EP231: Solitary as an Oyster

[Swamp]

EP231: Solitary as an Oyster

by Mur Lafferty.
Read by Alasdair Stuart.

First appeared in Asimov’s, December 2002.

“Who’s there?” the voice asked, rough and unpleasant. Robert and Lydia glanced at each other.

“The Paranormalists, Mr. Scrooge. You called us a couple of hours ago,” Robert said.

“Took you long enough,” the voice said. The door clicked as Scrooge unlocked several locks, and finally it slid open a couple of centimeters. Scrooge peered out, the heavy chain still on the door. Jenny flipped the night vision off her camera to get a clear view of him in the foyer’s dim light. He was much smaller than his voice implied, a diminutive man who was probably a bear in the conference room, but a pussycat when in thin pajamas and a robe.

Well, not a pussycat. Something more like a weasel.

Rated PG. Contains ghostly visitations. Film at 11.

Special Closing Music: “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” by Twisted Sister.


Listen to this week’s Escape Pod!

[Swamp]

Steve snuck this one in on me, but I'm glad to be surprized by a traditional Mur Lafferty Christmas story.  Haven't listened yet, but...

[MacArthurBug]

I'm patient. I really gavfe this  a chance. After all a Mur story read by Al? This'd be squee worthy if only..
Worth it if one can handle the audio quality a little over halfway through all of a sudden the hisses and pops magically go away.  The story itself is pretty darn good, and despite sounding tired, rushed and hiss-poppy Al's reading is spot on.  Whatever affected the sound qualkity on the first 2/3 of the story made it regrettable and I'm adding my voet to re-recording (or editing or whatever) if it's possible. This seemed like a good story.

[Swamp]

I'm patient. I really gave this  a chance. After all a Mur story read by Al? This'd be squee worthy if only..
Worth it if one can handle the audio quality a little over halfway through all of a sudden the hisses and pops magically go away.  The story itself is pretty darn good, and despite sounding tired, rushed and hiss-poppy Al's reading is spot on.  Whatever affected the sound qualkity on the first 2/3 of the story made it regrettable and I'm adding my voet to re-recording (or editing or whatever) if it's possible. This seemed like a good story.

I'm with MacArthurBug.  If you could make it through the sound quality, this a very well written and told story.

When I saw Scrooge was involved, I groaned a bit inside, but the Ghost Hunter angle kept me intrigued long enough to get into the characters, and then I was hooked.  That each of the three characters had their individual encounters with one of the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future; that Scrooge was more of a setting than a character; that there was only one POV character; that the relationships grew to more than just co-workers: all of these things combine to make it a great story.  Is it my favorite Mur EP Christmas story?  I'll have to think about that.  It's close.  Maybe I'll re-listen to the cleaner version. (No, I don't know anything about plans for such.)

[Void Munashii]

  I'm glad I soldiered through the first half of the story instead of turning it off (it was a near thing as I know my wife couldn't understand half of it, and I was able to get just enough to follow the story), as I really liked the crossing over of a Ghost Hunters clone with A Christmas Carol. I was quite happy when the sound suddenly cleared up.

  I really enjoyed this story; I think it may be Mur's best winter story yet, although she could maybe have snuck in a jetpack or two somewhere. 

  for some reason it made me think of the old Ghostbusters episode where they accidentally bust the Christmas ghosts and destroy Christmas.

[Swamp]

Okay I am reopening this thread for anybody who has listened to the story prior to the re-recording (or after) and would like to make comments about the story.

I have moved the comments regarding the audio quality into a new thread in Metachat.  That topic remains locked.  There is no new area to cover there.  Any discussion of the audio quality here will be removed.  If you really feel like you have something worthwhile to add to that discussion, you can PM me and I will consider it.

[Swamp]

Here are some comments on the story that didn't make it through the topic split:

I liked this story quite a lot; favorite Lafferty holiday story is still "Merry Christmas from the Heartbreakers" but I didn't like "Citytalkers" at all, and had no great opinion of the "steampunk Santa" story whose title currently escapes me.

And I just remembered I forgot "Santa in My Pocket", which was #2 to "Heartbreakers" before last night; now displaced to #3.

I don't think I missed anyone else's comment on the story, but let me know if I did.

