Author Topic: My Favorite Episodes aka Another "Best of" Thread  (Read 6753 times)

Marlboro

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on: December 29, 2019, 01:35:05 PM
As of right now I've listened to all 682 episodes of Pseudopod, so I thought I'd make a list of some of my favorites. Purely subjective opinions so take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

Note: I'm not into body horror or episodes with a lot of erotica. If that's what you like you probably won't find my list very useful. FWIW, if I were to pick a favorite body horror episode I'd probably go with episode 343: Magdala Amygdala. If I were to pick a favorite episode with a strong emphasis on sex I'd probably go with episode 20 What You Wish For.



First I'm going to make a list of notable episodes in chronological order. This list will contain the great, the very good, and some episodes that may have some flaws but are entertaining enough that they overcome them.

After that I will post a second list containing my top 25 episodes.



Chronological List of My Favorite Pseudopod Episodes:

1-100

0009 Counting From Ten
0014 Virginia Woods
0026 Flat Diane
0036 Liberation
0044 Stockholm Syndrome
0062 Faith in Sips and Bites
0073 Blood, Gridlock and PEZ
0085 Living in Sepia
0099 Photo Finish

101-200

0119 Pran's Confession
0129 Bottle Babies
0145 Infestation
0164 Linda's Appointment
0152 Hometown Horrible
0158 Regulars
0155 The Worm That Gnaws

201-300

0250 The Voice in the Night
0262 Black Hill
0267 Mentor
0287 Final Girl Theory


301-400

0307 That Ol Dagon Dark
0349 Apotropaics
0363 The Footsteps Invisible
0366 To Build A Fire
0370 Mary
0381 Scarred

401-500

0428 When It Ends He Catches Her
0433 20 Simple Steps To Ventriloquism
0451 The New Arrival
0475 The Toad Witch

501-600

0521 The Moraine
0531 Gleed
0550 Again
0547 Escape to Thin Mountain
0554 A Doll Full of Nails
0592 Free Balloons For All Good Children
0600 The Graveyard Rats


601-700

0612 Mofongo Knows
0617 The Culvert
0625 These Doth The Lord Hate
0631 The Last Sailing of the Henry Charles Morgan in Six Pieces of Scrimshaw (1841)
0640 What Throat
0651 The Coven of Dead Girls
0662 Indian Giver
0674 Dust
0675 The New Mother
0684 The Most Dangerous Game
0700 Hop Frog


700-779 (My final listen)

725 The Lonesome Place
« Last Edit: October 16, 2021, 05:18:30 PM by Marlboro »



Marlboro

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Reply #1 on: December 29, 2019, 01:37:02 PM
My Top 25 All-time Favorite Episodes:

0433 20 Simple Steps To Ventriloquism
0531 Gleed
0631 The Last Sailing of the Henry Charles Morgan in Six Pieces of Scrimshaw (1841)
0287 Final Girl Theory
0428 When It Ends He Catches Her
0349 Apotropaics
0475 The Toad Witch
0521 The Moraine
0592 Free Balloons For All Good Children
0155 The Worm That Gnaws
0370 Mary
0451 The New Arrival
0662 Indian Giver
0099 Photo Finish   
0550 Again
0617 The Culvert
0026 Flat Diane
0381 Scarred
0073 Blood, Gridlock and PEZ
0363 The Footsteps Invisible
0119 Pran's Confession
0554 A Doll Full of Nails
0129 Bottle Babies
0675 The New Mother
0625 These Doth The Lord Hate


Episode 267 "Mentor" is a very well done episode, but it isn't on my top 25 list. Why? I can't say. It's well written, has good narration and is very disturbing without resorting to gratuitous blood, gore, or rape. I kind of feel guilty for not including it because it really is good.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2019, 07:39:46 PM by Marlboro »



Marlboro

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Reply #2 on: December 29, 2019, 01:38:07 PM
My Top Five Flash Fiction Pseudopod Stories:

EP 367 "The Violin Family"
EP 563 "The Corpse Child"
EP 601 "Suicide Vending Machine"
EP 624 "10 Things I Didn't Do"
EP 538 "Bring the Moon to Me"



Marlboro

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Reply #3 on: December 29, 2019, 01:59:15 PM

A Tip of the Hat to Some of My Favorite Narrators:


Ian Stuart
Cayenne Chris Conroy
Ron Jon
Dagny Paul
Hollis Monroe
Tina Connolly
Steve Anderson

All of the narrators here do great work, but I wanted to single out a few of my favorites. These folks have the magical ability to to turn even the stories that I don't really care for into an entertaining half-hour. I'm sure I'll forget some, so apologies in advance.





Marlboro

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Reply #4 on: December 29, 2019, 03:31:30 PM
Goood Episodes That Are Flawed (aka I'm a Dummy and I Probably Missed Something)


These are episodes that I thought had an interesting premise, or some cool aspects, but didn't quite live up to their potential. I'm not listing them to say they are bad; I'm actually hoping someone can convince me I'm wrong. I'll be the first to admit that I frequently miss important things in a story.



