Escape Artists

Escape Pod => Episode Comments => Topic started by: Russell Nash on January 11, 2008, 08:54:37 AM

Title: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Russell Nash on January 11, 2008, 08:54:37 AM
EP140: Astromonkeys! (http://escapepod.org/2008/01/11/ep140-astromonkeys/)

By Tony Frazier (http://fraziersbrain.blogspot.com/).
Read by Norm Sherman (of The Drabblecast (http://drabblecast.org/)).
First appeared in Jim Baen’s Universe (http://baens-universe.com/articles/Astromonkeys), June 2006.

“All right, so I’m chasing these things down the street, and there’s more showing up all the time, so now there’s like ten of them. I have no idea how I’m supposed to wrangle all these space monkeys, and right about then is when this dude comes swooping down out of the sky, wearing this blue costume with a big yellow star on his chest.”

“Another hero,” Jill says.

“Guy named Astro,” I say. “I’d run into him a few times before, back when GoDS 1.0 was still together. He would be fighting this monster - that was his thing, fighting these random space monsters - and we’d show up to help out. I thought he was okay, but the other guys didn’t like him much.”

“Why not?” Jill asks.

“Well, he was kind of a dork. No offense,” I say, turning to Dave. Dave waves it off.


Rated PG. Contains some profanity, some scatology, and a lot of silly superhero violence.


Referenced Sites:
John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (http://writertopia.com/awards/campbell)
Mur Lafferty (http://www.murlafferty.com/)


(http://escapepod.org/wp-images/podcast-mini4.gif)
Listen to this week’s Escape Pod! (http://media.libsyn.com/media/escapepod/EP140_Astromonkeys.mp3)
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Stoffern on January 11, 2008, 02:41:36 PM
Now this was nice.

After a period with stories that range from "Interesting, but emotionaly neutral" to "About as cheerful as a truckload of sand", nothing cheers you up like green imaginary space monkeys.

I mean no disrespect to stories like Acephalous Dreams but...yeah...this was nice too.

Stoffern
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: eytanz on January 11, 2008, 02:56:10 PM
A fun story. I'm a bit unsure what I feel about the reading - it was very good from a technique point of view, but I wasn't sure it was exactly right emotionally - it sounded too into the story telling; a bit more how I'd expect Dave to be telling the tale rather than Digger. Digger says at several points he does not particularly want to tell the story. I don't know if that's supposed to be taken at face value, but the narrator didn't sound like he's even pretending to be disinterested.

Still, a relatively minor nitpick for a fun and not particularly serious story. Oh, and the small twist at the end took me by total surprise, which was nice.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: DKT on January 11, 2008, 04:53:58 PM
I haven't heard the episode yet, but WOO-HOO!!! NORM SHERMAN!!!

Sweet.  ;D
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Mr. Tweedy on January 11, 2008, 10:04:06 PM
Woo hoo!  Two Drabblecasts in one week!  This is just the sort of story that would be on Drabblecast, albeit about twice as long as a normal DC story.  As a reader, Norm Sherman créme de la créme.

That said, the story was fun and earned a few chuckles, but the person who projects physical manifestations of their hopes and fears onto the external world is so cliché.  The mentally-projected monster that can only be defeated by a character facing his/her inner demons had been used about a billion times in absolutely everything since it was first made popular in Forbidden Planet, although I'd bet it wasn't new then.

Digger is cool.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Darwinist on January 12, 2008, 01:31:58 AM

Great stuff!  I liked everything about this story.  The reader was great.  The dialogue and slang made it feel like a buddy was telling me a yarn over a couple of cold ones.  The twist at the end was neat.   Freaking flying green monkeys propelled by flames coming out their butts?!  How can you beat that?  LOVED IT!  Hells yeah!
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Czhorat on January 12, 2008, 04:16:15 PM
I have to confess that I was a bit nervous at the start of this one. One way in which Mr Eley's taste diverges from mine is that he likes superhero stories much more than I do. That being said, and while I agree with Mr. Tweedy that the central premise isn't that fresh, I found this to be great fun. Digger has a very nice voice, there was some very nice humor that didn't distract from a feeling of tension, and the twist ending while a tiny bit predictable did work for me. I especially liked Astro's bit of cockiness masking his insecurity. All in all one of the better superhero stories I've read in a while.

Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: DarkKnightJRK on January 13, 2008, 01:06:41 AM
That was just hilarious. Monkeys and superheroes, I was in wierdo geek heaven. I espicially loved Digger's character and how he describes Astro. "Watch this shit!" :D

The only problem was the very end. Maybe I didn't quite get it, but I didn't really like having the kid never coming out of the coma. Kinda felt off in what's a fun superhero story.

Other then that, it was great. 8)
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: eytanz on January 13, 2008, 01:10:45 AM
That was just hilarious. Monkeys and superheroes, I was in wierdo geek heaven. I espicially loved Digger's character and how he describes Astro. "Watch this shit!" :D

The only problem was the very end. Maybe I didn't quite get it, but I didn't really like having the kid never coming out of the coma. Kinda felt off in what's a fun superhero story.

I thought that for a while, and then realized that since the kid obviously learnt to control his mental projections, he could live a proper life (or even better - a proper life with superpowers) while his body is technically still in a coma.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Biscuit on January 13, 2008, 09:57:33 PM
I thought that for a while, and then realized that since the kid obviously learnt to control his mental projections, he could live a proper life (or even better - a proper life with superpowers) while his body is technically still in a coma.

Ohh, just like Tad Williams Otherland series :D
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: the_wombat on January 14, 2008, 12:39:31 AM
First Off, Hilarious story, and touching too. I really liked all the movie and culture references, Zulu, Monkey's Paw, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I really felt that these were brilliant clues into Digger's character, like he's not a superhero out of some higher sense of obligation or morality, but that he just wants to be "really cool". Thumbs Up!
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: deflective on January 14, 2008, 01:49:07 AM
so much fun.

this reminds me a lot of the incredibles both for the enjoyment and the family superhero theme. a hero is someone who stays and does the right thing, whatever it happens to be.

a good story for mr. Sherman, he does good superhero.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Rain on January 14, 2008, 11:36:57 AM
Wow i am surprised i am in the minority here, i thought the idea in itself was ok but it came off painfully unfunny, maybe the reader had something to do with it but it seems to me that the author just tried too hard to be funny and not succeding..
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: HokieGeek on January 14, 2008, 12:53:49 PM
Only escapepod puts together a great story like this with an amazing talent like Norm Sherman (LOVE the drabblecast). This stuff is pure gold.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Jack_Frost_esq on January 14, 2008, 01:12:19 PM
How can "Grean monkeys" be any but fun.
Fun Story.
Great story telling.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: wookieedaddiee on January 14, 2008, 02:26:09 PM
Loved the monkeys - made me laugh out loud on the bus this morning.

Ahhhh - Tommys.  I'd forgotten how gloriously bad their burgers are.  That little bit of realism made it that much better.

Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Swamp on January 14, 2008, 05:07:03 PM
Now that was fun!  A great change of pace.  All hail the variety of Escape Pod!
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: DKT on January 14, 2008, 05:09:02 PM
I had a blast listening to this one.  Green monkeys, superheroes, and Tommy's chili burgers.  What more could I ask for?  The characters were a hoot and the set-up worked really well for me.  (Also, loved the little piano effect when we dropped back to telling the story/flashback -- not only was it a great audio cue, it continued to set the tone of the story.)  Did anybody else get a Hellboy vibe off of Astro?  The "watch this shit" tag was perfect and reminded me of "Aw, crap."  Great story Tom Frazier and a fantastic reading by Norm.  I'd definitely be down for more stories about Digger.

Now, I'm left wanting some Tommy's...
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Listener on January 15, 2008, 01:30:55 PM
Amazingly, I did not see the twist coming at the end.  I saw that Dave = Astroboy "twist", but not that Dave was still in a coma.  Good storytelling there.

