks for Wilson for the work in making the links, which I'm promptly going to steal and cut&paste into my original post.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Scattercat on January 03, 2011, 02:56:06 PM
1) Spar
This story remains one of the most powerful and difficult pieces I've ever read.  Hard to read, but rewarding; practically defines what I think of as a "good story."

2) Roadside Rescue
More alien sex, but this time from an oddball, offbeat angle of approach that appealed to me and made it stick in my head for a lot longer than it might have otherwise.  A fascinating look at what it really means to interact with something truly alien.

3) The Speed of Dreams
A haunting emotional sucker-punch.  Just ouch.



Honorable Mentions
Union Dues - The Threnody of Johnny Toruko - One of the more standalone UD stories, and probably one of my favorites out of the series.  It just wasn't quite smooth enough for me to really feel that it in itself represented the best of EP this year.

I'm Alive, I Love You, I'll See You in Reno - A refrain can be a powerful tool to assist in recall and form an emotional connection.  I enjoyed this story, even if I'd seen all the pieces before.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Wilson Fowlie on January 03, 2011, 11:45:03 PM
Quote from: Bdoomed on January 03, 2011, 06:50:46 AM
Quote from: Wilson Fowlie on January 03, 2011, 06:26:11 AM
Also, I put the Hugo nominees in boldface.
Oh?  Do I smell leading?  :D

Not intentional...
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Anarkey on January 04, 2011, 01:23:44 AM
My favorite three this year are surprisingly easy to pick out, so I'll chip in, for once.

They were: ep 253 Eugene, ep 260 The Speed of Dreams, and ep 268 Advection.  I didn't hear 273 yet, but I'm not expecting it to knock any of these three out of the top three.  If it happens to blow me away, I'll return and edit accordingly.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: kibitzer on January 04, 2011, 02:23:58 AM
Quote from: Ocicat on January 03, 2011, 04:21:00 AM
Uh...

How about EP261, 265, and 270?  Not that I'm nominating them, I just noticed they were missing.  Though they're all pretty good, especially EP265: We are Ted Tuscadero for President

Sorry folks, my bad. I was lifting the titles from the monthly archive links (e.g. http://escapepod.org/2010/07) and for some reason these three don't show up. Next time I'll take more care.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: kibitzer on January 04, 2011, 02:26:24 AM
My votes:
EP253: Eugene
EP260: The Speed of Dreams
EP269: Élan Vital
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Ocicat on January 04, 2011, 03:06:48 AM
I'll go with:

EP248: Spar
EP251: Unexpected Outcomes
EP262: Cruciger
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Talia on January 04, 2011, 04:42:28 AM
My choices:

EP242: The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake.

I loved this one unabashedly. I had a very strong reaction to it, which was at least partially due to Mr. Cmar's phenomenal reading. My reaction took two very different forms - lots of LOLing for the piece's utter ridiculousness, and the tragedy of the ending was like a punch to the stomach. I will remember this story for a long, long time, if not forever.

EP253: Eugene

Great story really captured the doggie personality very well.

EP247: Bridesicle

I first heard this on StarShipSofa, and had a very strong emotional reaction to it. It just moved me profoundly, right down to the bit of hope at the very end.


Honorable mention: EP248: Spar

This lost out to the others because I didn't have any particular emotional reaction to it. However, I thought it was a fascinating story on an intellectual level, and I enjoyed the conversation it sparked.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Boggled Coriander on January 04, 2011, 10:47:41 AM
EP 247: Bridesicle
EP 250: Eros, Philia, Agape
EP 262: Cruciger

Honorables: The Last McDougal's, God of the Lower Level
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Listener on January 04, 2011, 02:36:40 PM
    * EP234: The Secret Protocols of the Elders of Zion
    * EP239: A Programmatic Approach to Perfect Happiness
    * EP260: The Speed of Dreams
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: FireTurtle on January 04, 2011, 04:34:21 PM
EP 242: The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake: Narration probably put this one over the top for me
EP 253: Eugene
EP 269: Elan Vital. Its rare forme to encounter comething thathas such a depth of humanity in a science fiction setting.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Unblinking on January 04, 2011, 06:11:38 PM
Bridesicle
Cruciger
We are Ted Tuscadero for President
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Swamp on January 04, 2011, 06:46:55 PM
My top picks:

1. EP237: Roadside Rescue by Pat Cadigan
2. EP242: The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake by Robert T. Jeschonek
3. EP247: Bridesicle by Will McIntosh

My other favorites:

4.  EP233: Union Dues – The Threnody of Johnny Toruko by Jeffrey R. DeRego
5.  EP239: A Programmatic Approach to Perfect Happiness by Tim Pratt
6.  EP240: The Last McDougal's by David D. Levine
7.  EP253: Eugene by Jacob Sager Weinstein
8.  EP271: God Of The Lower Level by Charles M. Saplak
9.  EP269: Élan Vital by K. Tempest Bradford
10. EP266: Kachikachi Yama by Michael Underwood
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Wilson Fowlie on January 04, 2011, 07:36:51 PM
My top 3:
  EP253: Eugene
  EP247: Bridesicle
  EP266: Kachikachi Yama

I also liked:
  EP252: Billion-Dollar View
  EP241: Thargus and Brian

As you can see, I lean toward the lighter, happier side of the fiction spectrum.  :)
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Rain on January 10, 2011, 09:19:20 PM
I base my picks on which episodes i liked enough to keep. in 2010 that was

EP238: Wind From a Dying Star
EP273: Dead’s End to Middleton
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: BlueLu on January 18, 2011, 12:31:02 AM
1) 249: Little M@tch Girl
2) 247: Bridesicle
3) 256: The Mermaids Singing Each to Each

Spar was way up there too, though.


Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: kibitzer on January 18, 2011, 02:05:09 AM
Quite a wide selection here. Keep 'em coming!
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Devoted135 on January 18, 2011, 03:39:30 PM
This is hard, but I'm going with:

EP233: Union Dues - The Threnody of Johnny Toruko (This was my initiation into the Union Dues series, and while I could tell there was a lot of history I didn't know, that was not a drawback for the story as a whole)

EP253: Eugene (One of the handful of episodes for which I can really say "I Loved it!! The whole thing!!")

EP260: The Speed of Dreams (I enjoyed the "see, it's fiction...about science!" aspect, and was actually ok with having an ambiguous ending. And of course Mur's reading was spot on as usual.)
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: CryptoMe on January 19, 2011, 06:19:15 AM
Would it be possible to do this in poll form? So that we could see which ones are getting the most love?
I guess I got hooked on that kind of thing during the Flash Fiction contests  :D

Oh, and my top favourites are (in broadcast order):
  EP253: Eugene
  EP260: The Speed of Dreams
  EP271: God Of The Lower Level

With honourable mention for: EP251: Unexpected Outcomes
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Swamp on January 19, 2011, 08:51:44 AM
Quote from: CryptoMe on January 19, 2011, 06:19:15 AM
Would it be possible to do this in poll form? So that we could see which ones are getting the most love?
I guess I got hooked on that kind of thing during the Flash Fiction contests  :D

This is just the nomination round.  Hold tight.  I think the poll is coming soon.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Umbrageofsnow on January 19, 2011, 10:49:28 PM
Quote from: Swamp on January 19, 2011, 08:51:44 AM
Quote from: CryptoMe on January 19, 2011, 06:19:15 AM
Would it be possible to do this in poll form? So that we could see which ones are getting the most love?
I guess I got hooked on that kind of thing during the Flash Fiction contests  :D

This is just the nomination round.  Hold tight.  I think the poll is coming soon.

Crap!  How soon do you think?  I still haven't caught up on all the podcasts quite yet, should I just post my favorites of those i've listened to, or do I have until tomorrow or the next day?

I was assuming this went until the end of the month, since last year the final polls went up in early February.

EDIT: Huzzah, a flurry of reading, and all votes cast.  See below.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: eytanz on January 19, 2011, 10:53:08 PM
I didn't decide on a date, but I think the nominations will probably run to the end of January.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Umbrageofsnow on January 23, 2011, 03:57:36 PM
Nominations
1: #251 Unexpected Outcomes (http://escapepod.org/2010/07/29/ep251-unexpected-outcomes/) by Tim Pratt
2: #268 Advection (http://escapepod.org/2010/11/25/advection/) by Genevieve Valentine
3: #248 Spar (http://escapepod.org/2010/07/08/ep248-spar/) by Kij Johnson

Runners Up
Wind From a Dying Star
Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake
We are Ted Tuscadero for President
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: asgardian on February 01, 2011, 07:09:29 AM
Hope I'm not too late here.  It's a tough choice, but for me...

1) EP 253: Eugene (I like it so much I shared it around)
2) EP 242: The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake
3) EP 247: Bridesicle

What surprised me here was that Tim Pratt didn't make any of my top three!
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: tinygaia on February 01, 2011, 02:53:37 PM
Just found this, so if I'm too late, ignore me.

Not actually my TOP three, but three that were not otherwise nominated (though they might have made someone else's honorable mentions):
246: Bride of Frankenstein
252: Billion Dollar View
255: Variations on a Theme
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: eytanz on February 01, 2011, 03:16:34 PM
I was planning on closing the nominations today and starting the poll, but since there seems to be a last minute spur of activity, I'm going to extend the deadline until such a time on Thursday, February 3, when I have a few free moments to set the poll up. So you have two more days (ish) to nominate 2010 stories.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: Balu on February 03, 2011, 12:24:19 AM
OK, so at the moment I'd go with:

242, The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake
241, Thargas and Brian
265, We are Ted Tuscadero for President

That said, there seem to be a few I haven't heard yet. Glad I found them here so I didn't miss 'em completely.
Title: Re: Best Escape Pod of 2010 Nominations
Post by: eytanz on February 03, 2011, 04:59:23 PM
And nominations are now closed. 11 stories got 2 or more votes, and those stories will be up to a poll in a few minutes. Thanks all for nominating!