0047 Akropolis

I loved the ending. My chief complaint is that the main character's quest seemed like a fait accompli from the very start. Now that might make the twist more effective, but it also makes the first 95% of the story feel like an exercise in inevitability.


0262 Black Hill

A good episode that manages to add a new twist to an old theme. My only complaint is that I do not understand the motivation of the owner of the oil derrick at all.

0164 Lindas Appointment

Very creepy ending. This is one that I enjoy, but I can't help but nitpick it. I know I shouldn't over think it, but I can't help but ask "Why won't restraints work? How could friends and neighbors not notice Linda's mutilation? Just how the heck was she able to drive home the last time?"



0117 Deep Red

 I love "My God, what have I done?!" endings, but there are a lot of coincidences needed to get us there in this one. Still fun though.


0154 Raising Eddie

Excellent narration. The story is solid, but I wish we had another ten minutes of story between the resurrection scene and the story's climax.


0483 Jenny (A Fairytale)

A very clever premise, but the ID of Jenny's victim seems a little too obvious. Maybe it would have been effective to have a scene or two from the pedophile's POV? I do like how this one ends.

0134 Bait

I like the setting, and I love the premise. I wish we had more flashback scenes with the wife; make me feel something when her fate is revealed. I don't think the ice cutter and his dog added much. I also wish the boy had made his catch by the story's end. Still, this is a story with a lot of potential, imo.

0175 Benefits

Really neat idea for a sci-fi horror story. I think it would have worked better without humorous tone.

0191 Acceptable Losses

I love, love, love, the idea of a corpulent fortune telling "god" living inside of a volcano. I also like the wartime setting. However, I can't help but ask "Why don't they just feed it Japanese soldiers?" Maybe I'm over thinking things again.

0320 The Man With The Broken Soul
 
I really like the idea of a dark take on Multiplicity. I also found the ending satisfying. I just wish the story was longer to gave us more characterization and maybe flesh things out a bit.


0323: The Trinket

An entertaining story that I thought I had a handle on, until I read the comments here on the forums. Now I'm unsure what the motivations of all three of the main characters were.

0600 The Graveyard Rats

A classic story that I first read many many years ago. One thing has always bothered me about it: I don't buy the main character climbing into the tunnel to begin with. I know, I know - he's a grave robber - it's what he does. But he knew about the rats. There was no way he could think this would end well for him.  I think maybe I would have liked the story better if the main character had a different motivation. Sure, you might lose the "just deserts" ending, but the story may have been even more horrifying if he didn't have it coming to him.


I'd like to reiterate that I think all of these stories are fun and well worth a listen. I just think that with a little tweaking and they would have been even better. I'm no expert though.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2019, 05:23:47 PM by Marlboro »



Marlboro

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Reply #5 on: October 16, 2021, 05:46:10 PM
Updating my list from 676 to the current episode 779. I added three episodes:

"The Most Dangerous Game" "Hop Frog" "The Lonesome Place"





And here is where I say goodbye. I'm not enjoying the escape artist's stories much anymore. It's been a very long time since I heard a story that I really loved and the hit to miss ratio has reached a level that it just isn't worth my time to carry on. I have terrible taste in just about everything so don't worry about the quality of your programming. ;)

I do have one criticism though: I think there is too much political stuff in the intros and outros. Everyone has their right to their opinions and the right to express them however they so choose, but I visit the EA site for good stories and not politics. There are innumerable political sites out there if that is what I'm looking for. The great pains taken to find political angles for nearly every story posted whether they have any real political message or not is also an unfortunate choice. Sometimes a werewolf story is just a werewolf story.  The easiest solution, and one that I often availed myself of, is to just skip those parts of the episode. The thing is that over the last several months, as I've found fewer stories here that I like, I have started to ask myself "Was this the best story available, or was this story chosen as an excuse to bring up political topic _____?"

Now that I've got that little complaint out of the way... adios Languorous Lass, Bdoomed, Fenrix and anybody else that my old brain can't recall at the moment - I've enjoyed hanging out with you guys and talking horror stories! Take care.



Sgarre1

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Reply #6 on: October 17, 2021, 06:54:11 PM
Not sure if you'll see this  but thanks for all the time put in on our product.

To make the point, Alasdair is the host, not the editor/s and I've never met him in real life. We choose to buy the best stories that we think will offer the most variety for the audience while still being good listens. We have to turn down quite a bit. No story is ever chosen with consideration of the hosting segment - and choosing to not listen to the frame seems the right decision if you don't like it (but if you're not listening to it - how do you know it's political? And how can the stories have been chosen for political hosting if you don't know what those contain?) . Outside of that, I can't really speak to the complaint as I can only think of a few episodes I'd consider overtly political within the last few years (actually, outside of "The Great American Nightmare," I can't think of ANY).

But anyway, thanks for all the thought and energy. Glad we could help you make your way through this world for a time!