[CryptoMe]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story! It was a fun mash up of two aspects of contemporary culture; "reality" TV and paying homage to a favourite story with a re-write/update. In this case particularly, it really worked. The "reality" TV take was bang on, and the Christmas Carol aspect was significantly novel, with our characters accompanying Scrooge (instead of replacing him) and splitting the 3 ghosts between them. On top of that, the story underlying these tropes was itself interesting and relevant to the holiday season: friends and family vs. self-isolation is particularly poignant at this time of year. I also liked that the story narrator didn't have an instant epiphany, but came to her personal growth more slowly. I thought that made it very realistic.

Thanks EP and Mer for this!

[Jorge]

Yes, most of the comments are about the audio, sadly, but then what else is there to discuss? It's a Mur story. It's awesome.

I love the story's way of showing us the moment when Jenny realizes she has the power to change the sad possible future. I also love that although Scrooge has shed his greed and miserliness, maniacal egoism has taken their place.

If the re-recording hasn't already occurred (I haven't looked for it yet), I'd like to ask Mur herself to do it, if she'd be so kind. I'm an Alasdair fan, but nobody reads Mur like Mur.

[stePH]

Yes, most of the comments are about the audio, sadly, but then what else is there to discuss? It's a Mur story. It's awesome.

I love the story's way of showing us the moment when Jenny realizes she has the power to change the sad possible future. I also love that although Scrooge has shed his greed and miserliness, maniacal egoism has taken their place.

If the re-recording hasn't already occurred (I haven't looked for it yet), I'd like to ask Mur herself to do it, if she'd be so kind. I'm an Alasdair fan, but nobody reads Mur like Mur.

Escape Artists seems to have a standing policy against authors reading their own work.

[AlanX]

Escape Artists seems to have a standing policy against authors reading their own work.

I have noticed authors reading their own works has declined.  Is this really a policy?  Seems unlikely to me.

Mur is a great narrator, and her readings of various her Union Dues stories are just great!  She is also very busy it seems.  Hopefully in a way that insures many more stories of hers to be produced and published!

I am so looking forward to listening to "Solitary as an Oyster"!  Couldn't make it through the recording, though I tried multiple times.  Too old with too much high frequency hearing loss I guess.  I will be lurking Escape Pod for my chance to listen to this story, from one of my favorite authors!

[Swamp]

Escape Artists seems to have a standing policy against authors reading their own work.

I have noticed authors reading their own works has declined.  Is this really a policy?  Seems unlikely to me.

Mur is a great narrator, and her readings of various her Union Dues stories are just great!  She is also very busy it seems.  Hopefully in a way that insures many more stories of hers to be produced and published!

Steve has made it a policy from the beginning for authors not to read their own works on the podcast.

Just as clarification, Jeffery R. DeRego writes the Union Dues super hero stories, though Mur did read one of these: EP062: Union Dues - The Baby and the Bathwater.  Mur has written and podcast her own super hero novel, which is now available as a print novel: Playing For Keeps.

[Father Beast]

Steve has made it a policy from the beginning for authors not to read their own works on the podcast.

I think Steve did read a Steve Eley story one time....

[Swamp]

Steve has made it a policy from the beginning for authors not to read their own works on the podcast.

I think Steve did read a Steve Eley story one time....

OK so I looked it up here.  Steve has had two of his own stories produced on the cast:

EP050: The Malcontent, read by Pual S. Jenkins (perfect reader for that story IMO)
EP076: The Dinner Game, read by Maia Whitaker

[Listener]

I didn't like this one. I kind of saw how it was going to go once Scrooge was mentioned, and Jenny was a very unsympathetic character who takes WAY too long to be redeemed. All I could think of when I thought of the ghosthunters was "GHOSTFACERS" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostfacers), and honestly all the TV insider-talk, while light, was enough to break me out of the story itself. I also thought the different difficulties each character faced were a little cliche, especially in light of how awesome Robert's life was overall. Once they got to Robert's house at the end, I was so sick of Jenny's self-indulgent self-loathing that I seriously hoped she didn't change. It took way too long to get to the part where she and Lydia go outside to help the blonde with the broken-down car.

I think perhaps the reason I really hated Jenny is because she, as a technical person, is capable of changing her situation. For several years, I was the board-operator for a sci-fi radio show (on the actual radio). I kept trying to get more involved -- I love SF after all -- but the closest I ever got was coming up with the new name (pretty big, right?) and doing all the audio. And getting them into using chatrooms and AIM. But then they brought in the show producer... and then this writer friend of one of the hosts... and then this girl who I knew from high school and who hated me back then and didn't respect me while we were doing the show. So one day I went to the program director and said I didn't want to work that shift anymore, and could I possibly change to a different one? He said sure, and in two weeks I was working a different shift. I was even more bitter when I found out they incorporated the new board-op into the show, but I let it go and haven't looked back.