As annoying as I think "let me tell you this story" stories can be, I think they lend themselves really well to EP and PP (and PC, I'm sure) because the narrator can tell the story in a consistent voice, without needing to play the narrator as well as the MC.  Norm did an excellent job staying in voice and playing some of the incredulity (as was noted, "watch this shit").  However, I think the chosen voice might have worked better for a villain than a hero; he sounded way too sinister at times.  However, I would definitely be open to hearing more Norm Sherman on EP/PP/PC.

I think, in terms of storytelling as a whole, toward the end the author relied too much on comparisons to other films/stories that the reader may not have seen (I have never seen North by Northwest, though I have seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off).  A similar problem cropped up in the "Night Watch" series of books -- the author referred too often to metal/rock song lyrics.  I understand this is part of the Digger character, but I think it could've been done better.  Also, a nitpicky thing, but at one point either the author or the reader turned an "asks" to "asked" and pulled me out of the present-tense flow of the story.

The imagery was superb -- the burger, the monkeys, the butt-flaming, the leaf in the burger at the end, and the incidental way Digger refers to his lasers, not trying to explain what they are or what they do, just noting that they exist.  Jill was a good foil for Digger as he told his story.

I agree with Steve in that there's been less humor around -- even in the fanfic and original-fic-by-friends that I read, and in some of my own fic, I've noticed a trend toward less-than-humorous stuff.  I didn't find this story really funny at first, just interesting, but as we learned more about the monkeys and the characters, I found myself laughing along in places.

Of course, my own perception of less humor around might be in that I just finished "I Am Charlotte Simmons", which gets really depressing toward the end, with a very short payoff back to "normalcy".

Overall, very pleased with Astromonkeys.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Yossarian's grandson on January 15, 2008, 04:33:57 PM
Wow. Another minory view here, it seems. I thought the story started out very promising and funny indeed (jet propelled green monkeys from outer space, who doesn't love them). It had a cool narrator, a nice cynical view of the superhero community ('He was a bit of a dork') and the dynamic structure of a story-within-a-story. Up to about the halfway point, I felt like I was in for a very funny punchline.

And then it all fell flat. To me, the second half of the story had quite a different feel. Not nearly as funny. By the time the twist came around, I just didn't care, I felt a bit let down. And it wasn't the reading, I thought that was excellent.

In Dutch I would say: 'Blijgemaakt met een dooie mus' (which roughly translates as: I had high expectations, only to be disappointed)...
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: gelee on January 15, 2008, 05:32:37 PM
Fan.  Friggin.  Tastic.
Big kudos to Norm.  If you liked this story, but don't listen to the Drabblecast, you should.  Norm delivers great reads like this every week.
The story was hilarious.  How can you not laugh at the image of green space monkeys propelled through the air by arse-flames?
I loved the way Digger was potrayed:  a little full of himself, maybe not so bright, but a decent guy.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Biscuit on January 15, 2008, 08:58:42 PM
[Wayne]Sheeyah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt![/Wayne]

Sorry, had that line going through my head when the words "green monkey arse flames" started bouncing around.

I agree that the story started out great, but the change in gears was way too sentimental.

However, Norm's delivery was superb. Just utter class. Something to aspire to.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Roney on January 15, 2008, 10:58:18 PM
I was looking forward to a change of pace after the recent short run of less fun (though excellent) stories, but this one didn't really satisfy.

I thought Digger's voice was really good (after a slightly forced beginning) and his character was one I'd like to hear more stories about.  Unfortunately it sounded to me more like the result of a creative writing exercise than something that actually grew together organically: "write a tall tale about a superhero, a kid in a coma and a space monkey, but make the narrator the most interesting thing about it".