Jenny was obviously a good camera operator. I'm sure some other show at the BBC could have used her. She says as much -- that there's always a need for good camerapersons.

So, in all, I didn't really enjoy the story. Steampunk Santa from last year was FAR better than this.

[Unblinking]

I'm very much looking forward to hearing this one!  A Mur Lafferty story read by Alasdair Stuart?  Can it get any better than that?  I love Mur's sense of humor and style, and I would buy a keg of Alasdair's voice if it were available for purchase (I found one on the black market, but they wouldn't let it through customs!).  I hope Al wasn't too bothered by the personal comments against him, so I'm hoping the positive at least balances them out!  Mur and Alasdair, you rock!  And that goes for the rest of the staff as well!

If this recording were my only option I'd listen to it, but since I know there's a re-recording in the works I will wait patiently until it's available and listen at that time. 

[Loz]

I wasn't too keen on Alasdair's narration of this to be honest. Not for the audio quality angle so much as I don't think his style really fitted the piece, he sounded off-hand. It did need a British voice, only Dave Goelz would be the only permissible American to read a 'Christmas Carol'-related story.

As for the story... Are the perceived weaknesses really weaknesses if they are demanded by the story structure? Of course Robert, Lydia and Jenny start out as fairly unsympathetic characters and in 'A Christmas Carol' we only find out that Scrooge's persona has developed as a reaction to his childhood once he's away with the Ghost of Christmas Past. But because we don't get to see what Robert and Lydia go through, the ultimate act of told not shown, I felt it difficult to accept the transformation. And what exactly is the relationship between Lydia and Jenny, is Jenny straight, or just gay-but-not-into-Lydia or gay-and-into-Lydia-but-it-still-goes-horribly-wrong?

All this sounds horribly critical, the moment that rung truest for me was at the end with Robert and his daughter who is just glad that Daddy is back in time for Christmas. Even a hardened cynic would find it difficult to ignore the joy of that moment.

[LizMarley]

Really looking forward to hearing the re-posted version.  I struggled too much through the first half to be able to comment properly, but I love Alasdair's readings and I thought he was spot on with this story when it cleared up for the last bit...

[Ocicat]

Did this ever get re-posted in a fixed version?

[schmetterling]

Did this ever get re-posted in a fixed version?

Apparently not yet.  If you click on the title inside the top post, it takes you to escapepod.org's page for this episode.  Below the title, above the description, is this:

Editor’s Note: There are significant audio issues in the first half of this file. Alasdair Stuart has volunteered to record it again and we’ll post a corrected version soon. Thank you for your patience.

Hovering over the Download link shows the same file name as originally posted (no "fixed" in the name, as there has been with other fixed files).

[Unblinking]

Is this still in the queue for re-recording.  I hope it doesn't get forgotten--I'd really like to hear this one.

[eytanz]

Is this still in the queue for re-recording.  I hope it doesn't get forgotten--I'd really like to hear this one.

It seems your wish was granted

The only negative about this coming out now is that my backlog of EA episodes is already too long... This just adds one more to it - I hope I get to it before Christmas comes again.

[Talia]

Ooh yay, I can't wait to listen.

Thanks everyone for the redo. You guys rock!

[Kaa]

Yay! Can't wait to hear it.

[Wilson Fowlie]

Great!

I wonder if it's worth someone's time to go update the original EP blog entry for the story, pointing to the new one (and maybe make the original file unavailable).

[eytanz]

Great!

I wonder if it's worth someone's time to go update the original EP blog entry for the story, pointing to the new one (and maybe make the original file unavailable).

If I understood Mur's intro correctly (I always listen to intros as soon as I download an episode, even if I don't have time to listen to the story) - and she wasn't that clear - the original file has been updated with the new story audio but retaining the old intro/outro.

[pfischer]

Thank you for the updated file. I couldn't listen to the original file, the audio quality was painful to my ears. It just wasn't Christmas without a Mur Lafferty story. I'll be listening to this one right away!

Whoopie! Christmas in June!

[Unblinking]

Is this still in the queue for re-recording.  I hope it doesn't get forgotten--I'd really like to hear this one.

It seems your wish was granted

The only negative about this coming out now is that my backlog of EA episodes is already too long... This just adds one more to it - I hope I get to it before Christmas comes again.

too funny!  I had no idea it was actually going to be released just now.  I just saw someone asking the same question about The Curandero and the Swede over on Podcastle, and I thought "Maybe I'll go check on Solitary as an Oyster."     Haven't listened to it quite yet, but it's loaded onto my iPod and ready to go.

[Talia]

I wonder if there's really any point in disputing someone's point from six months ago, but now that I've heard the story (and really really liked) I can't resist...

Jenny was a very unsympathetic character who takes WAY too long to be redeemed.

...

I think perhaps the reason I really hated Jenny is because she, as a technical person, is capable of changing her situation.

Edited to just address these two points. 1) I think its more realistic that someone would be a bit of a hard sell about being redeemed. IMHO it makes more sense for it to take longer.

and 2) Sure she is, but the story seemed to imply she had a mental block - depression, perhaps, or something similar. Regardless of what you, as the outsider, might see as her options, she felt looked down upon, overlooked and ignored by the world. In the future she saw, she ended up killing herself, so the implication is she continued to spiral downwards into severe depression. Saying "oh, but you can do this, this and this!" doesn't mean a lot to a person who's depressed, because he or she does not see those as achievable options.

[Maqz]

I'm really looking forward to this one.  Was quite frustrated at first attempt to hear it in December.  Yay Mur.  Can't wait.

[Listener]

and 2) Sure she is, but the story seemed to imply she had a mental block - depression, perhaps, or something similar. Regardless of what you, as the outsider, might see as her options, she felt looked down upon, overlooked and ignored by the world. In the future she saw, she ended up killing herself, so the implication is she continued to spiral downwards into severe depression. Saying "oh, but you can do this, this and this!" doesn't mean a lot to a person who's depressed, because he or she does not see those as achievable options.

I agree. I have some issues going on that I really should be able to change on my own, but I have a mental block about it.

What I meant by "technical person" is that there's always a need for good technical TV people. Even depressed or angry techies I've worked with at TV stations have moved on to other jobs.

[captain0terror]

Audio quality is unlistenable. It is so disappointing when i grab my large popcorn and large drink, cozy up on the couch to listen to the latest episode of escape pod, and the audio is like this...

that said i am always thankful for escape pod, so please don't take this the wrong way, I just don't understand how someone could record something this badly (a), and then think it would be ok for other people to listen to (b).

I try really hard to listen to every episode, but when the audio is like this i can't handle much more than 5 minutes. tbh i would rather imput the story into TTS program with one of my freshly-downloaded AT&T voices--UK Audrey maybe?...
='(

As always i am appreciative to the escape pod producers. Thank You!

[Heradel]

Audio quality is unlistenable. It is so disappointing when i grab my large popcorn and large drink, cozy up on the couch to listen to the latest episode of escape pod, and the audio is like this...

that said i am always thankful for escape pod, so please don't take this the wrong way, I just don't understand how someone could record something this badly (a), and then think it would be ok for other people to listen to (b).

I try really hard to listen to every episode, but when the audio is like this i can't handle much more than 5 minutes. tbh i would rather imput the story into TTS program with one of my freshly-downloaded AT&T voices--UK Audrey maybe?...
='(

As always i am appreciative to the escape pod producers. Thank You!

Er, a version with fixed audio went up on the feed several days ago, were you listening to that one?

[alllie]

I couldn't listen to the original story and I tried but this time I really liked it and, as usual, liked Alasdair Stuart's narration. True, the first part was still a little rough, kinda a growl to some of the sound quality but that went away and I really got into it. It was a great idea to tell Scrooge's story using a ghost hunter crew. My only criticism was that I wanted more. I felt the story was just beginning and Jenny was just beginning to change.

[jenfullmoon]

I didn't listen to the original messed-up podcast (wasn't online to hear it), but is this one a lot better? There's a lot of weird gaps and pops and longish silences that I'm still hearing, and I don't have great hearing.

I have to say that I've always had problems with Alasdair's voice, though. I hate to say it, but there's something about him talking that makes me have issues with distinguishing the words. Kind of mumbly.

[alllie]

I didn't listen to the original messed-up podcast (wasn't online to hear it), but is this one a lot better? There's a lot of weird gaps and pops and longish silences that I'm still hearing, and I don't have great hearing.

In my opinion this version is a thousand percent better. After the beginning I stopped being aware of the sound quality and just got into the story. But different strokes for different folks.