By the end I was hoping for it to be catapulted from "meh" to great by a really bad punchline.  The author had invested enough time in building the emotional involvement that a shaggy dog ending would have been unexpected enough to work, but on their own I didn't feel that either the emotion or the humour had been built into something that could carry the story.  At least a gut-wrenching pun would have been a pay-off for the time spent listening.  (Yes, this goes against the most important wisdom (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=450.0) accumulated during last year's flash fiction contest (http://forum.escapeartists.info/index.php?topic=494.0).)
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: qwints on January 16, 2008, 01:31:54 AM
I agree with the "minority" viewpoint. It was more fun than funny.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: stePH on January 16, 2008, 01:39:02 AM
Wouldn't say that I strongly enjoyed this story, though it was interesting enough to keep me listening.

A note for Mr. Eley on the afterword, though: It could be just as scary, if not more so, to give a child the power to shape reality as to give it to an adult.  As a rule, children have poor impulse control and aren't too good at thinking about consequences. 

Or to put it another way, somebody's forgotten (or never seen) a certain episode of Twilight Zone.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: swdragoon on January 16, 2008, 02:36:42 AM
I loved this story. The characters were real the world was breathing. And the story was fun.

Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: ajames on January 17, 2008, 12:14:10 AM
Wow, this one TOTALLY exceeded my expectations.  But, I have to admit, I've never had lower expectations for an escapepod story.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: DKT on January 17, 2008, 12:17:59 AM
Wow, this one TOTALLY exceeded my expectations.  But, I have to admit, I've never had lower expectations for an escapepod story.

Why?  Because of the title?
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: ajames on January 17, 2008, 03:32:31 AM
Wow, this one TOTALLY exceeded my expectations.  But, I have to admit, I've never had lower expectations for an escapepod story.

Why?  Because of the title?

There was the title, and the excerpt just rubbed me the wrong way.  The narration was present tense, which can be done well but often isn't, there was the very casual style, with the narrator telling a story to his friend, which is difficult to sustain well for very long, and the naming of the group of superheroes like they were a software version, and a few other things like that, all in one little excerpt.  So I was prepared not to like this very much.  But I can see now why many people raved about this.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Lagbert on January 17, 2008, 04:19:25 AM
A note for Mr. Eley on the afterword, though: It could be just as scary, if not more so, to give a child the power to shape reality as to give it to an adult.  As a rule, children have poor impulse control and aren't too good at thinking about consequences. 

Or to put it another way, somebody's forgotten (or never seen) a certain episode of Twilight Zone.

I'm going to second this comment.  You don't even have to look further than the Escape Pod archives to find a scary example of a single person's ability to bring fantasy to life - If you ask me Save Me Plz is disturbing and a good reason no individual should be able to bend reality.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Jhite on January 17, 2008, 02:19:50 PM
This Story didn't do a lot for me.  I thought the humor was not up to the level that Steve hyped it to be at the beginning.  It was not a bad story and I know from experience that first person is very hard to pull off and sound credible.  So I think the writing was over all pretty good.  I just didn't care much for the story.

Two thoughts on the the closing comments by Steve.  First, I did like that the quote you (Steve) used that was about what a superhero should be.  Paraphrasing here as it is already gone from my iPod.  A superhero is the guy in tights that saves the person in need. Second, there was a comment about giving children the keys to the reality and letting them take it out for a spin.  This is a very popular theme in literature, that I personally have been exploring for a long time.  If you want to see one of the best examples of it, you have to look no further than The Lord of the Rings.  The Elves, going away are the old, the Wizards are the middle aged and the children are the Hobbits, a young race so young they are not recorded in the lore of the trees.  I believe, and I again I am paraphrasing here, that you (Steve) said something to the effect of give the power to the adults and they would screw it up.  "You have to understand Frodo I would take the ring in order to do good, but through me..."  and of course "...Instead of a dark lord you would you would have a queen..."  And I would have to agree with it, adults although we may be more wise than our children, most the time can't see through our own wisdom to the simple truths.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: ajames on January 18, 2008, 01:54:02 AM
Second, there was a comment about giving children the keys to the reality and letting them take it out for a spin.  This is a very popular theme in literature, that I personally have been exploring for a long time.  If you want to see one of the best examples of it, you have to look no further than The Lord of the Rings.  The Elves, going away are the old, the Wizards are the middle aged and the children are the Hobbits, a young race so young they are not recorded in the lore of the trees.  I believe, and I again I am paraphrasing here, that you (Steve) said something to the effect of give the power to the adults and they would screw it up.  "You have to understand Frodo I would take the ring in order to do good, but through me..."  and of course "...Instead of a dark lord you would you would have a queen..."  And I would have to agree with it, adults although we may be more wise than our children, most the time can't see through our own wisdom to the simple truths.

I think you are stretching a bit there, Jhite.  After all, Gandalf and Galadriel were wise enough NOT to take the ring, as were Aragorn and Faramir, and Frodo was the ring bearer, given the ring to destroy it, not to wear it and create a new reality.  Also, at least one hobbit was destroyed by the ring, and it would have been a matter of time for the others.

Give ultimate power to shape reality to anyone, and the potential for an ultimate hell is there.  You just get a different kind of hell depending upon who has that power.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Alan on January 18, 2008, 09:40:14 AM
Well, I thought this story was a hoot. Radioactive flying green monkeys have got to be the most inventive metaphor I've ever heard for the demons of depression. I liked how the pace kept swinging forward from each over-the-top episode to the next, and Norm Sherman deserves to be groomed as a regular voice. If Tony Frazier extends his talents into the realm of pirates and ninjas, he may yet be top banana in the superhero comedy genre. I give this story opposable thumbs up.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: FNH on January 20, 2008, 08:57:49 PM
That was a fun story, I really enjoyed it.  I nearly fell off my bike when the monkeys started flaming.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Rain on January 21, 2008, 04:32:06 PM
A note for Mr. Eley on the afterword, though: It could be just as scary, if not more so, to give a child the power to shape reality as to give it to an adult.  As a rule, children have poor impulse control and aren't too good at thinking about consequences. 

Or to put it another way, somebody's forgotten (or never seen) a certain episode of Twilight Zone.
If you ask me Save Me Plz is disturbing and a good reason no individual should be able to bend reality.

I agree, Save Me Plz was really creepy and more like a Pseudopod story
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Thaurismunths on January 23, 2008, 02:05:40 AM
Shwankie and I listened to this last week really didn't enjoy it. This is one of very few EPs I've had to stop part way through. I did finish the story later with high hopes for a satisfying resolution and was disappointed.
The story itself was ok (what's not to love about green space monkeys and "digger beams?") but we just couldn't get past the reading. Mr.  Sherman has an amazing superhero voice, no doubt about it, but it was as though he hadn't read the story before he recorded it. The emotion and inflection of the characters were inconsistent and sometimes changed part way through sentences as though Mr. Sherman weren't sure what the character's intent was. That made it very difficult to listen to, which was a shame because I'm a fan of superhero shenanigans.
Shwankie also notes that the story is strongly reminiscent of an episode of Buffy, which she is trying to force me to watch (She keeps chanting 'one of us, one of us').
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Russell Nash on January 23, 2008, 12:24:19 PM
Shwankie and I listened to this last week really didn't enjoy it. This is one of very few EPs I've had to stop part way through. I did finish the story later with high hopes for a satisfying resolution and was disappointed.
The story itself was ok (what's not to love about green space monkeys and "digger beams?") but we just couldn't get past the reading. Mr.  Sherman has an amazing superhero voice, no doubt about it, but it was as though he hadn't read the story before he recorded it. The emotion and inflection of the characters were inconsistent and sometimes changed part way through sentences as though Mr. Sherman weren't sure what the character's intent was. That made it very difficult to listen to, which was a shame because I'm a fan of superhero shenanigans.
Shwankie also notes that the story is strongly reminiscent of an episode of Buffy, which she is trying to force me to watch (She keeps chanting 'one of us, one of us').