[captain0terror]

I have to say that I've always had problems with Alasdair's voice, though

word. i never cared for his narration either. = (

[Mary]

I found the quality on the new recording to be better... but still so much hissing in places that it was difficult to listen to. Had to concentrate so much to make out that words that listening in the car while driving was a bit of an issue!

[Unblinking]

I'm glad the re-recording came out.  This one was still a bit rough near the beginning, but either it got better as time went on, or I just stopped noticing.  It is orders of magnitude better than the original recording in which I literally could not understand 2 of every 3 words.

It's hard to come up with something original with which to parody A Christmas Carol, since it's been done umpteen million times by every show/movie known to man.  But this one manages it--I've never thought of a Ghost Hunters meets Scrooge scenario.  I liked how the crew of three were each pulled along with the spirits one by one, liked the way the hunters tied in with the plot.  I wasn't really feeling Jenny's angst--it seemed genuine, that's the most important part, but I didn't really feel like I understood her.  Good show!  I wonder what will happen for Christmas 2010?

[Unblinking]

And I really enjoy Alasdair's readings, this one being no exception.
None of his other work quite matches his Pseudopod intros/outros, but that's just because I like hearing Al speaking his own words even better than someone else's.  Also, PP was the first podcast I ever listened to, and so to me, Alasdair is the voice of fiction podcasting.

[Prank Call of Cthulhu]

sarcasm {
 Wow, good thing this got re-recorded so it would be more listenable!
}

I gave up after about the first ten sentences. Seriously, I like Alasdair's voice, but I HATE his recording equipment. It's hissy, staticky, and sounds exactly like a circa-1980s Realistic (the Radio Shack brand) electret mic shoved inside an old soup can. I find everything he does to be practically unlistenable.

I wonder if the story's any good? Guess I'll never know. 

[Talia]

Well thats a shame, because I found this version completely listenable.

[Alasdair5000]

Well this looks like it's about my cue.

that said i am always thankful for escape pod, so please don't take this the wrong way, I just don't understand how someone could record something this badly (a)
   I can help with that.  I took on too much last yer, a year which at one point saw me doing voice work for all three podcasts at the same time as holding my family together as my mother went through treatment for lymphoma.  I volunteered to do this story, did it on a day where I had fourteen other things to do, including helping a close friend through a period of massive depression and I didn't check my equipment properly.  As I under stand it, there was a further error in post production which made a bad situation worse. 

, and then think it would be ok for other people to listen to (b).
   Like I say, it sounded bad but fixable when I finished recording it and, if I had had more than two hours to myself over the course of the next few days I would have re recorded it.  I didn't.  That's on me, as you've just pointed out.

I try really hard to listen to every episode, but when the audio is like this i can't handle much more than 5 minutes. tbh i would rather imput the story into TTS program with one of my freshly-downloaded AT&T voices--UK Audrey maybe?...
='(


I did the best job I could in the time I had, it got away from me.  It happens.  I'm sorry.  For the record, this is a re master more than a re record and I'm still happy to do a re record.  Under the circumstances, I'd be just as happy with anyone else reading it and, I suspect, so would a lot of people.

[Unblinking]

I gave up after about the first ten sentences. Seriously, I like Alasdair's voice, but I HATE his recording equipment. It's hissy, staticky, and sounds exactly like a circa-1980s Realistic (the Radio Shack brand) electret mic shoved inside an old soup can. I find everything he does to be practically unlistenable.

I get the impression you haven't listened to any of Alasdair's other narrations, because none of others have the problem this one had.

[Unblinking]

I did the best job I could in the time I had, it got away from me.  It happens.  I'm sorry.  For the record, this is a re master more than a re record and I'm still happy to do a re record.  Under the circumstances, I'd be just as happy with anyone else reading it and, I suspect, so would a lot of people.

Not me.  If someone else WERE asked to record it (and I'm not saying they should be)--I'd ask that this version be left there also.  Sort of like that one Podcastle episode which had been recorded with 2 narrators.  But I think this recording was completely listenable--I noticed the noise in the first few minutes but could understand every word clearly, and after the first few minutes it either went away or I stopped noticing it.

[Swamp]

<sarcasm>Yay, more bad attitude and disrespect.</sarcasm>

Look, Al and everybody admitted back in December that the original story was a bad recording and editing.  It was done quick to bring an annual traditional Mur Christmas story in time for Christmas.  Basically, it was rushed.  The result was bad. 

Now, as an attempt to make it up to everyone, the recording was remastered to remove some of bad elements, and in my opinion, did a pretty good job.  Of course, it is not perfect.  "Unlistenable" is an exaggerated assessment at best.

I don't think this story should be rerecorded.  I think it is good enough as is.  However, ultimately, it's not up to me.

Personal attacks are not acceptable.  As I've said before, if you have an issue with Al or the ediors, PM them.

ETA: Edited to remove termonology that may have seemed to apply to the listenership at large, rather than the intended targets.

[kibitzer]

FWIW I listened to the cleaned up version this week -- I thought it was fine. Thanks for taking the time to do that and also for the special re-posting because I'd kinda forgotten I hadn't heard this one.

[eytanz]

So, listened to this earlier today. I rather liked it. I especially liked how the narrator was shown to be unreliable - first subtly, then rather more explicitly at the end.

One thing that did bother me was that Lydia's future girlfriend just happened to break down outside the house that day. That seemed a bit unnecessary, a coincidence that didn't add much to the story but made it feel contrived.

[adambravo]

Hmm... Well, to begin with, I found the quality somewhere between 'OK' and 'unlistenable'; the first 25min were touch and go (especially what sounded like fabric rustling near the mike around the 19min mark) but got better after.

Good to hear Alasdair's clarifications on what went wrong; I suspect part of the problem is that many of us saw the words "re-record" instead of "re-master" and came in with higher expectations.

Ah, well, lessons learned all around. Next!

[Fenrix]

Seems like folks need to donate money and see if they can still get the 2011 gift box of Christmas stories. The recording of this story in that set is perfect. I think the female narrator there really added more to this story.

It's hard to come up with something original with which to parody A Christmas Carol, since it's been done umpteen million times by every show/movie known to man.  But this one manages it--I've never thought of a Ghost Hunters meets Scrooge scenario.  I liked how the crew of three were each pulled along with the spirits one by one, liked the way the hunters tied in with the plot.  I wasn't really feeling Jenny's angst--it seemed genuine, that's the most important part, but I didn't really feel like I understood her.  Good show!  I wonder what will happen for Christmas 2010?

Amusingly enough, I thought the same thing about the uniqueness before I listened to this before the Carnacki one over on Podcastle. Both amusing and enjoyable in their own way, but I think I liked this one more.

[Unblinking]

Seems like folks need to donate money and see if they can still get the 2011 gift box of Christmas stories. The recording of this story in that set is perfect. I think the female narrator there really added more to this story.

It's hard to come up with something original with which to parody A Christmas Carol, since it's been done umpteen million times by every show/movie known to man.  But this one manages it--I've never thought of a Ghost Hunters meets Scrooge scenario.  I liked how the crew of three were each pulled along with the spirits one by one, liked the way the hunters tied in with the plot.  I wasn't really feeling Jenny's angst--it seemed genuine, that's the most important part, but I didn't really feel like I understood her.  Good show!  I wonder what will happen for Christmas 2010?

Amusingly enough, I thought the same thing about the uniqueness before I listened to this before the Carnacki one over on Podcastle. Both amusing and enjoyable in their own way, but I think I liked this one more.

Ha, and I wrote that post years before writing my own Christmas Carol tie-in. 

[Fenrix]

Seems like folks need to donate money and see if they can still get the 2011 gift box of Christmas stories. The recording of this story in that set is perfect. I think the female narrator there really added more to this story.

It's hard to come up with something original with which to parody A Christmas Carol, since it's been done umpteen million times by every show/movie known to man.  But this one manages it--I've never thought of a Ghost Hunters meets Scrooge scenario.  I liked how the crew of three were each pulled along with the spirits one by one, liked the way the hunters tied in with the plot.  I wasn't really feeling Jenny's angst--it seemed genuine, that's the most important part, but I didn't really feel like I understood her.  Good show!  I wonder what will happen for Christmas 2010?

Amusingly enough, I thought the same thing about the uniqueness before I listened to this before the Carnacki one over on Podcastle. Both amusing and enjoyable in their own way, but I think I liked this one more.

Ha, and I wrote that post years before writing my own Christmas Carol tie-in. 

I think you also did a good job with finding a unique angle. It beats the usual we get from film and television which just puts new window dressing or casts new people as the characters (it feel as if any long-running sitcom, particularly family-oriented ones, has had some variation on it). I can't think of a lot of examples from literature that do this, which makes sense, as if you're going to read A Christmas Carol, why not just read A Christmas Carol? The only cheap cop-out I can think of is a version that would modernize the language and setting. If it's in text it needs to really bring something new to the table.