Don't let he get you started on Buffy.  It's very addictive.  If you do give in, start from the beginning.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: DDog on January 26, 2008, 09:53:56 PM
I thought this story was great. Listened to it at work (which is in a library no less) and had to keep from busting out laughing multiple times. Did not expect the ending at all, although I should have; too wrapped up in the story.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Strawman on January 28, 2008, 03:44:55 PM
Very unusual "voice". Stories usually have a simpler narrative form, [such as the 1st Person (I), or Third Person (He)]. Usually if the voice is switched from one to another, the original voice is terminated. But with Astromonkeys, when the narrative voices switch, they continue on together. The narrator begins 1st Person, but then tells a story whose characters speak from their own point of view.

Sound Confusing? It confuses me.

Imagine trying to read Astromonkeys, and determining "on-the-fly" what voice to use for each of the four main characters. That may partly explain what makes a line like "you said you didn't want to die with chili on your shirt" funny.

Anyway, this particular aspect of the story has no bearing on the plot, but bears directly on the performance. Who said what how to whom?

It's the language of green space monkeys shooting flames out their butts.
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: CGFxColONeill on January 28, 2008, 04:12:28 PM
So I am kinda new to the escape pod thing ( started with randomly finding nightfall and decided to find some other ones and try them out)
I have listened to about 4 or 5 maybe they are good on the whole some kinda strange some really good

this one had several what the heck moments flying monkeys ( shoot... green space monkeys anyway), and some other moments in there
I was surprised and a little disappointed with the end until I started reading this forum and figured out that davvys father and astro and the davvy from the bar were all the kids imagination

loved the I dont want to die with chili on my shirt and also the watch this lines the narrator was great with the inflection on them etc
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Thaurismunths on January 30, 2008, 04:03:07 AM
So I am kinda new to the escape pod thing ( started with randomly finding nightfall and decided to find some other ones and try them out)
I have listened to about 4 or 5 maybe they are good on the whole some kinda strange some really good

this one had several what the heck moments flying monkeys ( shoot... green space monkeys anyway), and some other moments in there
I was surprised and a little disappointed with the end until I started reading this forum and figured out that davvys father and astro and the davvy from the bar were all the kids imagination

loved the I dont want to die with chili on my shirt and also the watch this lines the narrator was great with the inflection on them etc
Welcome Colonel!
It's really very much worth working your way through the archives. So many of EP's stories are amazing. I especially recommend the Union Dues stories (stories #27, 49, 62, 80, & 128), and L'Alchimista (#38).
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: CGFxColONeill on January 30, 2008, 09:56:31 PM
thank you
how do I go back and find those? I so far have only been able to get back to around 100 or so
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Russell Nash on January 30, 2008, 10:30:57 PM
thank you
how do I go back and find those? I so far have only been able to get back to around 100 or so

The feed only holds somewhat recent episodes.  Steve purges it every once in a while.  To get the back episodes you can go to the main podcast page (http://escapepod.org/) and then manually download the eps. you want or you can get on the archive feed (http://www.escapearchive.com/) and get them as podcasts.  The archive feed is a fan run feed. 

Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: CGFxColONeill on January 31, 2008, 12:46:22 AM
thanks for the tip
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Tango Alpha Delta on February 02, 2008, 05:15:46 AM

Steve, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Norm is a better woman than you are.

;)

Sadly, I had baggage interfering with my enjoyment of this story.  First, Norm's reading style reminded me a lot of a guy I used to know who told long, drawn out stories in a semi-sneery, faux-world-weary tone.  I really hated that guy, so even though Norm did a fine job, I just didn't want to like Digger because of that guy.

I was also distracted because Steve bemoaned the dearth of comedic writing these days... and comedic is what I do best, when I'm not really TRYING to do comedic.  So I spent half my CPU listening, and half day-dreaming about material that just might find its way into Steve's slush pile....
Title: Re: EP140: Astromonkeys!
Post by: Unblinking on September 20, 2010, 07:05:13 PM
This one was fun!  I totally saw the ending coming, but the rest kept me laughing enough that I didn't really have a problem with it.  And yeah, Wayne's World was first and foremost in my mind (not a bad thing).